CHAPTER 3

(1451 B.C.)

THE JORDAN RIVER

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 (they were not told how they would pass over, only that it would be done).

INSTRUCTIONS

²And it came to pass after three days, that the Officers went through the host (they had evidently been told by Joshua what to tell the people);

³And they commanded the people, saying, When you see the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD your God, and the Priests the Levites bearing it, then you shall remove from your place, and go after it. (The Priests who carried the Ark on their shoulders, and the Staves on each side of the Ark were for that very purpose, were Types of Christ, Who Alone has the Glory of God, represented by the Ark. Jesus said to the prospective Disciples, Follow Me. He is still saying the same thing to millions of people. Regrettably, far too many are following other things.)

⁴Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits (about 3,000 feet) by measure: come not near unto it, that you may know the way by which you must go: for you have not passed this way heretofore. (Before the Cross, men could not approach God, at least not directly, because the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin [Heb. 10:4]. Since the Cross, we are invited to come boldly to the Throne of Grace, and to do so as often as we like [Heb. 4:16].)

⁵And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you (they were to make certain they were ceremonially clean, for that was the best they could do at that time).

⁶And Joshua spoke 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 (as is here obvious, all the plans were Gods Plans, and not at all of man; a perfect blueprint is laid out here for us; we should not fail to use it).

THE PROMISE

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

⁸And you shall command the Priests who bear the Ark of the Covenant, saying, When you are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, you shall stand still in Jordan. (Deliverance from Egypt was not necessarily a type of Salvation, as many think. In fact, while in Egypt, the Lord referred to the Israelites as My People [Ex. 3:7]. They were Saved, not by being delivered out of Egypt, but by trusting in the Abrahamic Covenant [Gen. 15:6]. The deliverance from Egypt typified Deliverance from domination of the sin nature [Rom. 6:14]. That Deliverance was effected, even as it is effected presently, by Faith in the slain Lamb [Ex. 12:13].

In the wilderness, Israel ceased to have Faith in the slain Lamb, and thereby wandered aimlessly for some 38 years, and with an entire generation dying in that wasteland. Regrettably and sadly, millions of modern Christians follow suit. They take their Faith away from the slain Lamb and place it in something else. Such a direction always guarantees death.

Crossing the Jordan is a Type of the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, for it is impossible to claim the Promises of God without the Leading, Guidance, and Power of the Spirit, Who, however, always works within the framework of Christ and the Cross [Rom. 8:2].)

PROPHECY

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

¹⁰And Joshua said, Hereby you 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 (these heathen tribes typify enemies of the flesh which seek to hinder our progress with the Lord; victory can come to the Believer only as the Believer maintains his Faith in Christ and the Cross, which gives the Holy Spirit latitude to work within our lives [Rom. 6:3-14; 8:1-2, 11]).

¹¹Behold, the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD of all the Earth passes over before you into Jordan (Christ, of which the Ark of the Covenant was a Type, has gone before us and secured the victory; Faith and trust in Him guarantees us His Victory; to be sure, it is a victory which He has won solely for us).

¹²Now therefore take you twelve men out of the Tribes of Israel, out of every Tribe a man (the number twelve is Gods number of Government; however, it is His Government, and not that of man; this means that man must not dilute it in any way).

¹³And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the Priests who 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. (The Priests being a Type of Christ as well, the moment their feet touched the waters, the waters fled! Such is the Power of Christ over the enemies of our soul. But, understand, Jordan will flee only before Christ, and not at all before us.)

WATERS DIVIDED

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 who bore the Ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the Priests who bore the Ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overflowed all his banks all the time of harvest [flooded every spring. Normally the Jordan River is about 30 to 40 feet wide. It is said, however, when it flooded during those times, which it did every spring, that its depth would increase to about 40 feet, and its width to nearly two miles. No doubt, Jericho felt somewhat safe, thinking that Israel could not cross the swollen river. They reckoned without the Power of God],)

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 (Dead Sea), failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. (This can be construed as none other than one of the greatest miracles ever performed by the Lord. Furthermore, the Lord had them to cross opposite Jericho, with the inhabitants of that city, no doubt, observing this spectacle.)

¹⁷And the Priests who bore 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. (Many people think of Jordan, as described here, as a type of death, with Canaan as a Type of Heaven; however, while Jordan is a type of death, it is rather a type of the death of the flesh, with Canaan a Type of our possession of the Promises of God by the Power of the Holy Spirit.)