The sermon 'The Wind and the Waves Obey' draws parallels between the crossing of the Jordan River by the Israelites and the calming of the storm by Jesus in the New Testament, emphasizing God's sovereign power over creation. It recounts the story from the book of Joshua where the Israelites, led by Joshua and carrying the Ark of the Covenant, miraculously cross the Jordan River on dry land. Twelve stones are taken from the river to serve as a memorial for future generations. The sermon highlights the significance of these stones as a testament to God's mighty acts and as a teaching tool for future generations. It also discusses how God exalted Joshua to secure his leadership and ability to guide the Israelites, much like Moses. The sermon identifies two primary purposes for the miraculous crossings of the Red Sea and the Jordan River: to demonstrate God's power to all peoples of the earth and to instill a lasting fear and reverence for God among His people. The sermon concludes with a call to recognize God's authority and to live with a godly fear that draws believers closer to Him.

And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, and command them, saying, Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan from the place where the priest feet stood firm you shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel one man from every tribe and Joshua said to them Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, that this may be a sign among you, when your children ask in time to come, saying, what do these stones mean to you? Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off, and these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.

And the children of Israel did so just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged and laid them down there. Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priest who bore the ark of the covenant stood and they are there to this day. So the priest who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua and the people hurried and crossed over. Then it came to pass when all the people had completely crossed over that the Ark of the Lord and the priest crossed over in the presence of the people and the men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel as Moses had spoken to them. About 40, 000 prepared for war crossed over before the Lord for battle to the plains of Jericho.

On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel and they feared him as they had feared Moses all the days of his life. Then the Lord spoke to Joshua saying command the priest who bear the ark of the testimony to come up from the Jordan. Joshua therefore commanded the priest saying come up from the Jordan And it came to pass when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the souls of the priest's feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before. Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal.

Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying, When your children ask their fathers in times to come, saying, What are these stones? Then you shall let your children know, saying, Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land, For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up before us until we had crossed over, that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever let's pray God we ask for your blessing on this time now that is Jason comes that you would give him power from on high to preach your truth to your people. God that we would be molded and shaped by it. God that it would be evident that our God is mighty. God that these miracles that we've heard of over and over again would not pass by as anything less than a miraculous work of our God may we glorify and honor you during this time and may your name be made much of by the preaching of your word.

In Christ's name we pray, Amen. Now it happened on a certain day that Jesus got into a boat with His disciples And he said to them, Let us cross over to the other side of the lake. And they launched out. But as they sailed, he fell asleep, and a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to him and awoke him, saying, Master, Master, we're perishing.

Then he arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased. And there was a calm. But he said to them, Where is your faith? And they were afraid and marveled, saying to one another, Who can this be?

For he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him." It's Luke 8, 22-25. Jesus did for His disciples in Luke 8 what God did for the Israelites in Exodus 14 when they crossed over the Red Sea, And what God did for the Israelites in the early chapters of Joshua when they crossed over to Jordan on dry land in our text. That is because Jesus is God. And God has not left Himself without a testimony. He's proved Himself to be the Maker of heaven and earth, that all of His creation does His bidding.

Happily does His bidding. And so when Jesus' voice rebuked the wind and the waves. It became calm. It was His creation. God has made Himself known.

God is making Himself known. God will make himself known until Jesus comes back. He's a God who wants to be known. And he's made himself known through these mighty acts. So I take the title, The Wind and the Waves Obey, Not from our text, but from the New Testament, in Jesus' voice, calming the wind and the waves, because they're really saying the same thing in different testaments.

I want to take that phrase from the New Testament in order to press on you the truth that God wants to be known and that when His people need Him, He'll show up and He'll command His creation to do whatever needs to be done for their salvation. So as we come to our text, let's ask the Lord to help us. God, we thank you that you desire to be known, you have made yourself known, You have made yourself known and that you act with such irresistible power in and over your creation whenever you desire to deliver your people. Pray that these truths would give us such confidence in you. We would Walk through this life in your world the most fearless of people.

