40,000 people crossed the Jordan on that fateful day. In the wilderness they were a group of loosely organised tribes, when the stepped on the land on the other side they were a nation. The text uses the Hebrew word “goy” instead of “am”. The difference is not always clear but it seems that “am” refers to the blood relationships of a people while “goy” describes the political unity. As they crossed over the ceased to be a wandering band and became a landed people who would have to be dealt with as a political entity-a nation at last. In the next book, the book of Judges we get a very different picture where we read that “every man did what was right, in his own eyes”-this describes a time of disunity and the fractures of a community in need of help-that would describe the Protestant community in North Belfast if not the whole of Northern Ireland.
We are deeply divided-we have so many different denominations and congregations within the same denominations, we have so many political and community divisions. Ever since the Reformation as with the introduction of divorce, it would seem that the line of least resistance automatically leads to break up- if I don’t agree with the way you are doing it I will set up my own church or my own party or group. On the face of it I can understand how that would be the much easier approach but I fail to see how God is glorified by it. I fail to see how relationships can be mended if that is the attitude.
Only a king, like David, was able to bring Israel together as they had been in Joshua’s day. Only David could give them vision and common purpose-here in Joshua’s day you could say that he acted like the king even though he was not the king-that was a position that only God could fill-but as God told Joshua so he told the people. What the protestant, loyalist, unionist communities need today is a sense of vision and common purpose instead of the parochial, tunnel vision that we have. Only a realisation of our spiritual need will turn the clock and make the difference and unite us all-and that would unite more than just the unionist family it would have radical implications and effects on the whole community.
The Hebrews had a keen sense of unity and the big reason was that at this time in their history they were following Yahweh. Their leader was in tune with God and they were in tune also. Time and again the story speaks of ALL ISRAEL-
3:1,”...all the Israelites set out...”
v7 ...”Today i will begin to exalt you in the eyes of ALL ISRAEL...”
v 17 “The priests who carried the ark....stood firm .....while all Israel passed by....;
4:14 “That day the Lord exalted Joshua in the eyes of ALL ISRAEL; they revered him
What we notice here in this story is a keen sense of UNITY. Those who know about revival in tor prerequisites of revival down the years is a spirit of Christian unity-this is not a forced unity but a unity based upon a common cause-here it is crossing the river to take the land.
Something else we notice about this crossing of the river Jordan is that they have a keen sense of history or a common memory.
When a member of the family dies memory becomes very important. When someone gets married past memories become important. The closer the family ties the deeper the memories and the closer the ties. Memory is essential to who we are-the person who losses their memory losses the sense of who they are. Without qa common memory there can be no community. The crossing of the Jordan plays a key part in this new community because it is a shared, meaningful memory but these events are more than mere history-they explain why these people are as they are-
As they remember the exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea-with the sea being cast aside to allow the people to go through so this is repeated in the Jordan River- as the priests take the Ark of the Covenant into the middle of the river so the dry land appeared God honoured their faith in doing exactly what he told them.
The reason was a that they might always fear the Lord your God”
The purpose was for them to see the POWER of the Lord-later in John’s Gospel we are told
“Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ and by believing you may have life in his name”
These are not mere wonders of the world, they are signs of the Lord, signs that remind us that he is still all powerful, still living and still the Lord.
If we took a quick look at the key points in the history of Ireland we might learn something about who we are. Would we be able to see the hand of god in it?
There are a lot of people who live on this island who know little more than “Derry, Aughrim, Enniskillen and the Boyne” when it comes to our shared history. Or, on the other side more than the Boyne, Doll’s Brae and Bloody Sunday.
It is very educational to take a swift look at the key dates
Going back to the days of the kings of Ireland we find that after Brian Baru the island is divided and fighting among itself, even then. When the potential contenders for power fled to England they sought the help of the Normans and with their arrival in the 11th century everything changes. With the arrival of the earl of Pembrooke the French become the landlords-he became better known as Strongbow.
- In 1170 King John was rewarded for his loyalty to the Pope by being given both England and Ireland as his Fiefdom
- In 1315 Edward the Bruce became king, he was the brother of Robert The Bruce
- Then in the 16th century there is the battle of the Boyne which changed the face of Europe and Britain found herself allied with the pope in defiance of King Louis of France who supported James.
