The Jordan River

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

Audio version at http://tinyurl.com/29lxy9

Several years ago while on a medical mission trip to Guyana, South America, we were able to cross one of the longest floating bridges in the world. The Demerara Harbor Bridge crosses the Demerara River near Georgetown and is over a mile long. Built on floating pontoons, this bridge rises and falls with the tides as it crosses the very dirty, nasty looking Demerara River.

Some rivers or lakes I wouldn’t mind jumping into, but I don’t think you could have paid me enough money to get into that water. In fact, our baptisms there in previous years had been performed in the waters of the canals. Some people would stand guard with long sticks to keep away snakes or alligators while the baptisms took place. Now that would be a test of faith for sure!

We are very particular about our water in our culture. If it doesn’t look right or smell right we just won’t use it or drink it. I’m sure many people can remember well water that had a high level of sulfur in it. That rotten egg smell just doesn’t help my appetite.

Did you know that in the United States the average person drinks about 25 gallons of bottled water a year? The bottled water industry has annual revenue of over $10 Billion. But for the majority of our citizens, the public tap water is just as good for us. We don’t want just good enough water. We want the best.

The Jordan River is the most important river in Palestine. It runs for 100 miles and empties into the Dead Sea. Many notable events happened in or around this river.

Jesus was baptized in this river by John the Baptist. We find that account in Matthew 3:13-17.

In Joshua chapter 3 we find that the Israelites, after forty years of wandering in the wilderness, finally are able to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land. We are told there that as the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant stepped into the river that the waters of the river were cut off and all of the people were able to cross the Jordan on dry land. What a wonderful sight that must have been.

But there was another event that happened in the Jordan River that I’d like to review. That is the case of Naaman and his leprosy. Naaman had been to see the king of Israel, but he was not the one who could cure him. So Naaman is then called to see Elisha. We find this in 2 Kings 5:8-14.

So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”

Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha's house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

Earlier I said that I don’t think any amount of money could cause me to jump into those nasty waters in South America. But if someone fell in and was drowning, well, I think that I’d be more than willing to jump in to rescue someone else.

Money alone is not a motivator for such things. But the right purpose is. Naaman saw the Jordan River as a nasty river, far below his standards of what a man of his status would accept. It wasn’t until he found the proper reason that he willingly went into that water and dipped seven times until he was clean.

On Our Daily Walk today, may we learn to see God’s plan for us from His perspective of knowing what is best. May we not be sidetracked by the surface so as to not see the real blessings that lie underneath.

Our thought for the day: “Never argue with your doctor. He has inside information.”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.