Their eyes fixed upon you. Trusting you. Depending upon you. Use this text for this purpose. Please in our lives we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen. Well this week, instead of Working through the text section by section but maybe not as rigidly as I normally do. I'll be working through the three main things that happen in our text and they'll be in order so it sort of will be section by section. The first main thing that happens in our text is that all the people cross over on dry land. So this is the first major heading.

If you're taking notes on the handout by filling in blanks, cross over fills in the two blanks. All the people cross over on dry land. We continue to see a feature in the book of Joshua which is that it's not organized strictly chronologically. It's not just a timeline that never backs up. We're finding that it often backs up.

The author will introduce a set of circumstances, but because he's organizing it by theme and not by chronology, not by a strict timeline, that he'll give us the events and then a few verses later or maybe even a chapter later he'll come back to the same events and add in different details that the author wants us to know. So we're going to continue to see this in Joshua. It's not organized strictly by timeline, but it's often a theme that the author will begin to develop and then return to and add in details. That's certainly what we see today. This is I think the third time it's said that the people crossed over.

So they're not crossing over repeatedly, he's returning to the theme. There are three groups who cross over the Jordan in our text. Group number one is all the people. They aren't first into the Jordan, but they're first out of the Jordan. They're the first ones to completely cross over the Jordan on dry land and to come up on the other side.

The priests carrying the ark were the first. They came and as soon as the priests were carrying the ark, as soon as their feet touched the Jordan River, then the Jordan stands still and rises up in a heap, 18 miles upstream at a town or a city called Adam. And then they stand in the midst of the Jordan or in the middle of the Jordan holding the ark until all the people have crossed over and then the people pass them as they're holding the ark in the middle of the Jordan and cross over. Verse 10 says that the people hurried and crossed over. Now you can either read worry and fear into the word hurried, hurried and crossed over, or you can read purpose and eagerness into that.

I just want to encourage you that everything else in the text points to purpose and eagerness and not worry and fear. Oh no, the waters might come back while we're in there. I don't think that that would be consistent with the text. Here's what Martin Wudstra says. Martin Wudstra was a commentator, unknown to me, but his commentary on Joshua was highly recommended and I'm really finding it to be useful.

So we'll be hearing from Martin Wudstra all along, I'm sure. He says this, the words the people hurried over may also be rendered the people crossed over quickly. In view of the constant emphasis on the marvelous acts of the Lord, the latter rendering may be more consistent with the account. Everything went without hindrance and was completed in a short time. So I think that's actually a good translation that the people crossed over quickly and that really that is the meaning.

It went without hindrance and it was completed in a short time. So that's the first group that crosses over on dry land, all the people. Group number two is the two and a half tribes. They're actually a subset of course of all the people but they're specifically separated out in the text. They're called out in the text and they describe a special subset.

So Look at Joshua 4 verses 14 and 15, where they're called out. Joshua 4, excuse me, Joshua 4 verses 12 and 13. And The men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them. About forty thousand prepared for war crossed over before the Lord for battle to the plains of Jericho. So there are 12 tribes crossing over, but these two and a half tribes, Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, it's said that they cross over before the people.

They are leading the train, so to speak. In Joshua chapter 1, Joshua had called on these two and a half tribes to reaffirm what they had committed to Moses. So the people have vanquished Og, the king of Bashan and Sihon, the king of the Amorites. And these two and a half tribes have asked to take possession of that land on that side of the Jordan, and not to cross over. And Moses only agreed to that if they would send their men before to go into the promised land, to conquer the promised land with their brethren, so that their brethren wouldn't be discouraged by them not crossing over with them and losing the strength as they're going against seven nations greater and mightier than they are themselves.

They agreed with that in Moses. At the time, Moses had called on Joshua and Eliezer, the high priest, to be witness of that and to enforce that as they go across. That's already been referenced in chapter 1. If you look back in chapter 1, look at chapter 1 verses 14 and 15. Joshua said, Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan, but you shall pass before your brethren armed, all your mighty men of valor, and help them until the Lord has given your brethren rest as he gave you.

And they also have taken possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord's servant gave you on this side of the Jordan toward the sunrise." So we've already seen this in chapter 1 and in chapter 4. Our text, it's the fulfillment of it in the exact words. They go before, they lead the train across the Jordan. Verse 13 numbers them at About 40, 000 prepared for war.

