Joshua 3

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 3:5

Preparation for beholding displays of Divine power. With what longing eyes must the Israelites have looked upon the river which they were soon to cross. Hope had been deferred for years. The promised land, fertile and beautiful, seemed to disappear from their sight, as did the fruit and water from the eager hands and parched lips of Tantalus. Could it, then, be really true that on the morrow the boundary line would separate them from their inheritance no more? By the Jordan the Israelites... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 3:5

God's wonders. "Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you. These words admirably express the conditions of all blessing for the people of God. Those conditions are at once Divine and human. The Divine is the essential; the human can only be realised through it. I. GOD WILL DO WONDERS . This is a true description of all God's works of deliverance, and primarily of His great miracle of pardon. For, of all the marvellous things which He does, the most... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 3:6

And Joshua spake. We return now to the ordinary course of the narrative. To the priests. This was because the occasion was an extraordinary one. On ordinary occasions this was the duty of the Kohathites ( Numbers 4:15 ). And went before the people. The people were to "follow the priests as far as they carried the ark, but no further; so we must follow our ministers only as they follow Christ" (Matthew Henry). HOMILETICS read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 3:7

EXPOSITION THE PASSAGE OF THE JORDAN — This day will I begin to magnify thee. " Neque enim ante mysterium baptismi exal-tatur Jesus, sed exaltatio ejus, et exaltatio in conspectu pepuli, inde sunlit exordium " (Orig; Hem. 4 on Joshua. Cf. Matthew 3:17 ; Luke 3:22 ). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 3:7-17

The passage of Jordan. I. THE MINISTRY OF JOSHUA AND JESUS BEGAN AT JORDAN . As with Joshua at his crossing, so with Jesus at His baptism, God marked the moment of their coming to Jordan with a special favour. For as the waters of the Red Sea ( 1 Corinthians 10:2 ), so the waters of Jordan are the type of Christian baptism. In connection with the wandering in the wilderness, the stream of Jordan is the type of death, which admits us to the promised land. But in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 3:8

And thou shalt command the priests . We have not here the whole command. That is to be found in Joshua 3:13 . To the brink עַד־קְצֵה . Literally, to the end, i.e; the end or brink of the waters at the eastern side. There they halted, and as long as the ark remained there, the waters of Jordan ceased to flow. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 3:10

That the living God. Rather, perhaps, that a living God, i.e; that you hare not with you some idol of wood or stone, or some deified hero, long since passed out of your reach, but a living, working, ever present God, who shows by His acts that your faith in Him is not vain. The phrase is a very common one as applied to God in the Old Testament. In the New, Christ is frequently referred to as the source of life. Is among you. The original is stronger, in the midst of you. The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 3:11

The Lord of all the earth. As He was about to prove Himself to be by the mighty miracles He wrought to establish the Israelites in their land and thus fulfil His promise. The Israelites needed to be reminded of this to support them during the crossing of the Jordan. The translation of the LXX ; though rejected by the Masorites, who separate the words "covenant" and "Lord," is admissible here, "the covenant of the Lord of all the earth." If we follow the Masoretic punctuation, we must... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 3:11

The passage of the Jordan. The lessons of importance are not exhausted in those already suggested in this passage of the Jordan. A deed so great, so solemn, so vast in its results, has many sides, and many subordinate points of interest. I gather up in this second homily a few of those points of interest and instruction. And first observe— I. THE SIGN OF GOD 'S PRESENCE WITH ISRAEL IS TEMPORARY , BUT THE PRESENCE ITSELF IS PERMANENT . This lesson arises at... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 3:12

Take you twelve men. Joshua commands the election of twelve men previous to the passage of the Jordan, and in pursuance of the command he had already ( Joshua 4:2 ; cf. note on Joshua 4:2 ) received from God. The reason for which they were to be chosen was probably not communicated to the Israelites till after the passage had taken place. Masius thinks that it would make the narrative clearer, " si proximum is versiculum sequeretur ." But see note on Joshua 4:1 . read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 3:5

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 3:5

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 3:6

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 3:7

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 3:7-17

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 3:8

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 3:10

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 3:11

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 3:11

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 3:12

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