John 3:16 – “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”[1] This is the mission of God. The most memorized verse in the Bible. We quote it, we read it, and we hear it many times. It is expressed so much that little thought is put into the mission. Christopher Wright reminds us in The Mission of God’s People that this is God’s mission. Because it is God’s mission, He has chosen how to accomplish His mission. God’s way of achieving His mission is not the way parents would choose as a plan. But God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit’s plan always was. They always knew the whole world because they created them. They love what they created… you. Just as they chose the world by creation and out of love, they gave the world a choice to love in return. They offered eternity with them by a simple choice. Believe in Jesus, the Son of God, as Lord and Savior. But the plan was so much deeper than just a choice. The plan included a blood sacrifice that Jesus made with His own life. God gave up His Son to death so the world could have life. This is God’s mission.

            As believers in God’s mission, we are invited to participate in His mission with Him. There are several aspects of our involvement with God’s mission:
     1) The idea that the world's Creator, the Holy Trinity, would create us to include us in their relationship with them is unfathomable. We were created by God out of His love for us. Every individual in the world is special because we are His creation. Understanding and embracing that truth only causes us to worship God and His Glory. Because of God’s mission, believers choose to worship God. Jesus said, “But an hour is coming, and is now here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.”[2] Jesus said genuine worship comes from the heart through understanding God's truths. We journey through this life, learning about God and growing in the knowledge of His mission. When that occurs, it is natural for us to worship the Creator.


     2) Believing that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Lord caused a transformation in our lives. Paul reminds us, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved and gave himself for me.”[3] Our old life was put to death, and now we live our life by another source, the Trinity. As we learn and grow in knowledge and wisdom about the Trinity, it begins to impact how we live out our lives. It is not a matter of being taught how we should live our lives but a more natural living out of our journey by the grace administered through the Spirit of God. When the universal Church learns about a spirit-filled life, the mindset changes from legalism to grace. This is the real adventure when we begin to trust God rather than relying on our own strength and abilities. Grace has two aspects to it. There is grace that brings salvation through Jesus. The other aspect of grace is the ability to live each day through God. We will spend the rest of our journey here on earth learning to live in this grace of another source.


     3) Learning to live out of this grace changes our lives. Paul encourages the Church to “Do everything without grumbling and arguing,  so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world, by holding firm to the word of life.”[4] Peter also says, “But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.”[5] These scripture passages are typically taught as commands to obey in our behavior. But if the Church understands it is about their identity rather than their behavior, these truths become very natural. The Church has been made holy and blameless because of what Jesus did on the cross. We must rest in this truth and just “be” rather than “do.”


     4) When believers discover their identity in Jesus, a transformation in the mind takes place, significantly impacting their behavior. Joy is already present in the Spirit but is now discovered by the believer. It is realizing they are forgiven and made holy. They know they are the righteousness of Christ—not just that God views them as righteous, but they have been made righteous… past tense. When this realization has occurred, it becomes natural for them to talk about the best news ever. Knowing your identity in Christ becomes the most incredible “evangelism tool” and becomes more than just information being communicated. When the Church knows its true identity, it begins to express the Good News to those around it. Our world is being taught that it is more about them than others. So, this focus on what they can become through Jesus is attractive to them.


     5) As the Church grows in spiritual maturity, it is natural for the believers to edify and disciple one another. God intended the Church to live together in community, which was intentional as it created a desire for others to be included in this group. Nobody would want any part of this community if it is focused on something other than God's intentions. This is displayed in the Bible through the role of the Pharisees. For the Pharisees, it was all about their behavior. Their behavior dictated more about what they would become and their role. This is the opposite of God’s intentions. He made believers supernatural beings; we naturally behave and accomplish things from that transformation. As a body of believers, we are to teach and encourage our fellow believers in their identity so they may live out of this daily grace supplied by God. Proverbs says, “Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another.”[6]

     6) The final intention of God’s mission is that the Church lives together in community and fellowship so they can provide for the needs of one another. This is modeled in Acts, “Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. 44 Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. 45 They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”[7] This is the model church as God intended it to be. We are to live together in harmony and help one another walk this journey here on earth.

