Day 62: Joshua 1, 2 and 3

You have never been this way before. (Joshua 3:4)

In Chapter 3, Joshua encourages the Israelites to follow the Ark of the Covenant as they cross the Jordan, for they are about to go where no man has gone before... well, at least where no Israelite had gone in the last 400 years.

The problem was they didn’t know where they were going. This was terra incognita. With no GPS (not even a map), they were going to need some help getting where they wanted to go.

Joshua gave them good advice: When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go… (3:3-4). This was more than just good common sense. True, being carried on poles, the ark’s elevation would make it easy to see. But more to the point, God would lead the way.

In the case of Israel, the nation had followed Moses and now they were following Joshua. Joshua was following God, and they were to follow Joshua. Or as the Apostle Paul would say more than a thousand years later: Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).

Trust God to raise up a leader, and then follow that leader.

Every day is new territory. You have never been this way before.

How are you trusting God to guide you into uncharted territory?