Category Archives: Out of Egypt

CROSSING JORDAN

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Crossing Jordan has been a metaphor for dying and going to Heaven (the Promised Land). I have heard that metaphor stems from Joshua leading the Children from the east bank to the west bank of the Jordan River. Going across the Jordan was part of life in Israel and is mentioned many times from Judges to David. There were no bridges, it seems, and people waded across at fords or shallow spots.

There are Biblical characters that crossed the river in the same direction as Joshua at key times in Israel’s history. I am looking at their stories in this post. I will start with someone who went contrary to the metaphor and had his way back blocked with a flaming sword and cherubim.

Adam and Eve – They started in Paradise and were sent to the East (Genesis 3:24). I believe there was a Garden with five rivers, and two very important trees, and Adam was responsible for tending it. God has always shown an interest in this region. Terah was sent there but he did not go, Abram did. Melchizedek, the priest of the Most High God was in the area. I said that because it makes more sense to think the Garden was here because this place means something to God. Before the objections start, I live in America, and we have recycled names pinned on many cities, rivers, and regions so renaming four rivers is a high possibility. I can see Noah’s grandchildren using things he told them just to honor him. My God has mysteries that He has not shared, but the world changed after Adam and Eve ate the fruit and Noah’s Flood.

If the land of Canaan (Noah’s grandson by Ham, Genesis 9:18-24) was part of the Garden; Adam would have traveled over where the Jordan was or would be. East is an important direction in Genesis 2 and 3.

Jacob and Family – When Jacob ran from Esau, he was by himself. Genesis 28:10 says he left Beersheba to go to Haran. He stopped at Luz (Bethel) and spent the night. That is the end of his route until he is with the “eastern people” in Haran. I believe from Luz (28:18) he had three routes he may have taken: 1. The road along the seashore, 2. The highway through the mountains that went above Lake Galilee, and 3. to cross the Jordan and go through the Bashan/Gilead. I would have taken the coast road, but in Genesis 32:10 Jacob says he crossed the Jordan with just his staff.

When Jacob ran from Laban, he had four wives, eleven sons, a daughter, and a lot of possessions. After the ordeal of Chapter 31, Jacob’s camp made it to Mahanaim. There he was met by a camp of angels (reminds you of Elisha). Sometime after meeting Esau Jacob’s camp(s) crossed the Jordan and went to Shechem. Jacob had returned to his land which was part of the promise to Abraham from God. It makes me wonder what route Abram took to get to Canaan.

Thoughts on Jacob – 1. He had many experiences with angels. 2. He is older than you might expect. I had to work backward from his death and consider every timestamp that was given during his life. I made mistakes in How Old Were These Guys. I did better in the Patriarch Timeline and the Tribes of Israel Timeline. 3. Angel of the Lord or Metatron means angel of countenance this is a theophany.

Joshua and Israel – The event that gave the name of this post is found in Joshua 3 and 4. God exalted Joshua in the people’s eyes because of this event (3:7). He also dried up the Jordan to show Israel and the world His power (4:24). We tend to focus on the human aspect of this day, but I believe it was much more important to the Father. He was bringing His children home.

This day was an end and the beginning for Joshua and Israel. With years of learning to trust God behind them, they were facing a new test of their faith. They now had to fight for the land promised to Abraham for his family. In the crossing of this Jordan, they left behind the Moabites and Midianites and now had to face the giants and walled cities that had intimidated their forefathers. When we cross the spiritual Jordan, our fighting is done. Metaphors are limited and this is a good example of that.

This is a good time to compare and contrast the passage out of Egypt and the entrance into Canaan. (Please, ignore Exodus through Joshua and look at the rest of the Scriptures.) Passing through the Red Sea has more references than going through the dried-up Jordan River. I found two – Psalms 114:5 and 74:15. (If you know of others, please share.) If you use that as an indicator, leaving Egypt (baptism) is more important than the crossing at the Jordan. I have used the crossing of the Jordan as a shadow of baptism, I will not do that anymore. Israel went through two walls of the sea; the Jordan was dry. Remember, the water was stopped about twenty miles above the crossing site, they were not flanked by walls of water. You could stretch that and say the Dead Sea was on one side and the water at Adam (man or red) was on the other side. (Some bullet points.)