That's the exact words of the text now That creates a problem. What's the problem? Number 20 numbers chapter 26. There's a census the census is taken of all the men tribe by tribe who are 20 years old and over, who are eligible to wage war. In that census, and chronologically this would not have been long before the events of our text.

In that census, Ruben had 43, 730 men, 20 years older or older who could wage war. Manasseh Gad had 40, 500 and Manasseh, the full tribe, had 52, 700. So if you take Ruben Gad and you take the Manasseh number and divide it in half for half the tribe of Manasseh, it probably wasn't exactly half, but for finger math we do it that way, you come up with more than 110, 000 men in those two and a half tribes who are 20 years old and older able to wage war. So two things I'd say about that. I was surprised at how little the commentators say about it, chickens.

The two things I would say about that are these. Number one, it's clearly a select group of the total. It can't be the total because we've had a census not long past in numbers 26 and the numbers don't match up so clearly it is a select group of the total in chapter 1 verse 14 you might not have noticed it when I just read it but it says all your mighty men of valor You sort of have the language of a select group there. It's the A-Team, the best, the mightiest warriors, and advanced guard who are the ablest to go and wage war on the other side of the Jordan. So I would say clearly it has to be a select group of the mightiest warriors.

Two, I would say this, However this was organized and handled, whatever sense you attempt to make of it, it was satisfactory to all the tribes and to Joshua. How do we know that? Because Joshua says that when we get to Joshua chapter 22. Joshua praises the two and a half tribes for fully meeting their commitments that they had made to Moses and made to the other tribes and he releases them with their blessing because They've won their wars, they've secured the rest of the other tribes, and he sends them back with his blessing to the other side of the Jordan. So, whatever happened, however you make the numbers match up, just accept that it was satisfactory to the other tribes and to Joshua.

We know that for sure because Joshua blesses them for fulfilling their commitments in Joshua chapter 22. It's right at the beginning of that chapter if you want to fact check me on that. Finally, consider what Matthew Henry says, which I also find helpful. Matthew Henry says, It was fit that those who had the first settlement should be the first in the encounter of difficulties. He's talking about these two and a half tribes, their mighty men going before the other tribes.

The rather because they had not the encumbrance of families with them as the other tribes had. They were all chosen men and fit for service, ready armed." So what's he saying here? Well, just imagine the other nine and a half tribes all are traveling with their families, with their livestock, with all their possessions. And so these two and a half tribes, Reuben Gadd and half the tribe of Manasseh, that have their rest on the far side of the Jordan or the near side of the Jordan, depending on where you're thinking from. But on the other side of the Jordan, their families are there.

Their livestock is there. Their possessions are largely there. And so they're the mighty men unencumbered by these other cares of life, who can be the advance guard, and are a mighty fighting force without the other encumbrances that the other tribes have to go and wage this war. I think that's a helpful way to think about it. So God is using something that's unrelated to actually put a mighty fighting force at the head of Israel as they go into enemy territory.

So that was group number two, the two and a half tribes. Group number three, the priests who are bearing the ark are the third group called out as crossing over the Jordan. It's called the ark in verse 10, the ark of the Lord in verse 11, and the Lord Himself calls it the Ark of the Testimony to Joshua in verse 16. He calls it the Ark of the Testimony because it's holding the Ten commandments, these two stone tablets that God himself has written the Ten Commandments on. It is a symbol of God's presence.

Going forward, it won't be the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. It will be the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of the Lord that will be the symbol of God's presence among his people. The Ark is this holy, separate, other. The Israelites don't have anything like it. It's other than anything else they have.

It is holy and separate and it contains the Ten Commandments. It is so holy that it is carried here by a holy group within the holy tribe within the holy people. What do I mean by that? Well, Israel is a holy people separated to God out of the nations. But within Israel, there's a tribe that has been separated out to serve the Lord.

It's the tribe of Levi. They're separate. In fact, they won't get a land inheritance. God has said, I'm your inheritance to the Levites. So they've been separated out to serve the Lord in a special, particular way.

