The Historical Books
Joshua
Chapter
3
1. Early in the morning Joshua rose and set out from Shittim with all the Israelites, and they came to the Jordan.
(Joshua Chapter 3 verse 1)
After such a long time of wandering in the desert, came the time to enter the promised land. Oh God Indeed Your ways our not our ways. At times for our own good You permit us experience a long time of waiting in order to test us before You deliver us from the situation. Oh God waiting is my weakest spot. I cannot bear to wait. About two months ago a person collided into my car, and even though it was not my fault the wardens report somehow was issued against me. Since then my insurance have been in communication with the insurance of the offender in order to convince the offender to accept liability and pay for the damage that he did to my car. Since then I have hassled my insurance company again and again. I feel sorry for the insurance claims policy manager who patiently keeps up with my bombardment of emails and constant phone calls because I have a problem in waiting for the issue to be resolved.
I am sorry to say oh God that this weakness in waiting emerges in many different situations. I simply am not strong enough to endure the period of waiting. I pray oh God that You give me the gift of perseverance so that I will learn how to control myself, learn to trust in You and in turn make life easy for both myself and even for others.
2. At the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3. and commanded the people, "When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place. Follow it, 4 so that you may know the way you should go, for you have not passed this way before. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, a distance of about two thousand cubits; do not come nearer to it."
(Joshua Chapter 3 verses 2 to 4)
Oh God I thank You for fighting my battles for me. As in the case of the people of God You chose to go way ahead of the people in order to prepare the way for them. In contrast to verses 2 to 4, You love us so much that You wish that there is no space between us at all.
5. Then Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you." 6. To the priests Joshua said, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass on in front of the people." So they took up the ark of the covenant and went in front of the people.
(Joshua Chapter 3 verse 5 to 6)
As a rule of thumb it is best to prepare oneself in a spirit of prayer before undertaking special tasks so that we obtain Your blessing and feel more secure by Your Holy presence.
7. The LORD said to Joshua, "This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses.
(Joshua Chapter 3 verse 7)
When God chooses us for a particular mission others will realise that the presence of God is with us. It will reflect through our inner selves and pure joy will radiate through us like the waves of a microwave. Amen.
8. You are the one who shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, 'When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.'"
(Joshua Chapter 3 verse 8)
When considering the strong flow of the river Jordan one might think that for a while oh God You made a big mistake for the current would be sure to sweep all the priests and the ark away to destruction. However You had other plans. At times oh God we think that You ask us to do things that appear to be impossible or maybe very humanly difficult to achieve, however when You are with us and is according to Your will nothing is impossible to be achieved. All we need to do is, to place all our hope and trust in You.
9. Joshua then said to the Israelites, "Draw near and hear the words of the LORD your God," 10. Joshua said, "By this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites; 11. the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan.
(Joshua Chapter 3 verses 9 to 11)
Oh God You are also asking us to draw close to You and follow in Your ways. You will go before us and protect us from our rivers of Jordan that threaten to place us in danger and threaten our well being.
12. So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13. When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap"
(Joshua Chapter 3 verses 12 to 13)
Oh God the twelve chosen men were one from each tribe. The world contains people from many nations and it would take more than twelve to represent the whole world, therefore You call youths to live the celibate life who are our representatives in Your presence.
14. When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people.
(Joshua Chapter 3 verse 14)
During the trials of life oh God, I do not feel dismayed for although the going appears to be tough and challenging, I am not alone, because You are walking before me and have already experienced the situation before me. Therefore this means to You have taken a high percentage of the burden of the problem and I only need to experience the remaining percentage of the issue.
15. Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, 16. the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17. While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.
(Joshua Chapter 3 verses 15 to 17)
In order to obtain an idea of this region please click on the following link and refer to Battle of Jericho contents :-
The way to Jericho over the Jordan river
I also invite you to view this videos about the crossing of the river Jordan. The source goes into much depth in relation to this important event:-
The setting of the Jordan area
Oh God when viewing these videos I was totally astonished by the great works that You perform on our behalf. According to one source there was an indication that two tectonic plates moved in order to cut off the river and permit Your people to cross the river, without doubt Your hand was at work throughout the event. Another source the Jordan river flow portrays the strong current of the Jordan which made the crossing for the priests very challenging. This could have caused the priests to panic and think twice before making the crossing however, when we do something in a spirit of faith all doubts vanish as if they had never existed.
Oh God I I would like to end this chapter with the following prayer:-
Oh God I thank You for all the crisis and challenges that I am experiencing in the present. As much as You intervened in the life of Your people especially during the crossing of the Jordan I am fully convinced that You are able to silence the currents of the rivers that are threatening the well being of both myself and my family. I am convinced that I am not alone and that You are walking before me and that I need not be afraid for You are with me Amen.
