Parted Waters Part 2

I've always been fascinated by the story of how God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. I love how God displayed His awesome power by parting the Red Sea so the Israelites could go through on dry ground. Moses was leading God's people out of bondage and captivity. This was a foreshadow of how Jesus would later set us free on the cross from the bondage of sin.

After 40 years of wandering in the desert, it was finally time to enter the promise land. Leadership had now been passed on to Joshua, who was in charge of leading the Israelites into the promised land. Some people may not realize that God parted the waters once again, this time of the Jordan. Joshua 3:15-17 "now the Jordan is at flood stage all during the harvest. Yet as soon as the priest who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing..." "The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by, until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground." Then He commanded them to build a memorial so they would always remember.

So why would God part the waters again? Joshua 4:23-24 says "For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when He dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God." God wanted everyone to know that He was with Joshua just like He was with Moses, AND to know His awesome power that was available to them.

Let's compare the two events - the first time the waters parted, God was bringing His people out of something. They had been in bondage and He was setting them free. The second time the waters parted, God was leading them toward something, the promised land, the place of blessing and destiny. Both times, God showed off His great power to assure the people He was with them, and He was able.

The same experience is available to us today. Whether we're in need of God to deliver us out of some sort of bondage, set us free from some sin that we can't overcome on our own - Or if we're trusting Him to lead us to our on personal "promise land" of destiny and fruitfulness in our lives. God wants us to remember His awesome power and know He is able.