Greetings in the name of the Father, the son, and the Holy Spirit.
“And Joshua said to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.'” – Joshua 3:5
There is a specific, heavy kind of silence that happens right before a life changes forever. It is the silence of the “in-between.”
For the last two weeks, we have stood mentally on the banks of the Jordan River. We have talked about the water, the flooding, and the roar of the current. But today, I want us to step into the shoes of those who were actually there—not as spectators, but as people who had been “camping” on the edge of a dream for three long days.
The Bible tells us in Joshua 3:2 that after they reached the river, they stayed there for three days. Imagine that wait. Behind them was the wilderness—a place of wandering, sand, and the graves of their fathers. Ahead of them, just across that churning, chocolate-brown flood, was everything they had ever been promised. They could smell the scent of the citrus trees and see the green palm trees of Jericho swaying in the distance. But the river was at “flood stage,” a terrifying, unstoppable wall of water.
They were caught in the “middle space.” Perhaps that is where you find yourself today. You are at a threshold. You know you can’t go back to the way things were—the old habits don’t satisfy anymore, and the old “wilderness” feels empty. But the future feels blocked by an obstacle you can’t swim across. You’ve been waiting, watching the “water” of your circumstances rise, wondering if you were brought this far just to fail at the finish line.
But before the water moved, something happened in the camp. Joshua gave a command that defines how we handle the “in-between” spaces of our lives. He said, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you” (Joshua 3:5).
What does that mean for us today? Consecration isn’t a religious ritual; it’s a heart-posture. It means pulling your attention away from the roar of the flood and the distractions of the world to listen to the whisper of God. It means building up your faith through prayer and focus. It’s saying, “Lord, I am setting myself apart for Your purpose. I am quieting the noise of the news, the fears of the economy, and the distractions of my phone to look at You.” You cannot live a “Promised Land” life with a “Wilderness” mindset. We discover today that God never brings us to a river to drown us. He brings us to the threshold to show us that we aren’t just being “teleported” into a new life; we are being invited into a walk of faith.
I. The Anchor in the Deep: God Steps In First
In our modern world, we love the idea of “teleportation.” We are a generation of the “instant”—instant communication, instant results, instant relief. We often want to close our eyes in the middle of our mess and wake up instantly on the “other side” where everything is perfect. We want the peace of the Promised Land without the muddy, uncertain trek through the riverbed. But the heart of the Gospel is not a God who simply zaps us from point A to point B; it is a God who walks into the flood first so that we have a path to follow – the best and the most secure path that we can walk through.
As the three days of waiting ended at the Jordan, the command went out. But notice the nature of that command. It wasn’t for the people to jump in and swim for their lives. The Bible tells us in Joshua 3:8, “You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan.’” This command was for the priests carrying the Ark—the golden throne representing the literal, holy presence of the Living God—to walk straight into the flood.
Imagine being one of those priests. You are carrying the most sacred object in existence, and you are told to step into a current that, humanly speaking, should sweep you away. The Bible notes that “the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest” (Joshua 3:15). This wasn’t a manageable stream; it was a seasonal deluge. Yet, the miracle was one of divine precision: “as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bore the ark came down into the waters of the Jordan… the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away” (Joshua 3:13-16).
But here is the most profound part: The priests didn’t just cross over and wait on the dry bank. They marched to the very center of the riverbed and they stood firm. Joshua 3:17 records, “Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.”
They became the anchor. As long as the presence of God stood in the middle of that river, the invisible walls of water could not collapse. They stood in the mud, holding the weight of the Ark, while millions of people walked past them. They were the physical guarantee of safety.
This is the beautiful, heartbeat-center of the Gospel. Thousands of years later, the Living God did this again. Jesus Christ did not stay on the “safe side” of heaven while we struggled in the floods of our own brokenness and fear. He stepped into the torrent. He went to the “middle of the river” on a cross. Just as the priests stood firm in the midst of the Jordan, Jesus stood firm against the weight of everything that should have swept us away. He became the anchor for our souls, holding back the judgment of our past so that we could walk across into a new life. He is the Priest who stays in the water, enduring the pressure, until every last person—including you—is safe on the other side.
II. The Shield and the Step: A Demonstrated Faith
Once the path was miraculously opened, the nation of Israel did not simply drift across the riverbed in a disorganized panic or a chaotic rush. There was a beautiful, divine, and protective structure to their movement that reveals how God cares for His people during a transition. Before a single foot touched the dry mud of the Jordan, the Bible tells us that a specific group took their place at the spear-point of the nation.
In Joshua 4:12-13, we read: “And the men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them. About forty thousand prepared for war crossed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho.” These 40,000 warriors were the vanguard. They were the shield. These tribes had already secured their inheritance on the eastern side of the river, but they refused to sit in comfort while their brothers faced the unknown. They stood as a wall of protection between the vulnerable families and the looming threat of the Canaanite kings. They represent the heart of God’s community: the reality that we do not just cross into our own blessing in isolation; we are called to stand for one another.
But even with 40,000 elite soldiers guarding the flanks and the Ark of the Covenant holding back the towering wall of water, every single individual in that camp had to make a daunting personal choice. They were not teleported. God did not lift them up in a cloud and drop them safely in Gilgal. The miracle created the opportunity, but the people had to provide the obedience.
A mother still had to grasp her child’s hand, look at the dry ground where a raging torrent had been moments before, and decide to walk. An elderly man had to lean on his staff and trust his weight to a path that had never existed until that hour. This was “demonstrated faith.” It was the visible, public result of the private consecration they had practiced the day before. The Bible says in Joshua 4:10 that “the people hurried and crossed over.” There was a sense of urgency, but also a profound sense of trust.
