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The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;

the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.

—Psalm 29:10

The sea is his, for he made it,

and his hands formed the dry land.

—Psalm 95:5

Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.

—Joshua 3:17

“Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests' feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.”

—Joshua 4:3b

For the priests bearing the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to tell the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua.

—Joshua 4:10

It is encouraging to think about how many times events highlighted in Scripture demonstrate trust and obedience in the face of waters: river and sea and flood and storm.

Of course, the list begins with the Lord parting and gathering waters to provide dry land. And then it goes on to include Noah and the flood; the parting of the sea by Egypt and the Jordan by Canaan, book-ending the period of instruction and training in the wilderness; Jonah's failed attempt to escape obedience by sea; Elijah crossing and Elisha recrossing the Jordan; Jesus and His disciples on the Sea of Galilee, more than once; Paul's shipwreck in the Mediterranean.

These events all occurred in the face of pagan cultures that tried to make idols out of the facets and forces of nature; they witness to the power of the One who created those things and is above them.

They were also training and instruction for the Lord's people. In addition to being told to walk right into a river at flood stage—only to see its waters part before them—those bearing the Ark were instructed to stand in the middle while Israel crossed. And then continue to stand there while representatives of the tribes returned to collect stones. They remained there “until everything was finished”. That had to be enough time for them to become tired (if not actually bored), but they didn't become “weary of doing” the task that they had been given.

All these events were witness and training and instruction in their time, as well as reminders in our time.

The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;

the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.

May the Lord give strength to his people!

May the Lord bless his people with peace!

—Psalm 29:10-11

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,

you who lead Joseph like a flock.

You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.

—Psalm 80:1

So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away... And the people passed over opposite Jericho.

—Joshua 3:14-16 (excerpt)

How do we visualize that scene as the Israelites approached the Jordan river? As a wide-angle shot from a drone, looking out from a distance at a long line of people, following the ark? Or from eye level among the ark-bearers as they stepped toward the flood?

A flooded river looks one way to someone who is riding an inner tube or a kayak, carried along by the river in the direction that it is going. That same river looks very different to someone who approaches it intending to cross to the other side. Even more so if there are others following.

A flood, especially a flash-flood in a normally-dry stream bed in a wilderness, can be an awesome or even terrifying display of physical power, filling both eye and ear as it fills and overflows its banks. But those who were carrying the ark walked up to, and right into, the water. And the water got out of their way. They walked to the middle and stopped. Seeing them stand there on dry ground in the middle of what had been an out-of-its-banks flood just moments before gave the ones following them the courage, and the path, to cross.

The Lord's “royal priesthood”, equipped with His word and following His path, can approach the chaotic flood of human events with the knowledge that He is present, that He will guide His own and receive them to Himself.

And, if they are faithful, those who follow their example.

The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,

before the Lord of all the earth.

The heavens proclaim his righteousness,

and all the peoples see his glory.

—Psalm 97:5-6

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

...when the morning stars sang together

and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”

—Job 38:4a, 7

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”

—John 17:24

[Jesus] said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

—Acts 1:7-8

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

—Revelation 22:16

The world likes the idea of power: the power to come roaring around the corner, tires squealing, just in the nick of time; the power to turn all heads and make the bad guys freeze or slink away just by walking into a room; the power to dominate.

The apostles who gathered in Jerusalem after the resurrection were still struggling. They hadn't yet laid aside the baggage of the assumptions that surrounded them—the assumption that the Lord's Messiah would come to restore some imagined past geopolitical greatness. And, of course, they would be quite willing to have positions of power at His right hand and His left hand. They hadn't yet comprehended that the kingdom, of which Jesus had been speaking for the forty days since His resurrection, was far greater than they had imagined.

And when Jesus told them that they would “receive power”, it wasn't for glory or ability to dominate people who opposed them. It was the power to align to His purpose, which was the purpose of the Father. It was the power to declare with John that “we have seen His glory.”

It was the power to become children, and to bring others to adoption as children, of a Father who was before the birth in Bethlehem, before the kings in Jerusalem and Samaria, before the Law given through Moses, before Abraham had any hope of children.

It was the power to witness for the One who was before and from the beginning.

Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;

righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

—Psalm 97:2

And the Lord said, “...while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”

—Exodus 33:21-23 (excerpt)

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven

and do not return there but water the earth,

making it bring forth and sprout,

giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;

it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

—Isaiah 55:10-11

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth...

For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

—John 1:14

A beautiful poetic image in Isaiah compares the word of the Lord to rain. It comes down from above to give fruitfulness and life. The Word does the same, accomplishing what the Lord intended. Succeeding in His purpose.

The Law and Psalms and Prophets gave instructions and illustrations and reminders of the Lord's good will for —and towards—His people. And the unapproachable glory and thick darkness and clouds were a persistent reminder that humans could not do as Eve was tempted to do: to reach out and seize “be[ing] like God” and His knowledge.

Israel had to learn how to follow the Lord's instruction, rather than their own desires and impulses and temptations, so that they could survive His holy presence among them to lead them to something and somewhere better than they had or could imagine. The Law itself was an expression of the Father's grace, which had been present from the beginning.

But it wasn't the completion. John began his account of Jesus by showing Him as the Word in flesh and blood. And he puts humans in their proper perspective, as receivers of what the Lord has given. Receivers, not seizers.

Translators and commentators vary on exactly how to bring “grace upon grace” into English: “grace for grace”, “grace after grace”, or “grace in place of grace”, among others. In any case, John's very next sentence states what was received and through whom: the basics (Law) through Moses and the completion (grace and truth) through the Son.

That doesn't mean that the Law was devoid of grace! Grace cannot be known without knowing the difference between good and evil—on the Father's terms!

And the truth has not changed from the beginning.

If I ascend to heaven, you are there!

If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

—Psalm 139:8

“But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked;

you grew fat, stout, and sleek;

then he forsook God who made him

and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation.”

—Deuteronomy 32:15

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

—John 8:31-33

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

—John 8:58

One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham

—Hebrews 7:9

Many cultures have the idea of a "golden age" in which "our" standard of living was at its highest. The definition of "our" depends on who is speaking or writing. And the definition of highest seems often to involve some combination of prosperity, culture, and power. And selective memory.

Jean Redpath, the noted Scottish folk singer, told of being approached during an intermission by an audience member who asked her to sing "some of the good old songs". With a twinkle in her eye, Redpath said that she had been tempted to reply, "The last one I sang before intermission was from the 13th century. Is that old enough for you?" She observed that most people defined "good old songs" as tunes they remembered from their own childhood years.

Selective memory is not new. There are even examples in Scripture.

The hearers of Jesus who identified themselves as descendants of Abraham, a people who “have never been enslaved” seem oblivious both to the history of Israel and to their current status. The Israelites who had been slaves in Egypt, the Isrelites oppressed by surrounding peoples during the time of Judges, and the people of Israel and Judah during the years of exile were all descendants of Abraham. And the very people who objected to the statement of Jesus that “the truth will set you free” were living in a country under Roman occupation and rule.

The kingdom of Solomon, arguably a time of great prosperity, also became a time of spiritual poverty. It set the stage for the division of the nation and collapse into idolatry. Those of Jesus' time who looked further back to the time of Moses forgot that Moses described Israel, ironically nicknamed "the upright one", as stubborn scoffers. And forgot that long before Moses and the Law and the Aaronic priesthood, Abraham gave a tithe to a mysterious “priest of God Most High”.

And the Lord Himself was before Abraham, from the beginning. The kingdom of the Lord is not a matter of "restoring" some imagined past human greatness. It calls His people to witness something that human power alone has never achieved, and will never achieve.

Your throne is established from of old;

you are from everlasting.

The floods have lifted up, O Lord,

the floods have lifted up their voice;

the floods lift up their roaring.

Mightier than the thunders of many waters,

mightier than the waves of the sea,

the Lord on high is mighty!

—Psalm 93:2-4

“But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked;

you grew fat, stout, and sleek;

then he forsook God who made him

and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation.”

—Deuteronomy 32:15

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

—John 8:58

So when they had come together, [the apostles] asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

—Acts 1:6-8

Long before the kings of Israel and Judah, there was Moses. Long before Moses, there was Abraham. Long before Abraham...

The apostles were human, which means that they needed time and help to learn, They especially needed help to learn about time.

