The Jordan Crossing

This week we look at the importance of the Canaanite conquest as a picture of the new heaven and new earth and also how the crossing of the Jordan is a type and shadow of Christ when we pass through death. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Hello and welcome to a Path to Redemption Podcast. My name is Daniel Rona, and just remember this simple truth. The Father loves you, Jesus loves you, and the Holy Spirit loves you. Once again, I hope that you've had a great week. I hope that you've had time to spend with the Lord in prayer and also again in his word. I cannot stress this enough. You've got to make sure that we are putting in the work and make sure that we are studying to show ourselves approved unto God. And the reason for this is it things are just lining up right now. I mean, if you look at the different things going on and from a current event standpoint, it is staggering. We are living in a time like no other relative to the to the history of the of humanity. I mean, just think about it this way the Marshall Islands just recently started a universal uh basic income. And rather than using uh the US dollar, which is what their currency is, and it's only 42,000 people, but rather than using the US dollar, they're using the US um uh basically digital coin is what they're using. And it's uh based upon blockchain technology, and it but it's backed by a fiat currency, which means that it's one for one on the dollar. Um, but it's all digital, and I find that very interesting, right? Um, just because of we've talked about digital currency and and some of the things that are that I believe are going on, you still can't see consolidation in the banking aspects. There's just a lot of things happening in this world, not to mention the geopolitical sides, and you know, I taught this at church uh probably about three years ago, how with the establishment of the BRICS nations and the things that are happening there that we are literally seeing the the toes of iron and clay or the feet of iron and clay right now, uh the iron representing the old Roman uh pieces and the clay representing the the global south and kind of east, if you will. So it's very interesting as things are being set up. We're seeing the power dynamic shift um between you know U.S. no longer dictating and and dominating the way that it has, giving way to Russia and China. Um, and then not to mention it, you're just seeing lawlessness continue. I mean, which is the fullness of iniquity, which I go into detail about this in my book, um iniquity, um, that's that's out right now. You can get that at Amazon or uh Barnes and Noble. But you know, when you think about this and you see it, it's all about rebellion against authority. It is all rebellion against authority, and that's what we're seeing, and that's what it is. If you are in authority, then it is impossible. It doesn't matter if you're a teacher, a police officer, a manager at work, it doesn't matter, you're seeing rebellion against authority as society continues to walk into depravity. So um it's important for us to be prayed up, it's important for us to be focused on him, to have our relationship right with him. Do not lose your first love as the the church at Ephesus did. Make sure that you are putting in the work and doing the work, studying to show yourself approved, praying, being intimate with the Lord, praising him, praising him and worshiping him in both spirit and in truth is gonna be imperative as we kind of go forward here. So just keep that in mind. Um, but again, you know, we're gonna continue on with our study. We're gonna talk about um the Canaanite conquest overall, and then uh the children of Israel are gonna cross over the River Jordan, and we're gonna talk about both of those things today. Um, but remember just some housekeeping items. All of our scripture comes from a New King James Bible. If you'd like a copy of a New King James Bible, feel free to drop me a note at pathredemptionohio at gmail.com. More than happy to get one into your hands. Um, also, my book's outgrace abounds. If you want a copy of that, feel free to give me a note at pathredemptionohio at gmail.com. I can get one out to you. My second book, uh, the first in the trilogy of Iniquity, the cross and redemption is out. Uh, the book is called Iniquity, and you can get that at Amazon, Barnes and Noble as well. Um, and then finally, once again, just do not take my word for it. Make sure you are studying to show yourself approved under God, a workman worthy of your hire of your hire, make sure that you are putting in that work because I'm telling you, you gotta study stuff out. There's so much false things out there, false teaching out there that you gotta study it out for yourself. You have to. Don't even take my word for it. Make sure you take you you you read and study and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in your own life. Amen. With that being said, let's go ahead and jump in because I want to get into this overview about the Canaanite conquest. It it's a very important portion of the Israelite journey, and especially when looked at in the context from Abraham. You know, the Canaanite conquest really represents the fulfillment of a promise. The land was promised to Abraham and his descendants, it was promised to Isaac, and it was affirmed in Jacob. So this is really bringing to pass what God said that he was going to give, um, was going to give Abraham. And look, we have that same promise in Jesus Christ, right? We are looking towards and for a promise in what the hope is that we have in Christ Jesus. And 1 John 2, 24 through 25 basically breaks this down. It says, Therefore, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you will you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us, eternal life. And that's what we're looking for. That's our hope. So that when we die, or whether the rapture happens, um, that we go and be able to spend eternal life with Jesus Christ and our Father and the Holy Spirit for all of eternity. That's the promise for us because the work of the cross on Jesus Christ. And when we die, we inherit that promise. And when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back for his people, those of us that are alive and remain at that time that go up in the rapture will also inherit that promise as we put our faith in him. And this was supposed to be the time when Israel inherited that, and God established his temple and dwelt with his people. This is the whole point. God will write his name in Jerusalem and place his temple there. You gotta remember, God is all about trying to get back exactly what happened, what he had in the Garden of Eden. And this is all about going back to that. In Eden, God walked