Joshua 3--Israel Crosses the Jordan

Joshua 3
English Standard Version
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Israel Crosses the Jordan
3 Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. 2 At the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3 and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. 4 Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.” 5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” 6 And Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.

7 The LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8 And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’” 9 And Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God.” 10 And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the LORD of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. 12 Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. 13 And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the LORD, the LORD of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.”

14 So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), 16 the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. 17 Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.

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With the return of the spies that Joshua sent out, the people who have been packed up and ready to head out for a while now get the command from the LORD to break camp and move out.  They set out for a point on the east side of the Jordan River named Shittim, and they made camp there before setting out to cross the Jordan the next day.

The instructions given by Joshua do not seem to make a lot of sense to military commanders who would study this for tactics, but it makes perfect sense to us who have been following the Exodus of the people since the book of Exodus.  The Ark of the Covenant was to go out in front of the people with a distance of about 1,000 yards (a cubit is roughly 18 inches, so this is roughly 3,000 feet or 1,000 yards)--a great distance of separation between the people and the Ark that represented the presence of the LORD.  Even with this great distances, they needed to consecrate themselves and be made holy for the LORD was about to do something wonderful among them bringing them into the Land of Promise.  In many ways we can see some symbolism here of how crossing the Red Sea is like the process of justification when were freed from our slavery to sin, but we have still like the people wandering in the wilderness for forty years, struggled with the presence and power of sin in our lives, and we look forward to one day crossing over into a better Promised Land where there will be no more sin, no more death and no more pain, and there will be no more enemies to fight for the LORD will have conquered all of His enemies.

​Now the LORD speaks directly to Joshua and lets him know that today is the day that all the people will start to look at him differently.  He will be exalted, that is lifted up, in the eyes of the people.  They will see him as the leader God has made him to be, and they will know the LORD is with Joshua in the same kind of way that He was with Moses.

Joshua commanded that there be a representative from each of the twelve tribes chosen (though he did not say why yet, but it will be for them to take something from the center of the Jordan River as their tribe crossed over safely) and gave them instructions on how the LORD would provide for the safe passage of the people.  The priests with the Ark would enter the waters first, and they would be piled up in a heap far away so that the people would cross on dry ground, just like they did at the Red Sea, though there was no one alive from the Red Sea crossing anymore save Joshua and Caleb.  This was a new generation and they were experiencing this for themselves.  They had heard about it from their parents and grandparents, but now they have seen the hand of the LORD for themselves.

The text even tells us that the waters were at flood stage at this time of year, so it would have been dangerous for them to try to cross, but the people knew that the LORD was with them and that they only needed to obey His command, even if that command made no sense to them.  So the people crossed over opposite Jericho so that this miracle happened within full view of those from that city.  Those who were in dread of the Israelites saw their last hope of safety--the Jordan River at flood stage--dry up before them, because even that mighty river could not stop or delay the LORD and His people.  They would instead begin to hope and trust in the fortifications of their city, but that would be their demise, for the very walls they trusted in will collapse upon them and kill them.

Joshua finishes this passage by saying that the priests carrying the Ark stayed in the midst of the river until all the people had safely crossed over.  That's a long time to be shouldering a very heavy load that is the Ark of the Covenant, for it was made of gold and contained the stone tablets of the Law, the budding rod of Aaron, and an omer of manna.  It would be no small task stand out in the river until the people closed the distance of 1,000 yards, but then they also had to wait for all the people to cross and likely had to wait for a similar distance of 1,000 yards to be between themselves and the people again before they left the river.  We'll also see that they had to wait for the twelve representatives of the twelve tribes to each take a rock from the middle of the river that they would use to make an altar later (this is where we'll pick up next time).  These priests were no weaklings and they had to be strong to carry this ark and shoulder the load for long periods of time, but they could not depend on that strength to save themselves or their fellow Israelites, though we know these Levites were zealous for the LORD as we saw at Mount Sinai.  This will be a battle won not with sword or spear but by the hand of the LORD so that no one will misunderstand that the LORD is fighting this battle for His people.  Like what we see in the book of the Revelation, God's people will be present at the battle, but it is the Lord that will destroy His enemies, and we will rejoice and praise Him for the victory that He has accomplished.