In the Old Testament, beginning with Genesis chapter one, God has set forth numerous word pictures to teach about the person and work of Christ — past, present, and future. A foundational type is laid down in the Exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt and their subsequent journey to the promised land of their inheritance. This type is nearly inexhaustible in its teaching concerning both Israel and Christians. This type covers the whole journey from Egypt to Canaan, as it also describes the future redemption of the nation of Israel. But the type is also applicable to the Christian. The events in Egypt describe the aspects surrounding our eternal salvation, through the death and shed blood of an innocent other. The Red Sea points to baptism all in view of a promised heavenly land. However, there is one significant event in this important type — namely, the typical meaning of the Jordan — which is rarely accorded proper emphasis, though it is of great importance. Christians would greatly profit if they were as familiar with the typical meaning of the Jordan as they are with the typical meaning of the Red Sea. The Jordan as a type shows that the promised land could not be entered without crossing the Jordan: “For you are about to cross the Jordan to go in to possess the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall possess it and live in it,” (cf. Deuteronomy 11:31). When you cross the Jordan and live in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security,” (cf. Deuteronomy 12:10). “So it shall be on the day when you cross the Jordan to the land that the LORD your God gives you, that you shall set up for yourself large stones and coat them with lime” (cf. Deuteronomy 27:2). The means of entering the Promised Land was by crossing the Jordan. Just as the Israelites couldn’t leave Egypt, except by passing through the Red Sea, Scripture does not provide a way to enter the Promised Land apart from crossing the Jordan. And what is true in the “type,” must also be true in the “antitype.” The Christian cannot enter the kingdom of the heavens without crossing the “Jordan” in its true, correct typical meaning. And it is this typical meaning that we shall deal with in this study. First-mention of the “Jordan” “Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere — this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah — like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other” (cf. Genesis 13:10, 11). Genesis 13:10, 11 provides a first-mention of the “Jordan” from the east. The text associates the Jordan and its valley with fruitfulness. A distinction is also made between the east side, the west side, and their separation. This distinction had to do with Lot – the man of flesh – and Abraham – the spiritual man. For one to enter the Promised Land he was to cross the Jordan to the west side. But the Ruebenites, who lost their rights of the firstborn, had to stay, along with the Gadites on the east side of the river. The first-mention of the “Jordan” immediately shows its typical meaning. It has to do with matters of flesh and spirit. For the Christian, the matters of the flesh and spirit have to do with what the New Testament calls the “salvation of the soul” (cf. Matthew 16:25; John 12:25; James 1:21). All of God’s dealings with Christians (allowing us to realize the salvation of our souls) will, typically, begin to occur only after passing through the Red Sea, on the east side of Jordan. And only a continuing, on-going process having to do with the saving of the soul in one’s life, will allow us to cross the Jordan from the east to the west side of the river. The Geography of the Jordan The Jordan depression has unique geographical features. It runs its course from its multiple river sources from Mount Hermon to Lake Huleh. From Lake Huleh to the Sea of Galilee is about 10 miles (16 kilometres), and the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea is about 65 miles (105 kilometres). From its beginning in the north to its terminus at the Dead Sea, the river drops tremendously – a drop of about 2,380 feet (393 meters). Due to its winding course, the river itself, actually measures nearly 200 miles (325 kilometres), over twice its direct distance. The name “Jordan” (Hebrews yarden יַרְדֵן) aptly means “the descender”. The name is connected with the Hebrew verb yarad (יָרַד), which means “to come or go down”. The verb is very common in Hebrew, such as in Exodus 32:1: “…when Moses came down from mount Sinai”. But in its typical meaning – dealing with matters of flesh and spirit – we see the same word used: “And I have trodden down the peoples in mine anger, and made them drunk in my fury; and their blood have I brought down to the earth” (cf. Isaiah 63:6). “Therefore thus says the Lord God: An adversary! — even round about the land! And he shall bring down your strength from you, and your palaces shall be pillaged” (Amos 3:11). “A wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the stronghold in which they trust” (Proverbs 21:22). In all these three verses, we see that “bringing down” is associated with bringing down the strength of man. This is illustrated even more through the names of two perennial streams on the east side of the Jordan: the Jabbok and the Cherith, east of the Jordan. The Jabbok appears 7 times in the Old Testament (cf. Genesis 32:22; Numbers 21:24; Deuteronomy 2:37; 3:16; Joshua 12:2; Judges 11:13, 22), and the Cherith two times (cf. 1 Kings 17:3, 5). The word “Jabbok” means “emptying”. The word is derived from the Hebrew verb baqaq (בָּקַק), which means “to empty”. It refers to the fact that the Jabbok empties into the Jordan from the east. The word “Cherith” means “cutting”. The word is derived from the Hebrew verb karat (כָּרַת), which means “to cut off, to cut down”. When we link these meanings, the Jordan, the “Descender”, bringing down one’s strength, in connection with “emptying” and “cutting”, we can see very clearly that experiences surrounding the crossing of the Jordan are specifically typical, with a view of one day realizing, the salvation of the soul.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 12:11:49 +0000
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