The Story of Patriarchs and Prophets
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 44: Crossing the Jordan
The Israelites deeply mourned for their departed leader, and
thirty days were devoted to special services in honor of his
memory. Never till he was taken from them had they so fully
realized the value of his wise counsels, his parental tenderness,
and his unswerving faith. With a new and deeper appreciation
they recalled the precious lessons he had given while still with
them.
Moses was dead, but his influence did not die with him. It
was to live on, reproducing itself in the hearts of his people.
The memory of that holy, unselfish life would long be cherished,
with silent, persuasive power molding the lives even of those
who had neglected his living words. As the glow of the descending
sun lights up the mountain peaks long after the sun itself has
sunk behind the hills, so the works of the pure, the holy, and the
good shed light upon the world long after the actors themselves
have passed away. Their works, their words, their example, will
forever live. "The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance."
Psalm 112:6.
While they were filled with grief at their great loss, the
people knew that they were not left alone. The pillar of cloud rested
over the tabernacle by day, and the pillar of fire by night, an
assurance that God would still be their guide and helper if they
would walk in the way of His commandments.
Joshua was now the acknowledged leader of Israel. He had
been known chiefly as a warrior, and his gifts and virtues were
especially valuable at this stage in the history of his people.
Courageous, resolute, and persevering, prompt, incorruptible,
unmindful of selfish interests in his care for those committed to
his charge, and, above all, inspired by a living faith in God—
such was the character of the man divinely chosen to conduct
the armies of Israel in their entrance upon the Promised Land.
During the sojourn in the wilderness he had acted as prime minister [p. 482] to Moses, and by his quiet, unpretending fidelity, his
steadfastness when others wavered, his firmness to maintain the truth
in the midst of danger, he had given evidence of his fitness to
succeed Moses, even before he was called to the position by the
voice of God.
It was with great anxiety and self-distrust that Joshua had
looked forward to the work before him; but his fears were
removed by the assurance of God, "As I was with Moses, so I will
be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. . . . Unto
this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which
I sware unto their fathers to give them." "Every place that the
sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as
I said unto Moses." To the heights of Lebanon in the far
distance, to the shores of the Great Sea, and away to the banks of
the Euphrates in the east—all was to be theirs.
To this promise was added the injunction, "Only be thou
strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do
according to all the law, which Moses My servant commanded."
The Lord's direction was, "This book of the law shall not
depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and
night;" "turn not from it to the right hand or to the left;" "for
then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt
have good success."
The Israelites were still encamped on the east side of Jordan,
which presented the first barrier to the occupation of Canaan.
"Arise," had been the first message of God to Joshua, "go over
this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do
give to them." No instruction was given as to the way in which
they were to make the passage. Joshua knew, however, that whatever
God should command, He would make a way for His people
to perform, and in this faith the intrepid leader at once began
his arrangements for an advance.
A few miles beyond the river, just opposite the place where
the Israelites were encamped, was the large and strongly fortified
city of Jericho. This city was virtually the key to the whole
country, and it would present a formidable obstacle to the
success of Israel. Joshua therefore sent two young men as spies to
visit this city and ascertain something as to its population, its
resources, and the strength of its fortifications. The inhabitants
of the city, terrified and suspicious, were constantly on the alert, [p. 483] and the messengers were in great danger. They were, however,
preserved by Rahab, a woman of Jericho, at the peril of her own
life. In return for her kindness they gave her a promise of protection
when the city should be taken.
The spies returned in safety with the tidings, "Truly the
Lord hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the
inhabitants of the country do faint because of us." It had been
declared to them in Jericho, "We have heard how the Lord dried
up the water of the Red Sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt;
and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were
on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly
destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did
melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man,
because of you: for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven
above, and in earth beneath."
Orders were now issued to make ready for an advance. The
people were to prepare a three days' supply of food, and the
army was to be put in readiness for battle. All heartily acquiesced
in the plans of their leader and assured him of their
confidence and support: "All that thou commandest us we will do,
and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go. According as we
hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto
thee: only the Lord thy God be with thee, as He was with
Moses."
Leaving their encampment in the acacia groves of Shittim,
the host descended to the border of the Jordan. All knew,
however, that without divine aid they could not hope to make the
passage. At this time of the year—in the spring season—the
melting snows of the mountains had so raised the Jordan that
the river overflowed its banks, making it impossible to cross at
the usual fording places. God willed that the passage of Israel
over Jordan should be miraculous. Joshua, by divine direction,
commanded the people to sanctify themselves; they must put
away their sins and free themselves from all outward impurity;
"for tomorrow," he said, "the Lord will do wonders among
you." The "ark of the covenant" was to lead the way before the
host. When they should see the token of Jehovah's presence,
borne by the priests, remove from its place in the center of the
camp, and advance toward the river, then they were to remove [p. 484] from their place, "and go after it.' The circumstances of the
passage were minutely foretold; and said Joshua, "Hereby ye shall
know that the living God is among you, and that He will without
fail drive out from before you the Canaanites. . . . Behold, the
ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over
before you into Jordan."
