“Adonai your God — He will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations ahead of you, and you will dispossess them. Y’hoshua — He will cross over ahead of you, as Adonai has said.”-Deuteronomy 31:3
From verse 3, Moses tells the people that the Lord has not permitted him to cross over the Jordan River.
Instead, it will be HASHEM Himself who will cross over ahead of Israel and then Joshua will step in to lead Israel as they cross over.
Did you notice how many times the phrase “to cross over” is used?
This is very significant because the word “Hebrew” comes from the Akkadian word IPURU and it means…
…“one who crossed over“.
Originally, this phrase was referring to Abraham who crossed over the Euphrates River in order to obey the Lord and go to the land God said He would show him.
Now here in Deuteronomy 31, this phrase is being used in the context that Moses will NOT be crossing over but instead the Lord will cross over ahead of Joshua and the people to lead everyone into the Promised Land.
At this stage in our Torah studies, this concept of “crossing over” should not be foreign to us.
In its most simplistic sense, it just means to pick oneself up and go from one side to another.
We’re talking about that pivotal moment in time when a profound change in our status occurs.
Remember, the Torah is all about presenting heavenly principles in such a way that they can be understood in the earthly realm.
Israel literally EXPERIENCED the “crossing over” from an old existence into a new one.
They literally crossed over physical mountains, rivers and other territorial boundaries to arrive at this point in the Torah.
So what’s the takeaway for us today?
The answer is simple.
If you wish to become one with God’s people, you are still invited to “cross over”.
You are called to cross over from the unclean to the clean, from the common to the holy AND…
…from eternal death to eternal life.
Again that is what it means to be a spiritual IPURU or Hebrew…one who chooses to cross over.
In order to cross over, you don’t need to enter into a new geographical territory or change your nationality.
“Crossing over” is a spiritual issue involving trusting the Creator and trusting that He can and will save us.
Just as ancient Israel had to cross over into the land of Canaan for their rest, so does the modern believer have to cross over into trust in Messiah.
Remember, Israel couldn’t just stay in the wilderness and have the Promised Land brought to them.
They had to make a choice to cross over into it.
And the same goes with us.
We can’t expect to stay in the wilderness of this fallen world we live in and automatically have our land of rest come to us.
We’re on a spiritual journey and must make a decision to cross over into God’s Kingdom so we can possess our inheritance.
We must leave the wilderness of this evil world behind.
Very helpful message.It uplifts the spirit and enhances the spiritual insight of the concept of CROSSING OVER
Glad you enjoyed this Maxwell. Be blessed and Shalom!