This is God’s mission for the New Covenant Church. Therefore, it is my personal mission as well. I not only have to battle the worldview, but I also have to battle (or avoid) the religiosity of the Church. God never intended for us to be religious. Jesus said, “ A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”[8] I believe that we can have a full and abundant life here on earth and not have to wait until we die and go to heaven. May God continue to reveal Himself and empower me to accomplish His mission.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Jn 3:16.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Jn 4:23–24.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ga 2:20.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Php 2:14–16.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 1 Pe 1:15–16.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Pr 27:17.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ac 2:43–47.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Jn 10:10.

Joshua 5 left the Israelites crossing through the Jordan River and circumcising the men.

• Maps
• Jericho was not a large city.
• Archaeological excavations have revealed that its walls enclosed only about eight and one-half acres.
• Approximately 10 football fields.

 
THE CONQUEST OF JERICHO
JOSHUA 6
1 Now Jericho was strongly fortified because of the Israelites—no one leaving or entering.

• Tightly shut

2 The Lord said to Joshua, “Look, I have handed Jericho, its king, and its best soldiers over to you. 3 March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry seven ram’s-horn trumpets in front of the ark. But on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the rams’ horns. 5 When there is a prolonged blast of the horn and you hear its sound, have all the troops give a mighty shout. Then the city wall will collapse, and the troops will advance, each man straight ahead.”

• The writer mentions God’s command first, as he did in chapter 5, and then tells of Joshua’s execution of the plan.
• Believing a promise is like accepting a check, but reckoning is like endorsing the check and cashing it.
• The Israelites had to learn that the land was a gift, to be received by faith, not won by effort.

6 So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord.” 7 He said to the troops, “Move forward, march around the city, and have the armed men go ahead of the ark of the Lord.”

• Faith is not believing in spite of evidence, for the people of Israel had been given one demonstration after another, proving that God’s Word and God’s power can be trusted.
• The Lord had opened the Red Sea, destroyed the Egyptian army, cared for His people in the wilderness, defeated great kings, given Israel their land, opened the Jordan River and brought His people safely into the Promised Land.
• Joshua did not question God as Moses did.
• How could they do anything other than believe Him?[1]

8 After Joshua had spoken to the troops, seven priests carrying seven rams’ horns before the Lord moved forward and blew the rams’ horns; the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. 9 While the rams’ horns were blowing, the armed men went in front of the priests who blew the rams’ horns, and the rear guard went behind the ark. 10 But Joshua had commanded the troops, “Do not shout or let your voice be heard. Don’t let one word come out of your mouth until the time I say, ‘Shout!’ Then you are to shout.” 11 So the ark of the Lord was carried around the city, circling it once. They returned to the camp and spent the night there.
12 Joshua got up early the next morning. The priests took the ark of the Lord, 13 and the seven priests carrying seven rams’ horns marched in front of the ark of the Lord. While the rams’ horns were blowing, the armed men went in front of them, and the rear guard went behind the ark of the Lord. 14 On the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.

•  The words "LORD" and "ark" occur interchangeably here (v. 8), yet they were different and distinct from each other.
• The LORD was over the ark (above the atoning cover or mercy seat, and between the cherubim), but the ark itself only represented the LORD's presence.
• It was important that the ark of the Lord be in its proper place, for it represented the presence of the Lord with His people.
• When Israel crossed the river, the account mentions the ark sixteen times (Josh. 3–4); and here in 6:6–15, the ark is mentioned eight times.
• Israel could march and the priests blow trumpets until all of them dropped from weariness; but if the Lord wasn’t with them, there would be no victory.
• When we accept God’s plan, we invite God’s presence; and that guarantees victory.[2]

15 Early on the seventh day, they started at dawn and marched around the city seven times in the same way. That was the only day they marched around the city seven times.