But even within the holy tribe, within the holy people, there's a holy family line, the family of Aaron, that have been separated out for the kind of the most special tasks associated with the people's worship. So this most holy thing in possession of the Israelites, the Ark of the Testimony, is carried by the holy family within the holy tribe, within the holy people of God. It tells you about what they're carrying. The ark is the centerpiece of all that's happening. If you haven't gotten that already out of chapters 3 and 4, just understand That's where we are in these chapters.

The Ark is the centerpiece of everything that's happening. Look back at chapter 3 verses 14-16. So look back at the last chapter, chapter 3 verses 14-16. So it was when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan with the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant before the people. And as those who bore the Ark came to the Jordan and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water, for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest, that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam." Then look at chapter 4 verse 3.

Chapter 4 verse 3 is in the middle of something Joshua is saying, and command them saying, take for yourselves 12 stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priest's feet stood firm. So these rocks, one per tribe, rocks big enough to be carried on a shoulder, needing to be carried on a shoulder, are going to be taken from right where the priests are standing holding the ark. It's because the ark is at the center of what's happening. It's because The presence of the Lord is why the waters stood firm and rose up in a heap upstream at Adam. And then finally look in our text at verses 15-18.

Joshua 4, 15-18. Then the Lord spoke to Joshua saying, command the priests who bear the ark of the testimony to come up from the Jordan. Joshua therefore commanded the priests saying, come up from the Jordan. And it came to pass when the priests who bore the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the souls of the priests' feet touched the dry land that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and overflowed all its banks as before." So the priests in our text and in scripture are special because God is the most holy being in the universe. That's the only reason why the priests are special.

You get that? It's because God is special. It's inadequate to call God special. He is holy, holy, holy. He is in a category by Himself.

There is no one like Him. So the priest's otherness, their separation to God, is simply to serve this God who is holy, holy, holy. The priests are holy to the Lord. That's how scripture speaks of them. Notice that the people cross over the Jordan while the priests hold the ark in the middle of the Jordan, but the people don't keep going.

They don't cross over and keep going to where they're going to spend the night at Gilgal. We'll get to that in next week's test. Look at verse 11. Joshua 4 verse 11. Then it came to pass when all the people had completely crossed over, that the Ark of the Lord and the priest crossed over in the presence of the people." So the people haven't kept moving.

They've stopped beyond the river bank to wait for the Ark of the Lord. And when the priests come out of the middle of the Jordan with the Ark of the Lord, it is in the presence of the people. The NIV renders that the Ark of the Lord and the priests came to the other side while the people watched." As I often say about NIV translation, not particularly good translation, but really helpful commentary. And it is, the people are there Watching the priest bring the Ark of the Lord out from the midst of the Jordan. For the entire book of Joshua, it is the presence of God with His people that matters.

So we're going to be watching breathtaking victory after breathtaking victory. None of it matters in terms of the strength of the people. They don't have their own strength. It is the presence of God with his people that matters throughout the whole book of Joshua. And the Ark of the Lord is the symbol of that.

So that is the first major heading, all the people cross over on dry land. The second major heading, God exalts Joshua on purpose. So if you're taking notes on the handout and you're filling in blanks, purpose fills in the blank. God exalts Joshua on purpose. You're thinking everything God does is on purpose.

Yes, that's true. Nothing God does is accidental. He has a purpose behind all of it. God here exalts Joshua, but he's doing it with a specific purpose in mind. How do we know that?

Because that's what the text says. Look at verse 14, Joshua 4 verse 14. On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel and they feared him as they had feared Moses all the days of his life. Here in our text God secures for Joshua lifelong honor from the people of Israel, who are notoriously stiff-necked. He secures for Joshua lifelong honor.

The author of Joshua has already set this up. Look back in Joshua chapter 1. So flip back a page. Joshua chapter 1. Just set the stage with Joshua chapter 1 verse 1.

After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, saying, so God is beginning to speak to Joshua, here's part of what he says in verse 5, so I'm skipping to verse 5, no man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life, as I was with Moses so I will be with you, I will not leave you nor forsake you. So God has already said this to Joshua. No one is going to be able to stand before you all the days of your life. I was with Moses all the days of his life, and I'll be with you the same way." Then we read this in chapter 3 verses 7 and 8. God has said it to Joshua, but the People don't know this yet.

