The Conquest of Canaan and the Kingdom of God (2) Crossing the Jordan River (1)

“After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them - to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.” (Jos 1:1-3)
 
We’ve been talking about the kingdom of God through the story of the Exodus. Last Sunday, we discussed the kind of mindset we should have in order to live as the people of the kingdom through what God said to Joshua.
 
Moses was faithful in bringing the Israelites out of Egypt and leading them in the wilderness. But he couldn’t enter the promised land because he failed to reflect God’s holiness when he struck the rock twice with his staff.
 
Moses died after giving his last sermon in Moab, east of the Jordan river. And now, Joshua became the second leader of the Israelites. He must have been afraid. But God repeatedly told him to “be strong and courageous.”
 
The reason Joshua was able to be strong and courageous under such difficult circumstances and great pressure is because God was with him, and he knew that God is far greater and stronger than his circumstances and the enemies he faced.
 
If Joshua had only looked at his circumstances, he would have been terrified. But when he looked at the Almighty God working through him beyond his circumstances, he was able to be strong and courageous in spite of the challenges he faced.
 
God promised to be with him and that His presence would always go with him. Joshua had God’s words and promise. And that was enough. Josuah needed nothing more than that to defeat his enemies and lead the nation. He didn’t need a strong army or great weapons or brilliant strategies—he needed God. We’ll see why when we talk about the battles in the land of Canaan.
 
 
I also talked about an interpretation of what it means to be “strong and courageous.” Being courageous means not being easily influenced by the world. And being strong means actively influencing the world beyond simply not being influenced by it.
 
As long as we live in the world, we’ll continue to be influenced by it. There’s no way to escape it.
 
But we Christians are called to influence the world rather than be influenced by it. We are called to keep ourselves from the evil of the world and to show God's holiness through our distinct and distinguished lives. We are called to walk in the light of Jesus Christ and let our light shine, not to be influenced by the darkness of the world. We are also called to live righteously, not to dwell in sin. In other words, we are called, chosen, and sanctified to be God's holy people who are in the world but not of the world.
 
In order to live out this calling, we must guard our hearts and minds from the influences of the world and renew our minds daily with God's word. We must fix our eyes not on the temporary things of the world we see now, but on the eternal values of the kingdom of God, which are invisible but real. We must let our faith in God, our trust in Him, and His word and promise be the basis of every decision we make—big or small.
 
Then we'll be able to live in the world as strong and courageous people of God, reflecting His light, His righteousness, and His holiness through our lives and leading many others to Him.
 
Of course, we can't live such a life alone. We're so weak that we often stumble and lose our way. We’re easily influenced by the world. But, we can still find hope in God because we know that even though we can’t do much, God can do all things.
 
The only reason we can be strong and courageous in all circumstances is because God, who is much greater than all our circumstances, who leads us and guides us, who protects us and provides for us, and who can change us and transform us, is with us at all times.
 
Because God is strong, we can be strong. Because God is courageous, we can be courageous. That’s the truth we must keep holding on to as Christians.
 
Crossing the Jordan River
Now, let us move on to the next part. After calling Joshua, God commanded him to cross the Jordan River. He said,
 
“Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them - to the Israelites” (Jos 1:2)
 
You've probably heard of the Jordan River many times. It’s the most famous river in the Bible, and it's often used as a symbol of the dividing line between life on earth and the afterlife.
 
But in the Bible, the Jordan River doesn't represent death. Crossing the Jordan River doesn’t mean that you finish the race of faith on earth and enter heaven.
 
When the Israelites crossed the Jordan, it was not heaven that awaited them. Rather, they would be facing enemies armed with strong weapons and kings who opposed them.
So, they did not cross the Jordan to enter the already established heaven. They crossed it with a mission and a calling to establish the kingdom of God in Canaan, a land full of evil.
 
One of the biggest misconceptions about the kingdom of God is that it belongs to the future, that it's only spiritual. Even many Christians perceive the kingdom of God as a place where our souls go after we die.
 
