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Crossing the Jordan
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not turn from it to the right hand or to the left. ... For then you will
make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
“Arise,” had been the first message of God to Joshua, “go over
this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving
to them.” Joshua knew that whatever God would command, He
would make a way for His people to carry out. With this faith, the
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courageous leader immediately began preparations for an advance.
Just across from the Israelites’ camp was the strongly fortified
city of Jericho, the key to the whole country. It would present a
major obstacle to Israel. So, Joshua sent two young men as spies
to learn something about its population, resources, and strength of
fortifications. The people in the city, terrified and suspicious, were
on the alert, and the messengers were in great danger. But they were
preserved by Rahab, a woman of Jericho, at the risk of her own life.
In return for her kindness, they promised her protection when the
city would be taken.
People of Jericho Already Terrified
The spies returned with the report, “Truly the Lord has delivered
all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the
country are fainthearted because of us.” In Jericho they had been
told, “We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red
Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the
two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan,
Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we
heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any
more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He
is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.”
Orders were now given to prepare to go forward. The people
were to take a three-day supply of food, and the army was to be
prepared for battle. Leaving their encampment, the host went down
to the edge of the Jordan river. Everyone knew that without God’s
help they could not hope to cross the river. At this time of year the
melting snows of the mountains had raised the Jordan so that the
river overflowed, making it impossible to cross over. It was God’s
will that the crossing of the Jordan should be miraculous.