#6 The Ark Parts the Jordan River

-


Joshua 3
The Ark of the Covenant Parts the Jordan River

Early in the morning Joshua and all the children of Israel set out from Shittim and went to Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. After three days the officers went throughout the camp, giving orders to the people: “When you see the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD your God, and the priest the Levites carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between you and the ark; do not go near it.”

And Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the Ark of the Covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of the people.

And the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so 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 children of Israel, “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.”

“Behold, the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD of all 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 their feet 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 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 the plain (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off.

So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on firm dry ground, while all Israel passed by until all the people had completed the crossing on dry ground.

About forty thousand armed for battle crossed over before the LORD to the plains of Jericho. Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Command the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant, to come up out of Jordan.” So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of Jordan.”

And the priests came up out of the river carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD. No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Exodus 3 - 4

-
The Children of Israel Exodus 3 and 4 Moses and the Burning Bush One day Moses was tending his father-in-law’s flock. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement because the bush was engulfed with flames but did not burn up. So he decided to go closer and take a look. When the LORD saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” “Here I am!” Moses replied. “Do not come any closer,” the LORD warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God. Then the LORD told him, “I have see the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of th...
Read more

Numbers 25 - 31

-
Numbers 25 Moab Seduces Israel While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to commit whoredom with the Moabite women,   who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people did eat and bowed down before these gods. Israel joined themselves to Baal-peor (a Moabite deity – false god), and the LORD’S anger burned against them. The LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of these people, and hang them up before the LORD in the bright sun, so that the LORD’S fierce anger may turn away from Israel.” So Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you must put to death those of your people who have joined themselves to Baal-peor.” And behold, one of the children of Israel brought into the camp a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses, and the entire congregation of the children of Israel while they were weeping at the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation. When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the ...
Read more

#14 The Ark - The Hidden Manna

-
The hidden manna A meal for the future Revelation 2:17 holds a wonderful and mysterious promise. It says; "'To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.'" Many have speculated about this hidden manna. What is it? I'll tell you up front that I don't know the answer. The book of Revelation in particular is filled with prophecies, symbols and types and I believe we are not privy to full understanding until the right time. The closer we arrive to end time events spoken of in Revelation; the clearer will be our understanding. In the meanwhile God has some of it veiled for his own purposes. Yet, we can piece some things together and we can continue to seek and pray for discernment. We can start with an understanding of manna, which was the food God provided to the Israelites when they wandered for forty years in...
Read more