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When God Commands Us To Do The Ridiculous


                 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea ) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.  The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.
             When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight. (Joshua  3:14-4:3) 

            There's "doesn't make sense" and then there's downright crazy. It's one thing to go put your toes in the water. It's another to do that when a river is at flood stage. And then there's standing around in the middle of the river while everyone crosses. But the really extreme is to continue to stand around in the middle of the riverbed or a river in flood stage after the nation has passed through in order to let twelve guys come back and pick up stones. I mean, really! Can it get more over the top? Well, yes it can, but we haven't gotten there yet.
         Could it be that we do not see God doing great things because we don't believe He will? Is that why we're not obedient to do the things He asks that we think are beyond the pale? Could that be the reason why God commands us to do the ridiculous, to prove that He can do the impossible? 
            God demanded that the priests participate in a major way. Then He continued the miracle by involving all the people. Then He had Joshua pick representatives of each tribe to go back and pick up souvenirs. Do you get the impression that God wanted to make absolutely sure that He made an impression on the Israelites? I do. That leads me to wonder, what would God have to do to make an impression on me today? Would it take holding back a river in flood stage? An earthquake? A fire? Or might it only take a quiet voice? Our wise God knows what will accomplish what He chooses to accomplish. We need to develop the wisdom to accept His choices.

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