Joshua 3:7–17

Bible Studies for Life
Adjunct Professor of Biblical Perspectives, Samford University

Be Confident in God’s Power

Joshua 3:7–17

I do not remember a single word of the sermon that day, only the decision I made. As I sat in chapel, I heard only one thing — a call to pursue teaching at the graduate or undergraduate level. I knew it would require moving away from what was comfortable and pursuing something that was not. I knew it would require all of me and that all of me might not even be enough. I knew it would require confidence in God. It was a crossroads moment in my life. 

Any call from God places us at a crossroad where we decide to cross over or to stay where it is safe. At the crossing of the Jordan River, this was true for Joshua and the children of Israel.

Listen to what God tells you to do. (7–8)

Joshua put himself in a position to hear God when God called. His call to cross the Jordan was predicated upon an ongoing relationship with God and an ability to hear God’s voice. 

Listening to God involves making space for God and learning to discern His voice, as Jesus would later tell His disciples: “The sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out” (John 10:3b). Cultivating a relationship with the God who calls is central to hearing the voice of God when He calls. 

The old hymn, “Lord, Here Am I,” expresses the heart of what it means to listen to God’s instruction: “Master, Thou callest, I gladly obey; only direct me, and I’ll find Thy way. Teach me the mission appointed for me, what is my labor, and where it shall be. Master, Thou callest, and this I reply, ‘Ready and willing, Lord, here am I.’”

Listening to God involves not only hearing but also trusting in the character of the One who calls. We must believe that God is good and is actively at work in our lives and in the world. We must believe that God’s plans and purposes are good and respond out of that place of trust. We must have confidence in the character of God.

Express your confidence through what you communicate. (9–13)

Joshua’s call was not only about his relationship with God. It also was about his relationship with the children of Israel. 

Throughout the biblical story, the Israelites lived up to their name — those who struggle with God. They struggled to trust God. They struggled to follow through with God’s commands. They struggled to work together to fulfill their calling to be God’s people in the world. They frequently expressed a desire to return to Egypt rather than cross into the Promised Land (Num. 11:4–6; 14:1–4). 

In clinging to what they knew, the Israelites failed to trust God. How easy it is to cling to our fears rather than clinging to God. How frequently we fail to allow God to keep vigil over us. In the midst of their fear, however, Joshua expressed confidence in God’s provision.

Express your confidence through your obedience. (14–17) 

When God called the people to listen to Him, He intended for them to obey. In Hebrew, the word “shema” involves not merely hearing what is said but obeying it: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut. 6:4–5). 

To hear God means we obey God. Obedience is not a one-time decision. It involves a continual crossing over into the hard places rather than shirking away in fear. In the life of the believer there may be many Jordan Rivers to cross. 

At each crossing we, like Joshua and the children of Israel, express our confidence in God’s power and character through our obedience.