Joshua 3 & 4 (selected)
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Summary
- Crossing the Jordan: The river stood in a heap, until the people had crossed over. This was because the ark of the covenant was there.
Details and/or Comments
- Unique things happened when the ark (chest or box) of the covenant was present. This is because it contained the stone tablet on which was engraved the words of the covenant that had been made between the people and God. Moreover, the very words that were on the tablet had been engraved by God himself.
Scripture
Joshua 3-4 (selected verses)
| Scripture Passage | Comments and Links |
| Jos 3:8 You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, 'When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.' "
Jos 3:9 Joshua said to the children of Israel, "Come here, and hear the words of Yahweh your God." Jos 3:10 Joshua said, "Hereby you shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Hivite, and the Perizzite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Jebusite out from before you. |
This will demonstrate to the people that God is with them. |
| Jos 3:11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passes over before you into the Jordan. | A covenant made with the God of all the earth! |
| Jos 3:12 Now therefore take twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, for every tribe a man.
Jos 3:13 It shall come to pass, when the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of Yahweh, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, even the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand in one heap." |
Told what will happen
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| Jos 3:14 It happened, when the people moved from their tents to pass over the Jordan, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant being before the people,
Jos 3:15 and when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark had dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the time of harvest), Jos 3:16 that the waters which came down from above stood, and rose up in one heap, a great way off, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those that went down toward the sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people passed over right against Jericho. |
The water piled up in a heap, once the ark of the covenant of God was there.
The exact cause of this "heaping" of the waters is not given. It could have even been a providential miracle, caused a natural phenomenon, such as a landslide. |
| Jos 3:17 The priests who bore the ark of the covenant of Yahweh stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan; and all Israel passed over on dry ground, until all the nation had passed completely over the Jordan. | The people passed over on dry ground. |
Then they placed a memorial marker at that place.
| Scripture Passage | Comments and Links |
| Jos 4:15 Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying,
Jos 4:16 "Command the priests who bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of the Jordan." Jos 4:17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, "Come up out of the Jordan!" |
Time for the ark to come out of the dry Jordan riverbed. |
| Jos 4:18 It happened, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of Yahweh had come up out of the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up to the dry ground, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks, as before. |
Scripture Passages
(Only books that have relevance to this study have active links. The others are in italics.)
Genesis • Exodus • Leviticus • Numbers • Deuteronomy • Joshua • Judges • Ruth • 1 Samuel • 2 Samuel • 1 Kings • 2 Kings • 1 Chronicles • 2 Chronicles • Ezra • Nehemiah • Esther • Job • Psalms • Proverbs • Ecclesiastes • Song of Solomon • Isaiah • Jeremiah • Lamentations • Ezekiel • Daniel • Hosea • Joel • Amos • Obadiah • Jonah • Micah • Nahum • Habakkuk • Zephaniah • Haggai • Zechariah • Malachi Matthew • Mark • Luke • John • Acts • Romans • 1 Corinthians • 2 Corinthians • Galatians • Ephesians • Philippians • Colossians • 1 Thessalonians • 2 Thessalonians • 1 Timothy • 2 Timothy • Titus • Philemon • Hebrews • James • 1 Peter • 2 Peter • 1 John • 2 John • 3 John • Jude • Revelation |
—— To avoid any copyright issues, all Scripture is either from a public domain translation (such as the World English Bible), my own translation, or a combination of these. ——
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The name "Yahweh," when present in an Old Testament passage, represents the Hebrew name for the God of the Bible.
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Unless otherwise noted, all notes and comments are © by Dennis Hinks.
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