Joshua · chapter 3 of 24
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Joshua 3 tells of the crossing of the Jordan River. The priests carry the ark of the covenant ahead of the people, and when their feet touch the water the river stops and piles up far upstream. The priests stand firm on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed while all Israel crosses, and so God confirms that he is with Joshua and will drive out the nations of the land.
After the spies return from Jericho, Israel stands at the doorway of the promised land, but the Jordan, swollen at harvest time, blocks the way. This chapter recalls the Red Sea: once again God opens a path where there is none, now for a new generation that did not live through that miracle.
Joshua rises early, sets out from Shittim with all the people, and they come to the Jordan's bank, where they camp. After three days the officers go through the camp with instructions: when they see the ark of the covenant of the Lord carried by the Levitical priests, they are to set out and follow it so they will know which way to go. There must be a distance of about two thousand cubits between the ark and the people, and no one is to come near it.
Joshua tells the people to consecrate themselves, because tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among them. God tells him that this day he will begin to exalt him in the eyes of all Israel, so that they will know he is with him as he was with Moses. Joshua announces that the ark of the Lord of all the earth will go before them and that the living God will drive out the nations. He has twelve men chosen, one from each tribe, and promises that when the priests step into the water, the waters from upstream will stop and stand in a heap.
The people leave their tents to cross the Jordan, which overflows its banks at the harvest season. When the priests' feet touch the water, the waters coming from upstream stop a long way off, near the town of Adam, and the waters flowing to the Sea of the Arabah are cut off. The priests stand firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel passes over on dry ground until the whole nation has finished crossing.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Joshua tells the people to consecrate themselves because tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among them. Before they see the miracle, God asks for preparation of heart: his work is not a spectacle but an encounter with the holy God.
The Lord announces that this day he will begin to exalt Joshua in the eyes of all Israel, so that they will know he is with him as he was with Moses. The miracle confirms the new leader and gives him authority before the people.
Joshua explains that by this sign they will know the living God is among them and will drive out the nations of Canaan. Calling the Lord the living God sets him apart from the idols of the peoples of the land.
When the priests' feet touch the water, the overflowing Jordan stops far away. The miracle demands an act of faith: the water opens after the priests have taken the step, not before.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: The ark of the covenant of the Lord, carried by the Levitical priests. — Joshua 3:3
Answer: About two thousand cubits. — Joshua 3:4
Answer: To consecrate themselves, because the next day the Lord would do wonders among them. — Joshua 3:5
Answer: So that all Israel would know God was with him as he was with Moses. — Joshua 3:7
Answer: The waters from upstream stopped and piled up far away, near Adam, and the waters below were cut off. — Joshua 3:15-16
Answer: Firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the whole nation had crossed. — Joshua 3:17
Joshua 3 shows that God often opens the way once someone takes the first step of faith. The priests had to put their feet into a flooded river before the water stopped. We often want to see the road open before we obey, but this chapter invites us to trust that God goes ahead of us. In a small group you can share what step of obedience God is asking for today, even if the river looks high.
It also teaches preparation: Joshua told the people to consecrate themselves before the miracle, and to keep a respectful distance from the ark. God's presence is not something we use at will but something we receive with reverence. Encourage your class to set aside time to prepare their hearts before asking God for great things.
Joshua 3 leaves the priests standing firm in the dry Jordan and all Israel crossing into the promised land. In Joshua 4 twelve stones will be set up as a memorial so future generations will know what God did that day.
It was the sacred chest that held the tablets of the law and symbolized the Lord's presence among his people. Its going first means that God himself guides Israel; the people were to follow at a distance, showing reverence, and not trust in their own strength.
Both are events in which God holds back the waters so his people can pass on dry ground. The Red Sea marked the exit from Egypt; the Jordan marks the entrance to the promised land. The book itself connects the two events in the next chapter, showing that the God of Moses is the same God who accompanies Joshua.