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From: Joshua 3:7-10a, 11, 13-17
Preparations for the crossing of the Jordan
The waters of the Jordan cease to flow, and the people cross over
[14] So, when the people set out from their tents, to pass over the Jordan with
the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, [15] and when those
who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the
ark were dipped in the brink of the water (the Jordan overflows all its banks
throughout the time of harvest), [16] the waters coming down from above stood
and rose up in a heap far off, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those
flowing down toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were wholly cut off; and
the people passed over opposite Jericho. [17] And while all Israel were passing
over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood
on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, until all the nation passing over the Jor-
dan.
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Commentary:
3:1-8. We now come to episodes connected with Gilgal, a place on the banks
of the Jordan close to Jericho, where there would later be an important Israelite
shrine. The ark of the Covenant begins to play its role in guiding the people, as
it had already done at some points on the trek through Sinai (cf. Num 10:33-36).
This amounts to saying that it is God himself who is showing his people how to
go about the take-over of the promised land. Moses in his time ordered the peo-
ple to sanctify themselves in the presence of God’s revelation on Sinai (cf. Ex
10:14); now Joshua tells them to do the same; they are going to witness a great
manifestation of God’s power – the division of the Jordan waters to let them pass
(v. 5).
The events that will now be recounted bring to an end the story of the people’s
pilgrimage in the desert. For that reason the great events of the Exodus are now
revisited: when the Israelites were being oppressed in Egypt, the Lord revealed
himself to Moses, to have him guide his people towards deliverance (Ex 3:1-20);
when Moses returned to Egypt with his wife and sons to speak to the pharaoh,
his son’s circumcision took place (Ex 4:24-26); when the Israelites were getting
ready to leave Egypt, the Passover was celebrated (Ex 12:1-51); when they
crossed the Red Sea, they could see that they were at last free from their op-
pressors (Ex 14: 15-31) and they set out on their trek through the desert, where
they were nourished with the manna (5:10-12). That pilgrimage eventually comes
to an end, and after crossing the Jordan (3:9-4:24) and circumcising all the males
(5:2-9), they will celebrate the Passover in the promised land and manna will no
longer be provided (5:10-12); finally, God will show himself to Joshua at the start
of the siege of Jericho (5:13-14).
This narrative of events prior to the occupation of the promised land is not simply
a repeat of what happened when the Israelites were leaving Egypt. It is a written
account of new events which show that God continues to work for his people in
a new historical situation. The fact that events follow the pattern of the Exodus is
a source of hope at other points in the history of the people. Later on, during the
Babylonian captivity, Israel will draw from its memory of the Exodus strength to
trust in God and encouragement to prepare for a return journey. This is why all
generations of believers can nourish their hope in the saving and liberating power
of God, who never abandons his own, for “Christian hope takes up and fulfils the
hope of the chosen people” (”Catechism of the Catholic Church”, 1819).
3:9-17. Guided by Joshua, Moses’ successor, the people relive the marvels of the
Exodus. The sacred author couches his account of the crossing of the Jordan in
liturgical and festive terms, as if the people were in a huge procession led by the
ark of the Covenant, making their way into the promised land. This reinforces the
idea that the conquest of Canaan is the Lord’s doing and it stresses how joyful
the people are because they realize that God is with them.
The crossing of the Red Sea marked the climax of the Israelites’ deliverance from
servitude – and it was the Lord’s doing; in the conquest of Canaan, the crossing
of the Jordan, again under God’s protection is the key event. When the Israelites
were leaving Egypt, God’s presence was manifested by his angel and by a pillar
of cloud which moved along with them (Ex 14:19); the ark of the Covenant, the
symbol of commitments made by God and the people, plays a similar role here.
The crossing of the Jordan will be seen in Christian tradition as an image of Bap-
tism: “Baptism is prefigured in the crossing of the Jordan by which the People of
God received the gift of the land promised to Abraham’s descendants, an image
of eternal life. The promise of this blessed inheritance is fulfilled in the New Cove-
nant” (”Catechism of the Catholic Church”, 1222).
The words “the living God is among you” (v. 10) are full of meaning: the true God
is the only “living God”, that is, the God “who gives life and intervenes in history”
(ibid., 2112).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.