  • Both Crossings had enemies just before going through.
  • The oldest people at the Jordan were Joshua and Caleb. The nineteen-year-olds were now fifty-seven. It seems that the men thirty-eight and younger were not circumcised.
  • Some of the people had seen both crossings.
  • The people took memorial stones from the Jordan. Solomon may have built a memorial on the eastern side of the Red Sea.
  • The Red Sea was after Passover. The Jordan was just before. They crossed on the day they were to choose the lamb for the meal, the tenth day of the first month. (That could be a preaching point.)
  • The direction of travel was different for the two crossings.

This crossing happened at Jericho/Gilgal. Gilgal was the first campsite where they were circumcised and celebrated Passover.

David, His Family, His Officials – David and those fleeing from Absalom left the west bank and traveled east to Mahanaim, 2 Samuel 17:22. (The same city Jacob named. It was also a refuge city.) David returned, east to west, in 2 Samuel 19 and proceeded to Jerusalem. Jesus would follow the same path in Matthew 20 + 21. Both had a mess to clean up when they reached Jerusalem.

This crossing occurred at the fords or shallow spot near Gilgal. Even the king’s return caused an uproar that had to be fixed.

Elisha – Elijah and Elisha crossed the Jordan near Jericho, going west to east. Elisha, a shadow of Jesus, returned east to west at the same spot. Both of these crossings were done on dry land with the waters dividing for the men. 2 Kings 2

This set of crossings involved the fewest people and the least amount of material goods. Elisha crossed back to the west with a well-used cloak and a double anointing. The entire scene is a shadow of John the Baptist (Elijah) diminishing before Jesus (Elisha) took center stage.

Jesus, His Disciples, His Camp – Jesus’ final pilgrimage to Passover started in Matthew 19:1, Mark 10, Luke 17:11, and John 10:40. (Matthew is my main reference.) He left Galilee crossing the Jordan and went to the area across from Jericho, where he taught and healed the people. If you compile all of the Gospels, it is clear He crossed back and forth several times before going to Jerusalem for Palm Sunday.    

I blame too many movies about Jesus for the idea that just twelve men followed Jesus as He preached about the Kingdom. Mark 15:41 talks about women in Galilee, Luke 24:9 speaks of others that were with the Eleven after the resurrection and Acts 1:21+22 mentions the requirements for taking Judas’ position, so there had to be more than just the Twelve.

This parade started big with His Camp at the Jordan and got larger. The only parade for Jesus that was bigger was the one in Heaven after He disappeared in the clouds when He ascended.

Thoughts – Crossing Jordan is a beautiful metaphor. I admit that my thoughts have changed as I have grown older. But for these crossings, work, warfare, and new experiences waited for those that crossed from east to west over the Jordan.

The Exodus Story in Other Places Part 2

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This edition of the Exodus story in other places in the Bible complements the first one. I see all of these references as to how important the Exodus was and is to God. The Holy Spirit directed many authors to a site that period from Egypt to the Jordan River. In many of these God refers to the trip to teach a current lesson.

1 Samuel

  • 10:18 Samuel quoted God when He references His mighty works and the people rejecting Him.
  • 12:6-8 Samuel’s farewell speech.

Nehemiah 9:9-23 Ezra and the Levites recount their history.

Psalms

  • 68: 8+17 A song telling of the Mighty One of Sinai going out with His armies. Written by David. Psalm 68 is very Messianic.
  • 74: 12-15 A metaphorical look at crossing through the sea.
  • 80: 7-11 A metaphorical telling of the story in the second “restore us, O God Almighty” in this Psalm. It is written by Asaph.
  • 103: 7 Made His ways and deeds known to Moses and the people
  • 111 – A “secondary telling “of how God does things. I think it applies to Him bringing the people out and leading them in the desert.

Isaiah

  • 4:5-6 It is a reference to the pillar of cloud and fire that led Israel.
  • 43:3 Egypt was given as Israel’s ransom.
  • 63: 10-16 The people remembered that God was with them when Moses led and they followed His will. Divided seas are mentioned as proof of His greatness.

Jeremiah

  • 2:2-3,6 God gives Jeremiah these two references that describe Israel in the desert. They use to follow the Lord, now they do not even ask about God.
  • 32:20-21 Jeremiah points out the signs and miracles God did in bringing His people out of Egypt.

