I ntroduction: Barnes separates this chapter into two sections: vv. 1 6 describe the preliminary instructions and

Transcription

1 3 3:1 17 Th Isralits Cross Ovr th Jordan Rivr Outlin of Chaptr 3: vv. 1 6 Th popl and th prists ar givn thir first st of commands vv. 7 8 God spaks to vv dscribs what will happn to th popl vv s words ar fulfilld Charts: Introduction Grouping 3 and 4 as a Unit I ntroduction: Barns sparats this chaptr into two sctions: vv. 1 6 dscrib th prliminary instructions and vv dscrib th commncmnt of th passag...a crtain compltnss and finish is givn to ach division of th narrativ, and to ffct this th writr mor than onc rpats himslf, anticipats th actual ordr 1 of vnts, and distributs into parts occurrncs which in fact took plac onc for all. 3 is fascinating bcaus w gt a marvlous insight into, th man. W hav alrady found out that h is a man of action, a man of a fw words, and w will s hr that h is vry mthodical. H is going to tak som grat spiritual truths for grantd not in a ngativ way, but in a way which rvals grat faith and h movs his popl ahad without a spcific promis from God to do what h tlls th popl will b don. maks crtain assumptions and has crtain xpctations of God and dmonstrats grat faith in th application of his assumptions and xpctations. Vry fw xpositors rcogniz th grat spiritual strngth that h dmonstrats in this chaptr. In this chaptr and th nxt, uss an ovrlay tchniqu in which, having narratd th crossing to its 2 ths conclusion (ch. 3), h rturns to various points in th vnt to nlarg on svral dtails; th first 3/4 of chaptr 4 will giv us gratr dtails on what occurrd immdiatly aftr th crossing of th popl at th nd of 4, mor or lss picking up whr 3:17 lts off. Evn Rs, in his chronological Bibl, dos not attmpt to sort this out chronologically. This is th sam man who throws in th short Num. 27:12 14 into Dutronomy 32; who bgins with 1, quickly gos to 2, gos back to 1 thn 2 thn 1 again vn h dos not attmpt to corrlat ths two chaptrs chronologically. H dos plac th tim of th crossing of th Jordan at 1422 B.C. W nd to undrstand somthing first: did not nd spcial rvlation from God vry fiftn minuts to figur out what to do. A prcdnt had bn st in th dsrt alrady whr th sons of Isral followd th lad of th ark. Thus thy st out from th mountain of Jhovah thr days journy, with th ark of th covnant of Jhovah journying in front of thm for th thr days, to sk out a rsting plac for thm (Num. 10:33). Whn gn X faild, th ark did NOT lad thm into battl: But thy wnt up hdlssly to th ridg of th hill country; nithr th ark of th covnant of Jhovah nor Moss lft th camp (Num. 14:4). Many xgts group chaptrs 3 and 4 togthr and this allows for a pattrn to b stablishd: Grouping 3 and 4 as a Unit God spok to ; th ark was to lad Isral (Num. 10:33 14:4) commandd th popl ( 1: :3 6) God commands ( 3:7 8) 1 Barns Nots, Bakr Books, 1996; Vol. II, p Th NIV Study Bibl; 1995; p. 291.

