March
7 Joshua 1:10 – 4:24
Oh,
the excitement of the day the Israelites finally get to stand on the land
promised to Abram so many years ago!
The
Jordan River at the point where it is presumed the Israelites crossed is
typically 90 – 100 feet wide and averages 3 – 10 feet deep. Since this was
harvest season and the river was flooded, it was most likely much wider and
deeper. To add a bit of reality to this,
BiblicalPlaces.com reports that “in 1854 an expert swimmer was unable to make
it across the river near Jericho because the river was too wide and the current
too strong.”*
I’m
sure it took great faith for the Levites who were carrying the Ark of the
Covenant to step into the river as it flowed. References state that the Ark of
the Covenant probably weighed between 330 pounds and 615 pounds and was carried
on poles by four men. That in itself would be awkward even if you weren’t
stepping into a flood. But when their feet hit the water, the water backed up
(actually some 20 miles away at a town called Adam). Inquiring minds want to
know if the flow stopped when the first man stepped in, or did all four have to
get wet?
The
men stayed in the middle of the river until all the Israelites had crossed.
Some estimate there were about 2.5 million people plus cattle that had to
cross. If one person crossed per second, that would take about 29 days! But
since the river was backed up so far, I’m sure great crowds crossed at once. If
a procession of about 100 people wide crossed at a time it would take about 7
hours.
Did
the same four men hold the Ark all that time, or did they ‘tap out’ and relieve
each other? Oh, why do I care about such useless information? One commentary
states that God required the Ark to go first, symbolizing that God was leading
the people. And my study Bible says this signified that the Lord himself
remained in the position of most danger. As the rest of the community crossed
the river, many people got to actually view the Ark, which was usually hidden
away in inner sanctum of the Tabernacle or at the head of the procession when
they relocated.
I
appreciate the symbolism of this journey beginning and ending with a miracle of
a dry river crossing. The vast majority of the crowd had only heard stories of
the Red Sea crossing, and now they had the opportunity to participate in an
identical miracle.
*BiblicalPlaces.com no
longer exists. I found this information referenced on Neverthirsty.org.
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