But Moses had to die eventually (or something) and it was Joshua that took over as prophet over the Children of Israel. To confirm to the Children of Israel that Joshua was the God's chosen prophet, he directed Joshua to have the priests bearing the ark of the covenant to walk in the Jordan River, and as they did so, the Jordan River parted and all of Israel passed through on dry ground.
THEN, in 2 Kings 2, Elijah, another prophet, parts the waters of Jordan right before he died (or something). After Elijah was gone, Elisha "took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters" (2 Kings 2:14). So Elisha also parted the waters of Jordan, manifesting to the Children of Israel that he was God's next chosen prophet.
THEN, in modern times there is a story told (it could be false?) that when Brigham Young spoke to a large congregation sometime after the death of the prophet Joseph Smith, he took on the appearance, voice, and mannerisms of Joseph Smith and that this was a sign from God that Brigham Young was to be Joseph's successor. Too bad Joseph and Brigham weren't a part of parting any seas.
These three occurrances help me to see that God wants his children to understand who He has placed on the earth to lead them. We can, of course, receive confirmation on our own by praying about it, but I thought it was an interesting pattern.
That is an interesting pattern. There is a story that the ice floes broke apart so a group on saints on a boat could continue on (JS might have been there and on the Mississippi?)
ReplyDeleteYou are becoming a Old Testament scholar! :-}