Joshua 3
Officers give instructions to peopleverses 1-4
And Joshua rose early in the morning – and they removed from Shittim
and came to Jordan – he and all the children of Israel
and lodged there before they passed over
And it came to pass after three days
that the officers went through the host
And 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 remove from your place
and go after it
YET there shall be a space between you and it
about two thousand cubits by measure – come not near to it
that you may know the way by which you must go
FOR you have not passed this way heretofore
Joshua instructs people to sanctify themselvesverse 5
And Joshua said to the people – SANCTIFY yourselves
FOR tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you
Joshua tells priest to lift Ark and lead peopleverse 6
And Joshua spoke to the priests
saying
Take up the Ark of the Covenant
and pass over before the people
And they took up the Ark of the Covenant
and went before the people
LORD magnifies Joshuaverses 7-8
And the LORD
said to Joshua
This day will I begin to magnify you in the sight of all Israel
that they may know that – as I was with Moses
so I will be with you
And you shall command the priests that bear the
ark of the covenant
saying
When you are come to the brink of the water of Jordan
you shall stand still in Jordan
Joshua picks twelve men to gather stonesverses 9-13
And Joshua said to the children of Israel
Come hither – and hear the words of the LORD your God
And Joshua
said
Hereby you shall know that the living God is among you
and that HE will without fail drive out from
before you the
Canaanites – Hittites – Hivites – Perizzites – Girgashites
Amorites – Jebusites
BEHOLD the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth
passes over before you into the Jordan
NOW therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel
out of every tribe a man
And it shall come to pass – as soon as the soles of the feet of the
priests that bear the ark of the LORD – the Lord of all the earth
shall rest in the waters of Jordan
that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off
from the waters that come down
from above
and they shall stand upon an heap
Jordan River separatesverses 14-16
And it came to pass – when the people removed from their tents
to pass over Jordan – and the priests bearing the
ark of the covenant before the people
And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan
and the feet of the priests that bare the ark
were dipped in the brim of the water
(for Jordan overflowed all his banks
all the time of the harvest)
that the waters which came down from above stood
and rose up upon a heap very far from the city Adam
that is beside Zaretan
and those that came down toward the sea of the plain
even the salt sea – FAILED – and were cut off
and the people passed over right against Jericho
Priest stood in middle of Jordan River verse 17
And 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
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near to it, that you may know the way by which you must go: for you have not passed this way heretofore. (8032 “heretofore” [shilshowm] means times past, beforetime, day before yesterday, or pertaining to a point in time prior to another time)
DEVOTION: Have you ever been lost on a trip? Has your GPS led you in the wrong direction or in the longest way to get to your destination? We have the children of Israel who have wandered in the wilderness for forty years going in a different direction now.
They are about to enter into the Promised Land. They have never been there before. They don’t know the way the LORD wants to lead them so they are commanded to just follow the priests.
The question is where were the priests going to lead them? They were going to lead them into the Jordan River. The Jordan River was at flood stage at this time of year. They were going to walk right through the Jordan River.
The command for the people was that they were to keep a clear distance between them and the Ark of the Covenant which represented the presence of God. Millions of people were to keep about a half a mile between them and the ark.
Do you know where the LORD is leading you in our service to HIM? Is HE leading you into a place where it might cause you to fear? How many of us are not good swimmers? Yet HE might lead you into the middle of something that might make you wonder what HE is doing with you.
God will take you to places you have never been before but if HE is leading and you are following there will be no problem. HE will even expect you not to fear where HE leads.
Where you are right now do you understand where the LORD is leading you today? Have you asked HIM for directions? Don’t go off on your own without HIS leading.
CHALLENGE: One of the hardest tasks for me is to wait on the LORD as HE leads me. How about YOU!!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 5 And Joshua said to the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you. (6942 “Sanctify” [qadash] means dedicate, consecrate, to be holy, removed from common use, to be pure, sacred, or set apart)
DEVOTION: God sometimes give you directions and then has you prepare before you move in the direction HE has told you to go. This is the case here. God had told the people that they were going into the Promised Land but HE had not told them the way they were going to enter the Promised Land.
