Joshua 3

Instructions in crossing the Jordan (vs. 1-13)—The Israelites were encamped in a placed called Shittim (that’s the Hebrew, the NKJV translates it “Acacia Grove,” v. 1). According to Josephus, this location was about 8 miles from the Jordan. “After three days” (v. 2), which perhaps refers to three days following the return of the spies, the officers of the people gave them their signal for departing: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it” (v. 3). Yet there was to be a distance of 2,000 cubits between the ark and the people (v. 4); that’s probably 3,500 feet, about a kilometer. The idea is respect; there is a great distance between God and man and that is represented by the space between ark and people. At the appropriate time, Joshua then commands the people to “sanctify themselves” (v. 5, in what way we do not know), and instructs the priests to take up the ark and begin the march.

Jehovah once again encourages Joshua and tells him that He will let the people know that “as I was with Moses, so I will be with you” (v. 7). The Lord then instructs Joshua to tell the priests that when then get to the edge of the Jordan River, they are to stand in the water” (v. 8). The Bible doesn’t record, at this location, what will happen when they do, but we’ll learn that before the end of the chapter. This is the method Jehovah used to let the people know that Joshua was His chosen leader—what God says to the people through Joshua will happen, and they will thereby understand that the Lord was with him. Joshua then tells the people that the Lord is fixing to give them a sign that He will aid them in their conquest of the land (v. 10); once again, Jehovah is trying to strengthen the faith of the children of Israel. They are about to go to war; no doubt it was nice to know in advance that victory was assured. Joshua tells each tribe to select one man (v. 12), for a reason we shall discover in chapter 4. Then he informs the people that, when the priests enter the river, “the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap" (v. 13). This is same miracle, of course, that God used in helping the Israelites cross the Red Sea. Some of the people were no doubt alive at that time, as children, and would remember that great event.

The waters of the Jordan divided (vs. 14-18)—We are given an interesting piece of information in verse 15—“the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest.” Otherwise, dividing the river really wouldn’t have been necessary. Usually, the Jordan is shallow and only about 20 yards wide; they could have made the crossing without the miracle, though it wouldn’t have been as easy, of course. But the Jordan was uncrossable without the miracle. As Joshua had said, when “the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water” (v. 14), then “the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan” (v. 16). The location of these two places is uncertain, but it has been suggested that they might be as much as 30 miles apart. We have no idea why the Lord would stop up the river as such a distance, but He did. If that word got around to Israel’s enemies, no doubt it would be discouraging to them. Regardless, the priests “stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan,” and “all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan” (v. 17).