Yahweh said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to magnify you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
Parallel Translations
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Yahweh said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to magnify you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
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And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.
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And the LORD said unto Joshua: 'This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to Joshua 3:7 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Joshua 4:14 On that day, Yahweh magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.
- Joshua 1:5 No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you nor forsake you.
- 1 Chronicles 29:25 Yahweh magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and gave to him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.
- Psalms 18:35 You have also given me the shield of your salvation. Your right hand sustains me. Your gentleness has made me great.
- 2 Chronicles 1:1 Solomon the son of David was firmly established in his kingdom, and Yahweh his God was with him, and made him exceedingly great.
- Philippians 2:9-11 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
- Joshua 1:17 Just as we listened to Moses in all things, so will we listen to you. Only may Yahweh your God be with you, as he was with Moses.
- Job 7:17 What is man, that you should magnify him, that you should set your mind on him,
- John 17:1 Jesus said these things, then lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you;
- Philippians 1:20 according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will in no way be disappointed, but with all boldness, as always, now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Jos 3:7 And the LORD said unto Joshua, This…
Jos 3:7 And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, [so] I will be with thee.
Ver. 7. This day will I begin to magnify thee,] viz., In the esteem of the people. It is God that giveth honour; he fashioneth men’s opinions: he caused that "whatsoever David did pleased the people."
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain i.e. To gain thee authority and reputation among them,…
i.e. To gain thee authority and reputation among them, as the person whom I have set in Moses’s stead, and by whom I will conduct them to the possession of the promised land.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain We may observe here how God honours Joshua, and…
We may observe here how God honours Joshua, and by this wondrous work he is about to do designs to make Israel know that he is their governor, and then how Joshua honours God and endeavours by it to make Israel know that he is their God. Thus those that honour God he will honour, and those whom he has advanced should do what they can in their places to exalt him.
I. God speaks to Joshua to put honour upon him, v. 7, 8. 1. It was a great honour God id him that he spoke to him as he had done to Moses from off the mercy-seat, before the priests removed it with the ark. This would make Joshua easy in himself and great among the people, that God was pleased to speak so familiarly to him. 2. that he designed to magnify him in the sight of all Israel. He had told him before that he would be with him (Jos 1:5), and that comforted him, but now all Israel shall see it, and this would magnify him. Those are truly great with whom God is and whom he employs and owns in his service. God magnified him because he would have the people magnify him. Pious magistrates are to be highly honoured and esteemed as public blessings, and the more we see of God with them the more we should honour them. by the dividing of the red Sea Israel was convinced that God was with Moses in bringing them out of Egypt; therefore they are said to be baptized unto Moses in the sea, Co1 10:2. and upon that occasion they believed him, Exo 14:31. And now, by the dividing of Jordan, they shall be convinced that God is in like manner with Joshua in bringing them into Canaan. God had magnified Joshua before on several occasions, but now he began to magnify him as the successor of Moses in the government. Some have observed that it was at the banks of Jordan that God began to magnify Joshua, and at the same place he began to magnify our Lord Jesus as Mediator; for John was baptizing at Bethabara, the house of passage, and there it was that when our Saviour was baptized it was proclaimed concerning him, This is my beloved Son. 3. That by him he gave orders to the priests themselves, though they were his immediate attendants (Jos 3:8): Thou shalt command the priests, that is, "Thou shalt make known to them the divine command in this matter, and take care that they observe it, to stand still at the brink of Jordan while the waters part, that it may appear to be at the presence of the Lord, of the mighty God of Jacob, that Jordan is driven back," Psa 114:5, Psa 114:7. God could have divided the river without the priests, but they could not without him. The priests must herein set a good example to the people, and teach them to do their utmost in the service of God, and trust him for help in time of need.
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II. Joshua speaks to the people, and therein honours God.
1. He demands attention (Jos 3:9): "Come hither to me, as many as can come within hearing, and, before you see the works, hear the words of the Lord your God, that you may compare them together and they may illustrate each other." He had commanded them to sanctify themselves, and therefore calls them to hear the word of God, for that is the ordinary means of sanctification, Joh 17:17.
2. He now tells them, at length, by what way they should pass over Jordan, by the stopping of its streams (Jos 3:13): The waters of Jordan shall be cut off. God could by a sudden and miraculous frost have congealed the surface, so that they might all have gone over upon the ice; but that being a thing sometimes done even in that country by the ordinary power of nature (Job 38:30), it would not have been such an honour to Israel's God, nor such a terror to Israel's enemies; it must therefore be done in such a way as had no precedent but the dividing of the Red Sea: and that miracle is here repeated, to show that God has the same power to finish the salvation of his people that he had to begin it, for he is the Alpha and the Omega; and that the word of the Lord (as the Chaldee reads it, Jos 3:7), the essential, eternal Word, was as truly with Joshua as he was with Moses. And by the dividing of the waters from the waters, and the making of the dry land to appear which had been covered, God would remind them of that in which Moses by revelation had instructed them concerning the work of creation (Gen 1:6, Gen 1:9), that by what they now saw their belief of that which they there read might be assisted, and they might know that the God whom they worshipped was the same God that made the world and that it was the same power that was engaged and employed for them.
3. The people having been directed before to follow the ark are here told that it should pass before them into Jordan, v. 11. Observe, (1.) The ark of the covenant must be their guide. during the reign of Moses, the cloud was their guide, but now, in Joshua's reign, the ark; both were visible signs of God's presence and presidency, but divine grace under the Mosaic dispensation was wrapt up as in a cloud and covered with a veil, while by Christ, our Joshua, it is revealed in the ark of the covenant unveiled. (2.) It is called the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth. "He that is your God (v. 9), in covenant with you, is the Lord of all the earth, has both right and power to command, control, use, and dispose of all nations and of all creatures. He is the Lord of all the earth, therefore he needs not you, nor can he be benefited by you; therefore it is your honour and happiness to have him in covenant with you: if he be yours, all the creatures are at your service, and when he pleases shall be employed for you." When we are praising and worshipping God as Israel's God, and ours through Christ, we must remember that he is the Lord of the whole earth, and reverence him and trust in him accordingly. Some observe an accent in the original, which they think directs us to translate it somewhat more emphatically, Behold the ark of the covenant, even the ark of the Lord, or even of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth. (3.) They are told that the ark should pass before them into Jordan. God would not appoint them to go any where but where he himself would go before them and go with them; and they might safely venture, even into Jordan itself, if the ark of the covenant led them. While we make God's precepts our rule, his promises our stay, and his providence our guide, we need not dread the greatest difficulties we may meet with in the way of duty. That promise is sure to all the seed (Isa 43:2), When thou passes through the waters I will be with thee, and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee.