There was a river in the way. They could have entered another way. They could have built boats to get them across the Jordan River. That was not the way the LORD was going to get them across.
HE told them to follow the priests about a half mile behind them. So they were to follow the lead of the priests. They were to go wherever they went. However, the LORD also wanted them to prepare for the journey by separating themselves from sin.
HE told them to set themselves apart in worship of HIM. HE wanted them to be in a proper relationship with HIM to follow HIM. HE was going to show them miracles they had never seen before. This was a new generation that needed to be trained in the workings of God.
So we find ourselves in new situations with the LORD. HE wants us to set ourselves apart before a new assignment for a time of prayer. Sometimes this involved prayer and fasting. Here they were just commanded to sanctify themselves.
HE wants us to be clean if we are to follow HIM properly. The cleansing that HE is concerned with is a cleansing of the heart. Our outer body might be clean when we enter a church service but there needs to be a time when we have a heart cleansing before we enter the church.
Too often we find people entering a worship service like they enter a supermarket. It is not the same. When God’s people come together to serve and worship HIM HE wants them to be internally clean to receive the message HE has for them that day.
First, the leader has to be clean and them the people. HE wanted Joshua to be clean before he led the people into the Promised Land. So the command was not only for the people but for Joshua and the priests as well.
CHALLENGE: When all the people are set apart for service to the LORD great miracle will happen.
: 7 And the LORD said to Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. (1431 “magnify” [gadal] means to grow up, to become strong, to cause to be of major significance or importance, nourish up, or to make powerful or great)
DEVOTION: Leadership is not an easy responsibility. It is especially hard when you are leading a group of people who are not good followers. Here we have Joshua being put in the place of Moses as the leader of the children of Israel.
You know the history of the children of Israel. They were not a people that followed very well any leader. They were not good followers of the LORD. They were complainers. They were willing to worship false gods because they had so many to worship in Egypt and it was natural for them to look back at what they had in Egypt and think they had it good but in reality they didn’t.
People have stayed the same throughout the history of the world. They have always been rebellious. They have always wanted to do things their own way. No one likes to be told what to do even by the creator of the universe.
God has given us the Bible to help us understand how HE works and the blessings HE provides for those who are obedient servants. The children of Israel saw HIS blessings but they were constantly wanting to see only the blessings and not the work the LORD required of them.
Now Joshua was going to lead them into the Promised Land and they were supposed to follow HIM. The LORD was going to give Joshua HIS power and blessing. HE was going to make him powerful as a leader. All the people had to do was follow.
We all know the rest of the story. The people were not as willing as they should have been to follow the leader the LORD put in place. This can be true today for who the LORD puts in leadership in the local church. Too often the people in the pews can find fault with the leader in the pulpit without following the way they should according to the Word of God.
CHALLENGE: Are you a willing follower of the Biblical Leader the LORD has placed in the church you are attending. If he is not Biblically sound you should not be in the church. If he is then follow with prayer.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priest that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall REST in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap. (5117 “rest” [nuwach] means to stay, cease, be confederate, lay, let down, be quiet, or set down)
DEVOTION: The children of Israel had wandered for forty years with the LORD’S protection. Now it was time to enter the Promised Land. Moses was dead and Joshua was appointed leader. It was time for him to prove himself to the people.
The LORD met with him to inform him that HE was going to show the people that he was the new leader. The way the LORD was going to prove it was that the Jordan River would separate and the children of Israel would past into the Promised Land on dry ground.
Joshua commanded the people to prepare for the trip across the Jordan River. They were to sanctify themselves before the LORD.
Joshua told the people that they would know that the living God was among them and HE would drive out the people of the land before them. He told them to pick twelve men, one out of each tribe for a special task. He informed them that once the priest’s feet had touched the Jordan River it would separate.
Can we imagine what it would be like to stand in the middle of a river with water on one side standing in a heap? Joshua was the new leader of the children of Israel. God promised him that they would follow him as they followed Moses. The Red sea divided for Moses. Here we have the Jordan River dividing for Joshua. The priests had to take a step of faith when they entered the river. The river was at flood stage. It had to take faith to enter the river but they did. The river ceased to run. The people walked across on dry ground.
