1. PREPARING for a Miracle
Vs. 1-6
1) The INSTRUCTIONS are now given.
Vs. 1
It is the priest, the Levites who must carry the Ark.
Notice that the people must be separated by 3,000 ft or about a ½ mile.
Why? To keep them from touching the Ark or they would die.
And it is because the Ark of the Covenant represents the power and the presence of God.

John 10:27-29


Their faith wasn’t a passive feeling; it was an active force.
James 2:26


2) There are three INGREDIENTS to their preparation.
Vs. 2-6
-1 They were to SUBMIT themselves.

Joshua ordered the camp to move ten miles from the Acacia Grove (Shittim) to the Jordan; and no doubt the people in Jericho watched this march with great apprehension.

Perhaps they were to wait 3 days to allow the impossibility crossing the Jordan to sink in.

Don’t you hate delays when you are ready to follow the Lord?

As Pastor Chuck said often,
We must never trade what we do know for what we don’t know.


In their submission to his instructions, they were to look at the ark and not at the river.


Remember when Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on water?

Matt 14:29-30

-2 They were to SANCTIFY themselves.
Vs. 5
To sanctify means to set apart.
In Exodus 19:10 this involved washing of garments as well as inner concentration and renewed dependence on God.
In the Bible the imagery of washing one’s body and changing clothes symbolized making a new beginning with the Lord.

Jesus prays for us in John 17, and He prays that we would be sanctified.
John 17:17-19


-3 There had to be SPECIFIC obedience.
Vs. 6
The priests exemplify obedience.
Notice that the ark is mentioned 16 times in chapters 3 and 4.

It was the priests who had to get their feet wet before God would open the waters.

2. The confirmation of the PROMISES.
Vs. 7-8
1) The promise of His PRESENCE.
Vs. 7

God had promised Moses,
“My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest”
Ex. 33:14



2) The PLACE where the priests were to stand.
Vs. 8
Remember the Jordan is at flood stage.
Bad timing don’t you think?
Or maybe God wanted their circumstances to be difficult.




3. The miracle of PASSING over the Jordan.
Vs. 9-13
1) The COMMAND to hear the words of the Lord God.
Vs. 9b "Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God."

This goes back to our submission and obedience.
We are to submit to the word of God.

How were they going to cross the Jordan River?
By hearing the Command of the Lord.


2) The CONQUERING of pagan tribes in the land.
Vs. 10b

Remember too that driving out the nations was an act of righteous judgment. God had foretold to Abraham that his descendants would return to the land of Canaan centuries later when the iniquity of the Amorites had reached its completion (Genesis 15:16).



3) The COMING of the Ark into the Jordan river.
As soon as the priests’ feet touch the river’s flow, the waters “shall be cut off from flowing.”


4. They PERSONALLY experienced the miracle.
Vs. 14-17
1) It is the PRIEST who must step out in faith.
We should certainly not underestimate the courage and faith of the priests as they advanced toward the river carrying the ark.

Verses 14, 15 record the facts so there can be no doubt as to what actually took place.


2) It is the PEOPLE who must also willingly obey.


3) It is a vivid PICTURE that leaves no doubt that the miracle took place.
Vs. 16
Adam, the city beside Zarethan (v. 16), is thought to be about twenty miles upstream from Jericho, which would have left a very wide crossing for the whole nation to utilize.

The end of the chapter focuses attention on the centrality of the ark in the whole supernatural event.

But the story also focuses on the Priests and the people.
They had prepared themselves and followed in faith.




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