4. From what God was now about to do for them he infers an assurance of what he would yet further do. This he mentions first, so much was his heart upon it, and so great a satisfaction did it give him (v. 10): "Hereby you shall know that the living God (the true God, and God of power, not one of the dead gods of the heathen) is among you, though you see him not, nor are to have any image of him, is among you to give you law, secure your welfare, and receive your homage, - is among you in this great undertaking now before you; and therefore you shall, nay, he himself will, without fail, drive out from before you the Canaanites." So that the dividing of Jordan was intended to be to them, (1.) A sure token of God's presence with them. By this they could not but know that God was among them, unless their unbelief was as obstinate against the most convincing evidence as that of their fathers was, who presently after God had divided the Red Sea before them, impudently asked, Is the Lord among us, or is he not? Exo 17:7. (2.) A sure pledge of the conquest of Canaan. "If the living God is among you, expelling he will expel (so the Hebrew phrase is) from before you the Canaanites." He will do it certainly, and do it effectually. What should hinder him? What can stand in his way before whom rivers are divided and dried up? The forcing of the lines was certain presage of the ruin of all their hosts: how could they stand their ground when Jordan itself was driven back? When they had not courage to dispute this pass, but trembled at the approach of the mighty God of Jacob (Psa 114:7), what opposition could they ever make after this? This assurance which Joshua here gives them was so well grounded that it would enable one Israelite to chase a thousand Canaanites, and two to put then thousand to flight; and it would be abundantly strengthened by remembering the song of Moses, dictated forty years before, which plainly foretold the dividing of Jordan and the influence it would have upon the driving out of the Canaanites. Exo 15:15-17, "The inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away, and so be effectually driven out; they shall be as still as a stone till thy people pass over, and then thou shalt bring them in and plant them." Note, God's glorious appearances for his church and people ought to be improved by us for the encouragement of our faith and hope for the future. As for God, his work is perfect. If Jordan's flood cannot keep them our, Canaan's force cannot turn them out again.
5. He directs them to get twelve men ready, one of each tribe, who must be within call to receive such orders as Joshua should afterwards give them, Jos 3:12. It does not appear that they were to attend the priests, and walk with them when they carried the ark, that they might more immediately be witnesses of the wonders done by it, as some think; but they were to be at hand for the service they were called to, Jos 4:4, etc.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And the Lord said unto Joshua,.... Out of the…
And the Lord said unto Joshua,.... Out of the tabernacle:
this day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel; by working the miracle afterwards related; dividing the waters, which was done on this day, and was but the beginning of wonders; for other great and marvellous things were done for him and by him, by which it appeared he was high in the favour of God, greatly esteemed and honoured by him, and so would be great and honourable in the account of the people:
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that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee; by dividing the waters of Jordan for him, as he had divided the waters of the Red sea for Moses; which, as it was a token of his powerful presence with him, this would be a like token of it with Joshua. The Targum is,"as my Word was for the help of Moses, so shall my Word be for thy help.''
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Magnify thee - That is, to gain thee authority…
Magnify thee - That is, to gain thee authority among them, as the person whom I have set in Moses's stead, and by whom I will conduct them to the possession of the promised land.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 7. This day will I begin to magnify…
Verse 7. This day will I begin to magnify thee] By making him the instrument in this miraculous passage, he did him honour and gave him high credit in the sight of the people: hence his authority was established, and obedience to him as their leader fully secured. What must have confirmed this authority was, his circumstantially foretelling how the waters should be cut off as soon as the feet of the priests had touched them, Jos 3:13. This demonstrated that the secret of the Lord was with him.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Jos 3:7. This day will I begin to magnify…
Jos 3:7. This day will I begin to magnify thee — That is, to honour thee in a peculiar manner, and gain thee authority; in the sight of all Israel — As the person I have set in Moses’s stead, and by whom I will conduct them into the promised land. It has been observed by some, as a remarkable circumstance, that, from the time of Moses to that of Saul, God always signified to the people, by some miracle, whom he had appointed to govern them.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain This day will I begin to magnify thee -…
This day will I begin to magnify thee - One cause why the miracle now to be narrated was performed is here suggested. As Moses was declared to he sent immediately from God with an extraordinary commission by the miracles which he worked, more especially that of dividing the Red Sea in two parts, so was Joshua both sent and accredited in a like manner. (Compare Jos 1:5, and Jos 4:14.) Other reasons are given in Jos 3:10; Jos 5:1.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Also. Grotius remarks that God made known his choice…
Also. Grotius remarks that God made known his choice of the governors of his people by miracles, till the days of Saul. In effect, we hardly find any, before that time, whose public authority was not sanctioned by some prodigy. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain THE LORD ENCOURAGES JOSHUA. (Jos 3:7-8)
THE LORD ENCOURAGES JOSHUA. (Jos 3:7-8)
the Lord said to Joshua, This day will I . . . magnify thee in the sight of all Israel--Joshua had already received distinguished honors (Exo 24:13; Deu 31:7). But a higher token of the divine favor was now to be publicly bestowed on him, and evidence given in the same unmistakable manner that his mission and authority were from God as was that of Moses (Exo 14:31).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 7. This day will I begin to magnify thee…
7. This day will I begin to magnify thee — This was only the beginning of a glorious succession of miracles attesting the divine commission of Joshua. Jehovah pledges to make Joshua great in the estimation of the people, and thus secure to him their promised loyalty and obedience. Compare Jos_1:17.
