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Read Joshua Chapter 3

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1And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.

2And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;

3And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.

4Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.

5And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you.

6And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.

7And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.

8And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.

9And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God.

10And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.

11Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.

12Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.

13And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.

14And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;

15And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)

16That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.

17And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

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Explanation

Joshua 3

In short

Joshua leads the Israelites to the Jordan River, where God performs a miracle: when the priests carrying the sacred ark step into the water, the river stops flowing and the people cross on dry ground. This shows God is with them and will give them the land ahead.

What the text says

Joshua prepares to cross the Jordan. The people camp at Shittim, then move to the river and wait (verse 1). After three days, officers tell the people to follow the ark of the covenant, keeping a distance of about two thousand cubits, or roughly a thousand yards (verses 2-4).

Joshua tells the people to "sanctify yourselves," meaning to prepare and make themselves clean or ready, because God will do wonders tomorrow (verse 5). He instructs the priests to carry the ark and go ahead (verse 6). God promises Joshua that this day will show all Israel that God is with him as God was with Moses (verse 7).

Joshua commands the priests that when they reach the water, they must stand still in the river (verse 8). He announces to Israel that they will see the living God is among them and will drive out the people living in the land (verses 9-10). The ark will go before them (verse 11).

Joshua chooses twelve men, one from each tribe (verse 12). When the priests' feet touch the water of the Jordan, the water from upstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap (verse 13). The people move toward the river; the priests go ahead with the ark (verse 14). The priests' feet touch the water while the Jordan is at flood stage during harvest time (verse 15). The water flowing down stops and stands up as a heap far away near the city Adam, while the water going toward the Dead Sea is cut off. The people cross opposite Jericho (verse 16). The priests stand firm on dry ground in the middle of the river while all Israel crosses on dry ground (verse 17).

Takeaways

  • God performs a sign using the priests and the ark to prove his presence and power to guide Israel.
  • The crossing requires trust: the priests must step into the water first without knowing what will happen.
  • God connects what he does with Israel's future conquest of the land ahead of them.

Explanation written with the help of AI. The Bible text above is not changed. Context and interpretation are flagged as such; always come back to the text itself.