Joshua 3:6
And Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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What's easy to miss here is that Joshua is directing the priests, not the Levites who normally carried the ark, to bear it across the Jordan. This points to the extraordinary and solemn nature of this event, highlighting the sacred authority of God's presence leading His people into the promised land. It signifies that this isn't just another march, but a moment of divine intervention where even the established order is set aside for a profound encounter with God.
Joshua has just led the Israelites to the edge of the Jordan River, a formidable barrier ready to flood. After instructing the people to consecrate themselves for imminent divine wonders, he now commands the priests to lift the Ark of the Covenant. This sacred object, representing God's presence, is to be carried at the very front of their procession, leading them directly into the overflowing waters.
Imagine standing at the edge of a raging river, with no bridge, no boats, and no clear path forward. How do you step into the unknown? For Israel, the answer wasn't a strategy, but a symbol.
Joshua 3:6 instructs the priests to 'Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.' This wasn't just a command for movement; it was a divine directive for the ark, representing God's presence and promise, to lead the way.
A Visible Presence
In the ancient Israelite camp, the ark was central, symbolizing God's intimate fellowship and covenant commitment. By placing it at the front of the procession into the Jordan, Joshua wasn't just changing the marching order; he was making God's presence the visible banner under which the people would advance into a new, uncrossed territory. This was a deliberate act to ensure the people knew God Himself was leading them, not just a man or a plan.
Faith's First Step
This forward positioning meant the priests, and by extension the people, had to take the first, often uncertain, step towards the obstacle, not away from it. It required stepping into the Jordan's waters they parted. This demonstrates that God's guidance often comes not by revealing the entire path, but by calling us to take a step of faith, trusting that His presence will make a way.
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Carrying the ark wasn't a casual stroll. It was a task laden with immense spiritual significance and risk. What does this tell us about the people God calls to lead?
Joshua 3:6 highlights the specific role of the priests in carrying the ark. While Levites typically bore the ark, on this momentous occasion, it was the priests who were tasked with this sacred duty.
Dignity and Danger
Carrying the ark was a position of high honor, signifying their direct connection to God's covenant presence. However, it was also perilous. The ark held an 'awful majesty,' and any carelessness could bring swift judgment, as seen in the story of Uzzah (2 Samuel 6:6-7). This emphasizes that those who bear God's presence and lead His people must do so with profound reverence, obedience, and an acute awareness of God's holiness.
Leading by Obedience
The priests were commanded to 'pass over before the people.' Their obedience to this specific instruction, even into the rushing waters of the Jordan, served as a powerful model for all Israel. Their willingness to trust and follow God's directive, symbolized by bearing the ark, was the essential prerequisite for the miracle that would follow and the people's subsequent safe passage.
Israel had wandered for 40 years, but they had never crossed the Jordan. This wasn't just a geographical barrier; it was an unknown frontier. How does God handle leading us into the 'never before'?
Joshua 3:6 is part of a larger narrative where God is leading Israel into the Promised Land by an unprecedented route: the Jordan River.
The Shock of the Uncrossed
Calvin notes that Israel 'had not passed this way heretofore.' The Jordan River, especially in its swollen springtime state, was a formidable and unfamiliar obstacle. Unlike the well-trodden paths of the wilderness, this crossing required a direct act of God. God intentionally led them through an 'unknown way' to demonstrate His power and their dependence on Him.
Divine Guidance Amidst Uncertainty
The instruction for the ark to go before the people, and for a significant space to be kept between the people and the ark (Joshua 3:4), wasn't arbitrary. It was designed to build faith. The people were kept at a distance, unable to fully comprehend how the miracle would happen, forcing them to trust God's promise and His visible sign (the ark) leading them. This teaches us that God often calls us into new seasons or challenges where the path ahead is unclear, requiring us to rely on His guiding presence rather than our own understanding.
