English: Israel Enters the Promised Land, as in Joshua 3:5-17, illustration from a Bible card published between 1896 and 1913 by the Providence Lithograph Company (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Hey person, I’m trying to figure something out. Last week you told me a story about those spies who went to Jericho. And then they had to go across the Jordan River to get back to where Joshua and all the Israelites were.
So doesn’t that mean that all the Israelites are on the wrong side of the Jordan River from Jericho? How are they going to get there to give Jericho what for?
I could probably swim across that river. But those Israelites lived in the desert all their lives. I bet most of them couldn’t swim. Dogs just take to swimming naturally, but people aren’t usually that smart.
Person, I didn’t mean you. You must be smart. You tell me all these good stories. So how did they get across that river?
What? The Jordan River was in flood stage right then? Did they have to wait awhile to give Jericho what for? That must have been hard. I bet they were all anxious to go.
I’m listening person. I just don’t see how those Israelites are going to get across that river.
Joshua told the priests to take the Ark of the Covenant and go ahead of the people.
Are they going to float across the river on the ark? What if they float downstream?
Oh. The ark is sacred and they can’t float on it? That makes it even harder to get across.
God told Joshua to tell the priests with the Ark of the Covenant to stand in the river when they reach the water’s edge.
What if they get their feet wet? Isn’t that river moving awfully fast? You said it was at flood stage.
Yes, I’ll listen.
As soon as the priest’s feet touched the water’s edge the water coming from upstream stopped flowing. The water piled up in a heap a long ways away from them. The priests carrying the ark stood in the middle of the Jordan on dry ground while all the Israelites crossed.
When the people had crossed they took twelve stones from the middle of the river where the priests were standing and made an alter to remember the day that God had stopped the river for them. And as soon as the priests came out of the river with the Ark of the Covenant and set their feet on dry ground the river started flowing at flood stage again.
I sure hope nobody forgot something on the other side of that river.
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