The Chosen Key Word in this Chapter is “Ark” it comes from the Hebrew Word “aron” which means “ark, chest.”
With the Jordan River at flood stage, Israel is about to walk across on dry ground. Welcome to Bible Life Basics Chapter Reviews, I am Chris and this is Joshua 3.
Joshua and Israel rise early and camp by the Jordan before crossing. Officers instruct the people that when they see the priests carrying the ark, “aron” in Hebrew, meaning chest or box, of the covenant, they should follow it, keeping a distance of about two thousand cubits, since they have not traveled this way before. Joshua tells the people to sanctify themselves, since “tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”
God tells Joshua that this day He will begin to magnify him in the sight of all Israel, so they will know that He is with Joshua just as He was with Moses. Joshua instructs the priests to step into the Jordan’s edge carrying the ark, and as soon as their feet touch the water, even though the river is at flood stage, overflowing its banks, the waters upstream stop flowing entirely, rising up in a heap, while the water below rushes on toward the sea, leaving the riverbed completely dry.
The priests carrying the ark of the covenant stand firmly on dry ground in the very middle of the Jordan while the entire nation of Israel passes over on dry ground, until everyone has completely crossed the river. This dramatic parallel to the Red Sea crossing decades earlier confirms unmistakably to this new generation that the same God who delivered their parents from Egypt is now personally leading them into the promised land.
This new generation, who never personally witnessed the Red Sea crossing, receives its own unmistakable, firsthand miracle right at the threshold of the promised land. God didn’t simply rely on secondhand stories to build their faith. He gave them a personal encounter with His power exactly when they needed it most.
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