Bethany Covenant Church
Fall 2014
Chapters 3 and 4
• The Words of Faith
•
•
•
•
•
Officers’ message to the People
Joshua’s message to the People
Joshua’s message to the Priests
God’s message to Joshua
Joshua’s message to the People
• The Walk of Faith
• Crossing the Jordan
• The Witness of Faith
• Memorial stones
• So That You May Know
• Which way to go
• That God is with you
• That God will go before you
Chapter 3
So That You May Know
Why
wait rising
3 days?
• Joshua
Time
factors
are
•early
TheisJordan
at
mentioned
identified
twiceis in
flood
stage
(v. 15)
4 times
in Joshua:
these
verses.
for
(1+ 7:16
million)
3:1,all
6:12,
&
Israel
8:10. to see.
•• No
way
We obvious
know from
to
crossthis
the is a
Exodus
Jordan.
work ethic Joshua
•learned
Raftingfrom
leaves
people
Moses. crossing
vulnerable to
attack.
• Timing is
important, as we
see after crossing
they celebrate
Passover.
“Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out
from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped
before crossing over. After three days the officers went
throughout the camp, giving orders to the people: “When
you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God,
and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out
from your positions and follow it.” (Joshua 3:1–3, NIV)
Officers: Notice the military officers did not send the
soldiers first, as one might expect when invading occupied
land. Instead the priests and the ark were sent first.
“Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been
this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand
cubits between you and the ark; do not go near it.” Joshua told
the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will
do amazing things among you.”” (Joshua 3:4–5, NIV)
This
is about
half mile distance.
Theisinstruction
• This
phrasea “you/they
will know”
repeated 3is
both
practical
spiritual: Allows everyone to see
times
in thisand
chapter.
the
arkwill
because
are at
distance
and it
is athis
• You
knowthey
the way
to ago.
Recall that
until
The
Mount Sinai
reminder
of God’s
fearsome
protective
time they
had the
pillar ofpower
cloud and fire
to guide must have
experience
presence.
them in the wilderness.
been the pattern:
“And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick
cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may
also believe you forever.” When Moses told the words of the people
to the LORD, the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and
consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their
garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the
LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care
not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever
touches the mountain shall be put to death.” (Exodus 19:9–12, ESV)
Notice the elements here that are repeated in Joshua 3:1-5
“Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and
pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead
of them.” (Joshua 3:6, NIV)
No questions asked; the priests exercised faith ahead of the people.
“And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O
LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those
who hate you flee before you.”” (Numbers 10:35, ESV)
“And the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes
of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.
Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the
edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’ ”” (Joshua 3:7–8,
NIV)
God begins
to exalt
or magnify
atisthe
Jordan
“So they
may know”
that Joshua
the Lord
with
you. River.
Mark 1:9-11
“In those days Jesus came from
Nazareth of Galilee and was
baptized by John in the Jordan.
And when he came up out of
the water, immediately he saw
the heavens being torn open
and the Spirit descending on
him like a dove. And a voice
came from heaven, “You are my
beloved Son; with you I am well
pleased.”” (Mark 1:9–11, ESV)
“Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words
of the LORD your God. This is how you will know that the living
God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you
the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites
and Jebusites. See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the
earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you.” (Joshua 3:9–11, NIV)
Joshua making several points:
• The Lord is going ahead of you so you will know of His visible
proximity to you;
• The Lord is not just Israel’s God, He is Lord of the entire earth;
• Israel is moving from the law of Moses into the promised land
under a new leader, taking the law with them.
“Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from
each tribe. And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the
LORD—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters
flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.” So when
the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the
ark of the covenant went ahead of them.” (Joshua 3:12–14, NIV)
This verse is a parenthetical phrase that will
become important in chapter 4.
“Now the Jordan is at flood stage all
during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests
who carried the ark reached the Jordan
and their feet touched the water’s edge,
the water from upstream stopped flowing.
It piled up in a heap a great distance away,
at a town called Adam in the vicinity of
Zarethan, while the water flowing down to
the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead
Sea) was completely cut off. So the people
crossed over opposite Jericho.” (Joshua
3:15–16, NIV)
Adam is about 1-16 miles upstream,
which makes sense if the people are
to stay a half mile away from the ark.
People likely passed on either side of
the ark when crossing.
