The ark was the physical representation of God’s presence in Israel (Ex. 4:15), but the fact that the priests carried the ark and that they went before the people highlights the importance of the event. Normally, non-priestly Levites carried the ark (Num. Joshua ordered the priests to pick up the ark and carry it before the people (vv. God would have to intervene for them to enter the land. The Israelites faced a river that was seemingly impossible to cross, and the three-day delay would have impressed on them the difficulty of their situation. Joshua 3:15 reports that the river was overflowing at that time, and the riverbanks would have been covered with thick brambles. It was springtime, when the Jordan would have been a rushing torrent of water due to the melting of the mountain snow. Joshua ordered the people to set out from Shittim, and they came to the Jordan, where they camped for three days (3:1–2). To enter the promised land, the Israelites had to move west across the Jordan River. This set the stage for Israel to invade the land, as God commanded them to do (chap. ![]() These spies reported that the Canaanites were afraid of the Israelites because of the mighty acts that brought Israel out of slavery and defeated Egypt (Josh. From there, Joshua sent two spies to the Canaanite city of Jericho in order to get a sense of what the residents of the promised land thought about the Israelites who were soon to invade. ![]() Just before the death of Moses, the Israelites arrived at the plains of Moab, making their camp at Shittim, northeast of the Dead Sea (Num.
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