2 Chaptr 3 78 Grouping 3 and 4 as a Unit commands th popl ( 3:9 13) Th popl oby ( 3:14 17) God commands ( 4:1 3) commands th popl ( 4:4 7) Th popl oby ( 4:8 14) God commands ( 4:15 16) commands th popl ( 4:17) Th popl oby ( 4:18 20) spaks to th popl ( 4:21 24) Rturn to Chaptr Outlin Rturn to th Chart Indx It appars by this outlin that God spaks to vry fiftn minuts to gt him to do somthing. This, howvr, is not th cas. For instanc, thr is a command which dals with th monumnt of twlv stons which w find strtchd from 3:12 to 4:24; God givs th command in 4:1 3); voics this command to th popl in 3:12 and 4:45; th popl oby in 4:8 9, 19 20; and xplains thir maning in 4:6 7 and 4: My point in all of this is that w ar not daling with somthing that is ntirly chronological or topological. W hav somthing which sms to b writtn in mor of a stram of consciousnss, with no rwrits, yars latr (which is implid by both th waving of th vnts and 4:9, which rads: Thn st up twlv stons in th middl of th Jordan at th plac whr th ft of th prists who carrid th ark of th covnant wr standing, and thy ar thr to this day). Kil and Dlitzsch writ:...so pculiar to th Hbrw mod of writing history to mark and round off th svral points in th occurrncs dscribd, by such comprhnsiv statmnts as anticipat th actual cours of vnts. It is to this arrangmnt and dovtailing of th diffring points that w must attribut th distribution of th rvlation and commands which rcivd from God, ovr th svral portions of th history; and consquntly w ar not to suppos, that at ach sparat point during th passag God rvald to what h was to do, but must rathr assum that H actually rvald and commandd whatvr was rquisit all at onc on th day 3 bfor any miraculous passag. Thr ar som Paulus, Eichhorn, Blk, Knobl who tach that is compoundd from two diffrnt documnts; thir rasoning is foundd upon nothing ls than a total ovrsight 4 of th arrangmnt xplaind abov and doctrinal objctions to its miraculous contnts. In othr words, what w hav in this chaptr is probably on st of commands from God, or possibly two (th scond bginning in 4:1) scattrd ovr at last fiv portions of Scriptur btwn 1 and 4. rcalls and rcords th vnts, what God had said to him, and what h said to th popl probably long aftr ths things took plac. H tndd to s things in trms of vnts, so ths first four chaptrs ar dividd into vnts. Wll, prior to an vnt, has to giv th ordrs; prior to giving th ordrs, h has to hav rcivd ordrs from God; thrfor, as rcounts ths vnts, h first givs God s commands to him, thn his commands to th popl, and thn th following of ths commands. This is not a formula to which h holds to unwavringly, but a gnral pattrn found throughout with som xcptions. What I am saying is that this is not a narrativ which is mticulously craftd aftr a particular pattrn w hav a gnral pattrn commisrat with th thinking of an oldr man yars latr. This dos not man that thr ar any inaccuracis, xaggrations, or untruths to b found in this book. It just hlps us to grasp th styl of in gnral. Lst w forgt, thr ar two gnrations of Isralits in viw gn X and th gnration of promis. Gn X cam out of Egypt and faild ovr and ovr again. Thy wr ld right up to th land and thy would not ntr into th land, givn thm by God, out of far. God loathd that gnration and killd all of thm, sav thr or four (Moss,, Calb and Elazar). Th gnration of promis, aftr thir parnts did out, movd into th land in a somwhat circuitous rout (along th ast sid of th Dad Sa and th Jordan). Thy hav xprincd at 3 4 Kil & Dlitzsch s Commntary on th Old Tstamnt; 1966 Hndrickson Publishrs, Inc.; Vol. II, p. 30. Kil & Dlitzsch s Commntary on th Old Tstamnt; 1966 Hndrickson Publishrs, Inc.; Vol. II, p. 30, footnot.

