Jacob Chanikuzhy

Nobel laureate Albert Schweitzer is credited with the saying, “Happiness is nothing more than a good health and bad memory.” If you have quite a lot of sad and bad experiences in life, a bad memory might be a blessing. But it is a pity if you cannot recall the lovely experiences that made your days. The knowledge and memory of history – whether personal, national, religious or whatsoever – can illumine our souls and give direction to our life. No wonder, God himself asked the people of Israel to make monuments in remembrance of certain events in their life. Miraculous crossing of the river Jordan was such an event (Joshua 3).
At the end of their wilderness journey, people were led to the banks of a flooding river – River Jordan. Just as at the beginning of their journey they were threatened by the Red Sea, now, their destiny is made inaccessible by a furiously overflowing river. People should have been frustrated by the sight of River Jordan. This time neither Moses nor his wonderworking rod is with them to help. But, in the depths of their despair they once again recognized their God as a God of novelties. He is not a stereotyped God, with mechanical predictability. He is, rather, a God of mysteries. This time God had another idea to make the people cross the river. So, Joshua asked the priests to carry the ark of the covenant and to step into the river. Yes, they were to go in front of the people in the time of peril and adversity. By going ahead of the people with the ark of the covenant, they assured the people that their God is the one who goes in front of them in times of difficulties and dangers. By asking the priests to position in front of the people, God was teaching that the priests of the people of God had the obligation to lead the people from the front in times of trouble.
The people of Israel were led by the ark of the covenant which was the sign of the presence of God. The ark contained the stone tablets of the Law of God. Hence, God was close to the people guiding them through his law. The lid of the ark was called the mercy seat – the place par excellence of the presence of God, where God wiped away the sins of Israel in his mercy. Thus, mercy seat embodied the saving presence of God. It means, God was present to his people through his law and grace. Whoever claims to be the representative of God – whether they be the parents, teachers, priests or leaders – have the obligation to make the divinity present in them by upholding the principles of justice and mercy.
As soon as the feet of the priests touched the waters of Jordan, its flow ceased and the river bed became so dry that the people could cross the river as if through the land. God could have split the waters without the help of the priests. But he wanted his priests to become instruments in his design of salvation of the people. God of nature now changed the natural course of River Jordan to help his people out. It signals the truth that God can and sometimes he does change the nature of people and situations in view of his plan of universal salvation.
The miraculous crossing of River Jordan was another spectacular event in the life of Israel. Although it was an unforgettable event, God asked Joshua to make a monument to help people remember this event and to illustrate it to the coming generations. God wants us to remember his great deeds for us so that we can ever trust him in the face of new ordeals.
Joshua was a great leader not because he had the commanding power to force the people to do what he wanted them to do. People accepted him as their leader because they knew that God was with him. God demonstrated that Joshua was his favourite by glorifying him before the people of Israel. God glorified Joshua by bringing the people safely across Jordan under Joshua’s leadership. A sanctified leader glorified by God is a favourite of both heaven and the earth. Under the leadership of such leaders, the people will be safe and confident even in the valley of death.