Commentary - Joshua 3:7-13

Bird's-eye view

In this passage, we are at the precipice of the promise. For forty years, Israel has wandered, and the generation of unbelief has perished in the wilderness. Now, a new generation stands at the banks of a flooding Jordan River, the last great obstacle between them and their inheritance. This is not simply a logistical problem of getting a nation across a river; it is a profound theological and covenantal event. Yahweh here orchestrates a public and miraculous validation of Joshua's leadership, consciously setting it up as a direct parallel to Moses' crossing of the Red Sea. The central actor is God Himself, going before His people, represented by the Ark of the Covenant. The entire event is designed as a sign, a tangible proof that the living God is in their midst and that His promise to give them the land is irrevocable. It is a declaration of holy war, with the King of all the earth personally leading the invasion. The crossing of the Jordan is the baptism of the nation into their inheritance, a sacramental act of passage from the wilderness of testing into the land of promise and conflict.

The structure is straightforward: God speaks to Joshua, commissioning and encouraging him (v. 7). Joshua then relays God's instructions to the priests and the people (vv. 8-13). The instructions build the drama and the faith required. The priests, bearing the throne of God, must step into the raging waters first. The miracle is contingent on this act of obedient faith. The purpose is explicitly stated: that Israel might know that the living God is among them and that He will certainly accomplish what He has promised, which is the complete dispossession of the Canaanite nations. This is a moment of high drama, where the authority of the leader, the faith of the people, and the power of God converge at the water's edge.

Outline

Context In Joshua

Chapter 3 is the pivotal moment of entry. Chapters 1 and 2 were all preparation. In chapter 1, Joshua received his commission from God and rallied the people. In chapter 2, spies were sent to Jericho, and the faith of a Canaanite prostitute, Rahab, was revealed, showing that God's plan included salvation for those outside the covenant who would believe. Now, the preparations are complete. The nation has been consecrated (Josh 3:5), and they are ready to move. This chapter details the miraculous crossing itself, which serves as the foundational event for the entire conquest that follows. It establishes Joshua's authority in a way that no one can question and demonstrates God's power in a way that should terrify the inhabitants of the land (as we later learn it does). The events of this chapter are the direct fulfillment of God's promise to Joshua in chapter 1, "As I was with Moses, so I will be with you." The crossing of the Jordan is the definitive "amen" to that promise.

Key Issues

The King Crosses First

There is a profound principle of leadership and salvation embedded in this narrative. The people do not cross the Jordan and then find God on the other side. The priests, carrying the Ark of the Covenant, which is the symbolic throne of the invisible King, Yahweh, must go first. They must walk into the place of danger and chaos, the flooding river, ahead of everyone else. The presence of God does not follow His people into the trial; it leads them. The path to safety is opened up because the King has gone before them and subdued the threatening waters.

This is a magnificent type of Christ. Jesus Christ, our great high priest, did not point us to the way of salvation from a safe distance. He went first. He entered the chaotic, flooding waters of judgment and death on our behalf. He walked into the grave, the ultimate obstacle, and in His resurrection, He parted the waters for us, creating a dry path for us to follow Him into the promised inheritance of eternal life. The priests' feet touching the water is a picture of the incarnation, of God stepping into our world, into our chaos. The parting of the waters is a picture of the cross and resurrection, where the power of death was broken. We do not face our Jordans alone; we cross over on the ground that our King has already secured.

Verse by Verse Commentary

7 Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to magnify you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you.

God speaks directly to His appointed leader. The miracle that is about to happen has a specific, stated purpose. First, it is to magnify Joshua. This is not about stroking Joshua's ego. Legitimate leadership in God's economy requires divine validation. The people must know that Joshua is not acting on his own authority, but as God's man. The second purpose is explicitly linked to the first: they will see Joshua magnified so that they will know that God's presence with him is the same as God's presence with Moses. This establishes a seamless continuity of covenantal leadership. The God who split the Red Sea for Moses is the same God who will split the Jordan for Joshua. The promise is the same, the power is the same, and the presence is the same.

