March 1st

March 1st -- Joshua 3 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua%203&version=NLT)

Crossing the Jordan River.

So the morning after the spies return with their news, the Israelites head to the Jordan river, camping there before crossing it. After the three days, officers went out and told the people their instructions: When they saw the Levites carrying the Ark of the Covenant, they were to follow them, staying about half a mile behind, though, so they were not too near to the Ark. Joshua also tells all the people to purify themselves.

In the morning, upon being told to by Joshua, the priests take up the Ark and start heading to the river. God speaks to Joshua and says He will being making Joshua into a leader today, so when he reaches the river, he is to step in a few steps and stop. Joshua then passes along the message that they must choose twelve men (one from each tribe). The priests will carry the ark and when they touch the water, the flow upstream will stop and it will stand like a wall. So the people leave their camps and, when the priests' feet met the water, it did as God had said and stood up like a wall. All the people crossed on the dry ground, ending with the priests carriying the ark, who waited in the middle of the river until everyone else was safely across.

I just find this cool. It's like a mini parting of the Red Sea. I just love how God just again takes this force of nature and bends it to His will. It's incredible. I mean, especially when we look at science, and realize the force of nature is really one of the few things man hasn't been able to conquer at all or manipulate or control. We have no control over that. Then there's God who just wills the water to redirect/stop and it does. It shows how honestly incredible our God is!

Well, that will be all! God bless! Shalom!