Hosea

  • 12:9-10 God brought them out of Egypt and they will live in tents again.
  • 12:13-14 A prophet (Moses) was used in bringing them out of Egypt.
  • 13:4-6 God brought them from Egypt. He fed them and they will acknowledge Him.
  • It seems the important part of each verse is what God did to care for the people, not just the fact He brought them out.

New Testament

Acts

  • 7 Stephen testifying
  • 13:16-20 Paul gives a foundation for the Gospel

2 Corinthians – 3:7-18 Moses’ veil after he met God

Hebrews

  • 3:7 testing in the desert
  • 11:23-29 A history of Moses up to the Red Sea.
  • 12: 18-21 Moses at the mountain meeting God.

Jude 9 – Satan wrestling for Moses’ body. (Okay maybe not the actual Exodus) Why would Satan want that body?  

I finished this study to find verses about crossing the Jordan River, this will be another post. To my surprise, there are not many places where that crossing is used. To be honest my study of Crossing Jordan has challenged a long-held thought of mine.

Shadow-Protection 

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Shadow is a metaphor for protection in many verses of the Bible. As I have mused on these verses, it is God who is doing the protecting and His people are what is being protected. Shadow and shade are not the only ideas we need to look at for the area of protecting someone. We will add the words pillar and cloud to expand the study. 

Pillar of Cloud and Clouds 

Okay, I will touch on these as two different things, but the cloud will not just produce shade but protect you from the glory of God. Wait a minute, shadows are produced by solid objects, and clouds are not solid! This is true, the blocking ability of clouds is in the billions of waterdrops that scatter the light rays from being able to get through them in a straight line. The darker the appearance of the cloud is due to how dense the droplets are in it. “Silver-linings” are from this light-scattering property. 

Many references to clouds are part of a story where the glory of God is involved. From Exodus 13 through Deuteronomy 31 “a cloud” and the “pillar of cloud” are usually the same thing if they are talking about God interacting with people. In Samuel, just a cloud is covering things or hiding the glory. The “pillar” that led the Children is not mentioned past Deuteronomy except in Nehemiah 9 when he is used it to show the faithfulness of God. Did the pillar of cloud go past the Jordan? Isaiah 4:5-6 does describe what my paradigm of the pillar of cloud did for those forty years. In Psalm 99:7, a function of the pillar is told of how and when Moses spoke with God.  

What did the cloud by day and the fire by night look like? I recently saw a drawing where the “pillar” was a narrow thing that only stood over the Tent that housed the Ark. Many of the references in Exodus may lend weight to this idea. I always had the idea that the “cloud” provided shade for the camp during the day and light and warmth at night. I had hoped that Balaam (Numbers 23) or Rahab (Joshua 2) said something about the pillar and cloud, but they did not, so for now I will hold on to both of those ideas. 

Shadow Of 

In the NIV “shadow of” followed by “His wings, His hand, and the Almighty” is found in seven verses. His hand is found in Isaiah 49:2 and 51:16. God’s hand was protecting Isaiah as part of him doing his ministry. I believe the other five have a connection to the Exodus. 

The “shadow of His wings” puzzled me. I just never thought of the Father as having or needing wings. More metaphors, possibly? In studying the Ark, the Mercy Seat or lid to the box offered a better picture. The two angels that are part of the lid were made to spread their wings over the Mercy Seat, which was sprinkled with blood and where God talked to Moses from. Being in the shadow of those wings would put you at the mercy of God. The shadow would be greater if the wings spread out horizontally and not vertically (Exodus 25:17-22). A Google search of the Mercy Seat shows the artist making the wings in both directions. I like that picture of being in the shadow protected while resting on His mercy. 

I believe Moses wrote Psalm 91 as a singing lesson to teach the Children in the wilderness. Verse one is the first visual as they lived under the cloud of the Almighty. The rest of that psalm could be connected with many of the things that happened as Israel left Egypt. 

Study work-connect the verses of Psalm 91 to events in the Exodus. 

Numbers 9:11

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This Bible 911 is from Numbers and is about the second Passover the Israelites were to celebrate in the Exodus. Our verse shows how important it was to God that all of His children remember their personal and corporate exodus out of Egypt. A problem had come up because some of the people were unclean during the first month and could not join the community in the observance. Exodus 12 has the story and the rules for the very first Passover.