“The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD
stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while
all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the
crossing on dry ground.” (Joshua 3:17, NIV)
Dry ground mentioned twice the making the point
this was not a natural phenomenon.
Literary Structure
Chiasmus, Parallelism, Repetition
Chiasmus (ky-AZ-mus) n .
a reversal in the order of words
in two otherwise parallel phrases.
chiastic adj
Home is where
the great are small,
and the small are great.
Chiastic Parallel
• “And so, my fellow Americans,
ask not what your country can do for you;
ask what you can do for your country.”
Chiastic Parallel
• "Nations do not mistrust each other because
they are armed;
they are armed because they mistrust each
other.“
Chiastic Parallel
• "America did not invent human rights. In a very real sense, it is the
other way round.
Human rights invented America."
Chiastic Parallel
• "Our defeats are but stepping-stones to victory,
and his victories are but stepping-stones to ruin."
Chiastic Parallel – Matthew 23:12
“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Double Chiasmus
Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and
poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen
Leonardo da Vinci
ABC Chiasmus
A Whoever sheds
B the blood
C of man
C’ by man shall
B’ his blood
A’ be shed
Genesis 9:6
ABC Chiasmus in Joshua 3:1-17
A Moving to the Jordan (3:1)
B “the ark of the covenant which the Levitical priests will carry” (3:3)
C Words of Joshua (3:5-6)
D Word of the Lord (3:7-8)
C’ Words of Joshua (3:9-13)
B’ “the priests carry the ark of the covenant ahead of them” (3:14)
A’ Crossing the Jordan (3:17)
ABC Chiasmus in Joshua 3:8-17 (Standing)
A Priests are told to “stand still” in the Jordan (3:8)
B The water will “stand in one heap” (3:13)
C Ark of the covenant goes before the people (3:14)
C’ Ark of the covenant at brink of Joshua (3:15)
B’ The water “stood and rose up in a heap” (3:16)
A’ Priests “stood firmly” in the Jordan (3:17)
Chapter 4
Memorial Stones
“When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD
said to Joshua, “Choose twelve men from among the people, one
from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the
middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and
carry them over with you and put them down at the place where
you stay tonight.”” (Joshua 4:1–3, NIV)
Notice that God waited until the entire nation has
passed over the Jordan before telling Joshua the
purpose of selecting the 12 men in chapter 3.
“So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from
the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, “Go over
before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan.
Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the
number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you.”
(Joshua 4:4–6, NIV)
We now have 1+ million
people waiting on 12 men.
Couldn’t we just have had
them pick up the stones on
the first crossing?
“In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones
mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before
the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan,
the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a
memorial to the people of Israel forever.”” (Joshua 4:6–7, NIV)
We will see this reference to “when your children ask”
again later in this chapter.
Comparison between NIV & ESV (NASB, KJV)
NIV
ESV
“So the Israelites did as Joshua
commanded them. They took twelve
stones from the middle of the Jordan,
according to the number of the tribes of
the Israelites, as the LORD had told
Joshua; and they carried them over
with them to their camp, where they
put them down. Joshua set up the
twelve stones that had been in the
middle of the Jordan at the spot where
the priests who carried the ark of the
covenant had stood. And they are there
to this day.” (Joshua 4:8–9, NIV)
“And the people of Israel did just as
Joshua commanded and took up twelve
stones out of the midst of the Jordan,
according to the number of the tribes of
the people of Israel, just as the LORD told
Joshua. And they carried them over
with them to the place where they
lodged and laid them down there. And
Joshua set up twelve stones in the
midst of the Jordan, in the place where
the feet of the priests bearing the ark of
the covenant had stood; and they are
there to this day.” (Joshua 4:8–9, ESV)
Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan at
the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the
covenant were standing, and they are there to this day. (Joshua
4:9 New American Standard Bible)
What is the purpose of a monument in the middle of a
And Joshua
upwill
twelve
stones
the midst of
riverset
that
be covered
andinunseen?
in the
where
thethat
feettheir
of the
priests
•Jordan,
To remind
theplace
children
of Israel
old life
was
buried
andthe
theyark
now
a new life in
a promised
which
bare
oflive
theincovenant
stood:
and
land.
they
are there unto this day. (Joshua 4:9 King
•James
Demonstration
Version) to the spies from Jericho of what the 12
tribes are going to do to the 7 nations in Canaan.
