Joshua 3:3
The Bible says the wilderness wanderings of God’s ancient people “happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition” (1 Corinthians 10:11b). In the way God led Israel into their promised land we find lessons on how to live abundantly.
The Ark of the Covenant
Joshua 3:3
They commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it.”
What was the Ark of the Covenant?
The Ark of the Covenant had a central place in the tabernacle. On top was what was called “the mercy seat,” where the glory of God hovered. (See Numbers 7:89.) The high priest would sprinkle blood upon that ark to atone for the sins of the people. (See Leviticus 16:14.)
This ark symbolized the life of God, the holiness of God, the presence of God, and atoning blood. All of this was a picture of Jesus.
Focus on Jesus
All Christians have the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. But not all Christians are totally following Christ. When Jesus is Lord and leader, that is what makes for victory.
If you want to live abundantly in God, follow these three principles:
1. Focus on God’s Presence
Joshua told Israel they must follow the ark, “For you have not passed this way before” (Joshua 3:4b). God’s will for you is a relationship; not a roadmap.
You Don’t Have to Know When or Why
Don’t move until God moves. It is possible to do the right thing in the wrong time.
Knowing the future would take away the mystery, romance, and joy. If you knew some tragic thing was coming, you would live every day in dread. Isn’t God merciful, that we don’t know the future?
“And Joshua said to the people, ‘Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you’” (Joshua 3:5). A “wonder” is something you don’t understand. (See Isaiah 55:8.)
2. Focus on God’s Promises
What Is a Covenant?
A covenant is a sacred contract, an unfailing promise.
God made a covenant with His ancient people. “The LORD said to Joshua, ‘This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you’” (Joshua 3:7). God’s promises did not die with Moses—they are for all saints, seasons, and situations.
The New Covenant
God has given us a new covenant in His blood (see Luke 22:20)—“a better covenant.” (See Hebrews 8:6-7.)
We are to be “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2a). To “look unto” someone means “depend on me.” It means to look away from everything else. Do not look at your faith. Do not look at circumstances. Do not look at other saints. Focus on Jesus.
3. Focus on God’s Power
Joshua 3:10a,13
Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you….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, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap.”
Knowledge of God equals trust, trust equals obedience, and obedience equals blessing.
The waters backed up “and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan.” (See Joshua 3:16.) The word Jordan means “descent into judgment.” The river Jordan flows down to the Dead Sea. The ark of the covenant came into that river of death and stopped it all the way back to Adam.
Jesus, too, stopped death all the way back to Adam! “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).