This was a miracle of God. HE is all- powerful!! HE is living!! HE can do anything. HE did it in the days of Joshua and HE can do it in our day. We still serve the God of Joshua.
We still have this power available to us. Let us call on the power of God to work in our family, our church and our world. Do we believe HE is still powerful?
Do you have any rivers you think are uncrossable? Are you willing to pray and ask the LORD for guidance? Is HE asking you to take a step of faith into the water? Are you willing?
CHALLENGE: Listen to the LORD’S instructions during your devotional time. HE will tell you what HE wants you to do next for HIM.
: 17 And 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. (5975 “stood firm” [‘amad] means take one’s stand, be in a standing attitude, stand still, stop moving, or hold one’s ground)
DEVOTION: The priests were said to be resting in the middle of the Jordan River while the children of Israel passed over to the other side. They were on dry ground.
Here we find a different word for the same action. They were holding their ground. Can you imagine standing in the middle of a river with a wall of water on each side and just standing there until millions of people passed over to the other side?
Can you imagine what they were thinking? Do you think you would have had uneasy feelings going through your body? Yet they took a stand where the LORD commanded them to take a stand and didn’t move until their job was done.
God wants us to know that there will be times in our life when we will have to take a stand in the middle of something because it is the right thing to do. The priests knew that they were doing the job they were called to do. Once they put their foot into the water they were committed to the task before them.
This needs to be true in our world as well. The LORD is going to give each of us an assignment that we are to carry out for HIM and we are not to leave our position until the task is done.
Too often we find leaders and people in the church that start something great for God but they quit in the middle of the assignment because they start worrying about what might happen if they continue.
If we are going to take a stand for the LORD we need to not back away when we think others are not following. We need to have a standing attitude toward good doctrine. We are to have a standing attitude toward good music in the church. We have to have a standing attitude reaching our neighborhood for the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Today we need people who are willing to stand when everyone else wants to run.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Ark of the covenantverses 3, 6, 8, 11, 14
Levites bearing Arkverse 3
People stay back 2,000 cubits
Priestsverses 6, 8, 13, 14
Stand still in the Jordan
Soles of feet of priests touch water
Ark of the LORDverse 13
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Words of the LORDverse 9
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD (Jehovah)verses 3, 5, 7, 9, 13, 17
God (Elohim)verses 3, 9, 10
Ark of the covenant of the LORD your Godverses 3, 11
LORD your Godverses 3, 9
LORD will do wondersverse 5
Living Godverse 10
Without fail drive out Canaanitesverse 10
Lord (Adonai)verses 11, 13
Lord of all the earthverses 11, 13
Ark of the LORD verse 13
Ark of the covenant of the LORDverse 17
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Shittimverse 1
Jordanverses 1, 8, 11, 13, 14
Stand in a heap
Overflowed its banks
Canaanitesverse 10
Hittitesverse 10
Hivitesverse 10
Perizzitesverse 10
Girgashitesverse 10
Amoritesverse 10
Jebusitesverse 10
City of Adam beside Zaretanverse 16
Salt Seaverse 16
Jerichoverse 16
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Sanctifyverse 5
Wondersverse 5
Presence of the LORD with leaderverse 7
Speak the words of Godverse 9
Presence of the LORD with peopleverse 10
Victoryverse 10
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Joshuaverse 1
LORD magnified him
LORD with him
Children of Israelverses 1, 9
Three days waitingverse 2
Officersverse 2
Ark of the covenantverses 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17
Priests and Levites carrying Arkverse 3
LORD speaks to Joshuaverse 7
Mosesverse 7
Twelve menverse 12
One out of each tribe
Ark of the LORDverse 13
Dry ground in the middle of Jordan Riververse 17
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
14–16a After the Israelites “broke camp,” the priests led the way bearing the ark of the covenant (v.14). In stating that the Jordan was at “flood stage” (v.15), the narrator skillfully builds the suspense by suggesting the natural impossibility of what was about to happen. The statement that “as soon as … their feet touched the water’s edge, the water … stopped flowing” (vv.15–16a) may be an example of narrative heightening, i.e., a kind of exaggeration or hyperbole used to convey a true sense of wonder at the great miracle that was taking place. The flow of the water had to have stopped upstream prior to the moment that the priests approached the river, or else it would have taken time for the water to flow away downstream after they stepped into the river’s edge.
