Joshua 3:14 - Meaning and Application

Here we have a short and simple account of the dividing of the Jordan River and Israel’s crossing through it. The story is not dressed up with fancy language, because gold does not need to be painted. It gives us, in brief, the plain facts.

1. The river was wider and deeper than usual at that time of year (Joshua 3:15). The melting snow on Mount Lebanon, near the river’s source, caused Jordan to overflow its banks during harvest time, the spring barley harvest. That flood, at just that moment, made God’s power and kindness to Israel stand out even more clearly. When the obstacles against God’s people seem strongest, he can still overcome them. Even if Jordan is swollen to the edge and overflowing, it is just as easy for Almighty God to divide it and dry it up as if it were a small stream. To the Lord, it makes no difference.

2. As soon as the priests’ feet touched the edge of the water, the stream stopped at once, as if a gate had been shut to hold it back (Joshua 3:15, Joshua 3:16). The waters above piled up, stood in one place, and flowed backward. It seems they did not spread out, but held together in a way no one could explain. People many miles upstream would have seen the river rise in amazement, and they would remember it for a long time. The water on the other side of this hidden barrier kept flowing down, leaving the riverbed dry as far as the water had risen above. When Israel crossed the Red Sea, the waters stood like a wall on both sides. Here, they stood only on one side.

The God who made nature can change its course whenever he wants. He can change the way things normally work, and he can turn water into something firm, or make rocks flow like water. See (Psalm 114:5, Psalm 114:8). What cannot God do? What will he not do to bring his people safely to salvation? At times he splits the earth with rivers (Habakkuk 3:9), and at other times, as here, he splits the rivers without needing land beneath them. We can imagine how the sudden stopping of that strong current would have caused the water to roar and boil, so that even the mountains seemed to shake with the swelling waves (Psalm 46:3). The floods lifted up their voice, but the Lord on high proved mightier than the noise of many waters (Psalm 93:3, Psalm 93:4).

In view of this, the prophet asks, “Was the Lord angry with the rivers? Was your anger against the rivers?” (Habakkuk 3:8). The answer is no. “You went out for the salvation of your people” (Joshua 3:13). In the same way, Scripture foretells that in the last days God will do great things for the gospel church. It says the great river Euphrates will be dried up so the way of the kings from the east may be prepared (Revelation 16:12). When the time comes for Israel to enter the promised land, every obstacle will be overcome. Mountains will become level ground (Zechariah 4:7), and rivers will run dry for the Lord’s redeemed to cross over.

When our pilgrimage through this wilderness ends, death will be like this Jordan between us and the heavenly Canaan. But the ark of the covenant, the sign of God’s presence, has already prepared a way through it. Death is the last enemy that will be destroyed.

3. The people crossed over opposite Jericho. This showed their courage and gave a bold challenge to their enemies. Jericho was one of the strongest cities, yet Israel faced it at the very beginning of their entrance into the land. It also encouraged them to go on through Jordan, because Jericho was a fine city and the land around it was very pleasant. If that land was to be theirs, what trouble could keep them from taking it? And it would have filled their enemies with fear and confusion, since they were surely watching closely and seeing this wonder with their own eyes.

4. The priests stood still in the middle of Jordan while all the people passed over (Joshua 3:17). That was where the ark was to remain, to show that the same power which divided the waters also kept them divided for as long as needed. If God’s presence, shown by the ark, had not protected them, the waters would have rushed back and swallowed them. The priests were told to stand still there for two reasons.

First, it tested their faith. Could they stay in the place God assigned them, with mountains of water standing above them? Just as they showed courage when they stepped first into Jordan, they now showed courage by remaining there the longest. They knew they carried their protection with them. Ministers, in times of danger, should set an example of courage and trust in God’s goodness.

Second, it encouraged the faith of the people, so they could go forward into Canaan with confidence and fear no evil, even in this valley of the shadow of death, for that was what the divided river had become to them. They could trust that God’s presence stood between them and the greatest danger, between them and the proud waters that would otherwise have swept over them. In the greatest dangers, the saints are comforted by his rod and his staff (Psalm 23:4).