- In 1798 there was rebellion
- 1803 Rebellion
- 1845 the Great Famine
- 1864 the first rioting in Belfast
- 12th July 1867 was the first Orange parade baned
- 1872 more rioting in Belfast
- 1850 saw the fall of Charles Stuart Parnell
- 1903 the foundation of the Independent Orange Order
- 1905 Sein Fein founded
- 1913 UVF started
- 1914-18 the First World War when Irish men fought side by side in the trenches
- 1919-21 Anglo Irish War-Independence
- 1921 Truce
- Violence at the 12th parade with 23 killed and 200 homes destroyed
- 1922 violence in northern Ireland with 232 killed and 1000 injured
- Special powers passed
- Civil war in 26 counties
- 923 End of Civil War
- 1933 Special powers passed
- 1935 rioting in Belfast 23 killed
- 1936 Public Order Act
- 1949 Free State becomes the Republic of Ireland
- 1956-62 IRA campaign in Northern Ireland
- 1965 Sean Lemass, Irish Prime Minister] visits Belfast-welcomed by Terrence O’Neil and opposed by Rev Ian Paisley[founder of the Free Presbyterian Church and the Democratic Unionist Party]
- 1967 NI Civil Rights Association formed
- 1972 Bloody Sunday and Bloody Friday
- 1971-75 Internment Powers
- 1973 Sunningdale Agreement
- 1974 Ulster Workers’ Strike
- 1981 Republican Hunger strike [these Republican prisoners were demanding political status]
- 1985 Anglo Irish Agreement
- 1987 Enniskillen bomb[placed by the IRA on Remembrance Sunday]
- 1993 Frizell’s Fish Shop bombed [a Republican bomber walked into this fish shop and left a bomb]
- 1998 Omagh Bomb [this was the biggest single atrocity in the troubles with 31 people killed, including two unborn babies]
There are many other key events in our history which have contributed to who we are- It is a history which is immersed in violence and manipulation, by attempts at reconciliation which failed , followed by more attempts, they are events which have knocked this community and many others unto the back foot so that most of the time we re-act rather than act. Thousands lie dead and injured and relationships and trust have been shattered, some beyond repair and it will take many years to get us back to some degree of normality BUT this is who we are and God has not left us, he is still here and our task is to follow Him and to build a better history that our children and grand children can look back on with more satisfaction.
As Christians we have another story and another history which is just as valid- this one is also violent and is also about treachery and disappointment but in this story we see God’s hand at work directly and decisively-he has made a new future possible and so we too have our stones as memorials-we have the breaking of bread which reminds us of the pain and suffering of Christ but also tells of His resurrection and return. “do this in remembrance of me” Do this until I return
We too have baptism which tells the story of washing and of sealing and of immersion as the one who died and rose to eternal life.
We have our personal memories of the day we first gave our lives to Christ and of those dates when we surrendered ourselves to service of Christ and His kingdom.
Can you tell the story of how God has worked in your life?
Then we have the exaltation of Joshua-it was promised in chapter 3 and now it has happened in chapter 4.:14
Why is this important? As Joshua is exalted before all the people so the people are exalted. They needed a leader and God gave them this one.
Paul says at the end of Ephesians 6 “pray lastly for me....”
L:eadership can be a lonely place to be-Jesus tells us that the leader who does not exalt himself will be exalted-Joshua was not one to parade his position-he took the position with true humility and so God exalted him-as I have said before a good leader has to learn to be a good follower-so the best army leaders are those who were in the ranks, taking the orders. A good leader is not afraid of getting his hands dirty. A good leader takes orders and that is what Joshua did,
Joshua was revered all his life just as Moses was-in the ordination service we are told to respect the minister “for the sake of his work”
Joshua was a kind of prophetic figure who took the word and passed it on to the people- today the preacher is given the same task-to present the word in a prophetic way which means he needs to show his people how it is relevant today
To do this he needs the prayerful support of the congregation-
· to prepare he needs time to think and pray-a sermon cannot be prepared on the back of an envelope and it takes time to seek how it applies today
· To be bold in presenting Jesus Christ and the power of his resurrection
· He needs to read and to be stimulated by others
