Joshua 4:24 says, “That the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever.”
In The Story of Hans Brinker, by Alex de Wolf, we see a little Dutch boy holding his finger in the dike all night to save his town from being flooded. Of course, a little leak would not do damage. However, little leaks get bigger. Today we are flooded with wickedness in our land that started out with seemingly little deviations from our great constitution and the dreams of our founding fathers of a nation under God.
In our text the Children of Israel had just crossed over the Jordan River at flood time. That alone was a great miracle, as was the crossing of the Red Sea. Today we often call upon the Lord for miracles of healing, financial help, family restorations, etc. When God answers, we usually thank Him. We may even share with others what God has done. As time goes on, we tend to forget what God can do. In the next crisis, we wonder if God can, or will, work another miracle. Even the next generation may not know about what God can do. It was because of this, that God spoke to Joshua to command 12 men to each take a stone from the middle of the Jordan and bring them to the place where they would lodge that night—Gilgal (V.22). Twelve stones were also to be placed in the Jordan River in the place where “the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood (V.9). These stones were to serve as a reminder of the mighty hand of God, not only for Israel, but for all the people of the earth.
Let’s look for a moment at just how mighty God’s hand is. The people of Jericho had heard how God had dried up the waters of the Red Sea when Israel came out of Egypt (Joshua 2:10). Somehow the two spies managed to cross the flooding Jordan. The statement that Rahab makes in 2:11 is amazing. “And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.” The Canaanites believed that Baal was the one that brought them rain for their crops. The flooding river at harvest time was an annual event. For God to stop the Jordan River was a direct assault against Baal.
The second miracle that the mighty hand of God did goes almost unnoticed. Joshua 4:9 states, “And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.” When God released the backed-up waters, they could not wash away these twelve stones. When the Jordan returned to normal these stones could be seen. They could not be washed away. They testified to the mighty hand of God.
The Israelites did cross over and inherit the land of Canaan. They did not keep the covenant, and were finally driven to other lands. Zephaniah looks ahead to the day when they will be restored. He ends his book with, “…I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord.”
Though sin may abound in our land, God’s hand is still mighty to save. The most powerful act of the hands of God was when they were nailed to the cross for you and me. His love reaches out to every man, not willing that any should perish. Take hold of His hand. Don’t reject the hand of the Lord!
