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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 So then Joshua rose early in the morning, and they brake up from The Acacias and came as far as the Jordan, he and all the sons of Israel,–and they 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, after three days, that the officers went through the midst of the camp, |
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| 3 and commanded the people saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God, and, the priests the Levites, bearing it, ye also, shall break up out of your place, and come after it. |
The people – Representing justified believers in Jesus. R4063:3
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| 4 Yet shall there be, a distance, between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure,–do not come near unto it that ye may get to 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 Then said Joshua unto the people, Hallow yourselves,–for, tomorrow, will Yahweh do in your midst, wonderful things.
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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 spake unto the priests, saying, Take ye up the ark of the covenant, and pass on before the people. So they took up the ark of the covenant, and went on before the people. |
Priests – Representing the Little Flock. R4063:2
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| 7 Then said Yahweh unto Joshua: This day, will I begin to magnify thee in the eyes of all Israel,–who shall know, that, as I was with Moses, I will be with thee. |
Said unto Joshua – Type of Christ. A79; R4063:2
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| 8 Thou, therefore, shalt command the priests who am bearing the ark of the covenant, saying,–When ye are come as far as the edge of the waters of the Jordan, in the Jordan, shall ye stand. |
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| 9 Then said Joshua, unto the sons of Israel,–Draw near hither, and hear ye the words of Yahweh your God. |
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| 10 And Joshua said, Hereby, shall ye know, that a Living GOD is in your midst,–and that he will, 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 about to pass 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 Now, therefore, take you twelve men, out of the tribes of Israel,–one man severally for each tribe; |
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| 13 and it shall be, when the soles of the feet of the priests who are bearing the ark of Yahweh, Lord of all the earth, do rest, in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan, shall be cut off, the waters that are coming down from above,–and shall stand in one mound. |
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 set out from their tents, to cross the Jordan,–with 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 then, as the bearers of the ark came as far as the Jordan, and, the feet of the priests who were bearing the ark, were dipped in the edge of the waters,–the Jordan being full over all his 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 which were coming down from above, stood–rose up in one mound, a great way off, by the city Adam, which is beside Zarethan, and, they which were going down to the sea of the waste plain, the salt sea, failed–were cut off,–and, the people, passed over, right 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 who were bearing the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, stood on dry ground, in the midst of the Jordan, with firm footing,–while all Israel were passing over on dry ground, until all the nation had made an end of passing 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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