Title: Entering the New Year
Scripture Reading: Joshua 3:1-6, 4:1-6
And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
2 And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;
3 And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.
4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.
5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you.
6 And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.
And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying,
2 Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,
3 And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.
4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:
5 And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:
6 That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land by crossing the Jordan River on the tenth day of the Hebrew Month of Nisan, marking the ‘New Year’ of their entry into the land. This is typically associated with the beginning of the spring season and is considered a significant event in Jewish tradition,
The 10th of the Month of Nisan marked the New year of their entry. It is called Yom HaAliyah, the original calendar date chosen, the tenth of Nisan, and is laden with symbolism.
- Consecrate yourselves
Joshua 3:5 says, ‘And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you.’
‘Consecrate yourselves’ is a phrase from the Bible that means to dedicate oneself to God, or to separate oneself from things that are unclean. In the KJV, it is translated ‘sanctify.’
The phrase emphasizes the importance of being consecrated or pure in one’s relationship with God. It also underscores the necessity of repentance and removal of sin to restore God’s favor and power.
The Hebrew root for ‘consecrate’ is ‘qadash,’ which means to set apart or dedicate for a sacred purpose. This is a Hebrew word for holiness.
We need to make spiritual preparation for the New Year ahead of us. As the children of Israel were to wash themselves and their garments, and abstain from everything that might indispose their minds from a profitable attention to the miracles about to be wrought in their behalf, we too need to be wash clean by the blood of Jesus Christ and abstain from everything that contaminate us and thus prevent the miracles that God is about to bestow upon us.
This verse seems to imply that if there is no purification there is no miracles for us.
We must understand that our consecration, or choosing to live a holy life:
- brings honor and glory to God.
- Helps us to get re-focused especially as we enter the New Year.
- To make spiritual preparation, for the New Year to make time to consistently commune with our Heavenly Father in Heaven.
- We will begin to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit living inside us more clearly. We can clearly hear the Holy Spirit tell us what moves we need to make in this upcoming year to position us for success in God.
A preacher once say, “we cannot have success in God without (1) Obedience to His Word, (2) Submission to His Will, and (3) Accountability for our actions.
- Follow the Lord led by the Levitical Priests.
Joshua 3:3-4, ‘And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.
4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.
Usually, the ark was carried by the sons of Kohath. But now it was carried by the Levitical priests.
Priests carried the ark on other special occasion.
There is a distance between the people and the priests carrying the Ark.
Apparently, this was a symbol of reverence and a sign of who was leading the people into the Promised Land.
There are many battles to fight in 2025. Joshua didn’t first send the engineers and builders of Israel’s army. Instead, he sent the priests who carried the ark of the covenant, which was the visible representation of God’s presence with Israel. Joshua knew this was primarily a spiritual challenge, more than a test of man’s ability to plan and build. You must know that 2025 is more primarily a spiritual challenge, more than a test of your ability to plan and build.
- Obey the Law of God
Joshua 4:1-7
Now when all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, 2“Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, 3and command them, saying, “Take up for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firm, and carry them over with you and lay them down in the lodging place where you will lodge tonight.” 4So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; 5and Joshua said to them, “Cross again to the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. 6“Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So, these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”
Matthew 24:12, Jesus, at the Olivet Discourse, says, ‘And because Lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.’ Jesus is not addressing unbelievers but to us, children of God. The bible here, has shown us the way where we will not be lawless.
According to the Bible, in the book of Deuteronomy, the “words of the Torah” were instructed to be etched onto twelve stones that were set up after crossing the Jordan River. This instruction is found in Deuteronomy 27:2, where God tells Moses to set up large stones, coat them with plaster, and inscribe all the words of the Torah on them.
Joshua had the Word of God on his lips, on his minds and it guided his actions.
The land of Israel is a sacred place and does not tolerate immoral behavior. It spews out inhabitants that defy the Torah’s code of conduct. It was imperative that the Jews realize this as they entered the land even before they their first military engagement. This was a covenant between YHWH and ourselves. If Jews observed the Torah they would enjoy the land. If they grew lax in their observance, the Jewish state would be destroyed.
The stones would become a memorial to the mighty work that God had done
They say history repeats itself.
Like Achan we could rationalized our sin in many ways.
- “No one will know.”
- “These things won’t be missed.”
- “The people I am taking this from are bad people, deserving of judgment.”
- “I’m not hurting anyone.”
- “I deserve this.”
