Until God's Plan is Achieved

Warriors Arise: January 20, 2021

Cross Over part 24

Joshua 3:11-13 (NKJV) Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. 12 Now therefore, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe. 13 And it shall come to pass, 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.”

Between Joshua 3:11-13 and Joshua 4:15-18 there is a lot that happens.

• The waters are pushed upstream 18 miles. They watched the water being pushed up stream! This miracle would be stunning and crazy. Even seeing it you would have to tell your mind to believe it. Trying to tell someone what you saw, would give them room to think you were a crazy person! Maybe God pushed the waters upstream 18 miles so the people who lived in Adam, the city beside Zaretan, would see the miracle and know the time had come. Put yourself in the place of a person in Adam. If you were in that city and you saw the water from the Jordan River stand still then looked both directions to try and figure out the phenomena, how would you respond? Upstream nothing was moving but down stream you saw this heap of water coming toward you. I see it as a billowing heap of water that did not crash down into the city. This provision is not reckless but intentional. It was to make a point but not to destroy anything. This took time.

• The people, approximately 2 million, cross over the Jordan River on dry ground. 2 million is a lot of people to cross over. It would take time. Think of how long it takes to load up to go on a trip. Getting our family in the van can seem like an enormous amount of time wasted. Approximately 2 million people had to cross over in front of the ark of the covenant. This means they didn't cross over for the length of the 18 miles but they crossed over in front of the ark or at least within visual distance of the ark. This took time.

• The people, approximately 2 million, put their supplies (all of their belongings and tent housing) down in the camp and return to the riverbed. Think about how far they would have to walk. They didn't just go to the other side of the riverbank. There were approximately 2 million people and they would have to set up camp. They would have to go a mile or more to begin setting up camp. This took time.

• Twelve men pick up stones for a memorial to be placed on the side of their inheritance, the promise land. These men took all they crossed over with to the camp a mile or more away. Then they returned and picked up a stone they took to the camp, a mile or more away. This took time.

• The twelve men take the stones to the camp. After taking their stuff, all they had with them to the camp, a mile or more away, they returned to the riverbed and picked up a stone to build the memorial on land. Once they found their stone, they had to take it to camp which is a mile or more away. This took time.

• The children of Israel work together to get boulders to set up a memorial IN the Jordan River. The reason believe these stones are boulders is because it took each tribe getting the stones. God wanted this to be a memorial in the Jordan for all time so that means the floodwaters would not be able to move them or cause them to topple over, and they had to be seen during flood season. In Joshua 4:17-19 the priests come up out of the riverbed. That means the bottom of the river was lower than the sides of the river. Twelve stones had to stack high enough to get to the top of the river's edge and then above the water at flood stage. When the children of Israel watched the water it would not have made an impact if the memorial stones in the riverbed were completely covered with water. It had to be stack tall enough to be seen at flood stage. They also had to be big enough to withstand the rushing water of the Jordan coming form 18 miles away. If they had not been boulders they would have toppled over and never seen again when the waters that were piled in a heap, 18 miles upstreams came crashing down the riverbed. It took time to move these boulders and stack them as a lasting memorial in the midst of the Jordan.

God had very specific things He wanted done when the children of Israel crossed over the Jordan. Each one took time. The priests could not come up out of the riverbed of the Jordan until all of God's plan had been achieved. This was about the children of Israel learning to do the miraculous with God. It was a type of growing up for the children of Israel. It was God and Him working through Moses that crushed the bondage of slavery in Egypt and brought the children of Israel through 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. God needed the children of Israel to know He was leading them and they were going to be a part of the miracle. From the feet of the priests carrying the ark into the Jordan to walking out, God was going to give them their promised land but they were going to have to join Him in the miracle. They were going to have to embrace responsibility for what He was giving them so they could take care of, maintain, and grow in what He was giving them. They were going to have to be a part of making the promise a true reality. It would be theirs to care for. They would have to be active in achieving God's plan because their responsibility would increase once they laid hold of, established, and produced in the land that was to be theirs. It started with building the memorial in the Jordan, working together achieving God's plan as a reminder of the thing God promised began to become a reality this day. Once God's plan for the cross over was complete then the priests carrying Presence of the Lord on the mercy seat on the ark of the covenant could come up out of the riverbed fo the Jordan.

The priests will remain in the riverbed until God's plan is achieved. God will remove the barrier before us, His presence will be evident so we can follow Him, and we will have the opportunity to cross over. When everyone who is following God crosses over and we have accomplished what God has put into our hands to do then the presence of God will come up and the waters will return to flood stage. Right now, we remind ourselves of what God has done for His people and we declare it will happen for us today as well. God will make a way for His people to enter into what He has promised. Until God's plan is achieved, I will believe, ready myself, and watch.

Joshua 4:15-18 (NKJV) Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, 16 “Command the priests who bear the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.” 17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.” 18 And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before.

Father, thank You for doing the impossible in the past. Thank You for Your Word. It strengthens me to believe for what You have coming in my future. I ready myself for when Your presence will pass so I can follow. I free myself from the mindset of slavery. I will not go back to being held captive to people who only want to abuse me and take away my rights as an American and as a child of God. I will stand in Your presence and remind myself of all You have done to get me here. I will ready myself to move with You as You remove the barrier out of the way. The enemy will take notice when You release Your miracle for Your people to cross over. The enemy cannot do anything but run and hide. Thankfully, it can't hide from You. I will follow You, cross over and take down the enemy who seeks to destroy my freedom, take my job, lure my children with lies, and imprison my family with its ridiculous rules of restrictions. I will not surrender my faith in Jesus Christ. I will stand because of the Word of God and Christ in me. I will stand for freedom in my life and the lives Your people. I will wait for You to remove the barrier and take my responsibility to join You in taking the land, the promise You have given to me in Jesus' name amen.

A Warrior in the Lord’s Army,

Veridee Joy Hand

My hope is for Believers in Jesus Christ to join together each day to pray, to push back the enemy as we release God’s power here on earth against the coronavirus, riots, and lies. The prayers will be listed each day as Warriors Arise. I will put a date with it so we can keep them straight. If you have any questions please feel free to make a comment or private message me. If you would like this to come to your email directly please go to verideehand.com and subscribe.