• On that fateful seventh day, the procession made the circuit of the walls seven times.
• This parade—consisting of the armed guard, the seven trumpet-blowing priests, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant, and the rear guard—may have taken about three hours.[3]

16 After the seventh time, the priests blew the rams’ horns, and Joshua said to the troops, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. 17 But the city and everything in it are set apart to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and everyone with her in the house will live, because she hid the messengers we sent. 18 But keep yourselves from the things set apart, or you will be set apart for destruction. If you take any of those things, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and make trouble for it. 19 For all the silver and gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, are dedicated to the Lord and must go into the Lord’s treasury.”
20 So the troops shouted, and the rams’ horns sounded. When they heard the blast of the trumpets, the troops gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed. The troops advanced into the city, each man straight ahead, and they captured the city. 21 They completely destroyed everything in the city with the sword—every man and woman, both young and old, and every ox, sheep, and donkey.

• Though critics have charged that this destruction is a blemish on the Old Testament, it is clear that Israel was acting on divine command.
• The responsibility for this destruction rests, therefore, with God and not the Israelites.[4]

 
RAHAB AND HER FAMILY SPARED
22 Joshua said to the two men who had scouted the land, “Go to the prostitute’s house and bring the woman out of there, and all who are with her, just as you swore to her.” 23 So the young men who had scouted went in and brought out Rahab and her father, mother, brothers, and all who belonged to her. They brought out her whole family and settled them outside the camp of Israel.
24 They burned the city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house.

• Excavations at Jericho by John Garstang between 1930 and 1936 and Kathleen Kenyon between 1952 and 1958 have confirmed the collapse of the wall under itself, as recorded.
• They also reveal that the invaders burned the city.

25 However, Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, her father’s family, and all who belonged to her, because she hid the messengers Joshua had sent to spy on Jericho, and she still lives in Israel today.
26 At that time Joshua imposed this curse:
The man who undertakes
the rebuilding of this city, Jericho,
is cursed before the Lord.
He will lay its foundation
at the cost of his firstborn;
he will finish its gates
at the cost of his youngest.
27 And the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.[5]

• Joshua is perhaps best known as a book of war.
• Israel was at war with the Canaanites, but behind these human soldiers God was waging war against sin.
• Earlier in Israel's history God was compared to a warrior (Ex. 14:14; 15:3; Deut. 1:30, 3:22; 20:4).
• But now Israel experienced His leadership in war as never before.
• God is constantly at war with sin because it is an affront to His holiness and because it destroys people whom He loves and desires to bless (cf. Rom. 6:23).

DEFEAT AT AI
JOSHUA 7
 - We are never in greater danger than right after we have won a great victory.
1 The Israelites, however, were unfaithful regarding the things set apart for destruction. Achan … of the tribe of Judah, took some of what was set apart, and the Lord’s anger burned against the Israelites.

• Joshua sent men to scout Ai.
• Small town… only need 2-3,000 men
• Joshua sent them, and they returned defeated after 36 men were struck down by the men of Ai
• Joshua mourned, tore his clothes, poured dirt on his head, and prayed.
• Feared the Canaanites would defeat them now.
• God reminded Joshua that he should not look for the reason for Israel's defeat in God—but in Israel!
• Israel needed to repent; Joshua did not need to pray ("Why is it that you have fallen on your face?" v. 10).
• Prayer is no substitute for repentance when repentance is needed.
• Lord told Joshua to “Stand up”! Israel has sinned.
• They violated God’s covenant by taking what was to be the Lord’s.
• Present yourself, tribe, by tribe, until you find the man who stole from God.
• Joshua got to Achan and told him to confess.
• Achan confessed he took a cloak, 5 lbs of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 1.25 lbs.
• He hid them in the ground of his tent.

24 Then Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the cloak, and the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his ox, donkey, and sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and brought them up to the Valley of Achor. 25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought us trouble? Today the Lord will bring you trouble!” So all Israel stoned them to death. They burned their bodies, threw stones on them, 26 and raised over him a large pile of rocks that remains still today. Then the Lord turned from his burning anger. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Achor (trouble) still today.[6]
 
CONQUEST OF AI
JOSHUA 8
1 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take all the troops with you and go attack Ai. Look, I have handed over to you the king of Ai, his people, city, and land. 2 Treat Ai and its king as you did Jericho and its king, except that you may plunder its spoil and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.”
3 So Joshua and all the troops set out to attack Ai. Joshua selected thirty thousand of his best soldiers and sent them out at night. 4 He commanded them, “Pay attention. Lie in ambush behind the city, not too far from it, and all of you be ready. 5 Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. When they come out against us as they did the first time, we will flee from them. 6 They will come after us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are fleeing from us as before.’ While we are fleeing from them, 7 you are to come out of your ambush and seize the city. The Lord your God will hand it over to you. 8 After taking the city, set it on fire. Follow the Lord’s command—see that you do as I have ordered you.” 9 So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the ambush site and waited between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. But he spent that night with the troops.

