Bible Talks

From: Messages of God's Love: 1953

Joshua 3:17-4:8¹⁷And 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. ¹And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying, ²Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, ³And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. ⁴Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: ⁵And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: ⁶That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? ⁷Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. ⁸And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the Lord spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. (Joshua 3:17‑4:8)

The Jordan, as we remarked last week, typifies the fact that we have died with Christ. In this it is not a question of our sins, which were like mountains on either side, but of the fact that in His death our old sinful self has been put entirely out of sight, Like the waters of Jordan cut off very far from the city Adam, so our history as men in the first Adam has been cut off before God. “Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Cossloians 3:3. The waters flowing toward the Dead Sea failed too, figuring to us that there is deliverance from sin’s power, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” Romans 8:13¹³For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (Romans 8:13). How wonderful this is and yet how few Christians lay hold of this side of the truth. They knew I le.ir sins are forgiven, but are greatly troubled to find that the old nature is still within and not improved at all. What marvelous deliverance it gives to know that “our old man the old sinful self) is crucified with Him” (Romans 6:6⁶Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (Romans 6:6)), and though it has not been improved it is utterly condemned and set aside before God, and we, on our part, are to just reckon it so. (Romans 6:11¹¹Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:11).) Then, with the eye upon Christ, arid by the power of the Spirit of God who indwells our bodies as believers, we are to be occupied with Christ, allowing the new man “which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24²⁴And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. (Ephesians 4:24)), to act. This is true liberty and deliverance, and it is so beautifully pictured in our chapter. The waters of Jordan were out of sight, hut the ark, a picture of Christ was before them, and so they passed over on dry ground.

Alas, there is a reason why so many believers do not lay hold of this precious fact, and this we shall see later is figured in the twelve men, each taking his stone out of the bottom of Jorden. Nevertheless, whether it is laid hold of or not, thank God it is blessedly true, just as the feet of the priests, who were bearing the ark, stood firm in the midst of Jordan until all the people were clean passed over on dry ground. It was not even wet ground, as a river bed would ordinarily be, but dry ground, for the Lord Jesus bore all the judgment when He stood condemned in our place. “‘He (was made) sin for us ... that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” 2 Corinthians 5:21²¹For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21). Wonderful deliverance full and complete!

After all the people were clean passed over, then, as we have just remarked, the twelve men, one from each tribes were told to go to the place where the feet of the priests had stood in the midst of Jordan, and take a stone from there. Each man was to carry his stone to the other side of Jordan, and put it in his lodging place. This was, in figure, laying hold of the truth of their deliverance, each man for himself. Their full and complete deliverance was a fact, but as a ohm from each tribe took his stone to his lodging place, he made the deliverance his own. This took the energy of faith, for perhaps the stones were heavy. Then too, putting the stones in their lodging places would tell us of putting the sentence of death upon all the desires of our old sinful Adam nature. Do we have anything in our lodging places that would not be in accordance with this truth? May we search our hearts about these things!

ML 01/18/1953

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