Acting on Faith

KEY VERSE: “The priests that bear the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.” —Joshua 3:17

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Joshua 3:7-17

AFTER THE SPIES reported to Joshua what they had learned, as mentioned in last week’s lesson, they emphasized the great fear of the people of the land, which meant that they could easily conquer their enemies in Jericho. Joshua at once began to move into position for the momentous crossing of the river, bringing them from Shittim close to the banks of the Jordan.—Josh. 3:1

Israel’s marching orders are set forth in Chapter 3. They were to follow the Ark of the Covenant and were told that when the feet of the priests touched the water, “the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.” (vs. 13) Verse 16 explains that this backing up of the waters took place “very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan.” This indicates the water did not pile up as a perpendicular wall near the place where the priests touched it with their feet, but that the stoppage occurred at a point considerably upstream. The Hebrew word translated “heap” literally means “a piling up.” Today we would say the water ‘backed up’, which is what would have to occur to allow the water below to drain from the riverbed. What caused the stoppage just at the right time the Bible does not say. To us it was a miracle, and faith accepts it without further explanation.

By this miracle Joshua’s faith was rewarded, and the people’s faith and confidence in him as the Lord’s representative in their midst must have been greatly increased. The priests carrying the Ark, when reaching the center of the riverbed, stood there until all the Israelites had crossed over. They were instructed by the Lord to take twelve stones from where they stood and leave them where they lodged the first night in the Promised Land. These were to be an evidence to later generations of Israelites of the miraculous manner in which the nation was brought safely over Jordan. Joshua also took twelve other stones and placed them in the riverbed where the priests stood, “and they are there unto this day.”—Josh. 4:9

Our understanding is that Canaan typified the coming ‘new earth’ condition, under the administration of the Millennial kingdom. What, then, does the River Jordan signify? It would seem to represent divine condemnation—the curse—against our race which has for six thousand years hindered mankind from entering into the kingdom conditions which shall ultimately prevail for all. Therefore, the Jordan River well represents the death sentence imposed upon mankind. This seems rather to be implied by the name of the river, which is derived from the names of the two main springs by which it is formed: Jor, signifying ‘down’, and Dan, which signifies ‘judge’. The word Jordan would thus have the significance of being “judged down,” or condemned—the divine condemnation which hinders mankind from entering into favor with God.

In this view of the matter, we see how appropriate it was that the Ark of the Covenant, representing the Lord himself—his grace, his goodness, his promises—should stand in the midst of Jordan, effecting a cancellation of the sentence of death in order that the blessings of the Millennial kingdom might be attained by all under the lead of Joshua’s antitype, our Lord Jesus.

That the Ark of God was borne by the High Priest and the underpriests, and that these first passed into Jordan, is also significant. Jesus, our great High Priest, gave himself for our sins; he became a ‘curse’ for us; he, as the man Christ Jesus, stopped in the midst of Jordan, that the world might pass over. The royal priesthood are following him in this sacrifice, and they, too, are stopping in the midst of Jordan. They also, as joint-heirs with their Lord, lay down their lives to the intent that the whole world of mankind, or as many as will, may enter into the glorious kingdom privileges, according to the divine arrangement.

The twelve stones placed in the middle of Jordan represent the antitypical twelve tribes of Israel, the royal priesthood, who will participate with Christ in the great work of blessing all the families of the earth.

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