Joshua Chapter 3 in Simple English

Read Joshua Chapter 3

1Joshua got up early in the morning. He and all the children of Israel set out from Shittim and came to the Jordan. They stayed there before they crossed over.

2After three days the officers went through the camp.

3They gave the people this command: "When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, the Levites, carrying it, then leave your place and follow it."

4"But keep a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it. Then you will know the way you must go, for you have not gone this way before."

5Joshua said to the people, "Make yourselves holy, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you."

6Joshua spoke to the priests and said, "Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over ahead of the people." So they took up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people.

7The LORD said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to make you great in the sight of all Israel. Then they will know that I will be with you, just as I was with Moses."

8"You must command the priests who carry the ark of the covenant. Say to them, 'When you come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, stand still in the Jordan.'"

9Joshua said to the children of Israel, "Come here, and listen to the words of the LORD your God."

10Joshua said, "By this you will know that the living God is among you. He will surely drive out from in front of you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites and the Jebusites."

11Look, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over ahead of you into the Jordan.

12So now choose twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, one man from each tribe.

13"The priests who carry the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, will set the soles of their feet in the waters of the Jordan. As soon as they do, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off. The waters coming down from above will stand up in a heap."

14So the people left their tents to cross over the Jordan, and the priests carried the ark of the covenant ahead of the people.

15The men carrying the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who carried the ark were dipped in the edge of the water. (The Jordan overflows all its banks through all the time of harvest.)

16Then the waters coming down from above stood still. They rose up in a heap very far away, by the city of Adam, which is beside Zaretan. And the waters going down toward the sea of the plain, the salt sea, failed and were cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.

17The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan. All the Israelites crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had passed right over the Jordan.

Explanation

Joshua 3

In short

Joshua leads the Israelites to the Jordan River and commands them to follow the ark of the covenant across the water. When the priests carrying the ark step into the flooded river, God stops the water's flow, and all the people cross on dry ground, demonstrating his power and presence with them.

Context

This chapter opens the account of Israel's entry into Canaan after forty years in the desert. Joshua has received God's commission to lead the nation. The Israelites are camped at Shittim, east of the Jordan River, which stands between them and the land God promised to give them. Joshua now prepares them to cross.

What the text says

Joshua commands the people to keep their distance from the ark (verses 3-4) and to sanctify themselves, for God will do wonders tomorrow (verse 5). God tells Joshua he will magnify him before all Israel as he did Moses, and will be with him (verse 7). Joshua instructs the priests to carry the ark into the river and stand still when they reach the water (verse 8). He then announces to the people that the living God is among them and will drive out the nations occupying the land (verses 9-10).

When the priests bearing the ark reach the Jordan at flood stage during harvest (verse 15), the flowing water stops. The water from upstream piles up in a heap near the city Adam (verse 16), while the water flowing toward the Dead Sea is cut off. The priests stand on dry ground in the river's midst while all the people cross (verse 17). Joshua then commands twelve men, one from each tribe, to take twelve stones from the Jordan as a memorial (verse 12).

Takeaways

God's presence with a leader, shown through miraculous signs, assures the people they will succeed in what lies ahead.
The crossing is not accidental but deliberately staged: the priests must act first to enter the water before God parts it.
A physical memorial of stones preserves the memory of God's work for future generations.

Joshua 3 - Simple English