On the Road to Emmaus: Gracious Waters
One of the major themes of Scripture is that grace is more powerful than law, because grace can inspire, while law can only compel.
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Consider the two water crossings the children of Israel experienced. Moses, the law giver, brought them across the Red Sea, while it was Joshua (Hebrew: The LORD is salvation) which brought them across the Jordan.
In the case of the Red Sea crossing, the water was stacked up on both sides of the children of Israel in the same way that the judgment of the law hangs over the sinner that is ruled by law. In the case of the Jordan crossing, the water to the north was backed up all the way to Adam, while the water to the south ran off into the Dead Sea. It’s as if judgment had been taken away in order to be replaced by something better –grace.
Also, those who crossed the Red Sea were compelled to cross by the threat of the armies of Egypt bearing down upon them. That’s what the law does. It compels you to act in order to avoid the consequences. But it doesn’t transform, as we can see by the fact that although the children of Israel were baptized by Moses in the Red Sea, nonetheless they died for lack of faith in the wilderness.
What about those who crossed the Jordan? There was no army bearing down on them. So what motivated them to step into the river? It was the grace of God! For thirty-eight years the LORD raised up the children of Israel in place of their parents who were languishing and dying in the wilderness. (Joshua 5:7) He cared for them, mentored them, inspired them, and transformed them so thoroughly that on that day they willingly stepped into the Jordan River with the hope of a wonderful future burning in their hearts.
So, ask yourself, which body of water have you stepped into?
Jim Sullivan,
Stoughton Ecclesia, MA