3 Th Book of 79 last on similar tst th no-watr tst which thy faild. Thy moand and complaind and God providd thm with watr, dspit th failur of Moss. Th nxt tst will b th drying up of th Rivr Jordan. Th prvious gnration saw God dry up th Sa of Rds in ordr for thm to cross and this gnration will s God dry up th Jordan Rivr so that thy can cross ovr into th land. Thy will s th mighty hand of God and thy, unlik thir fathrs, will trust in God this tim. On thing that McG points out that is important is that th gnration of promis crossing th Jordan Rivr was a gratr tst of faith than gn X crossing th Sa of Rds bcaus, in th lattr situation, thy, at crossing, would hav compltly scapd th Egyptians; howvr, for th gnration of promis, whn thy crossd th Jordan Rivr, thy wr moving into nmy trritory and thr was no backing up. Rturn to Chaptr Outlin Rturn to th Chart Indx Th Popl and th Prists Ar Givn Thir First St of Commands Litrally: Thn aros arly in th morning. Thn thy dpartd from th Shittim. Thn thy cam as far as th Jordan, h and all of th sons of Isral. Thn thy lodgd thr bfor thy passd ovr. 3:1 Smoothr English rndring: Thn got up arly that morning and thy dpartd from Acacia Grov. Thy advancd to th Jordan, h and all Isral, lodgd thr and thn crossd ovr th Jordan rivr. s styl of writing is distinct from th styl of Moss. His sntncs ar typically strung togthr by th wâw conscutiv as opposd to th wâw conjunction. His vocabulary is simplr. Whr w find a significant numbr of words in th writings of Moss and of Job which occur only onc or twic in th ntir Bibl, most of th words found in this book ar found tims lswhr in th Word of God. Th first vrb is th Hiphil imprfct of shâkam ( ) [pronouncd shaw-kahm], which mans to start, to ris, to ris arly, to mak an arly start. This vrb is found only in th Hiphil. Strong s #7925 BDB #1014. As w hav sn, th Shittim may b rndrd Acacia Grov, as ths trs wr found on both sids of th Jordan along th uppr trracs of th vally. Isral was probably campd ovr a hug portion of th land on th othr sid of a long lin of ths trs. Laving Shittim (not a bad nam for a movi) was quivalnt to laving human scurity bhind. Thy had conqurd that land and could hav sttld thr; thy chos not to. Th scond vrb is th Qal imprfct of nâça ( ) [pronouncd naw-sah ], which mans to journy, to dpart. It dnots th pulling up th staks of a tnt. Strong s #5265 BDB #652. At this point, Barns stimats thm to b a distanc of six mils from th Jordan. Th prposition prcding th Jordan is ad ( ) [pronouncd ad], which mans as far as. Strong s #5704 BDB #723. Th Jordan rivr has bn an important part of human history. At on tim, that ara was a gardn. And Lot liftd up his ys and saw all th vally of th Jordan, that it was wll-watrd vrywhr bfor Jhovah dstroyd Sodom and Gomorrah lik th gardn of Jhovah, lik th land of Egypt as you go to Zoar (Gn. 13:40). Th Jordan Rivr is on of th fw physical tis btwn th book of Job and Jwish history: If a rivr rags, h is not alarmd; h is confidnt, though th Jordan rushs to his mouth. (Job 40:23). Th scond to th last vrb is th Qal imprfct of lûn ( ) [pronouncd loon], which mans to lodg, to spnd th night, to abid. Strong s #3885 BDB #533. Thn it cam to pass at th nd of thr days, thn th officrs pass through in [th] midst of th camp. 3:2 Thn, at th nd of th thr days, th officrs wnt to th midst of th camp.

4 Chaptr 3 80 Aftr th phras, thn it cam to pass, w hav th prposition mîn and th masculin singular construct of qâtsh ( ) [pronouncd kaw-tseh], which mans nd, xtrmity. With th mîn prposition, it mans at th nd of, aftr. Strong s #7097 BDB #892. Thos who wnt through th camp wr shô êr ( ) [pronouncd sho-tare], which mans official, commissiond officr, officr. Strong s #7860 BDB #1009. Th vrb which follows is th b Qal imprfct of <â var ( ) [pronouncd aw-bahr], which mans to pass ovr, to pass through, to pass, to go b ovr. Strong s #5674 BDB #716. What thy passd through was th construct of qr v ( ) [pronouncd b KEH-r v], which mans midst, inward part. Strong s #7130 BDB #899. What thy wnt through th midst of was th camp or ncampmnt (Strong s #4264 BDB #334). If w look at th book of as bing