What Does Crossing The River Jordan Mean?

Crossing The River Jordan

God instructs us to obey every commandment and to occupy the land promised to us.

Lewis and Clark spearheaded the westward expansion of United States of America from St Louis. A memorial on the banks of Mississippi reminds us of the westward expansion of America. The famous memorial is the arch at St Louis.

Crossing of The River Jordan

Thousands of years ago God asked Joshua to make a memorial to commemorate the crossing of river Jordan. The memorial was erected to remember another westward expansion. This expansion was a God-ordained expansion.

Joshua 3:14-17 — So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.

The Israelites crossed the Jordan. The river parted when the feet of the high priest touched the water. The high priest carried the Ark of the Covenant. Every Israelite walked on dry ground and reached the other side of the river while the priest held the Ark of the Covenant. God instructed Joshua to get twelve stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel and to erect a memorial commemorating the crossing of river Jordan.

What does it mean by crossing river Jordan?

What does it mean by westward expansion? What does it mean by the memorial of twelve stones? How should we behave in the new land? What has changed when we crossed the river?

Crossing river Jordan is the most significant thing in the life of any person. We cross from the old order to the new order. We cross from old habits to new habits. We cross from the old paganism and slavery to the freedom of the new world. We cross from sinful life to holy life. We cross from complaining to God to complimenting God. We have a new vigor. We are born again.

God instructs us to obey every commandment and to occupy the land promised to us. He will give us spiritual authority over the land where we walk. We are elevated to higher level of accountability and responsibility. We cannot complain any more. We are mature. We are carrying the palpable and manifest presence of God. We should be careful to treat the holy of holies with the great respect. We cannot be indifferent anymore.

There are consequences when we take the crossing of Jordan lightly. Remember how Jericho fell when people worshipped God with a clean heart. Remember how Joshua’s men fell at Jericho when Achan stole the possessions from Jericho. We cannot win a battle when there is sin in the camp. We cannot serve a holy God with unholy minds after crossing the Jordan.

Read the article: Sacred Jordan River

When we cross the Jordan, we are transformed into the nature of Christ! Remember, it is a one way crossing. We can never go back.

2 thoughts on “What Does Crossing The River Jordan Mean?”

  1. The bible is very dificult to understand in the context of real life. So many negatives one finds no place for the few positives the bible speaks of. THe worst of it is time passes by and we suffer a dubble edged sword of evil. God have mercy when does suffering end? where is the life abundant and the desires of our heart and the excedently abundantly above all we ask our think? It seems life is one big request for help and always a lonely hell. God have mercy.

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