As I was with Moses — As I crowned Moses with divine honour when, at the outstretching of his rod, I divided the waters of the Red Sea, so will I honour thee by rolling back the Jordan, when, at thy command, the symbol of my presence shall be borne to the river’s brink. Special honour had been put upon Joshua when he was permitted to accompany Moses up the Mount, but it was eclipsed by the greater honour of his master, who alone was permitted to enter the cloud of the glory of the Lord. Exo_24:13-16. Moses on a former occasion (Deu_31:7) had magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel, but now a Greater than Moses is about to magnify him in the sight of all mankind.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (7) The Lord said unto Joshua, This day will…
(7) The Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee . . .—Compare Jos_4:14, “on that day the Lord magnified Joshua.” These words mark the beginning and end of the section. The details that follow in Jos_4:15, &c., seem to be added by way of appendix. The passage of Jordan, being the principal event, is exhibited by itself; and other particulars of attendant circumstances are given separately. A somewhat similar plan appears to be adopted in Joshua 10, but the arrangement of both narratives is at first sight somewhat complex, and not quite clear.
It is here stated that the passage of Jordan was to be to Joshua what the giving of the law at Sinai was to Moses, “that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever” (Exo_19:9). But the power which establishes Joshua is the work of the written instead of the spoken word.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain This day will I begin to magnify thee. "Neque…
THE PASSAGE OF THE JORDAN
This day will I begin to magnify thee. "Neque enim ante mysterium baptismi exal-tatur Jesus, sed exaltatio ejus, et exaltatio in conspectu pepuli, inde sunlit exordium". (Orig., Hem. 4 on Joshua. Cf. Mat_3:17 Luk_3:22)
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Vers. 7-17. The passage of Jordan.
I THE MINISTRY OF JOSHUA AND JESUS BEGAN AT JORDAN. As with Joshua at his crossing, so with Jesus at His baptism, God marked the moment of their coming to Jordan with a special favour. For as the waters of the Red Sea, (1Co_10:2) so the waters of Jordan are the type of Christian baptism. In connection with the wandering in the wilderness, the stream of Jordan is the type of death, which admits us to the promised land. But in connection with the conflicts in Canaan, to which it was the introduction, it is a type of the commencement of the spiritual life. For in it we are dedicated to our Joshua we begin to follow our Leader. In it He was first "marked out to be the Son of God"; (Mat_3:17) and in it He shows to us the power of God in delivering us from our wanderings in the wilderness of evil, and translating us into the regions of His promises. In baptism we enter into covenant with God, and receive His blessings and gifts, as well as declare our resolution to serve Him. Thus it is the turning point of our lives whenever we receive it. It places us in a new covenant relation to God. It introduces us into new obligations, and entitles us to new blessings. It gives us the right to claim the aid of God in our conflict with evil; in other words, it is the starting point of our sanctification. And the work is all of God. He alone parts the waters for us to cross from the world into His kingdom. Jordan is overflowed. No passage is possible by human means; that is, no works of our own can avail to place.us where we may hope to carry on a successful war against our own and God"s enemies. "Not of works, lest any man should boast," but "by grace are ye saved through faith, and even that (i.e., faith) not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." We attribute no magical power thus to the sacrament of baptism. It derives its sole power from being the means appointed by Jesus Christ Himself whereby we enter into covenant with Him.
II IT WAS NO LONGER THE PILLAR OF CLOUD THAT GUIDED THEM, BUT THE ARK OF THE COVENANT. That is, the mystery of the law was unveiled in the gospel. Like the veil on the face of Moses, (2Co 3) so this figure teaches us that what was dark under the Mosaic dispensation should be made clear by Jesus Christ. "For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did". (cf. also Heb_12:18-24) The law guided through the wilderness; the gospel, into the promised land. The law, which was enshrouded in darkness, led man only in uncertain wanderings; the gospel led them to favour and victory. God was with them, no longer by cloudy tokens in the skies, but by the visible symbols of His presence. And so the God who leads us now is no longer a God who hides Himself, but God manifest in the flesh; God clothed in a visible form, that thus we might see Him who is invisible. The humanity of Jesus is at once the revelation of God, and the perfection of man. Following Him, though at a respectful distance, beholding Him, though not too nigh, we enter into the enjoyment of the promise.
III JORDAN WAS CROSSED AT THE TIME OF ITS OVERFLOWING. Thus God manifests His own glory and man"s insufficiency. The miracle was the greater in that it was performed at such a time. So God always deals with His people. The time of trouble is the time when He manifests His power. It is then that He makes our way most "plain before our face." Both Churches and individuals are apt in their prosperity to say, "I shall never be removed." But in adversity they betake themselves in all humility to God, and He makes them a way through the deep waters. "The swellings of Jordan" abate at His presence; "the overflowings of ungodliness" give ground at His word. When He speaks, sorrow and distress flee away "far off," and they whose "treadings had well-nigh slipt," who were "grieved at the wicked," or at the seeming tokens of God"s wrath, find that He has made "straight paths for their feet" where all had seemed disappointment and despair.
IV HELP AND STRENGTH ARE TO BE FOUND IN THE ORDINANCES OF RELIGION. When the priests" feet touched the brink of the waters they fled away. And is it not a spiritual fact that the consolations and helps of religion are to be found at the hands of the ministers of religion? How often did the exhortations of a Moses, a Joshua, or Samuel revive the drooping spirits of God"s people? How often were the first converts of the gospel "provoked unto love and good works" by the mouth of a St. Peter or St. Paul! How many date their first serious impressions of Divine things from an earnest sermon, or a few words of loving counsel spoken by a minister of Christ. How many have felt kindled to love and devotion by the prayers reverently offered up in the sanctuary, where the sacred fire spreads from soul to soul till it has enkindled the warmth of zeal in all present! How often has the worshipper, either in the congregation or on the sick bed, been moved to tears and stirred to the depths of his soul by the "blest memorials of a dying Lord," consecrated and administered according to His word! It is one of the privileges of the Christian ministry of the New Covenant, when faithfully carried on, as of the priests at the command of the Jesus of the Old Covenant, that as their feet touch the swelling waters of neglect, thoughtlessness, and indevoutness, they subside, they flee far off, at least when, at the root of the individual life, there lies the spark even though almost quenched of faith. Not that the ministers are to take credit to themselves for this. They are but the organs of the Spirit of Christ. As Matthew Henry remarks, "God could have divided the river without the priests, but they could not do without Him." But He is pleased to use human means, and He blesses them. Though the "treasure is in earthen vessels," yet the "excellency of the power is of God.
