Joshua 3: 7-17
And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of Israel, so that they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’ ”
Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites. See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all of the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord–the Lord of all the earth–set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.”
So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from the upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry land in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry land.
A Thought
Moses has died and God has chosen to exalt Joshua to lead the Israelite people across the Jordan River into the land that he has chosen for them. God gives instructions that Joshua must follow for the people to know that he is the one to take the place of Moses to lead them. The priests are told to carry the ark of the covenant into the flooded Jordan River because God will stop the stream of water that is flowing from the upstream so the Israelites can walk across on dry land while the water is heaped up a great distance away at a town called Adam. Joshua has learned to obey God and he will be exalted to where no one will be able to stand against him. The Israelites have learned that God now speaks through Joshua. The other nations have learned to fear the God that is maker of the heavens and the earth.
Our Prayer
Father we desire to bow down and to worship you in humility that you will rise us up to be strong filled with your Spirit to be your witnesses filled with your love. Build our faith in you to know that you will always honor your word even when we need the impossible to be done. Thank you that you have provided all that we need to follow you into the promised land of heaven to live eternally with you. We ask in Jesus’ name, amen.
