SERIES G --- THE PROMISED LAND --- LESSON 03

THE ARK LEADS

RIVER WITHOUT WATER

From Joshua 3

Joshua and his people left Acacia, sometimes called Shittim, early the next morning. By evening, they arrived at the banks of the Jordan River and set up camp. There they waited, near the banks of the Jordan, to hear what they should do. On the third day, the officers went among the people, giving final orders to them. Follow the Ark of the Covenant, which the priests will carry, so that you will know where to go, for you have never gone where they are going. Stay about three thousand feet behind the Ark and do not go near it. Then Joshua spoke to the people. Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow Adonai will perform miracles among you. When it was time to leave, Joshua gave these orders to the priests: Take up the Ark of the Covenant and lead us across the Jordan River. The priests took up the Ark of the Covenant and started out ahead of the people. Today I will honour you in the eyes of all Israel, Adonai told Joshua. Then your people will know that I will be with you as I have been with Moses. Tell the priests who are carrying the Ark of the Covenant to stop when they come to the edge of the water. Joshua called together all the people of Israel. Listen to what YHVH tells you, he said. You shall have a sign that the living YHVH is among you and that He will surely drive out all those who live in the land where we shall live; the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. Watch! You will see the Ark of the Covenant of Adonai of all the earth leading you across the Jordan River. Choose twelve men, one from each tribe. When the priests who carry the Ark of Adonai of all the earth touch the waters of the Jordan River, the water will stop flowing as though a dam had been built and the river upstream will back up and become a large body of water. The people broke camp and followed the priests who carried the Ark. When the priests reached the Jordan, it was overflowing, as it always does during the harvest season. As soon as they touched their feet to the water’s edge, the river stopped flowing upstream at Adam, near Zarethan. From Adam southward toward the Dead Sea, the water drained from the riverbed, leaving it dry. At a place near the city of Jericho, the people crossed the river. The priests who carried the Ark reached the middle of the riverbed, walking on dry ground and there they stood until all the people of Israel crossed the dry riverbed safely.

COMMENTARY

OTHER CONQUESTS FROM EGYPT: AMENHOTEP II

In order to enter Canaan the people of Israel must cross the flooded Jordan River. To help the people trust Joshua as they had come to trust Moses, YHVH miraculously stopped the river’s flow. When the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant entered the water, the miracle began. Amenhotep II was an extremely athletic young man. When he became the ruler of Egypt, it seemed for a while that he would have plenty of time to play. Thutmose III, his father, had already brought all of Retenu; as Canaan was called then; under Egyptian control. As long as they paid tribute and acknowledged Egypt as their ruler, Amenhotep II chose to leave things as they were and did not interfere with the various city-kingdoms. But the enemy kingdom of Mitanni made trouble among the Canaanite princes and persuaded them to rebel against Egypt. Amenhotep II crushed the rebellion by invading Canaan twice, the second time only two years after the first. The number of prisoners captured was very large; often in the thousands. Amenhotep II took their property and sometimes brought the entire population of a town back to Egypt with his troops. Most often, these people became slaves. The Egyptians guarded these prisoners by herding them into one place and digging deep ditches around them. The ditches were then set on fire. This was so successful that Amenhotep II bragged that he had once guarded a whole town by himself. After the first invasion, Amenhotep showed off his victory by hanging the corpses of seven Canaanite princes from the prow of his boat. The custom also was to cut off one hand from each enemy killed so the body count would be accurate. Amenhotep II sent the severed hands as well as the bodies to be hung from the walls of other cities as a warning to anyone who thought to cause more trouble. Like his father, Amenhotep II left a list of conquered cities and regions on the wall at the temple of Karnak. Canaan was among them, once again under the rule of the Egyptian Empire.

Work

Compare the 6 statements of the enemy's intent in Exodus 15:9 with the 5 statements of Satan's intent in Isaiah 14:13-14.

The enemy said, "I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them."
Exodus 15:9

You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."
Isaiah 14:13-14

Setting out to destroy God's chosen people is making yourself out to be greater than God. Don't worry, though! God will put you back in your place eventually: "You blew with your wind; the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters." (Exo 15:10)

A word to the wise woman:
YHWH has called women to cover their bodies, to cover their glory. He has called us to be keepers at home, He has called us to learn to love, obey, and submit to our husbands, and to love our children, He has called us to be industrious in the marketplace, to work hard, to be diligent, to be chaste and virtuous, to be humble toward all, to lay our lives down daily for our families as a service to Him. These are all markings of Messiah, and yet in our own strength although we may have the outward showing of these things He truly knows from what Ruach, what spirit we're portraying these characteristics.
Today, be circumspect make sure your heart is a WISE heart of flesh, soft and supple to the molding of haRuach Kodesh. Night is coming. He's coming back for one bride, one kallah. The one whose heart is virtuous, meek, cleansed by the Word, covered, not worldly or whorish, and dedicated to obey Y'shua's words, faithfully watching and waiting for her Beloved's return. (Ecc 8:5)

First Fruits Ministries presents "Fruits of the Spirit: Goodness,” the sixth part in a multi-part Bible-study series about the fruits of the spirit: OR This Bible study presents more depth about the goodness of the Lord and the goodness He expects from us as we await the coming of His kingdom. This is something He helps us with through His Holy Spirit. The rest of the series is available on Odysee and YouTube.

On this date in history, 02/02/1848: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican-American War. #otd #tdih #mexicanamericanwar

https://vimeo.com/795218689

The action of sin is to do anything that would contradict the instructions of the Creator. The description of sin when traced back through the Original Hebrew is to cut in half the spirit of the Creator. Each time we sin we have less of the Holy spirit and more of the unholy spirit we are following.