strictly chronological, w bcom confusd. Thrfor, lt s gt a grasp of th tim fram hr. Thy did not brak camp, go to th Jordan, and thn sit on thir hands for thr days. That is, did not first giv th ordr to gt rady to mov out, thn snt out th spis, and thn snd out his officrs to mov th troops into position. gav th ordr in 1:11 to prpar to mov out (which chronologically took plac aftr 2 aftr th spis). Thn, at th nd of thos thr days, th troops movd out to th Jordan rivr. Why thr days why not on day? It would tak at last on full day, if not two, for th population of Isral to b informd that thy wr moving out. It would thn tak a day of travl and a day to stand still and watch th dlivranc of God. Lt s try this again. Thr wr no ordrs to mov out until had hard back from th spis. How ridiculous it would hav bn to advanc, but not to know th nmy or anything about th nmy. snt out th spis; thy wr gon for 3 4 days. Whn thy rturnd, snt his mn through th camp tlling thm to gt rady to mov out that is 1: Now, how ar thy supposd to know xactly whn in thr days that thy would mov out? Th soldirs of go through th camp a scond tim to thn xplain what th sign is of thm moving out would b. Whn th ark was pickd up and movd, thn th popl of Isral wr to advanc ( 3:2 3). Ex. 18:21 rad: Furthrmor, you will s out of all th popl abl mn who far God, mn of truth, thos who hat dishonst gain; and you will plac ovr thm ladrs of thousands, ladrs of hundrds, ladrs of fiftis and ladrs of tns. Whn I first saw that, I thought to myslf that thr ar a whol lot of chifs and vry fw Indians. I wondrd why would you nd to hav that much organization? Howvr, in a situation lik th Isralits in th dsrt, thr had to b som way of dissminating ordrs and information. 2,000,000 is a hug population. 600,000 of thm wr mn. It is unlikly that all 600,000 participatd in battl, but thy wr involvd in movmnt. Now, a colonl would hav th command of thousands, thn thy would hav authority ovr mn, prhaps. That givs us 200 and prhaps fwr colonls. and Calb; or, prhaps, twlv mn, on from ach trib, had a command ovr ths 200 and dissminatd ordrs to ths colonls. Th 200 colonls did not spak to ths thousands of mn thy spok to thos who wr captains ovr hundrds. A colonl might hav commandd 3000 mn, and so ovr thm and undr th colonl would b svral captains. A captain would hav charg of hundrds of mn (lt s say, 300). So this colonl would convy th ordrs to his tn captains. Undr a captain would b two to fiv liutnants, ach of whom had th command ovr mn. Undr thm, and ovr mn ach would b a srgant. Each liutnant would giv ordrs to 5 10 srgants and thos srgants would spak to th mn dirctly. So, was commandr in chif ovr all th divisions of his crack army. H ithr spok dirctly to 200 colonls or put that in th hands of 12 mn, on from vry trib. Ths colonls go out and spak to thir tn captains. Each captain thn gathrs his fiv liutnants and givs thm marching ordrs. Thn ach liutnant mts with his tn srgants and givs thm marching ordrs. Thn th srgants spak dirctly to th popl (or, at last to th mals who ar of ag). So, vry hour, or vn vry half hour, thr is a mting which is hld. W hav prhaps six sts of mtings bing hld ovr a priod of prhaps 6 hours, aftr which th ntir population has bn informd of thir xpctd movmnt. Th first tim that this was don, it prhaps took a day. Th scond tim it was don, prhaps half a day. Only through somthing which is highly organizd could a movmnt of th ntir Isralit camp in a thr day priod of tim b possibl. W hav bn givn th organization for th tribs in gnral and whr thy would b stationd with rspct to th ark of th covnant. Th implication is that thy wr vn mor organizd than that. Crtainly within ach trib thr was a furthr organization which was vry bit as prcis as th ovrall stationing of th tribs. Whn th colonls had bn calld out for thir marching ordrs, th othr officrs knw that thy had to b vry visibl and rady to complt thir part of th organization.

