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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. |
Came to Jordan – Meaning "Judged down," "Condemned," typifying the sentence which has rested for 6000 years against our race. R3086:4
To the New Creation Jordan symbolizes consecration. R4063:3, R5351:3
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| 2 And it came to pass at the end of three days, that the officers went through the camp; |
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| 3 and they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then remove from your place, and go after it; |
The people – Representing justified believers in Jesus. R4063:3
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| 4 yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Ye shall not come near it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go; for ye have not passed this way heretofore. |
Two thousand cubits – About three-quarters of a mile. R4063:4
Upstream, thus prominent in Israel's eyes. R3085:6
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| 5 And Joshua said to the people, Hallow yourselves; for to-morrow Jehovah will do wonders in your midst. |
Sanctify yourselves – As at Mt. Sinai with the giving of the Law; to set apart by purifying from sin and all earthly things, abstaining from all but necessary food to develop the proper heart condition. R4063:2
A condition of the call--both of the present time and of the Millennial age. R4063:4
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| 6 And Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and go over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people. |
Priests – Representing the Little Flock. R4063:2
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| 7 And Jehovah said to Joshua, 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 will I be with thee. |
Said unto Joshua – Type of Christ. A79; R4063:2
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| 8 And thou shalt command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, stand still in the Jordan. |
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| 9 And Joshua said to the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of Jehovah your God. |
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| 10 And Joshua said, Hereby shall ye know that the living *God is in your midst, and that he will without fail dispossess from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites. |
Drive out – Destroy, not cast into eternal torment. R3085:3
The conquests of Canaan represent the spiritual battles of the consecrated. R5351:3
From before you – "The earth is the Lord's" (Psa 24:1). He has the right to do as he will with his own property. R3085:1
The Canaanites, and – These nations symbolize the weaknesses and imperfections of the fallen nature which are to be blotted out during the Millennial age. R3085:2
Typifying the sins with which we must contend earnestly. R4064:2
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| 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going over before you into the Jordan. |
Behold, the ark – Type of The Christ. T121
As Israel had nothing to fear because the ark stood in the midst of the threatening danger, so the Christian has nothing to fear as long as he realizes the divine presence and approval. R1857:2
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| 12 And now take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe. |
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| 13 And it shall come to pass, when the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of Jehovah, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan, the waters flowing down from above, shall be cut off, and shall stand up in a heap. |
Shall be cut off – The cessation of Adamic death to all those desiring to be the Lord's. R4063:2
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| 14 And it came to pass when the people removed from their tents, to pass over the Jordan, that the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were before the people; |
Removed from their tents – The lack of murmurings implies that the wilderness experiences had taught valuable lessons of faith. R5345:1
Pass over Jordan – Representing the passing of mankind into the new dispensation. R4063:2
Each Christian crosses Jordan in the sense of beginning a new life of devotion to God. R5345:5
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| 15 and when they that bore the ark were come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (and the Jordan is full over all its banks throughout the days of harvest), |
Of the priests – Typifying the Royal Priesthood. R3086:5
Were dipped – Representing that the Royal Priesthood must first pass into Jordan before any of the people can pass over. R3086:5
Jordan overfloweth – Supposed to have been about 500 feet wide; ordinarily about 90 feet wide. R5345:1, R4063:1
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| 16 the waters which flowed down from above stood and rose up in a heap, very far, by Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan; and those that flowed down towards the sea of the plain, the salt sea, were completely cut off. And the people went over opposite to Jericho. |
Upon an heap – The Lord used natural means. R3085:6
Behind a temporary dam caused by a landslide. Such a dam was formed in AD 1267, leaving the bed of the Jordan below it dry for several hours. R4063:5, R5345:3, R3086:1; PD37/48
It was so well timed by the Lord that when the priests stepped up to the water, bearing the ark, the water began to subside. PD37/48; R4063:4, R5345:3
Very far from – A great way off--at the city of Adam. R4063:5, R3086:1
The city Adam – About 20 miles above, where there is a narrow gorge. R4063:5, R5345:3
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| 17 And the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of Jehovah stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan. And all Israel went over on dry ground, until all the nation had completely gone over the Jordan. |
Ark of the covenant – Representing the divine promise under which they had left Egypt, hoping for grand results. R5345:2
Midst of Jordan – Typifying that the Royal Priesthood give their lives for the life of the world. R3086:5
The ark, representing the Lord, effects the cancellation of the death sentence so that the Millennial blessings might be obtained. R3086:5
All the Israelites – In all, about two million. R3086:5
Until all the people – A limited time to cross over, "now is an acceptable time." (2 Cor. 6:2) R4064:1
The return of the waters represents the Second Death. R4063:2
Clean over Jordan – God's people now pass from death unto life-dying to old interests and entering into the new inheritance. R4603:4, R5598:2; PD37/48
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