THE RIVER
STOPPED FLOWING!

This is the story of Joshua leading his people across the River Jordan. The picture shows the Priests holding the Ark of the Lord in the middle with all the people crossing alongside. Notice how the water is being held back. What an amazing sight!

The story begins with God telling Joshua to tell the Priests to take the Ark of the Lord to the edge of the water. Joshua then tells all the people to follow the Ark. As soon as the feet of the Priests touched the water, the river stopped flowing! The priests then walked to the centre of the river and stopped and all the people crossed over. Joshua then told one man from each tribe of people to go back and pick up 12 stones and bring them back so they could build an altar as a memorial to God. When this had been done, Joshua told the Priests to bring the Ark to dry land and as soon as this was done, the River Jordan began to flow again. There are some very important lessons to learn from this story and here they are:

1. The River Jordan is the biggest river in Israel and it is mentioned many times in the Bible.
2. The Ark of the Lord was a very precious Gold covered box, because it symbolized the presence of God. Inside the box were; two tablets of stone, on which were written the 10 Commandments and some other sacred items. It had two carrying poles; one either side so that it could be carried from place to place, reminding the people that God was with them. It also showed that the people of Israel had no fixed dwelling place.

Also, notice that the Priests held the Ark in the middle of the river, whilst the people walked by to show them that it was God holding the water back and that He was with them

3. When the Ark was in front, it led the people into the water.
4. When the Ark was by their side, it protected the people from the water.
   This is a lesson for us. We should keep the Lord Jesus by our side no matter what happens.
5. The usual place for the Ark was at the centre of their camp, showing us that Jesus should be at the centre of our lives.
6. Did you know that Joshua is a picture of Jesus? He led his people, just as Jesus leads us.
7. If God is to be our God, we must not be afraid, we must learn to trust Him.
8. When they arrived at a place called Gilgal, Joshua told the people to take the stones they had collected and build a memorial to remind them of the love and power of God.

If you have read this story and would like to know more about it, open your Bibles to the Book of Joshua and read Chapters 3 and 4. If you don’t understand some of it, ask your Mom or Dad or your Teacher to help you.

If you would like to accept Jesus as your Saviour pray this prayer:

Dear God, I know that I am a sinner. I know that you sent Jesus to be my Saviour, and that He died on the Cross to take the punishment for my sins.  I know that Jesus rose from the dead and is coming back someday. Please forgive me for all my sins, and come into my life and change me. Please guide me in my life and help me to follow you for the rest of my life. Thank you for saving me and taking me to heaven when I die.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

If you need any help, contact me. I prayed this prayer many years ago when I decided to invite Jesus into my life. You can too!