“Now the priests who carried the
ark remained standing in the
middle of the Jordan until
everything the LORD had
commanded Joshua was done by
the people, just as Moses had
directed Joshua. The people
hurried over, and as soon as all of
them had crossed, the ark of the
LORD and the priests came to the
other side while the people
watched.” (Joshua 4:10–11, NIV)
Notice how many times the priest
coming out of the Jordan is
mentioned in this chapter
“The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh
crossed over, ready for battle, in front of the Israelites, as Moses
had directed them. About forty thousand armed for battle
crossed over before the LORD to the plains of Jericho for war.”
(Joshua 4:12–13, NIV)
• This arrangement was noted in Joshua 1 and
the history is found in Numbers 32.
• The deal they made was these 3 tribes were
Transjordanian, but they fought for their
brothers Cisjordanian.
• They acted as shock troops for the other tribes.
“That day the LORD exalted Joshua
in the sight of all Israel; and they
stood in awe of him all the days of
his life, just as they had stood in
awe of Moses. Then the LORD said
to Joshua, “Command the priests
carrying the ark of the covenant
law to come up out of the Jordan.”
So Joshua commanded the priests,
“Come up out of the Jordan.””
(Joshua 4:14–17, NIV)
This is the 2d time we are
told Joshua was exalted and
the priests came up out of
the Jordan.
“And the priests came up out
of the river carrying the ark
of the covenant of the LORD.
No sooner had they set their
feet on the dry ground than
the waters of the Jordan
returned to their place and
ran at flood stage as before.”
(Joshua 4:18, NIV)
Third mention of the priest coming
out of the Jordan
They were already on dry ground, so what is
the point here?
“On the tenth day of the first month
the people went up from the Jordan
and camped at Gilgal on the eastern
border of Jericho.” (Joshua 4:19, NIV)
God’s timing is always perfect:
Notice the date: Recall God delayed the
crossing of the Jordan for 3 days Joshua 3:2.
• The first month (Nisan)
is our March-April.
• Passover begins Nisan
14 which was celebrated
the for the first time 40
years prior in Egypt.
• On the tenth day of the
first month a lamb is
selected to prepare for
Passover. Exodus 12:3
“And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve
stones they had taken out of the
Jordan. He said to the Israelites, “In the
future when your descendants ask
their parents, ‘What do these stones
mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the
Jordan on dry ground.’” (Joshua 4:20–
22, NIV)
Second mention of the purpose of the memorial stones.
“For the LORD your God dried up the Jordan before you until you
had crossed over. The LORD your God did to the Jordan what he
had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we
had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth
might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you
might always fear the LORD your God.”” (Joshua 4:23–24, NIV)
Joshua is explaining the obvious because none
of the children of Israel had memory of the Red
Sea crossing, excepting Joshua and Caleb.
Literary Structure
Chiasmus, Parallelism, Repetition
Chiasmus in Joshua 4:1-21
A “when your children ask you, ‘What these stones mean?’” (4:6)
B “the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing” (4:9)
C “the Lord exalted Joshua” (4:14)
B “Command the priest carrying the ark to come up from the Jordan” (4:16)
A “when the children among you ask ‘What these stones mean?’” (4:21)
Chiasmus in Joshua 4:6-21
A When your children ask you, ‘What these stones mean?’ (4:6)
B They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan (4:8)
C The priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing (4:9)
D the priests came to the other side (4:11)
E The 2½ tribes crossed over, ready for battle (4:12)
E’ About 40,000 armed for battle crossed over (4:13)
D’ So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan (4:17)
C’ The priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant (4:18)
B’ And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones (4:20)
A’ When the children among you ask ‘What these stones mean?’ (4:21)
Bibliography
• Be Strong, Wiersbe, Warren W., Be Commentary Series.
• The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Campbell, Donald K.
• Opening Up Joshua, Ellsworth, Roger, Opening Up Commentary.
• Matthew Henrys Commentary on the Whole Bible: Henry, Matthew.
• Warren W. Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament
Wiersbe, Warren, W.
• Commentary on the Book of Joshua, Calvin, John, and Henry
Beveridge.
• The Teachers Bible Commentary, Philbeck, Ben F.
• The Books of History, Smith, James E., Old Testament Survey Series.
• Joshua’s Spiritual Warfare, Clarke, Thomas B.