Joshua 3 verses 7 and 8. 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. You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan." So God is telling Joshua exactly what to say, and when he says it, and when they obey Joshua, he's going to cut off the waters upstream and they're going to walk on dry land in response to Joshua's command to them. He's exalting Joshua in the eyes of all Israel and that honor is going to last for a lifetime. Let me say this.

God didn't exalt Joshua simply so that Joshua would be exalted. The end game is not Joshua's exaltation. God exalted Joshua to make Joshua useful in his service. God exalted Joshua to make him useful. To make him useful for his lifetime.

And was that purpose ever satisfied? All the days of Joshua's life, the Israelites had an awe and respect of Joshua that allowed Joshua to command them on God's behalf. It's what the rest of the whole book of Joshua is about. It's about a life well lived in the service of the Lord and God gave him that capacity to be in that place to command his people. God exalted him to expand his ability to serve him in his generation among the Israelites.

Does God exalt men and women? Yes, he sometimes does. Why does he sometimes exalt men and women? One of the main reasons is to expand their usefulness in his service. Yes, he can be pleased with his service and desire to show his pleasure.

Yes, that too is a purpose. But a main reason for God exalting a man or a woman is to expand their usefulness in his service. It certainly isn't to create a caste system among the people of God where you have important people and untouchables. God is not doing that. God never does that.

No, in God's kingdom, the greatest are the servants of all. You need go no further than the Lord Jesus who didn't come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. But God does sometimes honor his servants to expand their ability to serve him. And That's what we're seeing with our text. The whole rest of the book of Joshua is going to be a playing out of Joshua using the honor and respect that he's given him through doing this mighty work at Joshua's command, Joshua saying his words, the mighty work happens and God wins for him, if it's appropriate to say it that way, God wins for him a lifetime of honor and respect that allows Joshua to play the role in his kingdom that he desires him to play.

So that is the second major heading. God exalts Joshua on purpose. That's the purpose, to expand his ability to serve him. The third major heading, the two great purposes of the Red Sea and Jordan crossings. Purposes fills in the blank if you're taking notes that way.

The two great purposes of the Red Sea and Jordan crossings. Now I would think the purpose is to get two million people across the geological barrier. Is it wrong to think of it that way? There's two million people and there's the Red Sea and here comes Pharaoh and his army. It would be a good time to get those two million people across this geological barrier.

There are two million people and there's a geological barrier between them and the land that's been promised and the fulfillment of those promises, it'd be good to get them across. Well, both crossings did do that, But that is considered to be secondary in our text. I find that amazing. The actual getting of 2 million people across the geological barrier is a secondary consideration in our text. Let's look at the end of the chapter beginning in verse 19.

So I'm now going to read Joshua 4, 19 through 24. Follow along as I read. Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying, When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What are these stones?

Then you shall let your children know, saying, Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land. For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up before us until we had crossed over. That all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, and that you may fear the Lord your God forever." You see getting to me and people across the geological barrier is nothing to God. It's nothing to God. He can do it any number of ways.

He had other things in mind primarily with this. In verse 19, it talks about the day which this was accomplished. It was the tenth day of the first month. That's a significant day, but I'm going to park that until next week in chapter 5 when we talk about the observance of the Passover. That's actually a significant date for the first Passover and the Passover that they'll be observing in next week's text in chapter 5.

So, park that for now. Verses 20 through 22 harkens back to last week. It's almost a word-for-word repetition of last week where God is calling for this corporate monument, every tribe with a stone, every tribe represented, so that they're all witnessing together what God has done and making part of this corporate monument, this memorial to God's goodness and greatness. It's going to be used as a memory device and as a teaching tool. The corporate monument is going to keep us from forgetting, keep it fresh in our minds, the good and great thing God has done.

It's going to be a teaching tool. It's going to cause children to ask, what about the rocks? Why the rocks? What do they mean? So that's just like last week's text.

I want to re-preach that part of the sermon. Verse 23 is new, in that it joins what God did, just did, with the people crossing the Jordan with what God did 40 years earlier, which is very similar with the people crossing over the Red Sea on dry land. Then in verse 24, we're handed the two great purposes. So there's no mystery here, this doesn't need to be unwound for you. It said explicitly in verse 24, look again, That all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord.