5 Th Book of 81 I will giv you my own prsonal prfrnc I would fl bttr if th population was dividd by 10 that is, that th population of Isral was 200,000 rathr than 2,000,000. That would giv us 60,000 mn, many of whom would mak up Isral s army. To m, numbrs lik ths would b asir to grasp. Howvr, apart from any vidnc to th contrary (I hav rad othr xplanations which allowd for Isral to b smallr and all of thm com up short), w will hav to assum that thr wr 2,000,000 popl, which is a considrably larg city. To m, vn with th organization which is statd and implid in th Law, still moving such a hug numbr of popl is byond my imagination. Thn thy commandd th popl, to say, In your sing [th] ark of [th] covnant of Y howah your God and th prists, th Lvits carrying it, and you, [vn] you will dpart from your plac and you will hav followd aftr it. 3:3 Thn thy commandd th popl, saying, Whn you s th ark of th covnant of Jhovah your God bing carrid by th prists and th Lvits, thn you will advanc from your plac and follow th ark. Rcall that th prists and th Lvits ar not quivalnt groups. Aaron (and Moss) wr from th trib of Lvi. Th prists ar dscndd from Aaron, although that distinction is only clarly mad arly on in th Law, and not much is said about it latr. In this vrs, som of th codics rad th prists and th Lvits (thr arly printd ditions of th Masortic txt, th Sptuagint and th Syriac). Onc th popl s th prists and th Lvits moving out with th ark, thy ar to nâça ( ) [pronouncd naw-sah ], which, again, mans to journy, to dpart. Strong s #5265 BDB #652. Th Isralits spnd thr days in prparation; whn, whil thy wr moving out to th Jordan, th officrs of th camp, acting on s command, givn thm spcific marching ordrs. Th will dpart and thn w hav th Qal prfct of hâlak ( ) [pronouncd haw-lahk ], which mans to go, to com, to dpart, to walk. Rcall that w hav lookd at this particular word svral tims alrady. Strong s #1980 (and 3212) BDB #229. From th bginning, th Isralits followd bhind th ark. Thus thy st out from th mount of Jhovah thr days journy, with th ark of th covnant of Jhovah journying in front of thm for th thr days, to sk out a rsting plac for thm (Num. 10:33). NIV Study Bibl: [Th] ark of th covnant [was] th most sacrd of th tabrnacl furnishings (s Ex 25:10 22). Sinc it signifid th Lord s thron, th Lord himslf wnt into th 5 Jordan ahad of his popl as h ld thm into th land of rst. Actually, mor than that, it rprsntd Jsus Christ Himslf and in following th ark, thy wr following Jsus Christ into th Land of Promis and into battl. Only, a distanc will b btwn you and it about 2000 cubits in th masur. You [all] will not com unto to th nd that you will know th way that you will go in it, for you hav not passd this way from ystrday thr days ago. 3:4 Howvr, you will maintain a distanc of at last 3000 ft [ovr a thr-fifths of a mil] btwn yourslvs and th ark of so that you will know th way to go, sinc you hav not pass through this way vr bfor. T first word is an advrb ak ( ) [pronouncd ahk ], and it mans surly, crtainly, no doubt, only, only this onc. It is oftn usd in th rstrictiv sns, mphasizing what coms aftr ovr what coms bfor or rstricting th action to what coms aftr as opposd to what coms bfor. Strong s #389 BDB #36. Th scond word is th word râchôq ( ) [pronouncd raw-khohk], and it mans, as an adjctiv, distant, far; as a noun, it mans distanc (which can b a rfrnc to tim or spac). Strong s #7350 BDB #935. Th amount of distanc is spcifid by th kaph prposition, k ( ) [pronouncd k ], which usually mans lik, as, according to. Howvr, whn this is combind with numbrs or masurs of spac or tim givn in round numbrs, it mans about, approximatly. No Strong s # BDB #453. This is followd by th prpositional phras in [or, by, against] th masur. I don t know that w rally hav a propr grammatical translation for this phras. 5 Th NIV Study Bibl; 1995 by Th Zondrvan Corporation; p. 291.