Understand the original words
aron · Hebrew Noun
A sacred chest overlaid with gold, containing the tablets of the Law, representing the presence and throne of God among His people. It served as the focal point of God's covenantal relationship with Israel.
berit · Hebrew Noun
A formal, solemn, and binding agreement between God and His people, characterized by God’s promises, stipulations for obedience, and the establishment of a formal relationship.
The carrying of the Ark of the Covenant before the people signifies that God's presence leads them into the Promised Land. This event underscores that the conquest is not by human might, but by divine power initiating a new phase of God's plan.
c. 1400 BC
Conquest of Canaan begins
Following Moses' death, Joshua is called by God to lead the Israelites across the Jordan River and into the Promised Land, initiating the conquest of Canaan.
c. 1400 BC
Israelites camp at Shittim
The Israelites encamp on the east side of the Jordan River, preparing to cross. This marks the immediate prelude to the Jordan crossing.
c. 1400 BC
Spies sent to Jericho
Joshua sends spies into Canaan, who report back on the land and its defenses, particularly Jericho. Their return informs Joshua's strategy.
c. 1400 BC
Three days preparation
The people are commanded to prepare themselves spiritually and materially for the crossing, which is to take place three days after the spies' report.
c. 1400 BC— this verse
Priests carry the Ark of the Covenant
Joshua instructs the priests to take up the Ark of the Covenant and go ahead of the people, symbolizing God's presence and leading the way across the Jordan.
c. 1400 BC
Jordan River waters part
As the priests' feet touch the water's edge, the Jordan River miraculously parts, allowing the entire Israelite nation to cross on dry ground.
c. 1400 BC
Israelites encamp in Canaan
After crossing the Jordan, the Israelites establish their first camp in the Promised Land at Gilgal, ready to continue the conquest.
This passage shows God's presence guiding His people by a pillar of cloud and fire, similar to how the Ark of the Covenant serves as a visible guide for the Israelites in Joshua 3:6.
Numbers 10:33This verse describes the Ark leading the way for the Israelites' journeys, paralleling its role as the vanguard in Joshua 3:6 as they enter the Promised Land.
Psalm 114:1-3This Psalm poetically recounts the parting of waters when Israel came out of Egypt, reflecting the miraculous event at the Jordan River where the Ark preceded them and the waters retreated.
1 Corinthians 10:1-4The Apostle Paul explicitly connects the physical crossing of the Red Sea and the Jordan River by the Israelites, led by divine presence, to spiritual passages and sustenance for believers.
calvinJoshua 3:1-13: "And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over."
Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that you may know the way by which you must go: for you have not passed this way heretofore.
Veruntamen interstitium erit inter vos et ipsam fere duorum milium cubitorum in mensura: ne appropinquetis e…
cambridgeJoshua 3:6: "And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people."
6 . And they took up ] i.e. on the day following.
What's easy to miss here is that Joshua is directing the priests, not the Levites who normally carried the ark, to bear it across the Jordan. This points to the extraordinary and solemn nature of this event, highlighting the sacred authority of God's presence leading His people into the promised land. It signifies that this isn't just another march, but a moment of divine intervention where even the established order is set aside for a profound encounter with God.
Joshua has just led the Israelites to the edge of the Jordan River, a formidable barrier ready to flood. After instructing the people to consecrate themselves for imminent divine wonders, he now commands the priests to lift the Ark of the Covenant. This sacred object, representing God's presence, is to be carried at the very front of their procession, leading them directly into the overflowing waters.
Joshua has just led the Israelites to the edge of the Jordan River, a formidable barrier ready to flood. After instructing the people to consecrate themselves for imminent divine wonders, he now commands the priests to lift the Ark of the Covenant. This sacred object, representing God's presence, is to be carried at the very front of their procession, leading them directly into the overflowing waters.
"And Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people." — What's easy to miss here is that Joshua is directing the priests, not the Levites who normally carried the ark, to bear it across the Jordan. This points to the extraordinary and solemn nature of t…
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