Raging Rivers

Growing up, we lived next to a creek. At least that’s what we all called it. I’m not sure what picture that generates in your mind but ours is wide enough and deep enough to fish, to float, and to jump off a bridge into and not damage your legs. In the spring when the snow melts in the mountains, the creek gets very full with raging, rushing, silt-filled water. You don’t fish, float, or swim in it at that time – you could be swept away.

Now year-round the bottom of that creek was either sandy or silty. If you were touching bottom you were likely going to end up sinking down a ways. And in those areas where natural erosion had diverted the creek, the old creek bed stayed wet and marshy for years.

So now we come to some stories from the Israelites leaving Egypt and crossing over into the Promised Land. There are two water crossings, the more well known crossing of the Red Sea in the Book of Exodus (Exodus 14) and the just as interesting but not quite as danger filled crossing of the Jordan in the Book of Joshua (Joshua 3). In both cases the Lord God told the Israelites to anticipate something amazing and glorious. In both cases, He created a DRY path from one side to the other. Let’s look at that again. A DRY path. It wasn’t enough that they didn’t have to wade through water, they also didn’t have to navigate mud. And it was dry enough that they could take through 600,000+ Israelite men plus women, children, hanger-ons (aliens), bands of sheep, camels, goats, all manner of livestock. So it couldn’t just be surface dry. It had to be DRY.

Having grown up on a sheep ranch, I know how quickly a seemingly dry area will become muddy and swampy when you have a band of sheep on it. Their hooves will cut right down through to the moisture. The Israelites were shepherds. They had enormous numbers of animals.

In the case of the Jordan crossing, it occurred when the Jordan was running at flood stage. Yet watch what happens: when the feet of the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant touch the waters of the Jordan it parts.

Additionally both crossings took place in a very short amount of time, so this wasn’t a single file crossing. Besides have you ever tried to get a band of sheep to go single file anywhere? No, no. They all want to rush. So this must have been a pretty big dry path.

In both cases a step forward into what seemed like danger was required. In both cases, the way forward became passable and apparent. In both cases God was glorified and His people protected.

What’s your next step?