in the cool of the morning and in the cool of the garden with Adam. He dwelt with Adam, he provided all things to Adam, and he gave Adam dominion over all the earth. But because of the fall, that was never going to happen in Canaan. That was never going to happen in the promised land. But the Canaanite conquest is a type and shadow of taking the nations back that belong to God. A couple of weeks ago, we discussed that Israel is the inheritance of God, and we discussed the disinheritance of the other nations. The Canaanite conquest represents that taking back of the land that belonged to God that he had given to Israel. This is exactly what will happen at the end with all nations as everything is reconciled. And you know, one more thing we have to consider, though, is that Israel is as a nation is considered God's son due to that inheritance. And we see that in Exodus 4, 21 through 23, where it says, The Lord says to Moses, When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all the wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in your hand, but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, thus says the Lord, Israel is my son, my firstborn. So I say to you, let my son go, that he may serve me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn. So what do we see here again? We see that God calls Israel, the nation of Israel, his firstborn. Why? Because it's the first firstborn of all the nations. It was his inheritance, it's the one that he chose. It was the nation that he developed through the time of bondage in Egypt. Understanding how this plays out becomes an important part of understanding what the Canaanite conquest is. So to recap one more time, the Canaanite conquest was the inheritance of the promise. It was the taking back and the re-establishing of Eden. It was it was to give Israel, God's son, authority over that land, and then establish the temple for God to dwell with his son and his people. And look, we're going to see this again after the millennial kingdom of Christ. Revelation 21, 1 through 8 says this. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, no more sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then he who sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. And he said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha Nega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He whoever comes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake of fire, which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Then dropping down to Revelation twenty-one, twenty two through twenty-seven, but I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light, and the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor to it. Its gates shall not be shut all day, all by at all by day, for there shall be no night there, and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it, but there shall by no means enter in anything that defiles or causes an abomination or lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. So we see here in Revelation twenty-one the establishment of the city where God writes his name. We see the temple established where God and Christ dwell as the temple. This we we this is when we see the fulfillment of first Corinthians fifteen, twenty-six through twenty-eight, that says, The last enemy that will be destroyed is death, for he has put all things under his feet. But when he says all things are put under him, it is evident that he who put all things under him is accepted. Now, when all things are made subject to him, then the Son himself will also be subject to him, who put all things under him, that God may be all in all. But if we continue in Revelation 22, 1 through 5, we see the full restoration of Eden. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God, and of the lamb, in the middle of its streets, and on either side of the river was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each yielding, uh each yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the trees were for the healings of the nations, and there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the lamb shall be in it, and his servant shall serve him, and they shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there, and they need no lamp nor light of sun, for the Lord God gives them light, and they shall reign forever and ever. Think about that for a second. I mean, how amazing and phenomenal is that? Everything's going to be restored the way that God wanted it to be in the Garden of Eden. But this time the river comes from the throne of God and feeds the tree of life, just like the rivers of Eden fed the garden in the beginning. Yet the tree of life provides its fruit every month, and its leaves are for the healings of the nations. This is the picture of the re-inheriting of the nations by God. We see this same thing in Psalms 2 through 5, 5 through 8, where it says, Then he shall speak to them in his wrath and distress them in his deep displeasure. And I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion, I will declare the decree. The Lord has said to me, You are my son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession. So we see that, right? We see the the that Jesus Christ has been given all things. So this Canaanite conquest is a portion of scripture that is not studied in depth a lot, but one that is important when viewed through the lens of the type and shadow of the fulfillment of the promise of Christ. We are literally seeing kind of a type and shadow of what the new Jerusalem is going to look like, what the new kingdom's going to look like, what it's going to be like when God creates everything anew, when heaven and earth pass away, when ultimately he comes down and tells them that's what it was supposed to be in Canaan. Now, because of sin and iniquity, and because uh they're not going to follow uh all the things that that uh that God wants them to do, then guess what? It's not gonna be like that, right? It it never could be because of the iniquity and the fall that happened in the garden. But that's what it's supposed to be, and that's really what the Canaanite conquest represents here. And you know, Israel's gonna get a lot wrong, but during this time with Joshua, they get a lot right. And it's pretty important to understand that too, because you know, we're gonna look through Joshua 3 here in a minute, but they get some things right and they follow the Lord and they actually believe the Lord, and that's the crux of everything, whether it's the law, whether it's the and believing in Christ, you know, whether it's the old testament or now, it all starts with faith in God and who he is, and faith in the promise that he has provided us. And for us, that's in Jesus Christ, because we