Joshua 3:10–11

The Living God. He directed attention to the living God. That speaks of one, and only one, divine Being. There are not two living Gods. Their fathers had understood what this title meant. It defined their God, the Lord Jehovah, as completely different from the idols of the nations. Those had no life... But the Lord, the God of Israel, as Jeremiah writes, "is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation."

The ark was the symbol of the presence of the living God, and before Him the overflowing floods of Jordan would roll back. This assured Israel that the living God among them would drive back the forces of the nations living in Canaan.

The ark's passage into Jordan proved two things. First, the living God was present among His people. Second, He would without fail drive out all their enemies from before them. The death of Christ is the basis and the guarantee of everything to faith... "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" The difficulty of unbelief is, "How shall He?" The difficulty of faith is, "How shall He not?"

The Canaanites were the future enemies of the chosen people, and they were already in the land. They were Satan's instrument to shut Israel out, if that were possible, or at least to expose and corrupt those whom God had called. According to Ephesians 6 they picture our own foes: the world-rulers of this darkness, the spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. Our conflict is with them.

The names here, as everywhere, are no doubt significant. They suggest those powers of evil that take the ground first and would keep us from enjoying our God-given inheritance in Christ. The Hittite, "child of terror" — how spiritual dread makes cowards of us all! The Girgashites, "dwellers in clay." We are prone to settle down in the dust of earth instead of rising to our heavenly portion. The Amorite, "the talker," rather than the doer of the Word. The Canaanite, "the trafficker," is the talker's companion. He turns the very truth of God into merchandise. The Perizzite, "the countryman," perhaps suggests great power, nobility, false pride. The Hivite, "the villager," suggests the opposite, a false humility. The Jebusite, "the treader down," never rests until he has put every divine thing under his feet. All of these must be cast out, and we must refuse any alliance with them.

The ark was declared to be His who is "the Lord of all the earth" (v. 11). In this way the Lord showed His people His supreme power, His lordship and authority. He showed it in the very place where the nations who worshipped demons had settled. After the Lord had risen from the dead, He said to His disciples, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."

Having met the whole power of the enemy, Christ has annulled it. He had met it at the Red Sea, at the beginning; but now it is its whole power in the overflowing banks... Christ has annulled Satan's power in full. So our part now is to "resist the devil, and he will flee from you" — not, "and you shall overcome him." Satan has no power against us, if we are walking in the power of Christ.

"Lord of all the earth" is the title Joshua repeats, the title God had taken here. God planted Israel in Canaan as a testimony to this great truth. Later He will establish in power, according to His own purposes, what He had put into Israel's hands for them to keep as their responsibility.

This title of God is made up of six words. It sets out His wide dominion. It occurs only three times in the Old Testament: twice in Joshua 3:11 and 13, and again in Zechariah 6:5. The Ark pictures Christ in resurrection. Here the priests carry it over the river Jordan, and so prepare the way for Israel to cross and take possession of Canaan.

They were called to take possession of the promised land for God, as a kind of pledge that the whole earth belonged to Him, even though Satan had seized control of it. When they entered they crossed the Jordan as the people of "the Lord of all the earth."

"The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the Earth" — the intention was that God would take possession of the earth through Israel. Israel failed. But the One whom the Ark speaks of will not fail. He will yet establish God's rights as the Lord of all the earth.

The ark was the symbol of the presence of the living God. Before Him the overflowing floods of Jordan would roll back. This assured Israel that the living God among them would drive back the forces of the nations living in Canaan.

The Jordan is death, and here again it is Christ going down into it. But it is not God's rod striking the sea, so that salvation came by that judgment, and no ark was there. In Jordan, in this passing through death, the ark goes first, or man could not pass. This is not defence, salvation and deliverance from their condition in Egypt — their coming out free. It is their going into the place of promise. It is the same death of Christ, but now He goes down before His sheep. He has taken away all its power, so they pass over dry-shod.

The ark going through the Jordan is neither suffering for sin nor intercession for a rebellious people. It is Christ in power. But this power is the special result of His own going under death's power, when He made His soul an offering for sin. He won victory in the only way possible — by the death of the Victor... The ark in the Jordan is no part of atonement. It is the presence of the power of Christ. That power alone can withstand the power of death, and it is our only defence against it.

To understand what Israel's crossing of the Jordan teaches, we must try to put aside a common idea. Many take it as a picture of the Christian's experience at the moment of death... Israel crossing the Jordan cannot mean this. When they crossed the river they began to fight. But when we "sleep in Jesus," all our fighting is over.

The ark takes first place on the journey of death, to lead God's people into it... Christ passed through the very same circumstances first, so we must move from our place of comfortable ease and follow after Him... You cannot cross Jordan without going into it; you cannot fly over it. It must be crossed on foot — but Christ went through it before us.