Ready for Amazing Things?
Google Images The excitement builds. The moment has arrived when the Israelites will cross the Jordan River and enter the land that God had promised their ancestor, Abraham, so many years earlier. Strict orders were given. The tribes were to follow the ark, carried by the priests. Only by following the ark would they know where to go (Joshua 3:4). That in itself is heavy with meaning. The ark carried the Word of the Lord to His people—the Ten Commandments. But it is the next statement, so easily passed over, that grabbed my attention this morning. Joshua 3:5 says: “ Joshua told the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.’ ” The King James Version of the Scriptures uses the word “ sanctify ” in place of “ consecrate. ” The nation was to set apart, to dedicate, to treat as holy, to honour, to treat as sacred, both themselves and the occasion. They were to prepare themselves for God’s blessing. Back in the early days of their journey, th...