see the promise in him and we know what that promise is. For them, it was the promise of Jesus Christ, and they had to put their faith in that, and their faith in God that he was everything. Amen. So, with that foundation, let's go into Joshua 3, 1 through 6. It says, Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and they set out from the Acacia grove and came to Jordan, and he and all the children of Israel and lodged there before they crossed over. So it was, after three days that the officers went through the camp, and they commanded the people, saying, When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord of your God and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before. And Joshua said to the people, Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you. Then Joshua spoke to the priest, saying, Take up the Ark of the Covenant and cross over before the people. So they took up the Ark of the Covenant and went before the people. Now, a few things here. The time of preparation was over. It was time to go into the promised land. And you know, I think we we don't think about this enough, but this life that we live here is preparation for the next. For many, they have already crossed over, they've already died and gone over. But for us, we're still here. We're still being tried in the wilderness, and you know, we're still being changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ. But one day we're going to cross over, whether by death or by rapture. That's going to happen. And it's important for us when it's our turn to cross over, that the same thing that the children of Israel had is what we had. The Ark of the Covenant went before the people. The Ark of the Covenant is a picture of Christ in the Old Testament. It was allowed, it was what allowed God and man to commune on the day of atonement. Jesus Christ allows that for us when we go through go to God through him. As it says in the book of Hebrews, you know, uh, you know, Lord, we can come now come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy, to find grace, to help in the time of need through Jesus Christ. Christ went before us through death and into heaven, as we discussed before. If you want more detail, go back to listen to Matthew 27, the King is dead, and Matthew 28 about the resurrection from last season of this podcast. But he's already gone before us through that. So we we can go in after him. The same way that the Ark of the Covenant is going to go in before them. And notice that the officers say, only after you see the ark go can you go because you've never been here before. How true is that when we cross over into heaven? But even in this life, as we go from new levels and experiences with God, we do not know which way to go. We must wait for Christ to direct us through the Holy Spirit in the way that we are supposed to go. And look, Isaiah 43 through 5 says this, right? It says, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill brought low. The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth. The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. And that's exactly what we're going to see with the children of Israel as they cross over. The Ark of the Covenant, the picture and the symbol of Jesus Christ goes before them. Okay, and then look, just as Jesus can go before us and may the crooked places straight and the rough patches smooth, all we have to do is follow him. All the children of Israel had to do was follow him as well. So let's continue looking at this in the rest of the chapter. Joshua 3, 7 through 17 says, And the Lord said to Joshua, This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that we may that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan. So Joshua said to the children of Israel, Come here and hear the words of the Lord your God. And Joshua said, By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Gergeshites, and the Amorites and the Jebusites. Behold, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. Now therefore take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe, and it shall come to pass as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, and the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream they shall stand as a heap. So it was when all the people set out from their camp to cross the Jordan that the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant before the people, and those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water, for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest. That the waters which came down from upstream stood still and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaratan. And so the waters that went down into the sea of Araba, the Salt Sea, failed and were cut off, and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. Then the priests who bore the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord stood firm and on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel crossed over on dry ground until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan. This is an amazing section of scripture that has so much importance, so much deeper meaning in here. And it is it's a phenomenal thing. First and foremost, God told Joshua that he would be with him. God reaffirms this assertion again. And while Joshua has had the training from Moses and the relationship to the Lord, it is now time for him to be exalted. This happens to us too. Look, God will do this. I've seen it in my own life when we are faithful over what he's given us. What happens is that you go through a training period. That was the time that Joshua spent in the in the tabernacle of meeting with Moses, literally sitting at his feet, listening, watching him commune and talk to the Lord, all of those things that he did during those times. Being out in the battle against the Amalekites that he fought in on the other side of the river, where Moses held up uh held up his arms and all of those things. So understanding that Joshua had had a significant amount of training before he ever took over for Moses. Yeah, you always wonder when that transition happens, God, are you going to be with me? God, I'm not Moses. God, is it you got to make me what you're going to make me? We've talked about that before, and I told you the story about me relative to my own mom. But God, after you go through that and he gives you things to do and you're faithful over it, then he will exalt you if you stay humble and are about the things that are important to him. That's the focus that has to be. That's why I start every single podcast. Make sure that you are about his work and doing the things that he has asked you to do. Be faithful. If you are faithful over a few things, he will make you ruler over much. Joshua