The Jordan

Yesterday (10/06/06) at dinner, as we were discussing our undergrad degrees a guy asked me, "hey you had a religions degree. I'm doing a project and I need to find somewhere where Israel was faithful to God!!" So I sent him to Joshua to where they are finally about to cross the Jordan River into the promised Land. Israel because of its unbelief has been wandering in a desert like region for 40 years. Their trip should have taken them 2 weeks, a month tops. Jesus when he is tempted in this same region is only there 40 days, because he would quote scripture to his adversary. I have always equated the modern day church to this time period. We as a church are standing on the riverbank, looking across the river. We can see where we should be, but instead we are here and have been for some time. Chapter 4 verse 19 screams out to me in this time. Those of you who know me, indulge me by allowing me to eisegete. (Yes I mean eisegete not exegete, there is a difference.) It says, " On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho." For those who don't know the 10th day of the 1st month is Yom Kippur, which is the Day of Attonement. So the Israelites crossed the Jordan River on the Day of Attonement!!! The parallels there just scream at me. *Jewish history lesson* The day of Attonement is the day in which a sacrifice was made and the blood poured over the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant, covering all the sins of the people. Now the Bible doesn't tell us if the ceremony has been performed yet on this particular day, but I have a feeling that when they crossed that river, and made their way to where they were suppose to be with God their sins had allready been covered. So why this story? We as Christians have a much easier deal. Our sins are not merely covered but washed away. Gone is the guilt, the stress, the strife of sin. But a new day (spiritually) has dawned and we are new creatures. "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, all things become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17) So church before we can cross our Jordan River and be where God wants us to be in our lives we must first repent and wash away all manner of sin, then can we be with God.