“And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon a heap.” - Joshua 3v13
There is an old gospel song called “Step Into the Water.” Although it is not packed with spiritual truths and theological depth I am reminded of it whenever I read this passage. In the song the concept is stepping into the water of God’s love. Here the idea is taking a step of faith to achieve something for God.
Between the people and Canaan, the Promised Land, was the Jordan River. Swollen to a width of almost a mile at flood stage this surely looked like an impossible task. There was no Moses to lift his staff, no bridge to cross, no ferry to shuttle them back and forth, and no place shallow enough to ford.
God’s instructions were simple enough, as soon as the soles of the priests’ feet touch the water it will part and the people would be permitted to cross on dry land. All they had was the promise of God. This must have looked like sheer lunacy – to cross the river just walk into it? Talk about walking by faith and not by sight!
I wonder how it felt to be the priests at the front of the ark? As they approached the water they surely had mixed emotions. What are we going to do if this doesn’t work? How are we going to explain it? If it doesn’t work, Joshua is going to be in big trouble.
Yet God kept His word. As soon as their feet touched the water the river parted and dry ground appeared. God rewarded their step of faith just as He had said He would.
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