uses that to show the Israelites that God is with them and that he will give them this land. And look, I think this about this in the context of when we face death, too. We have nothing to fear. Christ has already gone before us, and it is time for us to be exalted into the incorruptible that he has paid the price for, and for us to inherit the promise of eternal life. Our God is so good to us. I think about it when my grandparents passed away. When my grandma passed away, she right before that, but maybe about a week ago, she she'd tell my mom, Oh, Sharon, you're never going to guess this. I had all these dreams and all these things, and I was in the most beautiful garden with the most beautiful color flowers. I can't even describe the colors that were there before me. But it was so beautiful. She literally got to see heaven. And grandpa, same thing. He said he got to walk with my grandma because she passed away first with her in these gardens, in that same garden that grandma described. And it wasn't maybe, it might have been the next day, maybe two days later that he passed away. And I think about that, right? Why? Because they had the comfort and they had the peace that God, that Jesus Christ had already gone before them. The same thing is what's what God had given to the children of Israel through what happened with the with the waters. And they proves himself that look, you saw the miracles in the wilderness that I did for your mothers and fathers. Yes, they didn't believe me. They didn't walk with me, but okay, you saw the miracles I did. But now let's look at these miracles. Watch this. I'm going to do miracles for you all in ways that you're never going to believe as well. Different, different miracles than what they saw before, but milk miracles nevertheless. Now, the priest walks over to the water and Israel goes over on dry land. This is what I believe they become their baptism for this generation. They walked through the water on dry land, just as their fathers and mothers walked through the Red Sea on dry land. This is what would establish Joshua in the eyes of people, the same way that the parting of the Red Sea really established Moses in the eyes of the people. Also, it was the ark that mediated them passing through the water on dry land. This is just how Jesus Christ mediates us passing through death into the promised land of our rest in heaven. Think about that. We don't see the waters overtake us. We don't see those things happening to us. Now, another important point here is that the banks of the Jordan were overflowed due to annual flooding at harvest time. See, God did this at a time when it was time to reap what had been sown. The river was against the children of Israel, separating them from the promised land. Now, you reap what you sow. We know that. That is a biblical principle from across every dispensation. But when you realize this, that what had been sown in Israel was the promise of the promised land and this land given, this picture of Jesus Christ that this is going to be that we talked about in the King and I conquest, you see that look, oh my goodness, they're God is taking them into this land for them to reap what he had sown. Not what they had sown, but what he had sown in Abraham all those years ago, all those generations ago. Hallelujah. And at some point, God is going to reap what has been sown in us, which is Jesus Christ, the seeds of the gospel, and he's going to reap it in us, and we are going to go and be with him forever and for all eternity. So, understanding that though, the water is against the children of Israel. It is separating them. Water through flooding or the ocean often represents the world and chaos and sin. And look, Isaiah 43, 2 kind of puts it this way When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. So not only was the world stopped and could not pass across the children of Israel, but the flood would not overtake them. And that will based upon what was happening. But even more so, and this is a thing that I find absolutely phenomenal. The waters collected at a place upstream at a city called Adam. Adam is where the stream of iniquity and sin started in this world. When he willfully sinned against God, took the fruit, and when he willfully did that, and you'll read all about this in iniquity when you get your copy. And and he said he started the flow of iniquity and sin through all of mankind. Yet here we see all of that stopped at a city named Adam the moment that they cross over the Jordan. So you have Jesus Christ standing in the center of all of that, mediating for the children of Israel to cross over that river into the promised land and stopping all the sin and everything else that that comes against us. He does the same thing for us when we cross over into our death. What's he do? He mediates rather than looking at the sin and the iniquity that is in us. We only see Jesus Christ. The sin is stopped back up where it went at Adam and it does not come into us. It is not imputed to us. We have the righteousness of Christ based upon our faith that we may walk into that promised land through Jesus Christ and into the glory of the Lord forever. This is absolutely a type and shadow of the redemption of Christ, and it is phenomenal to see. And it is just amazing how good our God is and how amazing it is that all of these stories are for us, are given to us for the children of the promise, which is for us that have gone back into and put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. So look, make sure that you are continuing to put your faith and trust in him because uh you got to. You got to, especially now. He's gonna be the only thing that's gonna be there for you day in, day out. Not your job, not the career, not friends, not family, not anything else like that. It is only going to be Jesus Christ here soon. So you've got to make sure we're putting our full faith and our full trust and put in the work now. Amen. So look, now that we understand the purpose of the Canaanite conquest, next week we're gonna look at the memorial stones and the mountains of blessing and cursing and how by doing this Israel actually passed through the law into the promised land, which again, the law being a fullness of the picture of Jesus Christ as well, and the very character of God. So we'll we'll take a look at that next week as well, um, because it's another aspect of kind of this thought of the Canaanite conquest um being uh being a picture of the end, and then also a picture of the of Jesus Christ. So look, I hope you're getting something uh out of this. I hope that you're getting enjoying this study. But until next time, just remember the simple truth the Father loves you, Jesus loves you, and the Holy Spirit loves you. God bless.