But as we've already discussed, the kingdom of God is not something we enter when we die, but something that has already come to earth with the incarnation of Jesus, and is still being expanded and established in the world through our obedience to God's will. And, the kingdom of God will completely come true on earth when Jesus comes back again as the mighty Judge, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords of the whole world.
 
Then, for us, the spiritual meaning of crossing the Jordan River is not a death, but a beginning. It is not an end, but a new commitment—the commitment to build the kingdom of God in the midst of an evil and sinful world.
 
The Jordan River has a significant meaning in that it symbolizes a turning point for the Israelites as they ended their lives in the wilderness and began a new journey in the promised land.
 
But despite its significance, we might wonder, why did the Israelites need to cross the Jordan River? The Jordan River is not the only entrance to the land of Canaan.
 
As we discussed before, when God commanded the first generation of the Exodus to enter the land of Canaan, He did not require them to cross the Jordan River. God did not lead them to the Jordan River after He trained them at Mount Sinai, but to Kadesh Barnea. They sent twelve men to spy out the land from there, which shows that crossing the Jordan wasn’t really necessary for the Israelites to enter the land.
 
But when they refused to go into Canaan at Kadesh, God made them wander in the wilderness for 38 years. And, at the end of their journey in the wilderness, God led them to the east side of the Jordan River and commanded them to cross it, which wasn’t easy. Actually, it was impossible for more than 2 million people to cross the Jordan, especially when it was at its most flooded.
 
But, God led them there and commanded them to cross the river when it was most flooded. Why do you think that is?
 
When we look at the elements of the Israelites' crossing of the Jordan River, we may compare it to a similar event in Israel's history—the crossing of the Red Sea.
 
When the Israelites were leaving Egypt, their last obstacle was the Red Sea. The sea was in front of them, and behind them Pharaoh was pursuing them with his chariots and army. In this desperate situation, they cried out to the Lord, and God saved them by dividing the sea with a strong wind.
 
Now, just as the first generation of the Israelites had miraculously crossed the Red Sea, God commanded the second generation of the Israelites to cross the Jordan River. So, we could say that crossing the Jordan was a repeat of crossing the Red Sea.
 
But, why did God repeat it? The answer lies in who crossed the Jordan River. It was the second generation of the Exodus. During the 38 years in the wilderness, all of the first generation of the Israelites who were above 20 years old when they had crossed the Red Sea died in the wilderness except for Joshua, Caleb, and Moses. In other words, all the adults who crossed the Red Sea died in the wilderness.
 
Now, God wanted the second generation, made up of people who were either younger than 20 when they crossed the Red Sea or were born in the wilderness, to go into the land of Canaan and conquer it. But they didn’t really understand the significance of crossing the Red Sea because they were either too young when it happened or they were born afterward. They’d only heard about it, but never fully experienced it.
 
So, God intentionally guided them to the east side of the Jordan River and had them cross when it was most flooded because it was so important for them to have the experience of crossing water. But, why was it so important?
 
The Meaning of Crossing the Red Sea
It is important because crossing water signifies death to the past life and the beginning of a new life. The apostle Paul said in 1 Co 10:1-4,
 
“For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ” (1Co 10:1-4)
 
Here, the apostle Paul interpreted the Exodus of the Israelites in a spiritual way. In particular, he compared the Israelites crossing the Red Sea to baptism. Paul said that the Israelites were baptized when they crossed the sea.
 
So, the Israelites' crossing the Red Sea in the Old Testament is the equivalent of our baptism into Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Then, what does baptism mean?
 
There are several important meanings behind baptism, but the most important one is to die and live with Christ and to be united with the death and resurrection of Jesus. This meaning is clearly stated in Romans 6:3-5. This is the most important passage that explains the true meaning of baptism. Let’s read it together.
 
“Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Rm 6:3-5)
 
In the Bible, baptism means being fully immersed in water. This full immersion represents a believer’s union with Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection.
 
