Consecrate Yourself: God Will Do Wonders Among You

Joshua 3 sets Israel at the edge of the impossible, camped beside the Jordan while the river overflowed its banks. The text lets that impossibility soak in for three days. The people could see the turbulence and hear the water, and the question stood before them: how could the young, the old, the children, the livestock, and the possessions ever get across?

Joshua gives the first command: “Consecrate yourself, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” The command shows that God’s people cannot expect God to work while ignoring sin. Sanctification means being set apart for God, dealing with what is not pleasing to him, even the small things and even the things left undone. God required clean hands and purified hearts before he displayed his power.

The phrase “you have not passed this way before” raises the concern of the passage. Israel had waited forty years since the wilderness, and in another sense five centuries since the promise to Abraham. Yet the way forward was not dogged determination or human effort. The people had to listen and obey the God who led them.

The ark of the covenant stands at the center of the crossing. The ark was the visible representation of the presence of God, and it carried the reminder of God’s Word. The people were to move when the ark moved, keep their eyes on it, and follow without running ahead. God would lead because Israel had not been this way before.

The feet of the priests had to be dipped into the edge of the water before the miracle was seen. The command was simple: carry the ark and stand in the Jordan. The moment obedience happened, the matter could be considered done, even though the people did not see all the results right away. God was already working upstream, stopping the waters far away at Adam, so that Israel would cross on dry ground.

The ark also points beyond Joshua 3 to Christ. The ark represented God dwelling with his people, and Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. As the ark stood in the Jordan and protected Israel from the floodwaters, Christ protects those who look to him from the floodwaters of condemnation. The call is simple and searching: look to Jesus and live, not only for salvation in the past, but in the present impossible situation, trusting the one who can lead all the way through Jordan’s banks.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Consecration comes before wonders. God’s power is not treated as a convenience for people who are content to ignore him. Joshua’s command shows that the first step toward God’s direction is being set apart for him. Even a small unresolved matter can become a place where obedience is being delayed. [43:37]
• 2. Untraveled paths require dependence. The phrase “you have not passed this way before” names the uncertainty of every new day. Israel did not need mere grit at the Jordan, but careful attention to the God who knew the way. Dependence is not passivity, but obedience that refuses to run ahead of God. [52:48]
• 3. Faith obeys before results appear. The priests stepped into the overflowing river before the people could see the dry path. God was already working where they could not see, holding back the waters upstream. Faith may have to wait for the floodwaters to subside, but obedience can stand firm because God has spoken. [60:08]
• 4. The ark points to Jesus. The ark stood in the Jordan as the sign of God’s presence protecting his people from the floodwaters. Jesus fulfills that sign as Emmanuel, the image of the invisible God, and the one in whom there is no condemnation. The believer’s safety is not in the absence of danger, but in the presence of Christ. [64:15]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [35:29] - Joshua 3 and Impossible Places
• [38:58] - Four Phrases for the Crossing
• [43:22] - Consecrate Yourselves Before God Works
• [45:08] - Rahab’s Report and Israel’s Long Wait
• [52:02] - You Have Not Passed This Way Before
• [54:04] - Following the Ark of the Covenant
• [57:46] - Priests Step Into the Jordan
• [60:08] - God Works Before Results Appear
• [64:15] - Jesus Fulfills the Ark’s Presence
• [66:26] - Look to Jesus and Live

Bible Reading

Joshua 3:1-17
“Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. At the end of three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, ‘As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.’ Then Joshua said to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.’ And Joshua said to the priests, ‘Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.’ So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. The LORD said to Joshua, ‘Today 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. And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, “When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.”’ And Joshua said to the people of Israel, ‘Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God.’ And Joshua said, ‘Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.’ So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.” [35:36] [39:20] [43:27] [43:33] [57:46] [01:00:08] [01:04:15]

John 3:14-15
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” [26:38] [01:06:04]

James 4:8
“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” [48:55]

Romans 8:1
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” [01:06:34]

Observation questions

1. In Joshua 3, what details make the crossing feel impossible for Israel, and how long do they wait by the Jordan before crossing? [38:32]
2. What instructions are given about the ark of the covenant, and what are the people told to do when they see it move? [54:04]
3. Before the waters stop, what are the priests specifically told to do at the edge of the Jordan? [57:46]
4. What two actions are joined together in James 4:8 when people are called to draw near to God?

Interpretation questions

1. Joshua says, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” Why does preparation of heart come before the display of God’s power in this passage? [49:33]
2. “You have not passed this way before” describes more than Israel’s geography. How does that phrase help explain why God’s people must follow rather than rush ahead? [52:48]
3. The priests had to step into the overflowing river before the people could see the full result. What does that show about the relationship between obedience and visible results? [01:00:08]
4. The ark stood in the Jordan as the sign of God’s presence with his people. How does that prepare the way for understanding Jesus as the one who protects from condemnation and leads safely through impossible places? [01:04:15]

Application questions

1. What feels like an overflowing Jordan in life right now—something that looks too large, too uncertain, or too far beyond personal strength? How has that situation affected prayer, peace, or obedience? [37:36]
2. Consecration means dealing honestly with what is not pleasing to God, even small matters and even things left undone. Is there anything specific that needs to be confessed, repaired, or put right? [49:33]
3. New and uncertain paths can tempt people either to freeze or to force their own way forward. In this season, what would it look like to follow God’s lead instead of running ahead of him? [55:44]
4. The priests stepped into the water before they saw the riverbed. Is there a simple act of obedience that has already been made clear, even if the outcome still cannot be seen? [01:00:08]
5. God was already working upstream before Israel could see it. Where might there be a need to trust that God is at work in ways that are still hidden? [01:00:25]
6. Safety for Israel was found in the presence of God, not in the absence of danger. When fear rises, what helps keep the eyes fixed on Christ instead of on the floodwaters? [01:03:02]
7. Jesus is not only the one to trust for salvation in the past, but also in the present floodwater situation. What would it look like this week to look to Jesus and live in a very practical way? [01:06:44]