This is the moment where faith moves from the head to the feet. Their enemies in the walled city of Jericho were undoubtedly watching from the ramparts. What they saw was not a desperate group of refugees fleeing in fear; they saw a consecrated people moving with the precision of an army. They saw a people who had tuned out the “distractions” of the world—the roar of the flood and the threats of the giants—to focus entirely on the God who had promised them a future.
The Gospel is a personal invitation to this exact kind of walk. Coming to God is not a passive, intellectual exercise where you simply agree with a set of facts. It is a decision to move your feet. As the Bible says in James 2:17, “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Consecration means we stop being distracted by what is happening “in the world” and start listening to what is happening in the Word.
When you decide to trust Jesus, you are building up a faith that refuses to be sidetracked by the “floods” of your circumstances. You are telling your “enemies”—your addictions, your shame, and your past—that they no longer have power over you. You are walking through the very thing that used to drown you, and you are doing it on dry ground. Your faith is no longer just a private feeling; it is a visible journey, a “step-by-step” testimony that the world is watching.
III. The Two Towers: Markers of a Changed Life
As the crossing reached its peak, and while the adrenaline of the miracle was still coursing through the veins of the people, Joshua gave a command that seemed almost counter-intuitive. He didn’t tell the people to run for cover or to begin building fortifications against the nearby walls of Jericho. Instead, he called for a pause. He chose twelve men—one from each tribe—and commanded them to go back. They had to travel back into the dangerous “middle” of the river, to the very spot where the priests were still standing firm with the Ark of the Covenant.
In Joshua 4:3, the command is explicit: “Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.” These were not pebbles; they were massive stones that had to be hoisted onto their shoulders. But the Bible reveals a fascinating detail that we often overlook. There wasn’t just one monument; there were two. While the twelve men were carrying stones toward the shore, “Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day” (Joshua 4:9).
Think about these two memorial towers and what they say about our journey with God:
First, there is The Hidden Tower. This monument was built in the riverbed. Once the priests finally stepped out and the miracle was complete, the Bible tells us that “the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and flowed over all its banks as before” (Joshua 4:18). The monument Joshua built was immediately submerged. It was hidden under the crashing waves of the flood. No one walking by the river the next day could see it. It became a secret “altar” between God and His people.
This is the internal work of the Gospel. It represents the “old life” being buried forever. In the depths of your soul, there is a marker that says, “The person I was on the other side of this river is gone. My wandering, my shame, and my old identity are buried here under the grace of God.” As the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
Second, there is The Visible Tower. The twelve men carried their stones all the way to Gilgal and set them up as a permanent monument. This was the “Public Testimony.” Joshua told them that when future generations asked, “What do these stones mean to you?” (Joshua 4:6), they were to tell the story of how the Lord dried up the waters. This monument was for the children, the neighbors, and even the enemies. It was a physical declaration that “God brought us through.”
When someone truly encounters the Gospel, these two towers are always built. There is the “buried” memorial—the private peace of knowing your sins are covered. And there is the “visible” memorial—a life so changed, a heart so full of purpose, and a spirit so focused on God that people can’t help but ask, “What happened to you?” When the priests’ feet finally touched the dry ground of the arrival bank, the door to the past was shut. The river didn’t just trickle back; it exploded into its flood stage. But the Israelites weren’t afraid. They were at Gilgal. They were standing on the soil of their inheritance. They had the markers of their past buried and the markers of their future built. They were finally, truly home.
Summary: Ready for Greater Things
The crossing of the Jordan was never just about the physical act of getting across a river. It was about a profound spiritual transformation—preparing a people for a completely new way of living. For forty years, Israel had survived on manna and mercy in a desert of “enough.” But at the banks of the Jordan, God called them to something higher. Because they had stopped to “consecrate” themselves—intentionally focusing on God’s holiness rather than the noisy distractions of the world around them—they were spiritually positioned to witness the impossible.
As the Bible declares in Joshua 3:10, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you.” The miracle of the parted river was the evidence they needed to face the giants ahead. Because they had seen God hold back the flood, they were now ready to see Him bring down the walls of Jericho. Their victory at the river was the foundation for every victory in the land.
The Gospel is your personal invitation to leave the “silent threshold” of your life and finally start the walk. You don’t have to wonder if you are strong enough to swim across the floods of your own making, your past mistakes, or your current anxieties. Our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, is already standing in the middle of the river. He has anchored the current. He has provided a shield for your journey through His finished work on the cross.
The question today is simple but life-changing: Will you take the stone? Will you leave the wilderness of “just getting by” and step into the abundant life He has prepared for you? The Bible promises in Joshua 4:24 that this happened “that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty.” The path is dry. The stones of remembrance are waiting to be picked up. The Promised Land is not a distant dream—it is a reality waiting for your very first step.
Let’s pray together.
Lord God, we thank You that You are the God of the threshold. We thank You for those moments of waiting that remind us that You are always working, even when the river is still flowing. Help us today to “consecrate” our hearts—to tune out the distractions of the world and the noise of our fears so we can hear Your voice clearly.
We thank You for Jesus, our Great High Priest, who stood in the center of the torrent of our brokenness and held back the flood so we could walk through. For every person here who feels stuck on the bank, give them the courage to see the path You have already opened. Help us to leave our “hidden stones” in the river—the things of our past that You have covered with Your grace. And help us to build “monuments” at Gilgal today that show the world Your goodness and Your power. We are ready for the greater things You have in store. We pray in the Name of Jesus, Amen.
“He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the Lord your God forever.” – Joshua 4:24