The Word of faith (Josh. 3:1–13)

As the nation waited by the Jordan River, the people must have wondered what Joshua planned to do. He certainly wouldn’t ask them to swim the river or ford it, because the river was at flood stage (3:15). They couldn’t construct enough boats or rafts to transport more than a million people over the water to the other side. Besides, that approach would make them perfect targets for their enemies. What would their new leader do?Like Moses before him, Joshua received his orders from the Lord, and he obeyed them by faith. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17, NKJV). It has been well said that faith is not believing in spite of evidence but obeying in spite of consequence. When you read Hebrews 11, the great “faith chapter” of Scripture, you discover that the people mentioned there all did something because they believed God. Their faith wasn’t a passive feeling; it was an active force. Because Abraham believed God, he left Ur and headed for Canaan. Because Moses believed God, he defied the gods of Egypt and led the Jews to freedom. Because Gideon believed God, he led a small band of Jews to defeat the huge Midianite army. Living faith always leads to action. “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26, NKJV).

I. The officers’ message to the people (vv. 1–4).

1 Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out from Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over. 2 So it was, after three days, that the officers went through the camp; 3 and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. 4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.”

A. Joshua ordered the camp to move to the Jordan.

No doubt the people in Jericho watched this march with great apprehension. It probably took Israel a day to make this journey; they rested another day; and on the third day, the officers gave them their orders: The people were to cross the river, following the ark of the covenant.

The ark going before the people was an encouragement to their faith, for it meant that their God was going before them and opening up the way. God had promised Moses, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Ex. 33:14, NKJV). When the nation had marched through the wilderness, the ark had gone before them (Num. 10:33); and Moses would say, “Rise up, O Lord! May Your enemies be scattered; may Your foes flee before You” (v. 35, NIV). On that occasion, the presence of the ark was a guarantee of the presence of the Lord.

B. The tribes had an assigned place in the camp.

When the leaders of the tribes saw the priests bearing the ark and moving toward the river, they were to prepare their people to follow.

Since the people had not traveled this way before, they needed God to guide them. But they were not to get too close to the ark, for this was a holy piece of furniture from the tabernacle; and it was not to be treated carelessly. God is our companion as we go through life, but we dare not treat Him like a “buddy.”

II. Joshua addresses all the people for the first time. (vv. 5-8)

5 And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” 6 Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people.”So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.7 And the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8 You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan.’ ”

A. This was both an order and a promise.

The fulfillment of the promise depended on their obedience to the order. Some of God’s promises are unconditional, and all we have to do is believe them; while other promises require that we meet certain conditions. In meeting these conditions, we’re not earning God’s blessing; we’re making sure our hearts are ready for God’s blessing.

To “sanctify yourselves” meant that everybody bathed and changed their clothes. In the Bible the imagery of washing one’s body and changing clothes symbolized making a new beginning with the Lord. The promise was that the Lord would do wonders among them. As He opened the Red Sea to deliver Israel from Egypt, so also He would open the Jordan River and take them into the Promised Land. But that would be just the beginning of miracles, for the Lord would go with them into the land, defeat their enemies, and enable the tribes to claim their inheritance.

B. It took faith and courage for these priests to do their job.

The priests had the responsibility of bearing the ark of the covenant and going before the people as they marched. It was the priests who had to get their feet wet before God would open the waters. The priests would also have to stand in the middle of the riverbed until all the people had passed over.

When the priests arrived on the other side, the waters would return to their original condition. They trusted God and relied on the faithfulness of His Word.

When Moses led the nation through the Red Sea, this miracle magnified Moses before the people; and they recognized that he was indeed the servant of the Lord (Ex. 14:31). God would do the same thing for Joshua at the Jordan; and in so doing, He would remind the people that He was with Joshua just as He had been with Moses.

III. Joshua’s message to the people (vv. 9–13).

9 So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the LORD your God.” 10 And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites: 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. 12 Now therefore, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe. 13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap.”

A. True spiritual leadership focuses the eyes of God’s people on the Lord and His greatness.

Joshua didn’t give the people a “religious pep talk.” He simply reminded them of the promises of God—the Word of faith—and encouraged them to trust and obey. But Joshua’s God was more than just the God of Israel. He was “the living God” and “the Lord of all the earth”.

Because He is “the living God,” He can defeat the dead idols of the heathen nations that then inhabited the land (Ps. 115). Because He is “the Lord of all the earth,” He can go where He pleases and do what He wishes with every land and nation.

B. The Lord gave them all the information they needed to accomplish what He wanted them to do.

You find conditions that the people had to fulfill, orders they had to obey, and promises they had to believe. God always gives His “Word of faith” to His people whenever He asks them to follow Him into new areas of conflict and conquest.

God’s commandments are still His enablements, and God’s promises do not fail. The counsel of King Jehoshaphat centuries later is still applicable today: “Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.”