• Joshua did exactly as he was instructed by God.
• Sent 30,000 men to Ai and they retreated as before.
• When Ai was left unprotected, the men waiting to ambush attacked Ai, captured the king and burned the city.
• The men of Ai chasing the fleeing soldiers turned and saw their city burning.
• They were now in between the fleeing soldiers and the ambush soldiers.
• They were slaughtered

24 When Israel had finished killing everyone living in Ai who had pursued them into the open country, and when every last one of them had fallen by the sword, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it down with the sword. 25 The total of those who fell that day, both men and women, was twelve thousand—all the people of Ai. 26 Joshua did not draw back his hand that was holding the javelin until all the inhabitants of Ai were completely destroyed. 27 Israel plundered only the cattle and spoil of that city for themselves, according to the Lord’s command that he had given Joshua.
28 Joshua burned Ai and left it a permanent ruin, still desolate today.

• Many archeologists have identified Ai with the site et-Tell (“the ruin”).
• Excavations at et-Tell, however, have not yet produced evidence of a settlement there in the time of Joshua.
• The geography of the area fits perfectly with the details found in Joshua 8.[7]

29 He hung the body of the king of Ai on a tree until evening, and at sunset Joshua commanded that they take his body down from the tree. They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and put a large pile of rocks over it, which still remains today.
 
RENEWED COMMITMENT TO THE LAW
30 At that time Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal to the Lord, the God of Israel, 31 just as Moses the Lord’s servant had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the book of the law of Moses: an altar of uncut stones on which no iron tool has been used. Then they offered burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings on it. 32 There on the stones, Joshua copied the law of Moses, which he had written in the presence of the Israelites.

• "The method of plastering stones and then printing on them came originally from Egypt.
• Thus, the letters were probably painted in red.
• So we can imagine large whitewashed monoliths with red Hebrew characters spelling out the Ten Commandments and possibly the blessings and curses of the Law as well (cf. Deuteronomy 28).
• This structure was the first public display of the Law."

33 All Israel—resident alien and citizen alike—with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on either side of the ark of the Lord’s covenant facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the Lord’s servant had commanded earlier concerning blessing the people of Israel. 34 Afterward, Joshua read aloud all the words of the law—the blessings as well as the curses—according to all that is written in the book of the law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read before the entire assembly of Israel, including the women, the dependents, and the resident aliens who lived among them.[8]

• From this point on, the history of the Jews depended on their attitude toward the Law, which had been read in their hearing that day.
• When they were obedient, there was a blessing; when they were disobedient, there was judgment (cf. Deut. 28).[9]
• Memorizing and obeying God’s Law would be equal to our what?

Baptism and Lord’s Supper.

[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Strong, “Be” Commentary Series (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 75.
[2] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Strong, “Be” Commentary Series (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 75–76.
[3] Donald K. Campbell, “Joshua,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 341.
[4] Donald K. Campbell, “Joshua,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 341.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Jos 6:1–27.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Jos 7:1–26.
[7] Donald K. Campbell, “Joshua,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 343.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Jos 8:1–35.
[9] Donald K. Campbell, “Joshua,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 347.

Joshua 2 left the Israelites standing on the Jordan banks.
 
CROSSING THE JORDAN
JOSHUA 3
1 Joshua started early the next morning and left the Acacia Grove with all the Israelites. They went as far as the Jordan and stayed there before crossing. 2 After three days the officers went through the camp 3 and commanded the people, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God carried by the Levitical priests, you are to break camp and follow it. 4 But keep a distance of about a thousand yards between yourselves and the ark. Don’t go near it, so that you can see the way to go, for you haven’t traveled this way before.”

