As was said of the Thames, the Jordan River—for far longer and far greater—is liquid history.
The spies returned across the Jordan. Rahab, not taking any chances, immediately “bound the scarlet cord in the window” (Jos 2:21). How appropriate to be in suspense about the fate of this woman. You know what suspense means—to be left hanging! So she was, and her house was, and the cord was, and we are, too. But back to the narrative. The day had finally dawned when Israel was going to cross the river into the Promised Land. No wonder we read, “Then Joshua rose early in the morning” (3:1). He and this vast company of Israelites made their penultimate move, pulling up their tent pegs for the second-last time and moving from Shittim, or Acacia Grove, and marching to the river’s edge, a distance of about a dozen miles. We are informed that “the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest” (v 15), requiring an extra dose of faith for the people. There they encamped for three days. You can hardly imagine the electric expectation running through the vast tent city. To curtail their eagerness, they were told that the ark would lead them, and they were to follow, but to keep a distance of about 1,000 yards between the ark and the people, “that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before” (v 4). Here the ark is given its full title by Joshua: “Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you” (v 11). Then the priests carrying the ark stepped into the Jordan. Immediately it dried up, and the waters upstream “rose in a heap very far away at Adam” (v 16). There the priests remained with the ark “until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan” (v 17). After more than 400 years, the Israelites were finally HOME!