6 Chaptr 3 82 Own rndrs this in th masur; KJV, Rothrham, NASB and Young: by masur; th NIV, NRSV, REB, NAB and th NJB all ignor ths thr words. In th Old Tstamnt, it was always clar that God was too holy for man. Man could not hardly approach God, vn prior to th building of all of th holy furnitur of th tnt. And you will st bounds for th popl all around, saying, Bwar that you do not go up on th mountain or touch th bordr of it; whovr touchs th mountain will crtainly b xcutd. (Ex. 19:12). Thr was always this grat gap btwn th prfction of God and th imprfction of man. For th most part, th ark of th covnant was kpt in th Holy of Holis, in th tabrnacl, whrin no man wnt sav th High Prist onc a yar. A copy of th Law was kpt in or bsid th ark to indicat how man had falln short of God s prfction. Th High Prist ntrd th Holy of Holis onc a yar on th Day of Atonmnt and h sprinkld blood on th ark, signifying th atoning work of Jsus Christ on our bhalf. What man waitd for was th bridg btwn man and God s prfct holinss. Sinc thrfor, brothrs, w hav confidnc with rfrnc to accss th holy plac by th blood of Jsus, by a nw and living way which H inauguratd for us through th vil, that is His flsh, and sinc w hav a grat prist ovr th hous of God, lt us draw nar with a sincr hart in full assuranc of faith, having our harts sprinkld from an vil conscinc and our bodis washd with pur watr (Hb. 10:19 22). Barns: Th ark, which was sinc th making of th Covnant th spcial shrin and sa of God s Prsnc, wnt bfor to show th popl that God, through its mdium, was thir ladr. Thy wr to follow at a distanc that thy might th bttr obsrv and mark how th miracl was accomplishd. This thy would do to th gratst advantag whilst coming down th hights, th ark going on bfor thm into th ravin. 6 What thy ar told not to do is th Qal imprfct of th vry common vrb bô ( ) [pronouncd boh], which mans to com in, to com, to go in, to go. Strong s #935 BDB #97. W thn hav th prpositional phras unto it, followd by th conjunction l ma<an ( ) [pronouncd l -MAH- ahn], which mans for th sak of, on account of, to th intnt of, to th intnt that, to th purpos that, in ordr that. This prposition mphasizs th caus or purpos of th action. Strong s #4616 BDB #775. This is followd by th rlativ pronoun shr ( ) [pronouncd ash-er], which gnrally mans that, which, whn or who. Strong's #834 BDB #81. Togthr, thy man to th nd that. What follows is you will know th way that you will go into it; th final suffix in that phras is in th fminin singular, rfrring to th land. Th Isralits, apart from th two spis, hav nvr gon into th land bfor; thrfor, thy will follow th ark, which rprsnts Jsus Christ. Th analogy to our lif hr on arth should b obvious. W follow Jsus Christ in our livs, in a path that w hav not gon along bfor. Th last phras is: for you hav not passd in th way; and this is followd by a prposition and two advrbs, which Own, th NIV and th NASB simply rndr ths words bfor; th KJV, Rothrham and Young: hrtofor. Th prposition is mîn (from, out from, out of) and th first word is th advrb t môwl ( ) [pronouncd t MOHL], which mans ystrday; and is usd figurativly for rcntly, formrly. Strong s #8543 and Strong s #865 BDB #1069. Th last word is shil shôwm ( ) [pronouncd shil-shohm], which mans thr days ago, th day bfor ystrday. Strong s #8032 BDB #1026. Litrally, w hav from ystrday thr days ago; figurativly, w might say th last coupl of thr days; it is idiomatic for at any tim bfor, in th past, hrtofor, bfor. So far, ths thr words hav bn on of th most difficult things found in this book. Hrin was th practical rason for this distanc of ovr a half mil btwn th popl and th ark. Had th procssion of Isralits bn within a fw ft of th ark, thn only a handful of popl would actually b abl to s th ark and its movmnt. At a distanc of a half mil, th procssion of th ark was still in viw, and by a maximum of popl. Although th Old Tstamnt is filld with shadows of things to com, many of th rituals and articls of furnitur rprsnting that which had not yt occurrd, thr was always a practicality in th commands of God. W hav found that throughout th Pntatuch. Although th NIV dscribs this as a lin of march, w must undrstand that th Isralits did not procd in a lin fiv popl thick, or vn tn popl thick. Th ark wnt first and th Isralits fll in bhind it on both sids 6 Barns Nots, Bakr Books, 1996; Vol. II, p. 357.

