15 Feet of Faith

And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap. Joshua 3:13

Faith.  Take a minute and think of this story.  Joshua has been given the invasion plan from God.  He is taking the soldiers of Israel to conquer the people in the land God had promised to Israel.  40 years earlier th people had distrusted God so He did not let them enter.  Now, God has given the order.  The attack is to commence.  There's only one obstacle.  The Jordan River.

At this time of the year the Jordan River is flooded.  It's moving fast and has created a barrier.  God is going to have His people cross it by stopping the flow of water.  To do this, the priests will be carrying the Ark of the Covenant.  When they get into the river, it will stop running and dry up.  It won't start again until the priests leave the river.  What a grand start to the battle!  What an awesome God!

So what about the 15 feet?  Think of the Ark.  It's big and heavy.  The Ark is about 3.5 feet long and really heavy.  God's instructions had the Israelites place two 15 foot poles, one on each side, to carry the Ark.  So, when we read the passage from Joshua, God says all the priests have to be in the water before the river will be cut off.  So its 15 feet between the first guy in and the last.  15 feet into a flooded, rushing, cold river.

Think about the guys at the lead.  The water is rising up to your chest.  The footing is difficult.  The Ark itself is catching the flow of the water.  It's rough.  And yet, there is faith.  God said the water was going to stop.  So, they kept walking.  Would you?  Do you believe God's word, or trust your instincts and stop?

Think about it.  15 feet.