At the appointed time began the onward movement, the ark,
borne upon the shoulders of the priests, leading the van. The
people had been directed to fall back, so that there was a vacant
space of more than half a mile about the ark. All watched with
deep interest as the priests advanced down the bank of the
Jordan. They saw them with the sacred ark move steadily forward
toward the angry, surging stream, till the feet of the bearers were
dipped into the waters. Then suddenly the tide above was swept
back, while the current below flowed on, and the bed of the river
was laid bare.
At the divine command the priests advanced to the middle of
the channel and stood there while the entire host descended
and crossed to the farther side. Thus was impressed upon the
minds of all Israel the fact that the power that stayed the waters
of Jordan was the same that had opened the Red Sea to their
fathers forty years before. When the people had all passed over,
the ark itself was borne to the western shore. No sooner had it
reached a place of security, and "the soles of the priests' feet
were lifted up unto the dry land," than the imprisoned waters,
being set free, rushed down, a resistless flood, in the natural
channel of the stream.
Coming generations were not to be without a witness to this
great miracle. While the priests bearing the ark were still in the
midst of Jordan, twelve men previously chosen, one from each
tribe, took up each a stone from the river bed where the priests
were standing, and carried it over to the western side. These
stones were to be set up as a monument in the first camping
place beyond the river. The people were bidden to repeat to
their children and children's children the story of the deliverance
that God had wrought for them, as Joshua said, "That all
the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it
is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God forever."
The influence of this miracle, both upon the Hebrews and
upon their enemies, was of great importance. It was an assurance [p. 485] to Israel of God's continued presence and protection—an
evidence that He would work for them through Joshua as He
had wrought through Moses. Such an assurance was needed to
strengthen their hearts as they entered upon the conquest of the
land—the stupendous task that had staggered the faith of their
fathers forty years before. The Lord had declared to Joshua
before the crossing, "This day will I begin to magnify thee
in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with
Moses, so I will be with thee." And the result fulfilled the
promise. "On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight
of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the
days of his life."
This exercise of divine power in behalf of Israel was designed
also to increase the fear with which they were regarded by the
surrounding nations, and thus prepare the way for their easier
and complete triumph. When the tidings that God had stayed
the waters of Jordan before the children of Israel, reached the
kings of the Amorites and of the Canaanites, their hearts melted
with fear. The Hebrews had already slain the five kings of
Midian, the powerful Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og of
Bashan, and now the passage over the swollen and impetuous
Jordan filled all the surrounding nations with terror. To the
Canaanites, to all Israel, and to Joshua himself, unmistakable
evidence had been given that the living God, the King of heaven
and earth, was among His people, and that He would not fail
them nor forsake them.
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A short distance from Jordan the Hebrews made their first
encampment in Canaan. Here Joshua "circumcised the children
of Israel;" "and the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and
kept the Passover." The suspension of the rite of circumcision
since the rebellion at Kadesh had been a constant witness to
Israel that their covenant with God, of which it was the
appointed symbol, had been broken. And the discontinuance of the
Passover, the memorial of their deliverance from Egypt, had
been an evidence of the Lord's displeasure at their desire to
return to the land of bondage. Now, however, the years of
rejection were ended. Once more God acknowledged Israel as His
people, and the sign of the covenant was restored. The rite of
circumcision was performed upon all the people who had been
born in the wilderness. And the Lord declared to Joshua, "This [p. 486] day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you,"
and in allusion to this the place of their encampment was called
Gilgal, "a rolling away," or "rolling off."
Heathen nations had reproached the Lord and His people
because the Hebrews had failed to take possession of Canaan,
as they expected, soon after leaving Egypt. Their enemies had
triumphed because Israel had wandered so long in the wilderness,
and they had mockingly declared that the God of the Hebrews
was not able to bring them into the Promised Land. The Lord
had now signally manifested His power and favor in opening
the Jordan before His people, and their enemies could no longer
reproach them.
"On the fourteenth day of the month at even," the Passover
was celebrated on the plains of Jericho. "And they did eat of
the old corn of the land on the morrow after the Passover,
unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. And
the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old
corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any
more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan." The
long years of their desert wanderings were ended. The feet of
Israel were at last treading the Promised Land.
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"The Fall of Jericho"
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