V THE PRIESTS STOOD FIRM. They were "caused to stand upright," as the Hebrew says; that is, there was no faltering or wavering. Had they drawn back after entering Jordan, had they shown signs of uncertainty, the waters would have returned, or the people had never dared to cross. So great is the responsibility that rests on God"s ministers. The people look to them for guidance for encouragement. If they "faint by the way," if they falter in their work of contending for the faith, of promoting the spread of Christ"s Gospel, if their trumpet gives an uncertain sound, or if they retreat from their appointed task, the conflict with evil stands still; the pathway for God"s Church to proceed to further conquests is not opened. How many great works for the spread of Christ"s Gospel, for the proclamation of His truth, for the victory of His cause among men, have failed because the "priests" have not "stood firm" in the waters of Jordan; because timidity, half-heartedness, divided counsels, profitless controversies have obscured the witness for God"s truth. If "the kingdoms of this world" have not "become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ," if the number of Christ"s elect is not yet filled up, if the pathway to the final fulfilment of God"s promises be not yet open, how much of it is because His ministers have not yet learned to "stand firm in the midst of Jordan"?
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Jos_3:1. In the morning] The morning after the addresses…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Jos_3:1. In the morning] The morning after the addresses and reply recorded in chap. Jos_1:10-18. From Shittim to Jordan] Josephus (v.
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1. 1) gives the distance as sixty stadia, or furlongs, being nearly eight English miles. Lodged there] i.e., rested there till the return of the spies, and till the completion of the time named in chap. Jos_1:11. There is nothing in the verse which requires the misleading conjecture that they lodged here only one night.
Jos_3:2. After three days] According to chap. Jos_4:19, the people crossed the Jordan on the tenth of Abib, which it may be well to remember is not called “Nisan” in the Scriptures till more than nine hundred years later (cf. Est_3:7). “Three days” before crossing the river, i. e., on the seventh of Abib, the time of the passage was foretold (chap. Jos_1:11). Early on the morning of the eighth, the preparations began for the movement of the camp from Shittim (chap. Jos_3:1), the raising of the tents, the march of the vast host for eight miles, and their temporary re-encampment before Jordan, probably occupying them till the close of the eighth (Hebrew) day of the month. On the evening which introduced the ninth of Abib they would begin to lodge before Jordan, resting there over the following day, and throughout the night which commenced the tenth of the month. The spending of two nights and one clear day before Jordan seems in no may contradictory to chap. Jos_3:1.
The spies probably left Shittim in the morning, or as early as mid-day on the sixth of Abib, walked eight miles to the Jordan, and about seven more from Jordan to Jericho, reaching the latter place considerably before sunset (chap. 5). Reckoning inclusively, they would be in the mountains “three days,” i. e., on nearly all the seventh, the whole of the eighth, and from sundown till say four o’clock on the morning of the ninth, when two hours’ walk in the darkness would bring them to the Jordan, swimming the overflowing waters of which they would rejoin the camp now pitched on the eastern side of the river. Thus understood, the spies left Shittim one day before the army; this agrees with the margin, “had sent,” of chap. Jos_2:1, coincides with each of the four verses given in the three chapters, and is in harmony with the view of Josephus.
Jos_3:3. The Priests the Levites bearing it] The duty of bearing the ark on ordinary occasions belonged to the sons of Kohath, who were Levites, but not priests (cf. Num_4:15); on solemn occasions it was customary for priests to undertake this duty.
Jos_3:4. Come not near unto it] The distance of about one thousand yards was probably to be observed, not only in the short march to the river, but also when crossing; the people were to pass the Jordan at this distance below the ark.
Jos_3:5. Sanctify yourselves] There seems no sufficient reason for the very general supposition that the formal rites of sanctification were dispensed with for want of time. The phrase “for to-morrow” shews that there would be as much time for washing the garments, etc., as in the instance given in chap. Jos_7:13.
Jos_3:10. Drive out] “One of several incidential confirmations of the view that many of the Canaanites were expelled, and not slain” (Groser).
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Jos_3:7-13
DIVINE AND CHRISTIAN HONOURS
Honour is one of the rewards of life which Christian men have sometimes failed to honour. In the ordinary conscience and judgment it has often been confused with petty pride and paltry ambition. The world has tried to dignify mere position or possessions by the name of “honourable,” till even good men are not quite certain that coming to honour does not mean, at least partially, coming to something wicked. Society tells us that “the king is the fountain of honour,” and that is supposed to hold good even when the fountain has no better repute than Richard III., Henry VIII., or one of the Charleses Stuart. A member of Parliament is always “The Honourable Member,” whether he has any honour or not, and if he happen to be in the Privy Council, then he is “Right Honourable,” though in mind and character he may be neither the one nor the other. Irrespective of what a lady may be, she has only to be attached to the household of the Queen to be a “Maid of Honour,” and even transactions so nefarious as the traffic through Penn for the liberty of the Taunton school girls has been supposed to leave the “honour” quite unimpaired. A man need only be the younger son of an earl, the son of a viscount or a baron, or possess some equally adventitious claim, and forthwith society dubs him “honourable.” Thus it has come to pass that we have had honourable outlaws and honourable debtors, whose only thought has been how to avoid payment of that which they owed; all sorts of honourable people, with hardly enough character to keep blushes out of the face of a respectable tramp or of a decent beggar. So perhaps it is not wonderful that Christian men have been found to think small things of honour, and to treat even the fame of a noble life with scant courtesy, as if it were only some more respectable rendering of worldliness and sin. Our great poet had other thoughts when he said—
“If it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.”