7 Th Book of 83 for mils. Th ark of th Lord lad th ntir army into th Land of Promis. Isral was a thocracy, ld by thir God, th God of th Univrs. Now lt m giv you som practical rasons why th Isralits wr to stand ovr a half mil bhind and on both sids of th ark: w hav two million popl hr, of which prhaps only a fw tn-thousand would b standing clos nough to s th ark. Th dal is this at much mor than a half mil away, no on could vn s th ark. This distanc affordd th minimal distanc so that it could b still sn and th maximum distanc possibl in ordr for th most popl to s th ark. Th rst just fll in bhind thm. I also nd to dal with anothr practicality as you no doubt know, thousands of popl fl that th Bibl is riddld with contradictions and impossibilitis and som vn point to this passag in ordr to support thir notions. Thy s a contradiction if vryon stands a half mil from th ark, but, at th sam tim, ar on th shor. Crtainly, this would b a glaring contradiction if th book of statd that vryon was standing right on th shorlin and th ark was a littl ways out in th watr thr is no way, undr thos circumstancs, that it could b ovr a half mil away. Howvr, just bcaus th Bibl says that ths popl hav stoppd on th short of th Jordan to rst, it dos not man ach and vry Isralit is standing on th shorlin that is ignorant. Obviously, thy ar clos nough to th shor to s it and far nough from th ark for it to b a half mil away. Thn said unto th popl, Sanctify yourslvs for tomorrow Y howah will do in your midst wondrs. 3:5 Thn said to th popl, St yourslvs apart to God for tomorrow, Jhovah will do grat wondrs in your midst. What tlls th popl to do is th Hithpal imprativ of qâdash ( ) [pronouncd kaw-dahsh], which mans to conscrat, to sanctify, to ddicat, to hallow. Any of ths words ar good translations, particularly conscrat, howvr, unlss you hav bn going to church for a long tim or spak old English fluntly, it dosn't man much to you. This vrb mans that somthing is st apart to God; this somthing taks on th quality of bing sacrd, holy, diffrnt from that which is tid to th arth. Strong's 6942 BDB #872. Th Hithpal is th intnsiv rflxiv. Hr, thy act upon thmslvs. Jhovah also said to Moss, Go to th popl and conscrat thm today and tomorrow, and lt thm wash thir garmnts; and lt thm b rady for th third day, for on th third day Jhovah will com down on Mount Sinai in th sight of all th popl. (Ex. 19:10 11). Now, rcall how thr must b a distanc btwn th popl and th ark? And you will st boundaris for th popl all around, saying, Bwar that you do not go up on th mountain or touch th bordr of it; whovr touchs th mountain will b xcutd. (Ex. 19:12). Thr ar two viws hr: (1) th popl washd thir garmnts and abstaind from sxual rlations (Ex. 19:14 15); or, (2) thy sanctifid thmslvs by rbounding as pr I John 1:9 thy namd thir sins to God. Th formr was an outward sign only. Kil and Dlitzsch indicat that thr was not nough tim for th washing of th garmnts, although thy imply that it was possibl to chang thir cloths as an act of purification, as pr Gn. 35:2. Thy offr that a tru sanctification would b a spiritual purification...turning th hart to God, in faith and trust in His promis, and in willing obdinc to His commandmnts, that thy should lay to hart in a propr way th miracl of grac which th Lord was about to 7 work in th midst of thm and on thir bhalf on th following day. It s a tough call for that priod of tim, as th avrag blivr did not participat in th plan of God as w do today. W look to Moss or to King David or to Paul as spiritual hros but our lif, as quit as it might b, has quivalnt maning today. Evry blivr is a prist today, vry blivr is filld with th Spirit through rbound, vry blivr has a spiritual gift. Th blivr back thn could b in fllowship or not, but vry fw of thm had th Holy Spirit; vry fw of thm had a spiritual gift. Apart from a ladr and considrabl guidanc, thy could not choos corrctly th path to tak. Thy rquird a Moss or a. Thy could not function apart from such ladrship. You nd doctrin, which mans you nd a pastor tachr but you don t nd counsling, you don t nd somon in front of you tlling you what your vry mov should b, you don t nd continual guidanc by man. Rmov from this pictur and you hav just a crowd milling about. Rmov your pastor tachr from your priphry and your lif still has maning and dfinition; you still hav a purpos. This dos not man that you can function apart from 7 Kil & Dlitzsch s Commntary on th Old Tstamnt; 1966 Hndrickson Publishrs, Inc.; Vol. II, p. 31.