A believer’s immersion in water symbolizes the death and burial of Christ. And the believer coming out of the water symbolizes Christ being raised from the dead. So, full immersion baptism is a beautiful picture of what Jesus did on the cross and in the empty grave for our salvation.
 
As I said before, early churches thought of the meaning of water in two ways. The first meaning is a tomb. Being completely immersed means that our old selves die and are buried with Jesus.
 
And the second meaning is a womb, which gives birth to life. The water of baptism also serves as the water of life, which gives us a completely new life in Jesus Christ.
 
So when we’re fully immersed in water, we experience death to sin with Jesus. But when we come out of the water, we also experience resurrection with Jesus. In other words, full immersion baptism represents believers dying to sin with Christ and being reborn in Christ. That’s what we publicly proclaim through baptism.
 
Paul said, “[You] [have] been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.” (Col 2:12)
 
So, through baptism, we show not only our faith in what Jesus did on the cross and in the empty grave, but also our determination to be crucified with Him in our sins and live and walk with Him as His people.
 
Therefore, baptism gives us a strong identity as Christians. And I think that’s the very reason God had the second generation of Israelites cross the river when it was the most impossible to do so. He wanted them to experience His great power and deliverance so that they could arm themselves with a strong identity as the people of God.
 
This also teaches us an important lesson. Without being baptized, we can’t go into the promised land and conquer it. I’m not talking about rituals here. What I’m emphasizing is the meaning behind it.
 
If we don't make the decision to be united with the death and resurrection of Jesus, in other words, if we are not willing to die with Christ and live with Him, we cannot participate in God's mission to build His kingdom in this fallen world. To be true Christians who build the kingdom of God, we must die with Christ first and live with Him and for Him.
 
If we really want to live as the people of the kingdom of God, we must first crucify all the sinful things we loved before, along with our fleshly desires, and do His will and not our own, putting God first in our lives. That is the most important decision we must make if we really want to live as people of God's kingdom.
 
Most of us here have probably been baptized, but just as physical circumcision is not true circumcision, the fact that we have gone in and out of the water does not guarantee our true faith. Baptism is not simply an act of going in and out of water. It must be evident by the way we live our lives to be recognized as genuine.
 
So what I want us to ask ourselves today is this: Are we really dying and living with Jesus? Is our faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection evident in our lives? Do we experience renewal in Him every day?
 
Of all of Paul’s confessions in the Bible, the one I admire most is this one.
 
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gl 2:20)
 
May this be our confession of faith today. I want us to confess once again what we confessed when we were baptized, and say to the Lord, “Lord, in union with Your death, help me to die to all that is sinful, and in union with Your resurrected life, help me to live as You have lived, seeking Your will first so that Your kingdom may be established and expanded through my life.”
 
Then, He will hear our prayers, sanctify us, and use us as His vessels for His kingdom and His glory.
 
Let’s pray.
 
[Prayer]
Heavenly Father, thank You for teaching us about how we should live as the people of Your kingdom through the story of the Israelites crossing the Jordan River.
 
We remember all the things You’ve done to save us from our sins and make us Your children of light. We thank You for Your mercy, grace, and love.
 
Now Lord, we want to live lives worthy of the calling we’ve received from You. We want to live as kingdom makers here on earth, setting our hearts and minds on You and seeking You and Your will first.
 
Oh Lord, let us die to our past selves, our sins, and our sinful desires and live for You with Jesus Christ. Help us continue to remain in Him.
 
May Your name be hallowed, Your will be done, and Your kingdom come through our lives.
 
We love You, Lord. In Jesus’ precious name we pray. Amen.
 
[Reflection Questions]
1) Why is experience important in Christian life? What experiences have you had as a Christian, and how have they shaped your faith?
 
2) Why do you think being united with Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection is essential for us to live as people of the kingdom of God? Is there an area of your life to which you want to die with Jesus? Is there an aspect of your life that you want to live out with your faith in the risen Savior?