He tells us more distinctly what he means, when he writes—
“Mine Honour is my Life; both grow in one;
Take Honour from me, and my Life is done.”
Men have done themselves wrong—we cannot say how much wrong—by allowing themselves to be driven from the desire for a just fame before the eyes of their fellows. God, who also knows human weaknesses, has not dealt with them in a manner so indiscriminate. He says to Joshua, “I will magnify thee, I will magnify thee before the people; this day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel.”
I. The honour which God loves to put upon His servants. God would magnify Joshua as He had magnified Moses. He would give him a large place in the minds of the people; He would do this by a miracle. God tells His servant this before it comes to pass; He fills him with thought about it, and sets his mind and desire on this matter. Honour and desire for honour cannot all be sinful, when the Holy God does this. We are not altogether to shut ourselves out from the wish and hope that others may think well of us. There is a certain place in the public mind which we may earnestly desire to fill; we may yearn to shew men that God is with us, with us in our character and work, with us for the sake of others.
1. God’s delight in honouring His faithful servants is shewn throughout the Bible and all through human history. Take the case of Elijah; the long drought, the miracle on Carmel, the prayer and the answering rain, the fulfilment of the predictions concerning the death of Ahab. The preservation of Daniel in the den of lions was God’s distinguishing honour set upon the life of the man who was found faithful both in his business and his religion. Think of Paul foretelling the disaster in the Adriatic Sea, and of his being able to speak to those about him of the angel of God who had stood by him to reveal the future, an impression presently deepened by the marvellous incident at Malta, in which the bite of the viper from the fire brings no harm. God loved to exalt the man who had so exalted the Saviour. All through profane history it has been the same: there are great names which tower up above all other names, just because God has honoured the men who bore them. How human all this makes God seem; how human in His sympathies! This is how we feel about our children. Who would not see his son honoured? It seems to bring God so near, that He should think about His children as we so naturally and ardently think concerning ours. Do not, then, let us worship a great abstraction of omnipotence and majesty; this is a Father who waits to magnify His children, just as we might wish to worthily exalt ours. When we draw near to adore God, let us also learn to love.
2. How is it that more of His children are not magnified by God? He could honour us all, if He would; why are so few made prominent? Well, if God were to magnify everybody in this way, the world would all become pious in order to get its celestial decoration—a kind of blue ribbon from above—and thus religion would become the most selfish and vain and sinful condition of human life. But we need not contemplate the evil which would arise in this direction. There is another reason which intercepts that by a long way. So very few of us could bear to be magnified. Most men would shew their honours, and find in them an occasion for pride. Honour, such as Joshua’s, would ruin most of us; so God withholds this source of harm. By-and-by, when we can bear it, He is going to make us all kings—kings and priests unto Himself; but we cannot endure that till we become like Him, and see Him as He is. How human this is also; it is thus that we feel in our holiest longings for our children. If it were not for the temptation, and the mischief, and the curse, few would think any honour too great for his own son. Were we to consult only our hearts, where should we come to the limit at which we would stay the honour and the joy of our children? And if it were only a question of God’s heart how we, as His children, should be magnified even on earth, nothing would be too large for God’s love, only the honours would harm us, curse us, destroy us; so just as we should desire to place limits on our children, our heavenly Father limits us.
3. The life which God is prepared to honour is the life which is willing to give itself for God and for men. Joshua puts all his honour back again on God; he gives his life, and the influence which comes from his magnified name, not to win a possession for himself, but to bring his brethren into their inheritance. When all the fighting and labour are over, Joshua asks for himself only a poor and insignificant estate, which we only hear of as his own name makes it conspicuous (cf. chap. Jos_19:49-50). Joshua sought to bless men, and desired to magnify the name of Jehovah. God is just as willing to magnify any one of us, if we were only able to bear it, for there are no prejudices with Him. But what about all our self-seeking, self-love, self-adoration? what of this constant turning of our thoughts to ourselves, as if the chief good of the universe began and ended there? When we are ready to give ourselves for others, God will be ready to set us on high before men. “If any man serve ME, him will My Father honour.”
II. The honour in which a true servant loves to proclaim his God.
1. The true servant refers all gracious words to their Author. “Hear the words of the Lord.” There is no spirit of plagiarism; all the grace is referred back at once to God. It reads like an early edition of Paul—“God forbid that I should glory, save,” etc. This anticipates the song of “Not unto us, not unto us, O Lord, but unto Thy name be the glory.” Joshua says never a word about his own magnified name; he simply says, “Come hither, and hear the words of the Lord your God.”
2. The true servant thinks the words of his Lord worthy to be heard. Joshua is anxious to bless men and encourage them, and he knows that these Divine words will be helpful. Oh for a larger measure of enthusiasm in the Scriptures, and a faith which will believe that they are the power of God unto salvation!
3. The true servant, even in his incidental expressions, shews that he thinks there is none like unto God. “Hereby … the living God,” etc. The people had left a country of dead and polluted gods, and the gods of the Canaanites were no better than those of the Egyptians. The very manner in which this is said shews how incidentally the thought of the contrast came to the speaker’s lips. If we love God indeed, our love will make itself seen in a multitude of forms.
4. The true servant shews that he thinks nothing too hard for the Lord (Jos_3:10). Our life also has to meet with opposition from men, and with natural obstacles, but through Jesus Christ we should feel and know that we may be “more than conquerors.”
5. The true servant confirms his proclamation of God by pointing his fellows to the visible link in which God is seen connecting Himself with the interests of men. “Behold the ark,” etc. The superstition around us is a great evil; we have need to be even more filled with concern at the way in which men seek to obliterate from the earth all visible tokens and traces of Deity. The materialist does this on principle, as a theory; the pleasure-seeker and the careless do it in practice; the true servant of Jehovah points to the tokens of Divine presence, and says, “God is there, and there, and there.” With which class do we take our position? Are we with the superstitious who obscure the Lord’s presence? with the men whose lives proclaim that they are “without God in the world”? or can we take our stand with this man, who, looking at to-morrow’s difficulties, says, with a holy faith, “Behold the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you”?