11 The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. (KJV) bold added

If you missed the first month you had to observe Passover during the second month of the year. The rules were the same; verse twelve stresses not leaving any of the lamb until morning, and breaking no bones of the lamb. The lamb was killed on the fourteenth and eaten overnight on the fifteenth. Remember their day starts in the evening.

Jesus was our Passover Lamb and He was killed before twilight and buried before the morning. His legs were not broken because He was already dead. All of this was not wasted on the centurion, that is why he said that Jesus was the Son of God (Matthew 27:54).

Extra: I have no doubt that Passover was celebrated it just is not mentioned that often in Scripture. Find all the times it is recorded that Passover was observed.

The Sons of Korah

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When you read the Book of Psalms you will see the “sons of Korah” in the titles of psalms in the 40s and the 80s. Yes, these are the heirs of the Korah who rebelled against Moses (Numbers 16). Numbers 26:11 states that they did not die out during the rebellion. My guess on that is some of them were doing their appointed task of being gatekeepers for the Tabernacle; so they were not swallowed up. (Please note that Korah rebelled but the Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, and On son of Peleth would not even talk to Moses and made some very wild claims about him.) If you look at the camp arrangement around the Tabernacle you will see that the Kohathites (Korah was of this group) were camped next to the Reubenites. So, the earth opening up may have been in a small area on the south side of the camp.

In Numbers 27:3 the daughters of Zelophehad made a point to mention that their father had not died in the rebellion. It makes it sound like the whole affair had become a curse around the camp.

Kohathites are members of the Tribe of Levi, he was one of the three sons; Gershon and Merari were the other two. Kohath had four sons, but the most important are Amram and Izhar. Moses and Aaron are children of Amram. Izhar fathered Korah, Nepheg, and Zikri (Exodus 6:21-24). Korah had three sons.

The Kohathites were responsible for the Ark and the tent that covered it. Okay, Aaron and his sons took care of the sacrifices and the Ark, and the rest of the family was responsible for moving everything in the Tent of Meeting on their shoulders. This included the Ark, all tables, the lampstand, the altar, and all of the utensils (Numbers 4).

Other Duties

From Moses to Jeremiah the family of Korah and all of the other Kohathites served God by doing many tasks and helping in times of need. God did not hold the children responsible for the sins of their father Korah. These are some of the things the sons of Korah did during the centuries.

  • 1 Chronicles 6:31 to 37-David singled them out as musicians.
  • 1 Chronicles 9:19-They guarded the entrance to the dwelling of God.
  • 1 Chronicles 9:31,32-Mattithiah baked the bread for the offering in the Tent.
  • 1 Chronicles 26:19-gatekeepers
  • 2 Chronicles 20:19-they stood and praised the Lord.
  • 2 Chronicles 29-Hezekiah and cleaning the Temple.
  • 2Chronicles 34-Josiah cleaning the Temple.

Out on a Limb

David picked the sons of Korah and other Kohathites to be his musicians for a reason, I think he was a practical man. My thought is that they were already in the position of praising God. It is clear that Moses and Miriam praised God, and there were mandates to do so. The only/first time I found someone to be put into a position to do it was with David and Solomon. They ordered the family of gatekeepers to be in charge of praise. What if that started back with Moses and just continued through the years to David.

1 Samuel 2:22 is another verse/idea that may back my thought up. What were the women doing at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and how were they serving? Could they have been singers, serving with the gatekeepers who were praising? Maybe they were Korahite women.

I have felt that Moses wrote Psalms 90 (attributed to Moses in the title) to 100, this is due to the material that is covered in them and Psalm 101 is “Of David”. Apparently, Jewish custom agrees. It was a note that cited Rashi when I looked up who wrote Psalm 100. Psalm 100:4 has that we should “enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise”. That fits very well with the gatekeepers (the sons of Korah) playing music and singing as they watched the gate to the Tent of Meeting.

New Testament

Jude 1:11 is the only mention of Korah in the New Testament. It is a “curse” that connects to the rebellion. He is matched with Cain and Balaam. Not the best way to be remembered. However, the sons of Korah that survived went on to bless the Lord and be blessed by Him.

Your Chance to Study

What were the duties of the sons of Gershon and Merari for the Tabernacle? Why did these families get carts?