Crossing the River Jordan

Forty years ago, Moses brought the Israelites out of Egypt. God parted the Red Sea for them to cross and flee to safety, thus totally cutting off the pursuit of the Egyptians. A few months later when they reached the border of Canaan, they made a grave mistake of not trusting in God to conquer the land. God purged them and sent them off wandering in the wilderness for forty years so that people older than twenty (at that time) would die off. Therefore, by the time Joshua led the Israelites to cross the River Jordan, nobody, except Joshua and Caleb (Numbers 14:30), was older than sixty.

Interestingly, in order to show all the Israelites that Joshua had the backing of God, God worked a miracle similar to the crossing of the Red Sea. This time, it was crossing the River Jordan on dry ground. Before we proceed, let us review the geography of the River Jordan.
River Jordan enters Lake Huleh in the north, which is slightly above sea level and exits into the Sea of Galilee which is 209m below sea level. It runs a further 167Km before entering the Dead Sea which is 422m below sea level. The Israelites crossed the River Jordan to conquer Jericho which is 258m below sea level and some 58Km north of the Dead Sea. Assuming that the River Jordan descends homogeneously from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. The Israelites crossed the River Jordan at a point roughly 348m below sea level and Jericho was some 90m above and 5Km away to the west of the River.

Before crossing the River, Joshua sent two spies to view the land, especially Jericho (Joshua 2:1). Here, we have the story of the harlot Rahab who provided shelter for these two spies and encouraged them to invade the city (Joshua 2:9-13). When the spies returned, they were very confident to invade the land, unlike the 10 spies forty years ago.
And they said to Joshua, "Truly the LORD has given all the land into our hands; and moreover all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of us." (Joshua 2:24)
Confidence is one thing. Support from God is another. If we are not doing the will of God, every effort is in vain. God's will had always been to give the Israelites Canaan as their inheritance. Forty years ago, they did not have faith in God. They had lost a golden opportunity. After forty years of wandering and battles, the Canaanites were scared of the Israelites while the Israelites had gradually built up their confidence in God. To back up their new leader Joshua, God sprang to action again.
And the LORD said to Joshua, "This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
And you shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, 'When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.'" (Joshua 3:7-8)
This time, God did not come down in fire and strong wind. He worked quietly through the Ark. When the priests who bore the Ark stepped into the River Jordan, God dammed up the upper stream and cut off the water flow down into the Dead Sea. All the Israelites would cross the dried land on the riverbed!
Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is to pass over before you into the Jordan.
Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man.
And when 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, the waters of the Jordan shall be stopped from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap (Joshua 3:11-13)
Remember, the Sea of Galilee is roughly 140m above them. If God had dammed up the River Jordan long enough, the water would have flooded Jericho which is only 90m above them. This is exactly what the Chinese are doing now at Three Gorges. Chinese engineers have planned this project for decades and it has taken them nearly 15 years to finish. In the meantime, a lot of scenic and historical sites are submerged under water. Of course, this is an engineering project and engineers have done their cost-benefit analysis. But God works miracles and He likes to play with waters, e.g. during Creation, the Great Deluge, crossing the Red Sea, the River Jordan, calming a storm in the Sea of Galilee, walking on the Sea of Galilee etc. God does all these for the salvation of men.

Dear Lord, my faith is not strong enough. If the traffic jam on the last November 29 is a sign, please continue to reinforce me, support me and bless my work so that I may serve You well. Amen.