I. Summary
Yahweh promises to exalt Joshua in the eyes of the people. The Jordan river is halted and the people cross on dry land.
II. Photo
The priests get their feet wet: “As soon as the bearers of the Ark reached the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the Ark dipped into the water at its edge, the waters coming down from upstream piled up in a single heap a great way off.” (vv. 15b-16a)
III. Select Verses
5: And Joshua said to the people, “Purify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will perform wonders in your midst.”
7: The LORD said to Joshua, “This day, for the first time, I will exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they shall know that I will be with you as I was with Moses.
9-10: And Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come closer and listen to the words of the LORD your God. By this,” Joshua continued, “you shall know that a living God is among you, and that He will dispossess for you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites.”
14-17: When the people set out from their encampment to cross the Jordan, the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant were at the head of the people. Now the Jordan keeps flowing over its entire bed throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the bearers of the Ark reached the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the Ark dipped into the water at its edge, the waters coming down from upstream piled up in a single heap a great way off, at Adam, the town next to Zarethan; and those flowing away downstream to the Sea of the Arabah (the Dead Sea) ran out completely. So the people crossed near Jericho. The priests who bore the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant stood on dry land exactly in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed over on dry land, until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan.
IV. Outline
1. Waiting at the Jordan
2-4. The leaders’ order to follow the ark
5. Joshua’s order to purify
6. Joshua orders the ark to advance
7-8. Yahweh promises to exalt Joshua in the Jordan
9-13. Joshua predicts the stopping of the water
14-17. The people cross the Jordan on dry land while the ark waits in the middle
V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.
VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Photo copied from http://api.ning.com/files/PzxwW40pLIFJZjYN6zqY3p80BCNUhgSzRDYIqCIhzQjLIOg0RsmRJx4JXkHRXN-kJLq*iFRO1FjbopR0yVfqlBkiRdCRuowq/Feet.jpg?width=737&height=552
