Here they stood, poised on the edge of their destiny. Before them they could see the land God had promised so long ago, the land they’d left Egypt for, the land that had taken so long and cost so many lives to reach.
But there was a barrier standing between them and the land, a river at flood stage.
The Jordan River starts at the foot of Mt. Hermon, nearly 9,000 feet above sea level. It ends about 90 miles later at the Dead Sea, which is about 1,400 feet below sea level. This makes it one of the fastest-flowing rivers of its size. It runs fast normally, but at flood stage it poses a serious threat to anyone needing to get to the other side.
How would they get across?
For the people who lived in Canaan, the Jordan River wasn’t an obstacle, it was a shield. They believed that one of their gods was in control of that body of water and had brought the river to such a high level in order to protect them from any invaders.
Just like God had done in Egypt, when He used the plagues to topple the pantheon of Egyptian gods, He would now take on the Canaanite god of the river. When He divided the rushing waters of the Jordan River, He was serving notice, both to the inhabitants of the land and to His own Chosen People. I AM not just the God of the wilderness, not just the God who brings water from a rock or manna in the desert; I AM God of everything and everywhere. There is nothing that is beyond My ability to control.
Many of the peoples the Israelites would encounter in Canaan believed in regional or limited gods. They believed there was one god in charge of the harvest and another god in charge of the weather. One god helped you have children, another helped you get well if you’d been sick.
YHWH doesn’t work like that. He’s God of everything. He’s the same God of the mountains and the sea, the harvest and your health.
Living in that knowledge would be a continual problem for His people. Throughout the Bible, we read that the greatest temptation is not to reject YHWH altogether but to simply add Him to a list of other gods, to worship Him alongside Baal or Asherah or Molech. Let YHWH handle some things, let the other gods handle other things.
In our society, we may not have little statues or funny names for other gods. But we’re probably just as guilty as they were of thinking that God is only in charge of some things, not everything. Maybe we’ll trust God with our eternity, but we’ll handle things between now and then. Maybe we’ll trust Him with our Sundays, but we’ll take care of Monday through Saturday.
Let God handle “spiritual” areas. Spiritual areas are, after all, priceless. For everything else, there’s Mastercard, right?
God wants to be the Lord of your job and your family, how you spend your money, what you watch on television and what you listen to on your iPhone. This is how it’s going to be with YHWH. He’s either God of everything, or He’s God of nothing.
O Lord, why do I trust You in some areas of my life, but look for other resources when I need help in other areas? How is it possible for me to trust You for my eternal destiny and then look to the world for everything else? Please deliver me from the disease of compartmentalisation, in which I merely make You one component of my life and put other things like my work, my family and my friends in other compartments. Give me the faith to truly believe that You alone must occupy the centre of my being, my aspirations, my hope, my purpose, my everything. Then I will see other things from an eternal perspective and realise that everything comes from You and is for You. I want to recommit myself to the lordship of Christ in each sphere of my existence and enjoy the holy release of desiring the one thing that is needed above everything else.
In Jesus’s name, Amen
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