Dinsdagaand - trek deur die Jordaan - Crossing the Jordan
13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? 14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? 15 And the captain of the LORD’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
Courageous, resolute, and persevering, prompt, incorruptible, unmindful of selfish interests in his care for those committed to his charge, and, above all, inspired by a living faith in God—
“As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.… Unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.” “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.” To the heights of Lebanon in the far distance, to the shores of the Great Sea, and away to the banks of the Euphrates in the east—all was to be theirs.
“Truly the Lord hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.” It had been declared to them in Jericho, “We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.”
It was an assurance to Israel of God’s continued presence and protection—an evidence that He would work for them through Joshua as He had wrought through Moses. Such an assurance was needed to strengthen their hearts as they entered upon the conquest of the land—the stupendous task that had staggered the faith of their fathers forty years before. The Lord had declared to Joshua before the crossing,
Washed their robes. The reason for the purity of the robes is given. The saints are triumphant, not on their own account, but because of the victory won by Christ on Calvary (cf. on ch. 6:11). The close connection between righteousness and victory—both symbolized by white garments (cf. on ch. 3:4; cf. ch. 1:5)—is demonstrated here. The battle is against sin; righteousness is the victory; Christ’s righteousness has won the victory; and upon accepting His righteousness sinners become both righteous and victorious.