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;
Israel camps at the edge of a flooded river. There is no bridge and no ford. The order that goes through the camp is not a marching plan but a sign to watch for: the ark, carried by the priests. Where the ark goes, the people go — and not one step before.
The Ark Moves First
The ark was the chest that stood for God's presence with Israel. The command fixes its place in the march.
Notice especially the command given by the officers of the host. "As soon as you see the ark of the covenant … being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it." The ark must go first. They did not dare move one inch along that mysterious way until the symbol of the divine presence had gone before.
Israel had been led before, but by something else:
Israel had the pillar of fire to lead them out of Egypt; they had the ark to lead them into Canaan. In either case they only had to follow God's guidance. They could not make a way for themselves through the waters. Efforts at making their own path keep many from walking in the one God has made. But as we look to Christ, the path of blessing appears before our feet.
Every Eye on the Ark, Not on the Officers
The officers gave the order and the priests carried the load. The order pointed past both of them.
Every eye was directed to the ark. In the same way God directs every eye of ours to Christ, the true ark of the covenant. He is the One in whom God's testimony is found. He answered in perfection every claim God made on man, and He brought glory and pleasure to God in every step He took. God's people were not told to follow the officers, or to keep their eye on the priests the Levites, but to "go after" the ark.
Why the Priests Carry It
Normally the ark travelled in the middle of the tribes. Here its place changes.
Normally the ark was in the middle of the tribes as they journeyed. This time it went before them, as in Numbers 10:33. But it would stay in the middle of the Jordan until all the people had passed clean over. When the priests carrying the ark came to "the brink of the waters of the Jordan," they were to stand still in the Jordan. This day would show Israel that the living God was among them. It was the assurance that He would drive out all their enemies from the land He had promised them.
The priests carry it as those who stand for the whole nation. The ark's crossing becomes the people's crossing.
The ark goes before the people. It not only shows them the way they should go, since they had not passed this way before, but it joins them to itself in the passage. The priests, the representatives of the people, were to take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before Israel. … As soon as their feet rested in the waters of the Jordan, the waters were cut off and stopped flowing. A power was there that was victorious over the power of death, and that joined Israel to the victory.
An Untrodden Way
The way through the river was a way no one had ever taken.
It was an unknown, untrodden way. No mortal could walk it and come off unharmed. Death and destruction are linked together… Who can stand before the king of terrors? Who can face that grim and terrible enemy? Who can meet the swelling waters of the Jordan? Poor Peter thought he could, but he was badly mistaken. He said to Jesus, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward."
Not a Repeat of the Red Sea
Israel had already walked through parted waters once. This crossing is arranged differently.
It is plain that in this case there are some notable points that differ from the passing of the Red Sea. There was no such solemn ceremony there as here. The ark of the LORD had no place in that scene, nor any assertion of His right to all the earth — the Lord of all the earth. There was no such order there: the priests entering in with the ark first, and then the waters failing so the people could pass over. In the main substance the same general truth appears. God's power acts in grace, and His people enter into death and come out of it in victory.
Summary
- Ark first. No one moved a step until the sign of God's presence had gone ahead — the order of the crossing was the order of faith.
- Ark seen. The command was to watch, then move. Every eye went to the ark, not to the officers or the priests.
- Ark shared. Priests carried it as representatives. What the ark passed through, the people passed through with it.
- Ark ahead. The road ran through waters no one could face alone — the lesson Peter had to learn.
- Ark alone. The Red Sea crossing had no ark and no claim on all the earth; here the ark leads the way in as Lord of all the earth.