In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overflows all his banks all the time of harvest,) That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan”, and in chapter four and verse one of the book of Joshua, we begin to learn what happened, “when all the people were clean passed over Jordan” where we read,
And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan,
that the LORD spoke unto Joshua, saying,
The verse reads, “And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and it came to pass” which means “and the following happened and occurred”, “when all the people” or “at the time and moment that each, every, the whole and everyone of the human beings or the children of Israel” “were clean passed” which means “had completely and entirely crossed” “over Jordan” or “over the Jordan river whose name means descender and was the river of Palestine running from the roots of Anti-Lebanon to the Dead Sea a distance of approximately 200 miles (320 km)”. Joshua or the writer referred to the time and moment that every one of the people of Israel had crossed the river “Jordan”.
The verse continues, “… that the LORD spoke unto Joshua, saying, …” Joshua or the writer added with the words, “that the LORD” or “that Jehovah whose name means ‘the existing One’ and is the proper name for the One True God” “spoke unto Joshua” which means “uttered, declared and proclaimed to Joshua whose name means Jehovah is salvation”, “saying” or “uttering, declared and proclaiming” the words in our next verse. Joshua or the writer shared how Jehovah God made a declaration to Joshua after the people of Israel had crossed over the river Jordan.
When we consider the words in this verse, we learn not only how every one of the people of Israel crossed over the river “Jordan”, but also that Jehovah God began to talk with “Joshua” once again. God was involved in this process, and step by step the people of Israel were bound for the promise land. God wants to be involved in our lives as well, and when we put our faith and trust in His Son Jesus who was crucified on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised from the dead after three days, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and empower us to live by that truth as we fulfill His will and purpose for us in the world. (See John 16:13; Acts 1:8)
Next time we see Jehovah God tell Joshua, “take you twelve men out of the people”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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