A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

Christ, John the Baptist chose several sites along the Jordan River to administer his baptism unto
repentance.
The second step was setting themselves apart to God. “And Joshua said to the people,
‘Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you’” (Josh. 3:5). In calling
the people to sanctify themselves, Joshua was reminding them of three aspects of sanctification.
First, they had a personal responsibility in the process of setting themselves apart to God.
Second, sanctification was a practical preparation for the work of God. Third, it was a step of
faith in anticipation of what God was soon to do among them.
The third step was perhaps the most dramatic. Israel was commanded to pass through the
Jordan River on dry ground and begin marching into the water even though the river itself was
still flowing and overflowing its banks. In fact, the biblical account of this miracle records God
did not dry up the river until “the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the
water” (v. 15). God wanted His people to believe they were going to cross the river on dry
ground even if they got their “socks” wet in the process.
The Jordan River was dried up as Israel crossed. Some have suggested this may have
been caused naturally by a mudslide at a narrow point farther up the river near Adam. That may
have been part of the means by which God accomplished this miracle, but the mudslide itself
would not account for either the timing of the miracle nor the fact that the riverbed was dry
rather than soggy. By stopping the waters “in a heap” upstream, the river was effectively drained
while Israel crossed to the other side.
There was also a fourth step in this renewed walk with God. After crossing the river,
Joshua arranged for several men to gather stones from the riverbed which he used to build two
monuments to commemorate what God had done for His people (4:1-9). One set of stones was
placed on the shore where the people entered the Promised Land. The other stones were piled in
the river in the place where the priests had held the ark of the covenant while Israel crossed over
on dry ground. In this way, the people would have a constant reminder of what God had done for
them.
As Joshua and the people demonstrated their willingness to trust Him, God acted on their
behalf to do what they could not do for themselves. “On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in
the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses” (v. 14). God also
impressed the condemned races of Canaan with what He was prepared to do for Israel. “So it was
when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings of
the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan
from before the Children of Israel until we had crossed over, that their heart melted; and there
was no spirit in them any longer because of the Children of Israel” (5:1).
Eliminate the wrath of God (vv. 2-9)
There was one final act of preparation for total victory before Israel could begin their
conquest of Canaan. At a place which came to be known as Gilgal, the men of Israel circumcised
themselves at the command of the Lord. This was not the way one would normally prepare for
battle, but God wanted to emphasize the importance of the spiritual over the physical in winning
this total victory. God would not only give them strength and victory, He would be their strength
and victory.
The men of Israel needed to be circumcised because this practice had been neglected in
the wilderness. Circumcision was for the Jew a confession of his faith in the covenant promises
of God. After their refusal to enter the land at Kadesh Barnea, they did not circumcise their