Jordan River thickets near bank

When Jeremiah struggled with his call, the reply from the Lord included these words: “If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?” It is not easy to approach the Jordan River. For most of its journey from Mt. Hermon in the far north to the Dead Sea, the banks of the Jordan are steep and guarded by a thick growth of plants. These “thickets” were a natural habitat for wildlife, including lions. In Jeremiah’s day, it wasn’t unusual to encounter lions (see 2 Samuel 23:20). The fear of lions must have been fresh enough in the New Testament era, since Peter used the illustration of the devil acting like a lion on the hunt (1 Peter 5:8). Crossing the Jordan would have come almost exclusively at heavily trafficked areas that would have been free of the thickets. Joshua, Elijah, Elisha all knew these crossings. John the Baptist would have been in an area easy to access when he challenged people to repent and be baptized.