Can You Give Me a Hand?

O. T.#451 "Can You Give Me a Hand?"  
February 3, 2015
Joshua 4-Part 3
And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before.  Joshua 4:18

LET IT GLOW

Can you give me a hand?
How many times did I say that this week when unable to get up off the coach or bed without help? My husband so graciously lent a hand when I needed it. I took hold and He pulled me up.
Do we ask God for a hand in our life?
Has life knocked you down?
How often do we reach up and take our Father's Hand when we can't manage to get back up after life knocks us down?
Jesus is always there, reaching out His hand, to help pull us up. All we need do is take It.
Do we lend a helping hand when others need it?
The Israeli priests needed a hand. Check it out.

God took care of it all-the flooded river, the muddy riverbed, the enemies. He did it all for His children, the Israelites. He was with them all the way.

Earlier in Joshua 1:5, God had privately assured Joshua that He would be with Israel's new commander as He had been with Moses, Israel's former commander. That private assurance, tenaciously guarded in the heart of Joshua, now gives way to public attestation of the hand of God upon Joshua's life. (Falwell)

Israel feared Joshua all the days of his life as they had feared Moses.
Feared means to revere; reverence.

To God all the glory is due, but God sees fit to magnify His servants that their people might honor them (1 Chron. 29:25). God's people ought to magnify Christ, but God also delights in magnifying His people when they obey Him (Acts 5:12-13).  (Wiersbe)

Although Israel was not a world power at that time, Joshua's reputation for handling his responsibilities God's way brought him greater glory than if he had been a hero in a "superpower" nation. Doing right is more important than doing well. (Life Application Study Bible)

Do we magnify the Lord Jesus enough?
Is the hand of God upon your life?
Are you carrying out His instructions?
Obedience will be rewarded.

LET IT GROW

Did you read verse 18, how the priests, who bore the Ark in the midst of the Jordan River, got out? I had not seen it before now. We know that the priests led the way, taking the step of faith as they went into the midst of the flooded river. Then they stood still in one spot, baring the Ark upon their shoulders, supported by a pole, as the rest of Israel crossed on dry ground.

Falwell suggests in Liberty Bible Commentary:

• that it was a muddy bed of the river where the priests stood.
• The waters rolled back in a heap.
• On all sides of them the bed had been beaten to hard clay by the pounding of millions of feet as the Israelites crossed the Jordan.
• Joshua describes the soles of the priests being lifted up upon dry land, he literally says that they were plucked up out of the soft adhesive of the riverbed.
• Immediately, the mighty Jordan thundered back into its natural course and even overflowed its banks to the same extent it had prior to this miraculous crossing.

Can you picture men carefully pulling the priests' feet up out of the mud? Wouldn't they have to do it carefully so that the Ark did not tip or get dropped?

What a story the priests had to tell their grandchildren! God must have strengthened their shoulders, too, so they could stand there so long.

Are we willing to bare the gospel, cross, to others so they come to their Promised Land of salvation in Jesus?
Are we an overcomer, staying in the fight until the final round, as the song goes?

LET IT GO

                    ... of the world, cling to Jesus.
                              ... of the past and look to the future.

Step out by faith...
Trust God ...
Seek the Hand of God on my life.
Yield to the Hand of God.