I was pondering over
the word "follow" in relation to two passages from the Bible - One
from the Old Testament, in the story of the Israelites crossing over to Jericho
(under the leadership of Joshua) through the dry ground of River Jordan by following
the ark of covenant carried by the Levitical priests. The other one is from
John 10, which speaks about Jesus our Good Shepherd and how we as sheep follow
Him. I have summarized my points down in the table below (with diagrams that
are entirely drawn by yours truly!)
JOSHUA 3:3-4
|
JOHN 10:3-4
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"..
"As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being
carried by Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place
and follow it. Yet there shall be a
distance between you and it, about 2000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go,
for you have not passed this way before."
|
"..
The sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out… He goes before them, and the sheep
follow Him, for they know His voice."
|
A direct command
to obey so that they will know which way to go.
|
A personal call
out of love and care, obeyed because
they know the Voice/Person behind the voice.
|
A distance to be
maintained to respect the sanctity.
|
Walking through
the only Way to the other side.
|
People of Israel
passed by the ark of covenant keeping the distance from Shittim to Jericho.
|
Today we can cross
over from death to life through Jesus Christ who is the Gate. (John 10:9
& John 5:24)
|
Is it not simply
beautiful?
How an important
"crossing over" from the Old Testament is very different from the one
we can experience today as individuals?
Can we even begin to
explain "by how much" He has brought us close to Him? He has reduced
the 1000 yards (approx. 900m) by tearing down walls, the temple veil and even His own
self on the cross just so that He can bring us to an immeasurable unimaginable
level of intimacy with Him today. The sheep
follow Him, for they know His voice.. No… you do not have to know the
way to Heaven if you know Christ who is the Way..
One more thing to
remember is that the Ark of Covenant of the Lord God stood firm on dry ground
till until all of Israel crossed over safely to the other side of River Jordan.
Read Joshua 4:11,18 - No sooner had the priests set their feet on dry ground than
the waters of the Jordan returned to their place.
Christ is for us, in this
age of grace - the Gate to cross over from death to life and into the
presence of God the Father. The time is running out and He will soon return to
take us home to be with Him in glory forever. Have you accessed this Gate to eternal
life with God yet?
#Martha
