Joshua

The book of Joshua chronicles the advance and conquest of Canaan by the Israelites. After wandering in the desert for forty years, they have finally returned to claim their promised land. With Joshua, Moses’ assistant, as their new leader after Moses’ death, they go and begin their takeover with the defeat of the city of Jericho. They then continue to rout their enemies, so long as they follow the commands and laws that God has given them. When someone disobeys, the whole camp suffers. However, they prosper and succeed while they remain obedient. Under Joshua’s leadership, the Israelites remain faithful to God are able to come to the land that God had promised their forefather Abraham hundreds of years before

Before entering the Promised Land, however, Joshua gave a command to the Israelites. “Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you,” (3:5). This caught my eye because of the importance that we had read earlier about the sanctification of things as we had read in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. For God, and thereby the Israelites, sanctity of things was crucial. From one’s house to one’s animals to one’s body, everything had to be pure so as to set them apart from the nations they were conquering. They were to be held to a higher standard because they were the people dedicated to God.

Thus, it was interesting that Joshua would command that they sanctify, in other words purify, themselves before seeing a miracle. It would seem that their seeing this wonder of God, the parting of the Jordan River, was something that set them apart. God shows His power and might on behalf of the Israelites by parting the flooded Jordan River so that the surrounding nations would know that there is a mighty force behind this new nation. They are something special; this new nation is personally protected by the God who controls even the powerful elements of nature. They are a force to be reckoned with.