16b The flow of the river was interrupted, and the waters began to collect “in a heap” upstream. “Adam” was a city located about twenty miles upstream from where the Israelites crossed the Jordan. Aharoni (p. 34) states that “the vicinity of Adam was famous for the occasional landslides which dammed the floods of the Jordan.” There is some ambiguity in the Hebrew preposition ḇ which is translated “at” here: it could mean “from” (see Notes). Such a translation would suggest that the water was stopped near the place where the Israelites were and was backed up all the way to Adam. “At” seems to be the better translation. In that case, however, the water stopped too far upstream for the Israelites to have seen it, and the timing had to be perfect for the waters to be exhausted at the precise moment that the priests stepped into the river. “The Sea of the Arabah” is the Dead Sea. With the water from upstream “completely cut off,” the water flowing downstream was soon emptied into the Dead Sea. (Madvig, D. H. (1992). Joshua. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel (Vol. 3, p. 268). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
3:15b–17. Dramatic things happened the moment the priests carrying the ark of the covenant stepped into the muddy, swirling waters. The water from upstream stopped flowing (cf. v. 13). Piling up at a town called Adam, waters from other streams were completely cut off so as not to enter the Jordan. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. This is reminiscent of the Red (Reed) Sea crossing (cf. Ex. 15:8; Ps. 78:13).
Though the place named “Adam” is found only here it is usually identified with Tell ed-Damiyeh, about 16 miles north of the ford opposite Jericho. A wide stretch of riverbed therefore was dried up, allowing the people with their animals and baggage to hurry across (cf. Josh. 4:10).
How could this sensational event occur? Many insist that this was no miracle since the event can be explained as a natural phenomenon. They point out that on December 8,1267 an earthquake caused the high banks of the Jordan to collapse near Tell ed-Damiyeh, damming the river for about 10 hours. On July 11,1927 another earthquake near the same location blocked the river for 21 hours. Of course, these stoppages did not occur during flood season. Admittedly God could have employed natural causes such as an earthquake and a landslide and the timing would have still made it a miraculous intervention. But does the biblical text allow for such an interpretation of this event?
Considering all the factors involved it seems best to view this occurrence as a special act of God brought about in a way unknown to man. Many supernatural elements were brought together: (1) The event came to pass as predicted (3:13, 15). (2) The timing was exact (v. 15). (3) The event took place when the river was at flood stage (v. 15). (4) The wall of water was held in place for many hours, possibly an entire day (v. 16). (5) The soft, wet river bottom became dry at once (v. 17). (6) The water returned immediately as soon as the people had crossed over and the priests came up out of the river (4:18). Centuries later the Prophets Elijah and Elisha crossed the same river on dry ground to the east (2 Kings 2:8). Soon thereafter Elisha crossed back over the river on dry ground. If a natural phenomenon is necessary to explain the Israelites’ crossing under Joshua, then one would have to conclude that two earthquakes occurred in quick sequence for Elijah and Elisha, which seems a bit presumptuous.
By this great miracle, the crossing of the Jordan River at flood stage by a nation of about 2 million people, God was glorified, Joshua was exalted, Israel was encouraged, and the Canaanites were terrorized.
For Israel the crossing of the Jordan meant they were irrevocably committed to a struggle against armies, chariots, and fortified cities. They were also committed to walk by faith in the living God and to turn from walking according to the flesh as they had often done in the wilderness.
For believers today, crossing the Jordan represents passing from one level of the Christian life to another. (It is not a picture of a believer dying and entering heaven. For the Israelites Canaan was hardly heaven!) It is a picture of entering into spiritual warfare to claim what God has promised. This should mean the end of a life lived by human effort and the beginning of a life of faith and obedience. (Campbell, D. K. (1985). Joshua. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 335). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books)
During most of the year, the Jordan River was about a hundred feet wide; but at the spring flood season, the river overflowed its banks and became a mile wide. As soon as the priests bearing the ark put their feet into the river, the water stopped flowing and stood like a wall about twenty miles away upstream, near a city called Adam. It was a miracle of God in response to the faith of the people.
