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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 And Joshua riseth early in the morning, and they journey from Shittim, and come in unto the Jordan, he and all the sons of Israel, and they lodge there before they pass 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 cometh to pass, at the end of three days, that the authorities pass over into the midst of the camp, |
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| 3 and command the people, saying, 'When ye see the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then ye journey from your place, and have gone after it; |
The people – Representing justified believers in Jesus. R4063:3
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| 4 only, a distance is between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure; ye do not come near unto it, so that ye know the way in which ye go, for ye have not passed over in the 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 saith unto the people, 'Sanctify yourselves, for to-morrow doth Jehovah do in your midst wonders.' |
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 speaketh unto the priests, saying, 'Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people;' and they take up the ark of the covenant, and go before the people. |
Priests – Representing the Little Flock. R4063:2
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| 7 And Jehovah saith unto Joshua, 'This day I begin to make thee great in the eyes of all Israel, so that they know that as I was with Moses I am with thee; |
Said unto Joshua – Type of Christ. A79; R4063:2
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| 8 and thou, thou dost command the priests bearing the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye come unto the extremity of the waters of the Jordan in the Jordan ye stand.' |
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| 9 And Joshua saith unto the sons of Israel, 'Come nigh hither, and hear the words of Jehovah your God; |
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| 10 and Joshua saith, 'By this ye know that the living God [is] in your midst, and He doth certainly dispossess from before you the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Hivite, and the Perizzite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Jebusite: |
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 lo, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into 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 for you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, one man one man for a tribe; |
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| 13 and it hath been, at the resting of the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of Jehovah, Lord of all the earth, in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan are cut off the waters which are coming down from above and they stand one 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 cometh to pass, in the journeying of the people from their tents to pass over the Jordan, and of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant 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 at those bearing the ark coming in unto the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark have been dipped in the extremity of the waters (and the Jordan is full over all its banks all 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 that the waters stand; those coming down from above have risen one heap, very far above Adam the city, which [is] at the side of Zaretan; and those going down by the sea of the plain, the Salt Sea, have been completely cut off; and the people have passed through over-against 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 bearing the ark of the covenant of Jehovah stand on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan established, and all Israel are passing over on dry ground till that all the nation hath completed to pass 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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