Crossing the Jordan
1 ① Early in the morning, Joshua rose and set out from Shittim with all the people of Israel and came to the Jordan River. There they encamped while waiting to cross the river.
2After three days, the officers went around the camp 3and ordered the Israelites: “When you see the Ark of the Covenant of Yahweh go by, carried by the priests from the tribe of Levi, then you shall set out from your camp and follow it, 4that you may know the way you shall go. Because you have never been that way before. But you shall follow it at a distance of a thousand meters. Do not go near it.”
5Joshua said to the Israelites: “Purify yourselves, for tomorrow Yahweh will be in your midst doing wonders.” 6And Joshua ordered the priests: “Take the Ark of the Covenant and cross the river at the head of the people.”
7Then Yahweh said to Joshua: “Today I will begin to make you great in the eyes of Israel and they shall know that I am with you as I was with Moses. 8Give this order to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant: As soon as you come to the banks of the Jordan, stand still in the river.” 9And Joshua said to the Israelites: “Come nearer and listen to the words of Yahweh, our God. 10Do you want a sign that Yahweh, the living God, is in your midst, he who drives away before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, as well as the Girgashites, Jebusites and Amorites? 11See, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to cross the Jordan before you. 12Now, choose twelve men from the twelve tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13When the priests who carry the Ark of the Lord of all the earth put their feet into the water of the Jordan, the water coming from upstream shall stop flowing and stand in one single mass.”
14When the people set out from their camp to cross the Jordan, the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant went before them. 15There was much water in the Jordan, for it was overflowing its banks at this time of the barley harvest. Nevertheless, when those who carried the Ark went down to the river and their feet touched the edge of the water, the water from upstream stopped flowing.
16The water stood still, forming something like a dam very far from that place, near Adam, the neighboring city of Zarethan. The water flowing down to the Dead Sea was completely cut off, and so the people could cross opposite Jericho. 17The priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant remained in the middle of the river which dried up, until all the Israelites had crossed the Jordan.
- Jos 3,1 The Jordan has not always been the boundary of Israel: according to its victories or defeats Israel possessed the land to the east of the Jordan or lost that in the west. Nevertheless the Jordan has always been recognized as the border of the Promised Land of the people of God. Consequently we see how the tribes of Reuben and Gad, already settled to the east of the river, are constrained by Moses, and later by Joshua to cross the river with their families: only on this condition will they be recognized as true heirs of the Promised Land. That is why the passage of the Jordan led by Joshua has had such importance in both Jewish and Christian traditions. In this crossing as in that of the Reed Sea, God alone has the major role. It is at the moment that the bearers of the Ark, on which rests the Glory of Yahweh, touches the river, that it ceases to flow. When the bearers go up from the river, the water begins to flow again. God, resting on his Ark, opens and closes the gate of the Promised Land (Rev 3:7). Likewise Jesus, the new Ark of the Covenant, in whom resides the fullness of the divinity (Col 2:9), will go down into the water of the Jordan to open the gates of the Promised Land. This crossing is, together with that of the Reed Sea, the baptism of the people of God. Reading this narrative, we understand that this book is not a military record of Joshua's conquest; it is a liturgical book in which we see God at work: he grants or withdraws his blessings according to the fidelity or infidelity of his people. At the end of the book, we see his people invited to make a solemn profession of faith (Jos 24). Each time that the Church invites us, like Joshua, to renew our profession of faith, whether at baptism or the paschal vigil, we are taking part in a long established Christian tradition. The water stood still, forming something like a dam. In 1267 a landslide took place in the Jordan valley much higher than Jericho, leaving the river bed dry until a current washed out the obstacle a few hours later. A similar phenomenon could have allowed Joshua and his people to enter the Promised Land dry foot after crossing the riverbed. The miracle lies in the fact that the event happens at the moment when Joshua and his followers are waiting for Yahweh to open a passage for them. God often uses natural causes to keep a seemingly impossible promise. What do these stones mean for you? What is the meaning of such a monument, of such a feast? Each time, this was answered by narrating some event in which Yahweh had helped his people. In Israel the faith was taught through similar questions. The Israelites did not have much knowledge of religion; yet every place in their land reminded them that God was the savior of his people. Joshua pitches his camp in Gilgal from where he organizes his assaults, and he returns wisely to Gilgal after each victory before the Canaanite forces can regroup. It is evident that several accounts which are not entirely in accord with one another are combined here. Did they put twelve stones in the camp (v. 3), or did they put them on the riverbed of the Jordan (v. 9)? It really does not matter. At best, these stones were already near Gilgal even before Joshua and the Israelites arrived; this was a sanctuary devoted to pagan cult. But after the conquest, the priests wanted to give them a religious meaning in consonance with their faith, as we saw in Exodus 12:15.