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Jos_3:7. THE SPIRIT AND TENDENCIES OF WORLDLY AND DIVINE HONOURS.
I. Worldly honours often have no relation to character, while the honour which comes from God is usually more within a man than upon him. The dignity in one case is often accidental and foreign; in the other case it is through and because of nobility of spirit.
II. Worldly honours lead to pride, while the honour which is of God has humility. “As the lark that soars the highest, builds her nest the lowest; the nightingale that sings the sweetest, sings in the shade when all things rest; the branches that are most laden with ripe fruit, bend lowest; and the ship with the heaviest cargo sinks deepest in the water,—so the holiest Christians are the humblest” (Mason). It has frequently been pointed out that soon after his conversion Paul said he was “unworthy to be called an apostle.” Nearly thirty years later this experienced Christian of much grace and many works wrote to the Ephesians, speaking of himself as “less than the least of all saints.” Just before his martyrdom when his course was finished and his good fight fought, he wrote to Timothy, “sinners, of whom I am chief.” Thus, too, Joshua goes away to the Israelites, forgetting to say anything about his own magnified name. How often when worldly honours come to a worldly spirit, they soon get to be the only thing about the possessor for which even the world has any respect. The spirit which is really noble wears with increasing humility both the applause of men and the favours of God.
III. Worldly honours are unsatisfying, and tend to promote selfishness, while the honour which is from God is filled with peace and benevolence. Any man who gives himself up in a worldly spirit to delight in fame, even though it should be fame for fame’s sake coming through spiritual work, gets to live in a world which is daily narrowing down to himself; and when life comes to be bounded all round by his own small individuality, no wonder that life is soon found to be mean and insignificant. The man who wears his honours with a godly mind gets to live every day in a larger and more beautiful world, while the mere creature of fame is like a prisoner in the cell, the iron sides of which drew gradually closer each week, till the miserable victim was presently crushed to death.
IV. Worldly honours are temporary and perishing, while the honour which comes from God abides for ever. Time has done nothing to obscure the names of Abraham, and Moses, and Joshua, and Samuel, and Paul; they are as great before men to-day as when they were first magnified by the Lord. Even poor Byron, looking at the world’s glories, could only write,—
“Thy fanes, thy temples, to the surface bow,
Commingling slowly with heroic earth,
Broke by the share of every rustic plough:
So perish monuments of mortal birth,
So perish all in turn, save well-recorded Worth.”
Thus while all material honours, and everything which might be great, but which is made worldly by being received in a worldly spirit, perishes and vanishes away, the glory of the Lord, like His mercy, endureth for ever and ever.
It is thought by some that at the place where the Israelites crossed the river our Lord was afterwards baptized by John. The best MSS. call the place named in Joh_1:28, Bethany, not Bethabara. Origen, it is thought by Dr. Clarke and others, altered the reading to Bethabara, which means “the house of passage.” The name Bethabara seems to have given rise to the conjecture that the Saviour was baptized at the spot where the Israelites went over; some maintain that the baptism was administered at the very place where the priests supported the Ark in the midst of the river. If this were so, it is deeply interesting, nor could it be justly treated as any mere coincidence. It would be most significant to think that in the spot where Israel was baptized unto faith in Joshua (as their fathers, in the Red Sea, were said to have been baptized unto Moses), Christ, the Joshua of the New Covenant, was consecrated to the service in which He also sought the faith of a mighty multitude, that He might win for them an abiding inheritance. It would be temptingly suggestive for homiletical purposes if we could believe that God’s people entered into that Canaan which is a type of heaven at the very place where Jesus was afterwards set apart as a Saviour for His people. What a picture it would be of the Lord’s own word, “I am the way.” The evidence, however, for the fact is insufficient, and perhaps the very interest attaching to the idea should make us receive it cautiously. No amount of spiritual significance in teaching could possibly compensate for an untruth, or for carelessness respecting truth. Rahab might save the spies in her own way, and Rebekah might seek to make the covenant to Jacob sure by similar methods; God’s truth is never so much adorned by us as when we make it manifest that it has taught us truthfulness.
Jos_3:8. “I WILL FEAR NO EVIL, FOR THOU ART WITH ME;” or, THE SWOLLEN RIVER, THE VISIBLE ARK, AND THE UNDISMAYED PILGRIMS.
This passage has no direct teaching about death, and it would seem a wrong use of Scripture to suggest that it has. Let it be granted freely that Canaan may be a type of heaven, and Jordan a symbol of death, still we have no authority to make the parables “stand on all-fours.” If this were otherwise, the heaped up waters, their back-flow to Adam, their on-flow to the Dead Sea, the double valley of the river; the very drops of the water, and the different trees of the land might, no doubt, all be found to be “instructive.” While, however, God does not here give us direct teaching about death, there is no reason why this beautiful illustration of a believer’s confidence during the passage of those last deep waters should be passed fruitlessly by.
I. We are reminded that death, like the Jordan, is sometimes calm and peaceful, and sometimes turbulent. Ordinarily the river was narrow, and easily fordable; but it was in the time of “the swellings of Jordan” that the Israelites had to cross over.
1. Death is always a trial. No man ever becomes familiar enough with death to do away with its ordeal and solemnity. We may have seen it often in others, but it will be new to us. Concerning some loved ones who have passed its cold waters before us, we may have only thoughts of gladness. We may think of them and sing in the soft and rich strains of T. K. Hervey—
“I know thou hast gone to the home of thy rest,
Then why should my soul be so sad?
I know thou hast gone where the weary are blest,
And the mourner looks up and is glad;
“Where Love has put off, in the land of its birth,
The stains it had gathered in this;
And Hope, the sweet singer that gladdened the earth,
Lies asleep on the bosom of Bliss.
