7 The Lord told Joshua, “Today I will begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites. They will know that I am with you, just as I was with Moses. 8 Give this command to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant: ‘When you reach the banks of the Jordan River, take a few steps into the river and stop there.’”
Now I have been a Christ Follower for a long time but when it comes to giving my interpretation of scripture, qouting scripture or even discussing, I get a little intimidated. This past Sunday I shared with the church a little bit of a sermonette before one of the songs. :) Anyway, I talked about stepping into the raging water, the flooded waters and I talked about the Israelites crossing the Jordan. Afterwards, I was paranoid that I qouted scripture wrong or described it wrong. You know, kind of like when you sing the National Anthem and since you have sang it a million times, you wonder if you sang it right? No? Well, I guess you would know if you sang the National Anthem at a ton of High School sporting events and botched the words! Yes, botched the National Anthem! Okay, so back to the point. Surely you get what I am saying! Right?
When I read this scripture tonight, something stuck out at me. I have not read the commentary yet and a bible scholar or preacher could think I am absolutely stupid for wondering but, something stuck out and now I am wondering and praying for revelation.
"When you reach the banks of the Jordan River, take a few steps into the river and stop there." Now I know what it probably means and it's obvious. Stop and watch the river dry up. I know, it's not too difficult to figure out. But, the thing that I love about scripture is the fact that it is living, breathing, alive! It has a heartbeat and it applies to me right now! So the word STOP could be something God is showing me, something that He wants me to see differently. Whatever reason I am focused on the word, I know God will show me something really cool. And what he shows YOU, could be totally and completely different. Isn't God so personal? WOW! Me thinks so! :)
So, that's where I am at. I am focused on the word STOP.
5 comments:
What a great insight. I think too often we get caught up in doing, and forget to stop, and just revel in God's goodness and see what He is doing.
Love this- thanks! I'm going to read with you!
In our world of go, go, go, God can be found in the STOP.
V.
I think it's all about "get your feet wet". Sometimes God wants us to "step in" then let Him take it from there. We. all too often, want to plunge into waters, raging waters, and race to the other side. Only God knows what those waters cover and whats in the under current. We need to STOP and let Him guide us and sometimes He just wants us to STOP and watch His miracle.
Awesome insight you have.
luv u
mom
I went back and re-read chapter 3 after reading your post, and I'm glad I did.
In my Bible translation (NASB) the scripture uses a different word than stop.....You shall, moreover, command the priests who are carrying the ark of the covenant, saying, 'When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand STILL in the Jordan.'"
That hit me. The word still is the word that I think God is trying to impress upon me. As I face a difficult path he is calling me to be still. I've already done the stop.
Isn't it funny how a scripture with different translations can be just what each of us needs. To me there is a huge difference between STOP and STILL. Stop is an immediate action something that is a "right now" whereas to be still is something that comes after stopping and takes a lot of concentration and a whole lot of faith! It's the waiting time between stopping and moving again.
Just my thoughts and opinions. I'm like you, I'm never quite sure if I got it right, but I'm trying!
How far are you reading today? Thanks for doing this Amanda!
There was something in my Bible Study about this today, how the Holy Spirit will make a word or a phrase completely jump out at you! I love this part of Joshua, I got a whole new appreciation of this book when I did Beth Moore's study on Believing God.
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