Unless we step out by faith (1:3) and “get our feet wet,” we’re not likely to make much progress in living for Christ and serving Him. Each step that the priests took opened the water before them until they were standing in the midst of the river on dry ground. They stood there as the people passed by; and when the whole nation had crossed, the priests walked to the shore and the flow of the water resumed.
When God opened the Red Sea, He used a strong wind that blew the whole night before (Ex. 14:21–22). This was not an accident, for the wind was the blast of God’s nostrils (15:8). When Moses lifted his rod, the wind began to blow; and when he lowered the rod, the waters flowed back and drowned the Egyptian army (14:26–28). When Israel crossed the Jordan River, it was not the obedient arm of a leader that brought the miracle but the obedient feet of the people. Unless we are willing to step out by faith and obey His Word, God can never open the way for us.
As I mentioned before, the crossing of the Jordan River is not a picture of the Christian dying and going to heaven, contrary to what is said in some songs. The crossing of the Red Sea pictures the believer being delivered from the bondage of sin, and the crossing of the Jordan River pictures the believer claiming the inheritance in Jesus Christ. Joshua is a type of Jesus Christ our Conqueror who leads us from day to day into the inheritance He has planned for us (1 Cor. 2:9–10). “He shall choose our inheritance for us” (Ps. 47:4).
What a tragedy it is when God’s people fail to claim their inheritance and wander aimlessly through life as Israel did in the wilderness. The Book of Hebrews was written to challenge God’s people to go on in spiritual maturity and not go backward in unbelief. In Hebrews 3–4, the writer used Israel’s experience at Kadesh Barnea to warn foolish Christians not to come short of all that God had planned for them. We never stand still in the Christian life; we either move forward in faith or go backward in unbelief. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Strong (pp. 51–52). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
“That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon a heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan, and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, the salt sea, failed and were cut off; and the people passed over right against Jericho” (v. 16). First, the waters were cleft asunder so that those which came down from above—i.e. from the mountains—were invincibly dammed, so that the down-flowing torrent was supernaturally stayed. It was as though an enormous but invisible sluice had suddenly shut off the stream at its source. Second, the huge volume which had already descended was made to turn backward and stand on a heap in a congealed mass—which in our judgment was more remarkable than what occurred at the Red Sea. That solid wall of water must have appeared like some mammoth buttress, yet without any apparent support. Third, the waters which were already in the Jordan valley rapidly drained away into the Dead Sea, leaving the whole of the river’s bed dry—“as far downward, it is likely, as it swelled upward” (Matthew Henry). Most vividly did R. Gosse depict this prodigy.
“At any time the passage of the river by such a multitude, with their wives and children, their flocks and herds, and all their baggage, would have presented formidable difficulties; but now the channel was filled with a deep and impetuous torrent, which overflowed its banks and spread widely on either side, probably extending nearly a mile in width; while in the very sight of the scene were the Canaanitish hosts, who might be expected to pour out from their fortress and exterminate the invading multitude before they could reach the shore. Yet these difficulties were nothing to Almighty power, and only serve to heighten the effect of the stupendous miracle about to be wrought. No sooner had the feet of the priests touched the brim of the overflowing river than the swollen waters receded from them; and not only the broad lower valley but the deep bed of the stream was presently emptied of water, and its pebbly bottom became dry. The waters which had been in the channel speedily ran off, while those which would naturally have replaced them from above were miraculously suspended, and accumulated in a glassy heap, far above the city Adam … nearly the whole channel of the Lower Jordan from a little below the Lake of Tiberias to the Dead Sea was dry.”