“I know thou hast gone where thy forehead is starred
With the beauty that dwelt in thy soul;
Where the light of thy loveliness cannot be marred,
Nor the heart be flung back from its goal.
“I know thou hast drunk of the Lethe that flows
Through a land where they do not forget,
That sheds over memory only repose,
And takes from it only regret.”
So brightly and peacefully may we be able to think of some who have fathomed the depths before us. With all this to cheer us, death will still be new when we come to it for ourselves, and not without its solemnity. But those who can contemplate death like this, find that not even its strangeness and awe can destroy the calm given by its attendant hopes.
2. Sometimes death is made harder by physical suffering. Many, doubtless, suffer more severely in life than when passing from life, but with others these conditions may be reversed. Terrible accidents or fearful diseases may make death as the swellings of Jordan.
3. Great social trials sometimes make death a severer ordeal. For a father to die, and leave a family in poverty, or for a widow to pass into eternity, and leave several children unprovided for and orphans, must aggravate very terribly the pains of dying.
4. But the pain before which all others seem to sink to peace, must be that of dying “without hope.” May God deliver us from such turbulence as the river must shew to souls who come to it like this.
II. We are reminded here that even when the attendant circumstances of death are very aggravated, the believer may pass through fearing no evil. The priests in their faith could “stand still in Jordan,” and the believing hosts of the people could tread the bed of the river in confidence. Faith gives death also a very different appearance from that which it presents to men in unbelief.
1. The natural view of death has fear and even terror. (a) Look at the world’s literature. A modern writer tells us that the foremost men of Greece and Rome applied more than thirty epithets to death, “all indicative of the deepest dejection and dread.” To them death was an “iron sleep,” “an eternal night,” “gloomy,” “merciless,” and “inexorable.” Our great English poet, whom for many years the world has delighted to honour, wrote—
“Death is a fearful thing:
To die and go we know not where;
To lie in cold obstruction and to rot;
‘Tis too horrible!
The weariest and most loaded worldly life,
That age, ache, penury, and imprisonment
Can lay on nature, is a paradise
To what we fear of death.”
This is a dull, hard strain, and these are but a few of many dreary lines which the brilliant mind that catered so long and ably for the world’s joy poured forth on this dread subject. Another wrote: “Neither the sun nor death can be looked at steadily.” Byron said—
“How clay shrinks back from more quiescent clay!”
And Dryden—
“O that I less could fear to lose this being,
Which, like a snowball in my coward hand,
The more ’tis grasped, the faster melts away.”
(b) What, too, are the world’s unwritten thoughts on death? Think of the myriad thoughts like these which no one ever sets down. Think of the stolen glances, and the quick turning away; of the deeper darkness which so often, to some, seems to lie hidden away within the folds of each returning night. If the speech be so sad, what are the feelings themselves?
2. The view of death given to faith is not like this. Look at Christian literature, and commune with the thoughts of the children of the cross, One says, “I am now ready to be offered,” etc.; “Having a desire to depart, and be with Christ, which is far better;” “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” Nor is this spirit of triumph an exceptional heritage of apostles. The whole history of the Church is harmonious with the songs of its dying sons and daughters.
III. We are reminded that the only sufficient encouragement for faith to contemplate, when we come to death, will be the presence of God through the covenant. The Ark was at once the sign of safety and the occasion of confidence. If we are to lose the fear of death both now and when we come near to it, it must be through Him who came to deliver us from this “bondage.” The cross of Christ does not bridge the river, but it stands up well out of its cold waters, that we may keep it in sight; and seeing it we are to behold not merely a cross, but the covenant of His presence who is “able to save to the uttermost.” It is knowing this that we shall “stand firm in Jordan,” saying, “I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.”
Jos_3:9. THE INCOMPARABLE WORDS OF THE LORD.
I. Consider the words of the Lord in their claims. They are “the words of the Lord your God.” They come as such to every one in the multitude of the human race. No family privileges or adversities, no dignity, and no poverty, no dislike to them or disbelief of them can in any measure weaken their claims. To every living man, whether atheist, deist, idolater, worldling, or Christian, they come as the words of his Lord and his God.
1. God made us each, and our opinion about that cannot alter His claims upon us. Our view of the origin of the human race can never alter the fact itself.
2. God supports us and provides for us, and our disbelief can never affect the measure of our obligation. Fancy an intelligent Israelite saying, “I know that I had manna every morning, and sometimes quails; I know that I drank of water, which flowed out of a rock, just as I was perishing; I know when the hills were all about me, the Egyptians behind me, and the waters cold and threatening before me, that the sea opened and became as a defending wall on either side, and that while I escaped mine enemies perished from my sight; I know that I have lived for forty years in a desert which did not seem to have supplies enough to support me alone, and that two or three millions of my people have always had enough, and often more than enough; I know that the words of Moses, who professed to be God’s prophet, always came true—that the manna had a way of spoiling or failing when we gathered it contrary to instructions—that the brazen serpent healed me and my bitten children, just as he said it would, and that the man himself often had a moral majesty about him, which brought us back to obedience when we felt most rebellious; I remember feeling almost awed that morning when he came down from the eruption of Mount Sinai—for such, as an intelligent man, I prefer to call it—with his face shining in that strange brightness, and when he dashed down the tables of stone in front of our new calf, and made Aaron and all of us feel as if we had done something very wrong: I cannot forget all these things, but I am wiser than I once was, and now I see clearly that all the events which we used to call miracles were the working of natural causes, that Moses was a shrewd and far-seeing man, and as to his moral majesty, why he was born to command. True, the coincidences between our need and the development of these natural causes, which so often helped us just as we were perishing, leaves something to be explained; but I can understand so much, that I am sure this part may be passed over. Now when you talk to me of the claims of the word of the Lord, don’t you think I am fairly entitled to ask, How do you know that there is any Lord, much less that you have His words?” Oh, how devils might laugh, and how God, if He were less than God, might despair, when men reason like this!
