Remembering

Now, we’re looking at those chapters of Joshua that deal with the crossing of the Jordan River. Like all good stories, Joshua is written in episodes. There have been two already. Chapter 1 focuses on the commissioning of Joshua in his first commands to the people. Chapter 2 concerns the sending of the spies into the Promised Land and their meeting with Rahab, and it focuses on Rahab’s act of faith in protecting them and identifying with the people of Israel. And then in chapter 3, we have the beginning of this new episode, which is the crossing of the Jordan.

Last week, when we looked at chapter 3 and the crossing itself, we saw that the most important element in that crossing is the emphasis found there upon the Ark of the Covenant. The ark symbolized the presence of God. It has not been mentioned in Joshua until now, but suddenly in these chapters connected with the crossing of the Jordan, it is mentioned many times. The ark symbolized the presence of God, and as the people crossed the river, they did so with the ark going before them. In other words, God went before them.