Tyndale Open Study NotesJoshua 3

Israel had camped at Shittim since before Balaam spoke his messages from God (Numbers 22–24).

the ark of the covenant: The ark represented God’s presence among the Israelites and symbolized his throne. When Israel traveled, a group of priests carried the ark in front of the people (Exodus 25:13–15; Numbers 10:33–36).

keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between yourselves and the ark: God did this so they would not become careless about his presence. They were to respond to God with deep respect and awe, because God is holy.

Consecrate yourselves: They had to separate themselves from anything ceremonially unclean that would prevent an Israelite from being able to enter God's presence (see Exodus 19:9–20; Leviticus 11:44).

To reassure the people that he had not brought them this far to abandon them, God made Joshua a great leader like Moses.

As they crossed the Jordan River, the ark led the way until the feet of the priests entered the water. The priests were to stand in the Jordan River, not on dry land. By carrying the ark into the water first, the obedient priests demonstrated their faith (compare James 2:18).

• This is how you will know: The adults who left Egypt with Moses had died. The people now entering Canaan with Joshua replaced them. The coming events would show God's presence and his promise to them.

• In Canaan, the Israelites would live among neighbors who worshiped false gods. So Israel might feel tempted to worship their gods and goddesses. None of these false gods deserved worship. By contrast, the Lord is the living God, and he was present among the Israelites.

• The Canaanites and Amorites were distinct peoples, but their names sometimes indicated all the pre-Israelite peoples of Canaan. The Hittites were related to the earlier Hittite Empire of Asia Minor that controlled much of Canaan. The Jebusites were from the city-state of Jerusalem, which Israel did not conquer fully until David’s time. Little is known about the other three groups.

The ark of the covenant led the Israelites, showing them that the Lord of all the earth guided them into Canaan. Their God was not a local god limited to one place.

Joshua told the people to choose 12 men but did not reveal what this group of men would be doing (4:2–8).

Even though the Jordan River was flooded in the spring, the water stopped suddenly. This was a clear miracle.

The Jordan was overflowing its banks as a result of the spring runoff of the winter’s rainfall and snowfall, especially from Mount Hermon.

Two amazing events happened. First, the water … backed up as far upstream as Adam. This was about 40 kilometers (25 miles) away. Second, the whole bed of the river dried up as the remaining water flowed to the Salt Sea.

The repetition of the phrase on dry ground emphasizes that God performed a miracle.