Joshua 03

Introduction

In chapter 1 the Lord told Joshua that he and all the people should get ready to cross the Jordan River and enter the Promised Land. And the Lord reassured Joshua that the Lord will be with him as he was with Moses to help him.

In chapter 2 Joshua sent men to spy out the land and especially the city of Jericho. And the spies stayed the night in the home of Rahab and learned from her that a great fear had fallen on the people of the land because they’d heard what the Lord had done for Israel at the Red Sea; and they’d heard that the Israelites had destroyed Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites; and they knew that the Lord is God in heaven above and on earth below and that he has given the land of Canaan to his people Israel. And knowing all this about God and about his purpose for Israel, Rahab asked for mercy. She asked that they will spare her and her family when they come to destroy Jericho. And the spies agreed and returned to Joshua.

Verse 1

And so, we come to chapter 3 and to the account of the crossing of the Jordan. And we’re told in verse 1 that early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim, where they had been camping, and went to the Jordan, where they set up camp once again.

And in what follows, we have several speeches. In verses 2 to 4 the officers speak to the people. In verses 5 and 6, Joshua speaks to the people and to the priests. In verses 7 and 8 the Lord speaks to Joshua. In verses 9 to 13 Joshua speaks to the people again. And after all those speeches, we read in verses 14 to 16 how they set out to cross the Jordan. And the chapter concludes in verse 17, with the priests, carrying the ark of the covenant, standing on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by.

Verses 2 to 4

Let’s turn now to verses 2 to 4 and the first speech. After three days of camping beside the Jordan, the officers went through the camp and ordered the people to get ready to move out. Remember that these are not military officers, but administrative officers. And they told the people that when they see the ark of the covenant of the Lord their God, and when they see the priests carrying the ark, they must follow it.

The ark of the covenant was that wooden box, covered in gold, which was normally kept in the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle and, like the glory-cloud, it signified the presence of God with them. And since the ark of the covenant was to go before them and they were to follow behind, then it signified that God was leading them. He was showing them the way to go. As the officers said in verse 4, they have never been this way before. But the Lord will go before them and show them the way.

The officers also commanded them not to get too close to the ark. They were to keep a distance of about 1,000 yards between themselves and the ark. One reason for this is that God is holy and his people cannot approach him. Think back to when the Lord spoke to them forty years previously at Mount Sinai. At that time the Lord commanded the people not to approach the mountain. They were to keep their distance, because if they came too close, they would die. And so, they should keep their distance from the ark, because the ark represents God and God is holy.

But perhaps a second reason for keeping their distance is so that they would be able to see what the Lord was going to do for them. When you’re in a traffic jam, you can’t see past the cars in front to see what’s causing the jam. And if the people were all bunched up closely to the ark of the covenant, then they wouldn’t be able to see what God was going to do for them. They needed to stand at a distance in order to see the wonderful miracle the Lord was going to perform for them.

Verses 5 and 6

And so, that’s what the officers commanded the people to do. And then Joshua addresses the people and the priests in verses 5 and 6.

In verse 5 he tells the people to consecrate themselves. That means they were to prepare themselves for what was about to happen by washing themselves. This recalls what happened forty years previously when they were commanded to wash their clothes to prepare for the coming of the Lord at Mount Sinai. And once again, God was coming among his people. And so, they had to prepare for his coming by washing themselves. And, of course, washing themselves with water was a sign of how they were sinners who needed the Lord to wash away their sins. And so, consecrating themselves perhaps also meant confessing their sins to one another and turning from them in repentance.

And in verse 6 he told the priests to take up the ark of the covenant and pass on in front of the people. Normally certain Levites were to carry the ark, but on this occasion the priests are to carry it. And the priests obeyed Joshua and went on ahead of the people.

Verses 7 and 8

And in verses 7 and 8, the Lord speaks to Joshua. He told Joshua that he was going to exalt Joshua in the eyes of all Israel so that they would know that the Lord was with Joshua just as he was with Moses.

So, the Lord was going to make clear to the people that Joshua was the one he had chosen to replace Moses as their leader. They should accept him and listen to him.

And the way God was going to exalt Joshua was by performing this miracle at the command of Joshua. So, Joshua was to tell the priests who were carrying the ark that they should go and stand in the river. And when they stand in the river, then the priests and all Israel will see the amazing power of God. In the past, God performed wonderful miracles for his people through Moses. Now the Lord will perform wonderful miracles for his people through Joshua. And so, they should listen to him.

Verses 9 to 13

And Joshua once again addresses the people in verses 9 to 13. He tells them to come and hear the words of the Lord. And they’re going to hear the words of the Lord from him. God is speaking to them through him. And God is speaking to them through him to reassure them of his presence with them.

And he refers to the Lord as the ‘living God’. He’s the living God, whereas the gods of the nations are dead. They have no life in themselves and can do nothing. But the Lord their God is the living God: he has all life in and of himself and he’s able to give them life in the Promised Land.

And Joshua tells the people that the Lord is going to make clear to them that he will remove the other nations from the land so that they can take over it and live in it. And God is going to make this clear to them by means of the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth.

That’s quite a mouthful, isn’t it? The ark is called the ark of the covenant, because it contains the Ten Commandments, which were the terms of the covenant which God made with them at Mount Sinai. So, he’s the one who rescued them from Egypt and he’s committed to being their God. And they in turn committed themselves to keeping his commandments.

And he’s the Lord of all the earth. In other words, he’s the master or the ruler of the earth. And since he rules over all the earth, then he can give the land of Canaan to his people.

And Joshua says to the people that when the priests who are carrying the ark set foot in the Jordan, its water will be cut off and will stand up in a heap. When they see this, then they will know that’s God is with them and he’s going to take the land from the nations and give it to them.

Verses 14 to 17

And after all those speeches, the author describes for us what happened in verses 14 to 17.

The people broke camp and the priests carrying the ark went ahead of them. And to set the scene for us, the author tells us in verse 15 that the Jordan was in flood at that time. The commentators say that the river, at this time of the year, would have been a raging torrent and was probably a mile wide. In other words, it was not a stream that was easy to cross, but a deep and wide river which was normally impossible to cross by foot. But on this occasion, and as soon as the priests reached the river and stepped into it, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away as if an invisible wall had been built to block the river. And so, the people were able to cross over to the other side on dry ground.

And in case it’s not clear, the author tells us plainly in verse 17 that the priests who were carrying the ark were standing on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by so that the whole nation was able to cross over on dry ground.

Conclusion

And so, the Lord came down from heaven to his people on earth and led them out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land. And in the New Testament we read how the Lord came down from heaven in the person of his Son to lead us from our old life of sin and unbelief and into a new life as members of Christ’s kingdom here on the earth.

The Israelites were unable to cross the river under their own power. If they were to cross it, it had to be by the power of God who opened the way for them through the Jordan. And our sin and God’s wrath lay between God and us and we were unable by ourselves to overcome them. But God opened the way for us into his kingdom through the death of his Son on the cross to pay for our sins and by his Spirit who enabled us to repent and believe.

God was leading the Israelites to a new life in the Promised Land. And God has led us by his Son to a new life. Because of God’s kindness to us in Christ Jesus, we now enjoy new life in Christ and every day we rejoice in his abounding love and goodness to us in Christ. And one day we will enjoy everlasting life in the presence of God in the new creation to come, where we will be with God for ever and for ever and where we will rejoice in his love for us for ever and for ever.