Outlasting limited perspectives and overcoming past habits and outgrowing the influences of surrounding culture are hard. Even after years of walking with Jesus, hearing His teaching, and seeing His great works, the apostles still asked a question that revealed perspectives and habits and influences that burdened them. And Jesus corrected them in love.

They had heard Jesus call His hearers to the “kingdom of heaven” and the “kingdom of God”. But in their last conversation with Jesus before His ascension, they still seem to have been stuck at the kingdom of Israel. Jesus refocused them with a response that we might think of in three parts:

• “It is not for you to know...”—This sounds like a gentle reminder that Job confessed, “I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me”, and David sang, “I do not occupy myself with things / too great and marvelous for me.”

• “You will receive power...”—This assures them that they will not be alone, but the “power” was for a very different purpose than their earthly mindset had expected.

• “You will be my witnesses...”—There was a reason for all that they had seen.

Unpacking these further will take more time.

Cast your burden on the Lord,

and he will sustain you;

he will never permit

the righteous to be moved.

—Psalm 55:22

“I relieved your shoulder of the burden;

your hands were freed from the basket.”

—Psalm 81:6

But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens.”

—Exodus 5:4

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

—Matthew 11:28-30

And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.”

—Luke 11:46

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us

—Hebrews 12:1

It seems obvious to say it, but physical therapy, exercise, and training have future benefits as the goal, not enjoyment in the moment. And a good therapist, coach, or teacher knows the difference between discomfort (or even aching muscles) and the pain of real injury.

The Egyptian taskmasters and Pharaoh regarded the Israelites as "resources" to be exploited, raw materials to be used up. The goal of the relationship was self-interest on the part of the Egyptians; the nature of the relationship was adversarial.

A good therapist regards a client as a person to be helped. The goal of the relationship is the well-being of the client; the nature of the relationship is beneficial. It's also collaborative: the client has to trust the therapist.

The “burdens” demanded by Pharaoh wore the Israelites down, with no relief or rest. Similarly, the “burdens hard to bear” imposed by the teachers of the Law in the time of Jesus had traditions and “commandments of men” that did not come from God.

Life in a world already damaged by evil creates "burdens". But, just as the Lord didn't abandon the Israelites in Egypt to the whims of cruel rulers, the Lord doesn't abandon His children. Jesus came to relieve unnecessary burdens and to restore the most important relationship: that with the Father. He took our burdens on Himself so that we could walk upright with Him.

And the epistles encouraged His followers to put down unnecessary burdens—even the self-imposed ones—that interfere with that walk. And so that we can help and nurture each other.

Your decrees are very trustworthy;

holiness befits your house,

O Lord, forevermore.

—Psalm 93:5

“Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit”

—Deuteronomy 29:18b

At that time Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the people of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, “an altar of uncut stones, upon which no man has wielded an iron tool.”

—Joshua 8:30-31a

When the house was built, it was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built.

—1 Kings 6:7

And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.”

—Matthew 9:27

“The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.”

—Luke 11:31

The statement of Jesus that “something greater than Solomon is here” must be one of the greatest understatements of all times. Despite Solomon's "greatness" as the world sees it, his reign became an enormous downturn for Israel as a nation. The gospels repeatedly refer to Jesus as “son of David” but never as “son of Solomon”.

The Law of Moses had included commands to guide the conduct of Israel's kings, who were commanded not to “acquire many horses”, not to buy horses from Egypt, not to acquire many wives, and not to acquire excessive wealth. And we can see Solomon systematically disobeying every one of these. The familiar account of Solomon's foreign wives and concubines connects to his heart turning away from the Lord. But perhaps we can understand that as the fruit of something planted earlier.

The king was to “write for himself...a copy of this law...and he shall read...that he may learn”.

When Joshua built the altar on Mount Ebal, he made it of uncut stones, as both Exodus and Deuteronomy stated. However we may understand the intent behind that command, it clearly states not to profane the stones themselves with iron tools. But the stones for the temple that Solomon built were cut and dressed at the quarry. The outward appearance of the command was observed at the temple building site, but its meaning was ignored.

Centuries later, Jesus taught against an approach to the Law of Moses that was all about preserving appearances while ignoring intent and “the weightier matters”. It seems that legalism and performance for the sake of appearances are the fruit of roots that run very deep.

Have mercy on us, Son of David!