Go Deep (Joshua 4)

 

From the sermon: Shayne talked about how God gives us second chances. Does that strike you as true? As important? Why?

 

If you were on the east side of the Jordan, waiting to cross into the Promised Land, what kind of thoughts and fears would be in your mind?

Think of reasons it was important for Israel to cross the Jordan where and how they did, rather than at a bridge or ford. What did you come up with?

Read Joshua 3:7-13. What do you think the people were expecting when the priests stepped into the water?

The flow of the water was cut off 16 miles upstream (3:16). Opinion: Why did God not cut the waters off at a place within sight, as he had done at the Red Sea?

How do you think the Israelites were affected by the delay between the time the priests stepped into the Jordan with the Ark and the time the river began to dry up?

Joshua 3 is all about the crossing. Joshua 4 is mostly about the making of a sign to commemorate the crossing. Read Joshua 4.

What purposes did the pillar-sign serve (see 4:20-24)? How would it be helpful to the Israelites in the immediate future?

Why do you think God places so much importance on making signs? (For other “signs,” see Ex. 12:26-27; 13:6-9; 31:13; Numbers 16:1-38; Eze. 20:12, 20.)

What kinds of things might merit “sign-making” in our own lives (Joshua 4:4-8)?

What might Christians use as signs to mark God’s faithfulness?

The pillar stones at Gilgal (4:20) were not self-explanatory. What benefit might there be in making signs that require an explanation?

Are there any God-interventions in your life that should be marked for the benefit of your descendants? What are they?

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