• "The ark serves as a kind of 'divine crossing guard,' stopping the Jordan's flow until all Israel, including the priests, have safely crossed into Canaan."
• The writer of Joshua mentioned the ark 17 times in chapters 3 and 4.
• It was the visible symbol that God Himself was leading His people into the land and against their enemies.
• The people were to keep their distance from the ark, however: about 2,000 cubits, or more than half a mile.

5 Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, because the Lord will do wonders among you tomorrow.”

• It would be easier to understand if he had said, “Sharpen your swords and check your shields!”
• But spiritual not military preparation was needed at this time because God was about to reveal Himself by performing a great miracle in Israel’s midst.[1]
• Rid yourselves of any wrong doing.
• The people of Israel were to expect God to work a miracle.
• They were to be eager, gripped by a sense of wonder.
• Israel was not to lose sight of their God who can do the incredible and the humanly impossible.[2]

6 Then he said to the priests, “Carry the ark of the covenant and go on ahead of the people.” So they carried the ark of the covenant and went ahead of them.
7 The Lord spoke to Joshua: “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so they will know that I will be with you just as I was with Moses. 8 Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant: When you reach the edge of the water, stand in the Jordan.”
9 Then Joshua told the Israelites, “Come closer and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” 10 He said, “You will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly dispossess before you the Canaanites, Hethites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites 11 when the ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth goes ahead of you into the Jordan.

• Evidently the pushing back of the waters of the Jordan was to be a sign to the Israelites that God would push back the Canaanites

12 Now choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe. 13 When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of the whole earth, come to rest in the Jordan’s water, its water will be cut off. The water flowing downstream will stand up in a mass.”
14 When the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant ahead of the people. 15 Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan, their feet touched the water at its edge 16 and the water flowing downstream stood still, rising up in a mass that extended as far as Adam, a city next to Zarethan. The water flowing downstream into the Sea of the Arabah—the Dead Sea—was completely cut off, and the people crossed opposite Jericho. 17 The priests carrying the ark of the Lord’s covenant stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed on dry ground until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan.

• The Israelites crossed the Jordan when the river was at its widest, deepest, and swiftest—in late April or early May.
• As the snow on Mt. Hermon melts and the rainy season ends, the Jordan rises to a depth of 10 to 12 feet, and floods to a width of 300 to 360 feet at this location today.
• Normally it is only 150 to 180 feet wide here.
• However, in Joshua's day, the river may have been full only up to its banks, as the Hebrew text suggests.
• Pictures of the Jordan River (baptisms)
• The people considered swimming across the river at this time of year to be a heroic feat in ancient times (cf. 1 Chron. 12:15).
• This may be how the spies crossed.
• Interestingly, several earthquakes have sent much soil into the Jordan River at this very location in modern times, damming up the river for many hours (in A.D. 1267, 1837, and 1927).
• Perhaps an earthquake is what God used in Joshua's day, too.
• God may have supernaturally used, by divine timing, a natural phenomenon, like an earthquake or a landslide
• The possibility is that the phenomenon was entirely supernatural.
• Two million Israelites could have crossed the river in half a day if their crossing procession was a mile or more wide.
• Since the Jordan River dried up from Adam, 18 miles upstream from where the priests crossed, there would have been plenty of dry riverbeds for two million Israelites to cross.
• To slip away into the wilderness of Sinai by crossing the Red Sea required some faith.
• However, to invade the land of Canaan by crossing the Jordan River took a great deal more faith because, having once crossed the river, there would be no possibility of escape.
• Once in the land, they would have to face the enemy with their armies, chariots, and walled cities. The entire nation took this step together in complete commitment to God."

