Joshua 3:9-17
9 Then Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God.”
10 And Joshua said, “By this you will know that the living God is among you, and that He will assuredly drive out from you the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Hivite, the Perizzite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, and the Jebusite.
11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over ahead of you into the Jordan.
12 Now then, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe.
13 And it will come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, that is, the waters which are flowing down from above; and they will stand in one heap.”
14 So when the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan, with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant before the people,
15 and when those who were carrying the ark came up to the Jordan and the feet of the priests carrying the ark stepped down into the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest),
16 then the waters which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap, a great distance away at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those which were flowing down toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. So the people crossed opposite Jericho.
17 And the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan.
Stoppage of the Jordan River
The Lord’s command
Joshua passed on the word of the Lord to the Israelites. (1) This miracle would certify that God was living in their midst and that He would drive out the enemies before them. (2) Select twelve men: one man for each tribe. The purpose of this was to collect the twelve stones. (3) The priests carrying the ark of the covenant must go before the Israelites and when the soles of their feet rest in the waters, the flow of the river will stop. The Israelites did exactly as the Lord commanded.
The Lord’s miracle
The moment the feet of the priests touched the waters, the stream of the Jordan River, which flows from north to south, stopped upstream. (1) Usually, the width of the river is about 25–30 meters (82–98 ft.) and is about 1–3 meters deep (3–10 ft.). However, as this was in early spring during the barley harvest, the river was flooding due to the snowmelt from the Lebanon mountains. At this stage, the 2 million people with their livestock couldn’t cross the river. (2) About 25 kilometers (16 miles) north from where the Israelites were camping, was a town called Adam (today’s Tall Damiyeh). Further 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the town of Adam, was a town called Zarethan (today’s Tell es-Saidiyeh). The distance of the water stoppage was 20 kilometers (12 miles) between the two towns. (3) Similar events had occurred in history. It was recorded by an Arab chronicler Nowairi; in December 1267, the western slope of the river collapsed and dammed the river. Also, in 1909 and 1927, the western bank collapsed into the shore of Jisr ed-Damiye and stopped the river. Even today, if the Jordan River were to be dammed, it is possible only within the 20 kilometers between the town of Adam and Zarethan. More importantly, this miracle was one concerning time (miracle of timing). The river flow stopped the moment when the feet of the priests entered the water. After all the Israelites had crossed the river, it returned to its original state. Furthermore, this miracle proved that the Lord was with Joshua, just as He was with Moses. Each of us in our own lives experiences something that is like the crossing of the Jordan. When we dip our feet in the river, the dry ground will appear. With that in mind, let’s take our first step by faith.
Today's prayer
God of Israel, You are with me today. May I take the first step in faith. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.