That's the first great purpose. That it is mighty. And then secondly, that you may fear the Lord your God forever." So first, that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord that it is mighty. It was a testimony to planet earth that there is a maker of heaven and earth and it all obeys him. God is not just the God of Israel.

He is the God of all His creation, and everything that is, is His creation. He is the King of kings. That means He is the king of the kings of the earth, not just the king of Israel. He is the Lord of lords. All lords on the earth have a Lord.

It is God in heaven. We don't need to go any further than Joshua chapter 2. Look back at chapter 2. This is the chapter on Rahab and she's quoted in Joshua chapter 2 verses 8 through 11. Remember what she said.

Joshua chapter 2 verses 8 through 11. Now Before they lay down, these are the two spies, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men, I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are faint-hearted because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed." So she talks about something that just happened to great kings who were defeated and their people utterly destroyed right on the other side of the Jordan from Jericho. But she remembers something that's ancient history in her lifetime. Is Rahab even 40 years old?

We don't know from the text, but clearly in the text she's not an old woman. And so maybe in her lifetime, maybe not. I would speculate maybe not even in her lifetime God had parted the Red Sea so that they the people of Israel could cross on dry ground and This woman Many many many many miles away now many decades removed from that not not a historian in Jericho a prostitute in Jericho, but they all know the stories in Jericho. It did get the two million people across the geological barrier, but the grand purpose was that the peoples of Earth would hear about the works of this mighty God. And they did.

Not just the historians in far away places, but plain old everyday people in far away places heard of the great mighty acts of God. Here's what Jeremiah says in Jeremiah chapter 10 verse 7. Jeremiah 10 verse 7. Who would not fear you, O God of the nations? Who would not fear you, O God of the nations?

For this is your rightful due. For among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, There is none like you. Fear of this great God is his rightful due, and he has secured it for himself in his great acts in history. And people the world over have heard of it. Did you know something like 5 billion Bibles are in print?

Something like 5 billion Bibles are in print. People have heard of the great acts of God. Matthew Henry says this, The deliverances of God's people are instructions to all people, and fair warnings not to contend with omnipotence. Let me read that again. The deliverances of God's people walking across the Red Sea on dry land, walking across the Jordan on dry land, are instructions to all people.

It's not just known by the Israelites who directly benefit, it's heard of among the nations. And fair warnings not to contend with omnipotence. Look ahead, just one verse. Next week, this will be the first verse of our text, Joshua chapter 5 verse 1, so it was when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the children of Israel until we had crossed over that their heart melted and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel. Everyone heard.

Everyone knew what God had done. And when the people of Israel defeated Og and Sihon, these two great Amorite kings, the people knew to connect it to the God who had parted the Red Sea with them and to say God is still with them. God is still with these people. So that's the first great purpose that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord that it is mighty. The second great purpose, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.

This is actually directed to the people of God, that You, Israel, God's people, may fear the Lord your God forever. Second great purpose is that the people of God would fear him forever. That generation after generation after generation after generation of God's people would know what He's done on behalf of His people to deliver them when they needed it. To help them when they needed it. That it would cause them to fear him in their generation.

Proverbs says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Proverbs says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. You start acquiring knowledge, real knowledge, the knowledge that makes other knowledge meaningful when you fear God. And not until then. You start acquiring wisdom, godly wisdom, heavenly wisdom, not man's wisdom.

You start acquiring wisdom from heaven when you fear God and not before. Martin Wudstra says this, fearing the Lord is the most fundamental expression in the Old Testament for faith. Meaning, Wudstra says you can use those things synonymously. Faith, believing God and believing in God is to fear God. They are used interchangeably in the Old Testament.

When the Old Testament wants to express this thought of believing God, believing that what He says is revelation, perfect revelation from heaven, and believing in God, trusting God, depending upon God, is synonymous with fearing Him. The Old Testament, when it wants to talk about faith, will speak of it in terms of the fear of the Lord. These mighty works of God fuel our faith. You don't need to be told that. You already knew that.

