Joshua Day 3
Read Joshua 3.
One of my favorite things in the Bible is beginning to make connections. Reading one part of Scripture and being reminded of another part. It reminds me that all of God’s Word is intentionally connected and intertwined in a beautiful way. There are plenty of recurring themes and repeated messages throughout the Bible. Today, the chapter we are reading should remind us of an event that occurred not that long ago in the book of Exodus.
Exodus 14:21-22
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
Back in Exodus, the Lord delivered Moses and the Israelites out of the slavery they were facing in Egypt by splitting the Red Sea in half. There was a wall of water on both sides as the Israelites crossed the water on dry land. Think of all they were leaving…slavery, oppression, frustration, hurt and so much more. As they crossed the Red Sea, they left all of that behind them.
Now fast forward forty years to the crossing of the Jordan River in Joshua 3. The Israelites are walking into a land flowing with milk and honey, a land that God has prepared for them and provided for them, a land where they can thrive and grow in freedom. Think of the comparison between life before the Red Sea and life after the Jordan, two starkly different lives and circumstances.
Now fast forward to the New Testament, the most clear way we see the theme of water continue in the Bible is through Baptism. Here’s what Paul writes in Romans.
Romans 6:3-4
3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Just like crossing through the water in the Old Testament symbolized walking from death to life, slavery to freedom, oppression to provision, it represents the same in the New Testament. Baptism is an outward symbol of what has happened within our heart, that Jesus has brought new life to you out of your sin and shame. Where you were a slave to sin, now you have freedom and joy.
Today, I want to encourage you to take some time to reflect on your baptism and all that it represented and meant to you. If you haven’t been baptized, then consider what is holding you back from taking the next step of baptism and being obedient to Jesus.
Questions to consider.
How do you see that your personal story of life before Jesus and after Jesus relates to the Israelites before the Red Sea and after the Jordan?
How has Jesus brought life to you, since you’ve invited Him into your heart?
Take a moment in thanksgiving and give God praise for bringing you out of slavery and into relationship with Him. Ask Him to keep giving you the strength to choose life every day!
One of my favorite things in the Bible is beginning to make connections. Reading one part of Scripture and being reminded of another part. It reminds me that all of God’s Word is intentionally connected and intertwined in a beautiful way. There are plenty of recurring themes and repeated messages throughout the Bible. Today, the chapter we are reading should remind us of an event that occurred not that long ago in the book of Exodus.
Exodus 14:21-22
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
Back in Exodus, the Lord delivered Moses and the Israelites out of the slavery they were facing in Egypt by splitting the Red Sea in half. There was a wall of water on both sides as the Israelites crossed the water on dry land. Think of all they were leaving…slavery, oppression, frustration, hurt and so much more. As they crossed the Red Sea, they left all of that behind them.
Now fast forward forty years to the crossing of the Jordan River in Joshua 3. The Israelites are walking into a land flowing with milk and honey, a land that God has prepared for them and provided for them, a land where they can thrive and grow in freedom. Think of the comparison between life before the Red Sea and life after the Jordan, two starkly different lives and circumstances.
Now fast forward to the New Testament, the most clear way we see the theme of water continue in the Bible is through Baptism. Here’s what Paul writes in Romans.
Romans 6:3-4
3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Just like crossing through the water in the Old Testament symbolized walking from death to life, slavery to freedom, oppression to provision, it represents the same in the New Testament. Baptism is an outward symbol of what has happened within our heart, that Jesus has brought new life to you out of your sin and shame. Where you were a slave to sin, now you have freedom and joy.
Today, I want to encourage you to take some time to reflect on your baptism and all that it represented and meant to you. If you haven’t been baptized, then consider what is holding you back from taking the next step of baptism and being obedient to Jesus.
Questions to consider.
How do you see that your personal story of life before Jesus and after Jesus relates to the Israelites before the Red Sea and after the Jordan?
How has Jesus brought life to you, since you’ve invited Him into your heart?
Take a moment in thanksgiving and give God praise for bringing you out of slavery and into relationship with Him. Ask Him to keep giving you the strength to choose life every day!