Joshua 1:10-1810Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it. 12And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying, 13Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land. 14Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valor, and help them; 15Until the Lord have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the Lord your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord's servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising. 16And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go. 17According 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. 18Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage. (Joshua 1:10‑18)
“Then Joshua commanded the offers of the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it.”
We might wonder why the people are told to prepare food and then lodge on Jordan’s banks for three days before crossing over. Three days speaks of a perfect period of time; they also speak of death and resurrection. Perhaps in the sight of Israel waiting patiently on Jordan’s banks the Lord would have us learn that we could not cross the river of death, nor break down this world’s strongholds in our natural energy. If we would follow the Lord, it must be in His time and according to His Word. God has His own time for everything, and He would not have His people act in fleshly zeal.
To prepare food and then wait for three days also suggests the necessity of our taking time to digest the truth we have learned and make it thoroughly our own before going forth to engage the enemy in conflict. Many of us are inclined to be impulsive, even in the Lord’s things, and He has to teach us often by some humbling circumstance that we must wait on Him and not act in fleshly zeal.
The three days here are only figurative, of course. Through grace one might learn a lesson quickly while another’s exercises might cover months and even years.
In the latter part of the chapter we read of the two and a half tribes Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh-who chose to remain on the east side of the Jordan. They must, however, cross over and fight alongside of their brethren. But they fight without the personal reward.
God would have all His people cross the Jordan into the land, but there are many Christians who, while they love the Lord, nevertheless they get very little beyond thinking of Christ as the One whom to trust for their daily needs; they enjoy but little of Him as the risen Man in the glory who has united them to Himself forever. It is a blessed thing to know the Lord as our Shepherd here on earth as the One who comforts and cares for us in our daily circumstances; but we ought to know what it is to be dead and risen and united to Him who is outside this world altogether.
The two and a half tribes had “much cattle,” and they found the rich pasture lands on the east of the Jordan well suited to their purpose. Like many today, their thoughts were of earthly things when they might have enjoyed a richer portion within the land on the other side of the Jordan. Still they went over armed with their brethren and helped them in their wars to secure their possessions. And we, engaged in combat with the enemy to possess more of the unsearchable riches of Christ for ourselves, are also given the privilege of making known to others the riches of His grace and love.
ML-02/06/1977