You walked in here knowing that. These mighty works of God, God parting the Red Sea, God parting the Jordan, God giving this nomadic people, they're nomads, they haven't had a home, They don't have a base of strength, and yet they're already defeating kingdoms mightier than themselves. These stories of God's greatness on behalf of his people fuel our faith. They grow our faith. They solidify our faith.

So yes, the winds and the waves obey this great God of ours. They always have. They always will. They obeyed. The Red Sea obeyed God.

The two million people walked across on dry land. The Jordan River obeyed God, and they walked across on dry land. The Sea of Galilee obeyed God, and the boat that was being swamped by water found itself on calm seas. Okay, one fun fact, and then applications. I call it a fun fact because I'm not attempting to tie it to today's text other than the geographical location.

So I'm not trying to make some symbolic point out of it. This is roughly the place Where John the Baptist came baptizing 1400 years later. Roughly the place. Where John the Baptist was baptizing. Where the people crossed over.

So I don't want to make a great theological point of that, but I find it tremendously interesting. Applications, I'll give you three. Number one, God's people act on Revelation. God's people act on revelation. Worldlings act on impulse, on inclination, on what they think is best.

God's people act on revelation. We have a book, we're the people of the book. God speaks and we orient around what He has revealed to us. Joshua is a book full of that. We need to not miss it in any of these texts.

God says do this, they did it, and He blessed them, and He's using His revelation to take them and give them the land that he's promised them. We're not our own. We're not at liberty to act on just our inclinations, on our thoughts about what might be good or best, on our impulses. We are bought at a price. We've been given revelation by God.

God's people act on revelation. We should orient our lives around the book and grow in having all that we do in life be because it's oriented to the book. Number two, whatever honor God gives you, use it to serve him. Joshua received tremendous honor from the Lord. God was expanding his capacity to serve him.

That's what he was doing. He gave him a lifetime of honor. Not so that he would be honored, but so that he could serve God in the ways that God had marked out for him. Whatever honor God gives you, use it to serve him. Parents, have you noticed especially the little ones in your family think that the sun rises because of you and sets because of you.

God has given you a place of honor. That is built in. God has given you a place of honor and you should use it to serve Him. It is influence given to you by God and you should use it to advance his purposes in those little people's lives. God has given you an expansive ability to influence the children in your home.

That's one of the way that God has honored you. You have honor, especially in your little ones. They have a place of reverence in their heart for you. God gave that to you. You use it to serve Him.

We can apply it much more broadly than parents, but I'll stop there for now. Number three. Fear this God with a godly fear. A Godly fear doesn't make you run away from Him, it makes you run towards Him. That's the difference between fear as we normally conceive it and godly fear.

I don't want to strip the notion of fear out of fearing God because God is almighty. There is something terrifying about the God of the Bible and it's wrong to lose all of that. But it's not just terror. Terror would make you run away from Him. Godly fear doesn't make you run away.

It makes you long to be under the shadow of his wing. We need to be under the shadow of his wing. We need to be under the shadow of his wing. Fear this God with a godly fear that propels you towards him that propels you towards him to be under his care. Children, I want to address you.

The God of Joshua 4 that parts a river so that his people can go by. The god of Exodus 14, that parts a sea so that his people can walk across on dry ground, and then he brings it down on his enemies, on the Egyptian army, so that they all drown and die. The God of Luke chapter 8, who speaks to the winds and the waves and takes a tempest and makes it calm is God today. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It is the God of those who trust in Christ Jesus.

He is mighty on behalf of everyone who entrusts themselves to Jesus Christ. Fear this God with a godly fear. Kiss the Son, to put it in the language of Psalm 2, Kiss the Son, lest he be angry with you for a moment. Put yourself under the wing of this Almighty God. Thank you for your word, Lord.

So much truth here week by week. Continually feeling, especially in application, like we're just scratching the surface. More to think through, more to say. But thank you for what you have given us today in your word. Help us to keep turning it over again and again in our minds to benefit all that we can from it.

Thank you for these historical accounts of your mighty acts on behalf of your people that fuel our faith. It makes it solid, it makes it grow. Pray that that would be the result among us. That our faith, our trust in you would be solidified as we study these things and would grow. I pray in Jesus' name, Amen.