THE MEMORIAL STONES
4 After the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua: 2 “Choose twelve men from the people, one man for each tribe, 3 and command them: Take twelve stones from this place in the middle of the Jordan where the priests are standing, carry them with you, and set them down at the place where you spend the night.”
4 So Joshua summoned the twelve men he had selected from the Israelites, one man for each tribe, 5 and said to them, “Go across to the ark of the Lord your God in the middle of the Jordan. Each of you lift a stone onto his shoulder, one for each of the Israelite tribes, 6 so that this will be a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 you should tell them, ‘The water of the Jordan was cut off in front of the ark of the Lord’s covenant. When it crossed the Jordan, the Jordan’s water was cut off.’ Therefore these stones will always be a memorial for the Israelites.”
8 The Israelites did just as Joshua had commanded them. The twelve men took stones from the middle of the Jordan, one for each of the Israelite tribes, just as the Lord had told Joshua. They carried them to the camp and set them down there. 9 Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing. The stones are still there today.
10 The priests carrying the ark continued standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that the Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people, in keeping with all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people hurried across, 11 and after everyone had finished crossing, the priests with the ark of the Lord crossed in the sight of the people. 12 The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh went in battle formation in front of the Israelites, as Moses had instructed them. 13 About forty thousand equipped for war crossed to the plains of Jericho in the Lord’s presence.
14 On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they revered him throughout his life, as they had revered Moses. 15 The Lord told Joshua, 16 “Command the priests who carry the ark of the testimony to come up from the Jordan.”
17 So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up from the Jordan.” 18 When the priests carrying the ark of the Lord’s covenant came up from the middle of the Jordan, and their feet stepped out on solid ground, the water of the Jordan resumed its course, flowing over all the banks as before.
19 The people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and camped at Gilgal on the eastern limits of Jericho.

• The notation that the crossing took place on the tenth day of the first month is significant.
• It was exactly 40 years earlier, to the day, that God had instructed Israel to prepare to depart from Egypt by setting apart the paschal lambs.

20 Then Joshua set up in Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan, 21 and he said to the Israelites, “In the future, when your children ask their fathers, ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’ 22 you should tell your children, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the water of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, just as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up before us until we had crossed over. 24 This is so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord’s hand is strong, and so that you may always fear the Lord your God.”
 
CIRCUMCISION OF THE ISRAELITES
5 When all the Amorite kings across the Jordan to the west and all the Canaanite kings near the sea heard how the Lord had dried up the water of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, they lost heart and their courage failed because of the Israelites.
2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelite men again.”

• God specified knives of flint, even though this was the Late Bronze Age (1550-1200 B.C.), and bronze implements were common.

3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelite men at Gibeath-haaraloth. 4 This is the reason Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males—all the men of war—had died in the wilderness along the way after they had come out of Egypt. 5 Though all the people who came out were circumcised, none of the people born in the wilderness along the way were circumcised after they had come out of Egypt. 6 For the Israelites wandered in the wilderness forty years until all the nation’s men of war who came out of Egypt had died off because they did not obey the Lord. So the Lord vowed never to let them see the land he had sworn to their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 He raised up their sons in their place; it was these Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised, since they had not been circumcised along the way. 8 After the entire nation had been circumcised, they stayed where they were in the camp until they recovered.
 
9 The Lord then said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you.” Therefore, that place is still called Gilgal today.
 
FOOD FROM THE LAND
10 While the Israelites camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they observed the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month. 11 The day after Passover they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from the produce of the land. 12 And the day after they ate from the produce of the land, the manna ceased. Since there was no more manna for the Israelites, they ate from the crops of the land of Canaan that year.

• Lord’s Supper

 
COMMANDER OF THE LORD’S ARMY
13 When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua approached him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
14 “Neither,” he replied. “I have now come as commander of the Lord’s army.”
Then Joshua bowed with his face to the ground in homage and asked him, “What does my lord want to say to his servant?”
15 The commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did that.[3]

• The command to remove his sandals would have convinced Joshua that this was the same Person—the LORD God Himself—who had appeared to Moses at the burning bush (Exod. 3:5).
• Where God was, there was holiness, and where holiness was, there was a need for cleanness.

 
MATTHEW 3:13-17
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to stop him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?”
15 Jesus answered him, “Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John allowed him to be baptized.
16 When Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.”
 
 
THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS
MATTHEW 4
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.[4]

• Some of you are facing the enemy today.
• Some of you need a miracle today.
• Some of you need to experience the wonder and awe of God.
• There is a good, loving God that resides within you.
• He will battle for you.

 
HEBREWS 4:8-11
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people. 10 For the person who has entered his rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, then, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.[5]

[1] Donald K. Campbell, “Joshua,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 333–334.
[2] Donald K. Campbell, “Joshua,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 333–334.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Jos 3:1–5:15.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Mt 3:13–4:1.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Heb 4:8–11.