The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1888-10-13
CROSSING THE JORDAN
International Sunday-School Los
son for October Ia, 1888.
Entering tho Promised Land-Tho Israel
ties Cross tho River jordan Dry-Shod
AN Example OF Great Faith and
tho Wonderful Work of God.

| GOLDEN TEXT - When thou passeth
through tho waters, will be with thcc and
through the rivers, they shall not overflow
thec.-Isa 43:2
CENTRAL TRUTH-We should take the de-
csive step into the promised land OF tho
| Christian life.
TIME-B. c. 1851. Early in April. They
crossed the Jordan on the 10th of Nissan.
PLACE-On the east bank Of the Jordan
| opposite Jericho.
NUMBERs-Thcre were Col, 80 men over
twenty years old, or about 2,OO0,OO persons
| In all.
HELPS OVER HARD Places. SdnctVE
| l. O., make holy, prepare your hearts, and go
through the prescribed ceremonies Of puri-
tication. 6. Ark Of the covenant; an oblong
box OF shittim d. c., acacia) wood, covered
with gold II was four feet four and one
half inches long, by two feet seven and one
half inches broad and high. Over it was
the mercy-scat and The chcrubim. II was
! called The drk Of the covenant because il con-
| tanned the tables of stone with the ten COM
mandments on them, which were Gods
| covenant with man. 10. Cdnddnites: slow
| landers," descendants Of Canaan, on tho
lowands by the coast and by Jordan. The
other tribes were also descendants Of
| Canaan, and were sometimes included I'M
der the name Littitcs, descendants Of Heth,
second son of Canaan-near Hebron.
| Mpes: near Mt. Hermon. Pcyizzites rus
tics) in the south and west of Carmel.
Ger0dshites: "a family Of Invites, east OF the
| Sea of Galilee. AmOriteS mountaineers on
the heights west of the Dead Sea. Jebustes: a
mountain tribe holding the site Of Jerusa-
lem Is. Jordan ouerfoipeth his banks: in the
harvest, i, e., the barley harvest, the Jordan
is full and deep and wide. They crossed at
| this time because no enemy would await
them on the other side, it being impossible
for an army to cross 10. The ,Ddters, etc.:
the waters were cut OFF at Adam, near Fare
tan, which was probably at Kurnd Sartar-
beh seventeen miles above jericho. All be-
low that the rivor-bed was dry. The priests
with the ark stood in the midst of the river,
two thousand cubits, three-fifths of a mile,
above, while the people crossed.
CoMMENTs-God gave Joshua minute di-
rections as to how he and the people were
TO proceed. Putting ourselves In the posi-
ton of Joshua we shall easily SOC the way
In which God dealt with him and the Israel
ties Our lesson shows that God tirst--(a)
Tested their faith. There lay the Jordan be-
fore them: not with its usual width Of about
eighty to one hundred feet, but 10y reason
of the spring rains) overlooking all its
banks and broadening out to a width Of at
least one thousand feet. But before drop
Of water was to be abated, the people were
to break camp and start. The precious Ark
of the Covenant, borne on the shoulders of
the priests, was to descend TO and enter into
the waters of the river. To obey this order
required some considerable measure Of
faith on the part of the people, for, should
the waters fail TO recede, they would be the
laughing stock of all the inhabitants of the
land across the river. To fail here would
be to fail in all their future hopes. At the
Red Sea, the waters were divided before
any of them entered the food Here they
were to enter the flood before the
waters showed any signs of Divine
interposition. Thus their faith was test
cd. But IN the second place Cod
90 Encouraged their faith. He did this in
two ways. First, by sending the Ark of
the Covenant of His presence before the
people. This was to them token of itself
that God would allow no evil to befall them.
If His presence went before them, all would
be well. But, second, God promised that
as soon as the feet of the priests touched
the water it should begin to cease its flow,
P>'
pie with their little ones and their cattle
to follow Their faith was to be put to the
test, but it was not to be tested until it
broke. Partly they were to walk by faith;
but before their faith became weak, they
were to be assisted by sight. In this way
their faith was encouraged. In the third
place we find that God-(c) Rewarded their
faith That they had true faith is evident
from their works. They believed God
enough to enable them to start for the river.
However many misgivings they may have
had bv the way they had faith enough TO
march, and that was all that was necessary.
SO, as soon as the feet Of those who bore the
Ark entered the waters, God eXerted His
miraculous power and held the waters back,
so that presently the waters failed, and the
whole army of two million passed over dry
shod
In much the same way God deals with
His children In our times ave walk by
faith, not by sight" says Paul. And this
is true. Yet God gives us many promises
| to encourage our faith. The Golden Text
| of this week is one of these "great and
precious promises" But God also gives us
many more tangible encouragements. The
memory Of past victories should be an en-
| couragement to US in new and untred ex-
perences. The marked success of others,
| in similar circumstances, should cheer US
| when we can not clearly see how we are to
be guided safely. That which we want to DO
sure of is this: "HaJ God sent me to cross
| this river of difficultyr' If so, we may be
sure that His presence going before us, the
waters shall not overflow. With God, de-
fenceless Israel may safely pass the Red
Sea or the Jordan Without God Pharaoh's
armed hosts or Jericho's walled citizens
| shall alike perish-Rep. A. f. Schdu0ier.
PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS.
| 1. God still works wonders for His people
in conversions, in sustaining grace, in the
triumphs of the Gospel
| Q. God goes before His people.
g. We knew that God will fulfil His prom
| ises by what He has done.
| T. We should ever keep in remembrance
Gods acts of mercy and goodness.
5. We must follow the priests as far as
they bear the ark.
9. There is Jordan to be crossed before
oil good-every new life, every higher life,
| Heaven.