The christian walk is one of gradual maturity.
Israel moving from Egypt into the Promised Land is an OT physical picture of a NT spiritual truth.
Backstory - they had just spent 40 years in the wilderness.
They had to “go get” the manna every morning in order to survive.
They had to work hard to provide for their family.
But then they entered the Promised Land and everything changed.
They now owned land and houses and farms that would provide for them.
The change took place when they crossed the Jordan.
A look into the original Hebrew gives us the clue.
Vs 17 - “The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.”
Vs 4:1 - “When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan…”
In vs 17, the Hebrew word for nation is “GOYIM.”
In vs 4:1, the Hebrew word for nation is “AM.”
On the wilderness side they are goyim, but on the Canaan side they are am.
GOYIM represents self-interest - people who are working toward their own agenda.
This isn’t necessarily wrong as it’s a powerful motivator.
The focus is our own needs - food, shelter, provision, survival.
AM represents those who embrace a larger purpose.
They are committed to each other and a part of a community.
Crossing the Jordan meant they didn’t have to focus on their own core needs anymore, and they could embrace God’s higher purpose of being a light to other nations.
The Hebrew text of vs 4:1 reads, “Until all goyim had finished…”
We are always to be a light to the world.
But in a practical sense, if we do a good enough job in our wilderness years (the years of preparation) we’ll be able to focus solely on the benefit of others for the sake of the kingdom.
We’ve found there are four phases of financial development:
Preparation
Production
Provision
Promotion
The goal is to get to that 4th phase where you don’t have to focus on your tangible needs anymore, and you can simply help others.