After such a long time of wandering in the desert, came the time to enter the promised land. Oh God Indeed Your ways our not our ways. At times for our own good You permit us experience a long time of waiting in order to test us before You deliver us from the situation. Oh God waiting is my weakest spot. I cannot bear to wait. About two months ago a person collided into my car, and even though it was not my fault the wardens report somehow was issued against me. Since then my insurance have been in communication with the insurance of the offender in order to convince the offender to accept liability and pay for the damage that he did to my car. Since then I have hassled my insurance company again and again. I feel sorry for the insurance claims policy manager who patiently keeps up with my bombardment of emails and constant phone calls because I have a problem in waiting for the issue to be resolved.
I am sorry to say oh God that this weakness in waiting emerges in many different situations. I simply am not strong enough to endure the period of waiting. I pray oh God that You give me the gift of perseverance so that I will learn how to control myself, learn to trust in You and in turn make life easy for both myself and even for others.
2. At the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3. and commanded the people, "When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place. Follow it, 4 so that you may know the way you should go, for you have not passed this way before. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, a distance of about two thousand cubits; do not come nearer to it."
(Joshua Chapter 3 verses 2 to 4)
Oh God I thank You for fighting my battles for me. As in the case of the people of God You chose to go way ahead of the people in order to prepare the way for them. In contrast to verses 2 to 4, You love us so much that You wish that there is no space between us at all.
5. Then Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you." 6. To the priests Joshua said, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass on in front of the people." So they took up the ark of the covenant and went in front of the people.
(Joshua Chapter 3 verse 5 to 6)
As a rule of thumb it is best to prepare oneself in a spirit of prayer before undertaking special tasks so that we obtain Your blessing and feel more secure by Your Holy presence.
7. The LORD said to Joshua, "This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses.
(Joshua Chapter 3 verse 7)
When God chooses us for a particular mission others will realise that the presence of God is with us. It will reflect through our inner selves and pure joy will radiate through us like the waves of a microwave. Amen.
8. You are the one who shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, 'When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.'"
(Joshua Chapter 3 verse 8)
When considering the strong flow of the river Jordan one might think that for a while oh God You made a big mistake for the current would be sure to sweep all the priests and the ark away to destruction. However You had other plans. At times oh God we think that You ask us to do things that appear to be impossible or maybe very humanly difficult to achieve, however when You are with us and is according to Your will nothing is impossible to be achieved. All we need to do is, to place all our hope and trust in You.
9. Joshua then said to the Israelites, "Draw near and hear the words of the LORD your God," 10. Joshua said, "By this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites; 11. the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan.
(Joshua Chapter 3 verses 9 to 11)
Oh God You are also asking us to draw close to You and follow in Your ways. You will go before us and protect us from our rivers of Jordan that threaten to place us in danger and threaten our well being.
12. So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13. When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap"
(Joshua Chapter 3 verses 12 to 13)
Oh God the twelve chosen men were one from each tribe. The world contains people from many nations and it would take more than twelve to represent the whole world, therefore You call youths to live the celibate life who are our representatives in Your presence.
14. When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people.
(Joshua Chapter 3 verse 14)
During the trials of life oh God, I do not feel dismayed for although the going appears to be tough and challenging, I am not alone, because You are walking before me and have already experienced the situation before me. Therefore this means to You have taken a high percentage of the burden of the problem and I only need to experience the remaining percentage of the issue.
15. Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, 16. the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17. While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.
(Joshua Chapter 3 verses 15 to 17)
In order to obtain an idea of this region please click on the following link and refer to Battle of Jericho contents :-
The way to Jericho over the Jordan river
I also invite you to view this videos about the crossing of the river Jordan. The source goes into much depth in relation to this important event:-
The setting of the Jordan area
Oh God when viewing these videos I was totally astonished by the great works that You perform on our behalf. According to one source there was an indication that two tectonic plates moved in order to cut off the river and permit Your people to cross the river, without doubt Your hand was at work throughout the event. Another source the Jordan river flow portrays the strong current of the Jordan which made the crossing for the priests very challenging. This could have caused the priests to panic and think twice before making the crossing however, when we do something in a spirit of faith all doubts vanish as if they had never existed.
Oh God I I would like to end this chapter with the following prayer:-
Oh God I thank You for all the crisis and challenges that I am experiencing in the present. As much as You intervened in the life of Your people especially during the crossing of the Jordan I am fully convinced that You are able to silence the currents of the rivers that are threatening the well being of both myself and my family. I am convinced that I am not alone and that You are walking before me and that I need not be afraid for You are with me Amen.
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