Joshua 3:10-13 ESV

How many times do you think you’ve signed your signature on something? Maybe it was on a check at a restaurant, or the paperwork for a car, or simply just the closing of a Happy Birthday letter to a friend. 

Every time you go to sign your signature though, do you notice that it is always a teeny tiny bit different than last time you did it? Or maybe you have a few signatures for different occasions: one with just your first name for letters/cards and one fancy signature for legal documents? Whether you notice small differences between your signature every time you write it, or you have a couple very different signatures, there is one common thread: we each have a very distinct and recognizable signature. 

It makes me wonder… does God have a sort of signature? Maybe not one that is written on a piece of paper, but something that defines Him for Him. It turns out that God has many signatures, and an example of one is in this week’s passage!

In Joshua 3, Joshua is leading the Israelites after Moses died. One of his tasks was to move the Israelites to a new place; they needed a fresh start, after all. Joshua had one pretty big problem though: the Jordan River was right in the middle of their path to new land. And while the Bible doesn’t necessarily say what Joshua’s reaction to this was, I’m sure he’d be surprised and confused, considering he now had to get a nation from one side of a huge river to the other. 

While this may seem like an insurmountable task, the Lord speaks to Joshua and tells him to gather one man from each of the 12 tribes. After he has done this, the 12 men are to carry the Ark of the Covenant and stand with all of their feet in the Jordan River. Joshua does this, and just as the Lord promised, the water of the Jordan River split and made a dry path for the Israelites to walk across on. 

Does this story ring any bells? It should, because only a few decades before this miracle, the Lord split the Red Sea for Moses and the Israelites to walk through. And while God may have used slightly different ways of completing these splitting-waters tasks (Moses’ rod vs. the Ark of the Covenant), it is undeniable that only God could do something like splitting a huge body of water into two, leaving only a dry path in the middle. 

Splitting water is like a signature that God has used a few times. He may have “written” his signature in slightly different ways, but it is still his signature. Next time you write your signature, think about how God has written his signature on your life. If you don’t see His signature on your life, pray for one! He can split bodies of water: just imagine what he can do in your life!