Jos 3:1-8 Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. At the end of three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.” Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” And Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. The LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’”
God told Israel to prepare themselves for three days at the shore of the Jordan River (Joshua 1:11). All that time, the people of Israel lodged in view of a rushing river, swollen with the spring rains. They were faced with the impossibility of the crossing. The two spies had made their way across the Jordan River and back when they spied out Jericho (Joshua 2:1, 2:23). One could swim across the Jordan during flood season, but it was a heroic act (1 Chronicles 12:14-15). The whole nation with its women, children, and elderly, with all their livestock and possessions, could never be expected to cross the river that way. God gave Israel three days to consider the problem. “These events in Israel’s history describe a time of preparation for this new generation who would be called upon to occupy the land. Although Christians are not called to carry out the same physical acts, preparation is necessary for any life of ministry and service. As with Israel’s preparation, it involves hearing and believing God’s Word and the discipline of obedience to that word.”
The ark of the covenant had not yet been built when Israel crossed the Red Sea; there, God used other ways to manifest His presence to them. Here, God’s presence was mainly evident through the presence and the prominence of the ark of the covenant.
God required that His people keep some 1,000 yards (1km) behind the ark. This was for at least two reasons. First, to respect the holy nature of the ark of the covenant. Second, to make it possible for all Israel to see the ark. The ark of the covenant would show the way they must go, leading the way. Israel would accomplish this impossible task as they set their eyes upon God’s presence and followed the representation of His presence. They were to wash themselves and their garments, and abstain from every thing that might indispose their minds from a profitable attention to the miracle about to be wrought in their behalf.”
Joshua’s success depended on and grew out of the promise of God to him: This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success (Joshua 1:8). Joshua had the word of God on his lips, on his mind, and it guided his actions.The step of faith commanded by God and observed by Joshua was encouraged by the LORD Himself. This is the graciousness of God toward His people, giving them constant encouragement in the things which He commands them to do. (Guzik)