8 Moreover, you shall command the priests who are carrying the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’ ”

The command is passed from God, through Joshua, to the priests. They are the front line. Notice the sequence. They are to go to the very edge of the flooding river, and then, when they get there, they are to step in and stand still. This is a profound act of faith. The miracle does not happen a hundred yards away, allowing them to walk up to an already dry riverbed. The miracle happens when their feet get wet. Their obedience is the trigger. They are commanded to carry the symbol of God's presence into the very place of threat. They are to stand still, demonstrating a calm trust in the midst of a rushing torrent, holding their ground because God has commanded it.

9 Then Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “Come near, and hear the words of Yahweh your God.”

Joshua now turns to the people. As a faithful leader, his first act is to call them to the Word of God. He does not say, "Come and hear my brilliant plan." He says, "Come near, and hear the words of Yahweh your God." He is a conduit, a messenger. He is establishing that what is about to happen is not a feat of human engineering or military strategy, but a direct, divine intervention. All true spiritual leadership must begin here, by gathering the people to listen to what God has said.

10 And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will assuredly dispossess from before you the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Hivite, the Perizzite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, and the Jebusite.

Here is the central declaration. This miracle is a sign, a proof. And what will it prove? Two things. First, that the living God is among them. This is set in stark contrast to the dead, impotent idols of the Canaanites. Their gods are lifeless statues; Israel's God is alive and active in their midst. Second, the proof of His presence is His power to save and to conquer. He will assuredly dispossess the inhabitants of the land. The long list of "-ites" is not just rhetorical flair; it is a roll call of the doomed. God is naming the specific enemies He is going to defeat. The stopping of the Jordan is the down payment, the first act in the holy war of conquest that will demonstrate His absolute sovereignty over the land and its people.

11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over ahead of you into the Jordan.

Joshua directs their attention to the Ark. Look! See what is happening! The throne of God is on the move. And notice the magnificent title: "the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth." This is crucial. Yahweh is not a local, tribal deity. He is not the god of the hills or the god of the desert. He is the sovereign Lord of all the earth. The Jordan River and the land of Canaan belong to Him. He is not invading foreign territory; He is reclaiming what is His and giving it to His people. The Ark going ahead of them is the visible representation of the invisible King leading His troops into battle.

12 So now, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe.

This is a practical instruction that looks forward to what will happen after the crossing. Joshua is already planning the memorial. God is not only concerned with performing the miracle, but also with how the miracle will be remembered by future generations. The selection of twelve men, one from each tribe, underscores the corporate nature of this event. All of Israel is participating in this together. This is a unified, national act of consecration and entry.

13 And it will be that when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of Yahweh, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, and the waters which are flowing down from above will stand in one heap.”

Joshua lays out the mechanics of the miracle with precision. The cause is the feet of the priests resting in the water. The effect is that the water will be "cut off." The water flowing down from the north will stop and pile up, standing "in one heap." This is a phrase that echoes the description of the Red Sea crossing (Exodus 15:8). God is deliberately making the connection. He is the God who has absolute authority over the forces of nature. A raging river becomes a solid wall at His command. The repetition of the title "the Lord of all the earth" drives the point home. The one who owns the planet can certainly command one of its rivers to stand aside for His people.

Application

Every generation of believers stands, in some sense, at the banks of the Jordan. Between us and the promises of God, there often lies a raging, impassable obstacle. It might be a personal trial, a cultural crisis, or the reality of our own sin and weakness. The temptation is to look at the flood and conclude that the promise is inaccessible.

This passage teaches us where to look. We are to look to the Ark. We are to fix our eyes on the presence of our King, Jesus Christ, the Lord of all the earth. He has gone before us into the ultimate flood of judgment and death, and He has conquered it. Because He crossed first, a safe path has been made for us. Our task is the same as that of the priests: an obedient faith that steps into the water. We are not called to part the river ourselves, but we are called to get our feet wet. We are called to obey God's commands right now, in the midst of the flood, trusting that the Lord of all the earth will be faithful to His word.

Furthermore, this is a reminder that the God we serve is the "living God." He is not an abstract principle or a distant deity. He is present with His people, and the proof of His presence is His action. He is the one who dispossesses our enemies, who makes a way where there is no way, and who brings us into our inheritance. The Christian life is a life of conquest, not of retreat. Led by our King, we are called to advance into the territory held by the enemy, confident that the Lord of all the earth will assuredly give us the victory.