1And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
2And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;
We know from the previous chapter that word of the Israelites escapades has reached the inhabitants of Jericho, and I think it would be fair to assume the ruling administration would have even more knowledge. So as I asked earlier why are they not preparing for an invasion, questioning the odd stray donkey.
3And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.
4Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.
Considering Noah's ark was only 300(450-500ft) cubits long that is a great distance(almost half a mile)It certainly makes me wonder.....Why ?
5And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you.
6And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.
7And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.
8And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.
9And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God.
10And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
11Behold, the ark of the covenant of the LORD of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.
12Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.
13And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the LORD of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.
On first reading I thought the 12 men were the priests, but are they ?
If they are not the priests, is it not conceivable that they were selected for another mission ? A mission so secret it was not recorded, perhaps not even told to any others, a mission that would just about explain why there was such a distance between what was thought to be the ark and the rest of the army.
Intrigued ?
Remember the death of Aarons sons
I said at the time it sounded like an early gunpowder or fire flash.
With me now ?
Perhaps they got the quantities wrong and had inadvertently discovered an explosive. If this was the case, would it have been that difficult to go dam the Jordan, at least temporarily.
I am not suggesting how or where they did it or whether or not there was any preparation, what I am suggesting it is more convincing than godidit, or a coincidental earthquake that amounts to the same thing.
14And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;
15And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)
16That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.
I think it is highly feasible that they had seen or knew of a weak overhang or an avalanche waiting to happen at some point.
17And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.
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