“And 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” (verse 17). What a test of the priests’ faith and obedience was that!—a much more severe one than that required of them in verse 8. There they were only bidden to step into the brink of the water, which at most occasioned but a temporary inconvenience, though since they had to do so before any miracle was wrought, it called for unquestioning, submission to the Divine will. But here they were required to remain stationary in the center of the river bed, which to sight was a most perilous situation—with the great mass of the higher waters liable to suddenly rush down and engulf them. But there they patiently abode, for it must have taken many hours for such a huge multitude to pass over on foot. God’s servants are not only called upon to set His people an example of implicit confidence in and full obedience to Him, but to take the lead when dangers threaten and acquit themselves courageously and perseveringly. The Lord fully vindicated the priests’ obedience, holding back the mighty torrent until after they too crossed to the farther side; thereby denoting that the same power which divided the waters kept them suspended. (Pink, A. W. (1964). Gleanings in Joshua (pp. 102–103). Chicago: Moody Press.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
From this basic meaning comes the meaning “to be established, immovable, and standing upright” on a single spot; the soles of the priests’ feet “rested” (stood still, unmoving) in the waters of the Jordan (Josh. 3:13). (Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson.)
3 John 1
John praises and encourages Gaius for his “witness of . . . love before the church” (v. 6).
INSIGHT
Affirmation is a powerful force for good in the Christian life. We all long to be affirmed for who we are and what we are doing. We all like to hear: “Good job.” In essence, that is what John writes in his third epistle. He affirms Gaius in several areas: for his knowledge of truth, for his application of that knowledge, for offering hospitality to fellow Christians and to strangers, and for helping to support traveling missionaries. Good job, Gaius. (Quiet Walk)
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WE ARE EXHORTED TO PRAY
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us. 1 John 5:14
We must be exceptionally careful in the matter of comparing Scripture with Scripture. The Bible never contradicts itself. We must never base our doctrine upon one statement only; or to put it in another way, our doctrine must never be so formulated as to be in conflict with any other statement of Scripture or to contradict any other clear and obvious scriptural teaching.
Then, having done that, we come to certain conclusions. One conclusion is that there is an element of mystery about this question of prayer; it is one of those aspects of God’s gracious dealings with us that is beyond our understanding. Now I feel like saying, “Thank God for that!” I mean that in an ultimate and absolute sense you and I simply cannot reconcile God’s omniscience and foreknowledge and sovereignty with this fact of prayer that we find so clearly taught in Scripture.
But there are so many other things one cannot understand. I cannot understand how a holy God would ever forgive or can ever forgive a single soul. I cannot understand it, but thank God, I believe it! I cannot understand the eternal mind and heart, but I thank God for a revelation that assures me that God can be just and a justifier of the ungodly. And there are many other instances and illustrations that I could give of exactly the same thing, and this question of prayer is one of them. In an ultimate philosophical sense there is an element of mystery about it, but praise God, we are not left with philosophy. We have a Gospel that comes to us in its simplicity and tells us what to do. So, though our little minds cannot understand it philosophically, there is nothing that is so plain and clear in Scripture as that we are taught and exhorted to pray. Go through the Scriptures, and notice the frequency of the exhortations to pray.
A Thought to Ponder
Prayer is one of those aspects of God’s gracious dealings with us that is beyond our understanding. (From Life in God, p. 116, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Keep Alive Thy Work
“O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.” (Habakkuk 3:2)
Habakkuk had long been grieved by the apostasy and injustice in Judah. A sensitive man who trusted God completely, he could not understand why God allowed such rampant sin to go unpunished. Knowing God must have a reason for His actions, he asked in faith the question “Why?” (1:3).
In love God honors Habakkuk’s sincere question, but the answer caused him even greater concern: “For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwelling places that are not their’s” (v. 6). God intended to use the vicious Babylonians to punish His chosen people (vv. 5-11).
This prompted the prophet’s second question, “How?” How could God use such an evil people to punish the Jews (1:12–2:1)? God patiently explained that Israel’s sins merited captivity, and furthermore that Babylon’s sins would eventually be punished also.
Once Habakkuk knew God’s plan, he did not dispute it. Rather, his concern turned to his people—soon to be in captivity. He was afraid they would lose all knowledge of God in a heathen culture, and he prayed, “O LORD, revive thy work” (3:2, literally “keep alive thy work”). This concern was answered by a majestic appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ (vv. 3-15), through which Habakkuk understood that God would indeed judge His enemies (v. 12) and deliver His people (v. 13).
Habakkuk’s final response? Total submission to God’s sovereign control over all things. He claims that in spite of these overwhelming problems (3:18), “yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” JDM
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