 |  |
The crossing of the Jordan.
Josh. 3: 3 - 5: 1.
A | 3: 3-6. Command people. The Ark.
B | 3: 7. "This day will I begin to MAGNIFY thee."
C | 3: 8. Command to Priests.--"Stand still."
D | 3: 9 - 4: 10. Testimony to Canaanites and to Israel.--
"Hereby ye shall know."
The waters, E | 3: 13-17. Waters on an heap.
stones and
F | 4: 1-10. | a | People pass over.
people.
b | Twelve stones.
c | What mean ye?
b | Twelve stones.
a | People pass over.
A | 4: 10-13. Speak to people. The Ark.
B | 4: 14. "On that day the Lord MAGNIFIED Joshua."
C | 4: 15-17. Command to Priests.--"Come up."
D | 4: 18 - 5: 1. Testimony to Israel and to Canaanites.--
"That all the people of the earth might know."
The waters, E | 4: 18. Waters return.
stones and
F | 4: 19-23. | a | People come up.
people.
b | Twelve stones.
c | What mean?
b | These stones.
a | Ye passed over.
The structure of the passage throws into relief those features that are of chief
importance, and the time spent upon its discovery is more than compensated for by that
approximation to "the full assurance of understanding" which in some small measure a
grasp of the general trend of any passage provides. The theme is fourfold. (1) The Ark.
(2) The magnifying of Joshua. (3) The Priests. (4) The testimony to the Canaanites
and to Israel. As the material before us is rather great in bulk, it will simplify matters if
we take each section separately and seek to discover its significance.
THE ARK.--The ark of the Covenant figures in four great episodes in Joshua:--
(a)
The crossing of the Jordan (3:, 4:).
(b)
The taking of Jericho (6:).
(c)
The discovery of Achan's sin (7:).
(d)
The recital of the blessings and the cursings (8:).
The teaching that relates to the ark in the first episode is perhaps crystallized for us in
the opening reference: "When ye see the ark . . . . . go after it" (Josh. 3: 3).
The full statement should be read:--
"And they commanded the people saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the
Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your
place, and go after it."