Joshua
Chapter 3
Crossing the Jordan
Early in the morning, Joshua rose, set out from Shittim with all Israel’s people, and reached the Jordan River. There, they camped while waiting to cross the river.
After three days, the officers went around the camp.
They ordered the Israelites:“When you see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord go by, carried by the priests from the tribe of Levi, then you shall set out from your camp and follow it,
so that you may know the way you should go because you have never been that way before. But you shall follow it at a distance of a thousand meters. Do not go near it.”
Joshua told the Israelites: “Purify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will be in your midst doing wonders.”
And Joshua commanded the priests: “Take the Ark of the Covenant and cross the river at the head of the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went in front of the people.
Then the Lord told Joshua: “Today I will begin to make you great in the eyes of Israel, and they shall know that I am with you as I was with Moses.
Give this order to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant: As soon as you come to the banks of the Jordan, stand still in the river.”
And Joshua said to the Israelites: “Come nearer and listen to the words of the Lord, our God.
Do you want a sign that the Lord, the living God, is in your midst, he who drives away before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, as well as the Girgashites, Jebusites, and Amorites?
See, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to cross the Jordan before you.
Now, choose twelve men from the twelve tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.
When the priests who carry the Ark of the Lord of all the earth put their feet into the water of the Jordan, the water coming from upstream shall stop flowing and stand in one single mass.”
When the people prepared to cross the Jordan from their camp, the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them.
There was a lot of water in the Jordan, overflowing its banks during the barley harvest. Still, when those carrying the Ark stepped into the river and their feet touched the water’s edge, the flow of water upstream stopped.
The water stood still, forming something like a dam very far from that place, near Adam, the neighboring city of Zarethan. The water flowing down to the Dead Sea was completely cut off, allowing the people to cross over to Jericho.
The priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant remained in the middle of the river, which dried up until all the Israelites had crossed the Jordan.
Commentaries
Crossing the Jordan.
According to the Deuteronomistic tradition (D), the journey from the desert to the fertile land—especially the land of freedom—centers on this extraordinary event: the waters of the Jordan part to allow passage for a free people who have passed the desert test. Emphasis is placed on the fact that the waters only part for the crowd when the ark of the covenant enters them. If people do not prioritize their commitment to God or follow the plan of life he proposes, they cannot survive, and obstacles will continue to be in their way. The waters of the Jordan will close again once the ark, symbolizing God’s presence, is removed; similarly, Israel’s life will be overwhelmed if they turn away from the living God. But if they remain faithful to him, they will have life, and the entire world will tremble before them. They will have clear signs and arguments to show what it means to have the God of life with them.