II. Think of the words of the Lord in their purity. The tendencies of them are to make men holier and larger in heart. They stimulate no mean passions, such as vanity and selfishness. The ambition which heaven stirs within us is exaltation through a more exalted spirit. The Lord had told Joshua that the day of his honour was at hand; but Joshua was stirred by the words of the Lord, not to petty ideas of his personal greatness, but to efforts which should secure the inheritance of the land to the people. The tendencies of the Bible are to lead us to
(1) forgetfulness of ourselves,
(2) to a generous interest in men, and
(3) to ardent praise of God.
III. Reflect on the words of the Lord in their distinctiveness.
1. The words of the Lord are the only words which are ever addressed to man’s most serious difficulties. Only Divine words are heard as to the way of crossing into Canaan, and driving out the Canaanites. In man’s greatest necessities it is still the same; only the words of God ever propose to meet them. (a) Law has no suitable words. Think of listening to law in our bereavements, in our need of the pardon of sin, of sanctification, of hope beyond the grave. Law is pitiless, cold, and inexorable. Law never said, “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people; speak ye comfortably unto men, and cry unto them that their warfare is accomplished, that their iniquity is pardoned.” Law never proposed for Israel a path through the sea, manna from heaven, water from rocks, or that the Jordan should stand up in a heap till the people had passed over. (b) Men have never had any suitable words for the deeper necessities of their race. The physician accompanies the sick within sight of the grave, but once seeing that open before them, he has nothing more to propose. He has no medicine for death, and not a single cordial is there in the whole of his pharmacopœia which he has ever thought it worth while to prescribe as a cure for bereavement. The engineer has opened no door for us on the other side of the grave, the chemist has failed to bring immortality to light, and the mechanician has never contrived anything to bear the burden of sin. The naturalist, the poet, and the philosopher, as the priests of this world must, have ever passed by, and left the world’s wounded on the other side; or if pity has drawn them to the side of distress, they have discovered no words but those of the old stoic, “You must bear up as bravely as you can.” It is only God who ever speaks to the subject of our keenest miseries and profoundest want. On questions like these, there are no words but the words of the Lord.
2. The words of the Lord, even on our deepest necessities, are not vain words. (a) They are practical. We can always use them. They are not mere theory, or poetry, or mysticism; they are never Utopian. Men can read them before any floods or any enemies, and know what to do next. (b) They are thorough and sufficient. They do not buoy men up for a season, and let them sink after all. It is something to say for Christianity, at least, that even its bitterest enemies have never been able to charge its words with being weak and comfortless. (c) They betray no effort. There is as much ease about words that propose to divide a river, to raise the dead, or to save men, as about words which simply give directions concerning our least important duties. The Saviour’s words in calming the sea, feeding the thousands, or raising Lazarus, are as free from hesitation or effort as any of the words in the sermon on the mount.
3. Thus it might be clear to all men that the words of the Lord are the only words of hope. No other words are addressed to our extreme wants; not even enemies can charge them with weakness. Those who lean on them most are most satisfied with them, and they never seem so dear as at the point of death, farther than which we cannot trace their effect. These were the solitary words of hope to Israel at the Jordan; in all our greater need they alone can afford hope and help to us. Let us receive these words, then, with enthusiasm, as did Joshua and the people of Israel. Wherever in our life we come to the words which belong to any present difficulty, let there be no doubt and no distrust till we are found safely on its other side. Let us tell these words to one another, as though there were little else worth telling, crying here and there in life’s way to our perplexed and helpless brethren, “Come hither, and hear the words of the Lord your God.”
Jos_3:10. “By what do we also recognise the presence of a living God among us?
1. By His word which He still causes to be perpetually published among us.
2. By His deeds which He is still perpetually performing.”
“How should we think of God?
1. Not as a rigid order of nature
2. As the living God and ruler over all the earth—the mightiest Ruler, the best Ruler.” (Lange.)
Jos_3:11; Jos_3:13. “
I. We need new grace for new experiences. Some trial which we have never before endured is to be borne by us. Some duty which we have never before discharged is to be performed by us. Some relationship that is entirely new is to be formed by us, and we know not how we shall bear ourselves. Let us take courage. He who gave these minute directions to His ancient people will not fail us; and though He may not come to us with such specific guidance, He will yet by His providence and Spirit give us the help we need.
II. When we have to cross any river of difficulty, let us put the Ark of the Covenant into the middle of the stream. In simple phrase, when we come to a difficulty, let us see Christ in it, and then we shall be able to surmount it. He turns the water into dry land. He makes our difficulties stepping-stones to glory. We are never really in danger when we can see Him.
III. There are no degrees of difficulty with God. All things are equally easy to omnipotence. Let us not limit the Holy One of Israel by supposing that any of our emergencies are too great for Him to help us through them.” (Dr. William Taylor, New York.)
“The Ark was not a talisman that wrought wonders, as if by some magical charm; for in after years, when Israel’s warriors took it into the battlefield, they were defeated (cf. 1Sa_4:5-10). That which is a help to faith when God commands it, becomes a snare when He has not given His sanction to it. There is all the difference in the world between faith and presumption.” (Dr. Wm. Taylor.)
Jos_3:13. “This seems to have been the first intimation given to the people as to the manner in which they were to cross the river.” (Bush.)
“Joshua telling the people of the miracle that God would now do upon Jordan, laboureth to confirm their faith about the expelling of the heathen before them. When marvellous things are done for us by the Lord, we are hereby taught to build our confidence on His promises touching things to come” (Dr. Mayer, A.D. 1647.)
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh tells Joshua what the priest are to do.
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I will make you a great man in the eyes of all Israel
The eyes represent seeing, and seeing represents thoughts or judgment. AT: "the people will see what I do and realize that I have made you a great man" (See: Metaphor)
edge of the waters of the Jordan
Joshua is to approach the bank or edge of the Jordan River.
translationWords
Yahweh
Joshua
Israel
Moses
command
priest
ark of the covenant
water
Jordan River
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 3:7 To reassure the people that he had not…
3:7 To reassure the people that he had not brought them this far to abandon them, God made Joshua a great leader like Moses.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.