8 Chaptr 3 84 your pastor tachr and you crtainly cannot function long without doctrin but if your soul is filld with doctrin and you hav bn filld with th Holy Spirit, thn your lif is as maningful as th lif of any othr saint. In othr words, I don t know that I am going to tak a stand hr on xactly what thy did by way of purifying thmslvs but I do know how you can purify yourslf; you simply nam your sins to God. Th last word is th fminin plural, Niphal participl of pâlâ ( ) [pronouncd paw-law] which is usually usd in th Niphal in conjunction with God prforming or doing marvlous and miraculous things (.g., Ex. 3:20 34:10). It mans to do that which is xtraordinary, xtraordinary phnomnon (-na is plural), to do that which is unusually difficult; th standard pansy rndring bing marvls, wondrs. It is usd hr as a noun. Strong's #6381 BDB #810. Now I want you to r-rad what God actually said to : Moss, My srvant, is dad; now thrfor, aris, cross ovr this Jordan, you and all this popl, to th land which I am giving to thm, to th sons of Isral. Evry plac on which th sol of your foot trads, I hav givn it to you, just as I spok to Moss. From th wildrnss and this Lbanon, vn as far as th grat rivr, th rivr Euphrats, all th land of th Hittits, and as far as th Grat Sa toward th stting of t sun, will b your trritory. No man will b abl to stand bfor you all th days of your lif. Just as I hav bn with Moss, I will b with you. I will not fail you and I will not forsak you. B strong and couragous, for you will giv this popl possssion of th land which I swor to thir fathrs to giv thm. Only, b strong and vry couragous; b carful to do according to all th law which Moss My srvant commandd you; do not turn from it to th right or to th lft, so that you will hav succss whrvr you go. This book of th Law will not dpart from your mouth, but you will study it day and night so that you may b carful to do according to all that is writtn in it, for thn you will mak your way prosprous, and thn you will hav succss. Hav I not commandd you? B strong and couragous! Do not trmbl or b dismayd, for Jhovah your God is with you whrvr you go. ( 1:2 9). Notic what is missing God has not said vn a word about signs and wondrs, not on word. H spok to svral tims about th importanc of larning and obying His Word; H spok to at last twic about bing strong and couragous. But God did not tll that thy wr going to witnss any grat wondrs. Now, it is possibl that w ar gtting an ditd vrsion of what God said to, but, if that wr th cas, I doubt that w would hav sn as much rptition as w did. has concludd on th basis of what Isral facd, on th basis of what God had commandd thm to do, on th basis of th Word of God, and on th basis of what h had sn and hard bfor, that th Isralits wr going to cross ovr th Jordan and tak th land following a sris of miracls or spctacular vnts. As w hav sn, by his vocabulary, is not a brilliant man lik Moss. What h has is faith and undrstanding of God s Word. God will not command us to do what w cannot do. If God has commandd to tak his popl into th Land of Promis, thn God must provid th mans to do so. has anothr rason why h knows that God will do xtraordinary fats bfor th popl; God has told him this: This day, I will bgin to xalt you in th sight of all Isral, that thy may know that just as I hav bn with Moss, so I will b with you. ( 3:7b). 8 Thn said unto th prists, to say, Lift up [th] ark of th covnant and pass through bfor facs of th popl. So thy liftd up [th] ark of th covnant and wnt bfor facs of th popl. 3:6 Th said to th prists, Lift up th ark of th covnant and pass through in th sight of th popl. So thy liftd up th ark of th covnant and walkd in th sight of th popl. Hr, w hav th lâmd prfixd prposition and th word for facs; togthr, thy man in th prsnc of, in th sight of, bfor your fac. Rturn to Chaptr Outlin Rturn to th Chart Indx 8 Crtainly I raliz that v. 7 follows v. 5; howvr, as I will continually point out, is rcalling this yars latr and his mmory arrangs things topically rathr than chronologically.

9 Th Book of 85 God Spaks to Thn Y howah said unto, Th day th this I will bgin to magnify you in [th] ys of all of Isral that thy will know that as I was with Moss, I will b with you. 3:7 Th Jhovah said to, On this day, I will xalt you in th sight of all Isral so that thy will know that I am with you as I was with Moss. God s vocabulary is slightly mor complx than th on mployd by, but not xcdingly so. Whras, was using words ovr and ovr again, God uss words for which thr ar svral connotations or shads of maning. W hav two diffrnt words rndrd that in this vrs: Th Y howah said unto, Th day th this I will bgin to magnify you in [th] ys of all Isral that [rlativ pronoun] thy will know that [th xplanatory conjunction] as which [rlativ pronoun] I was with Moss, I will b with you. Th dal is that God still has to communicat to, so God must us a vocabulary that can grasp, so th vocabulary is not too dissimilar. God s promis to was simpl: God had mad it clar that Moss was His appointd rulr ovr Isral outsid of th land. God had alrady told, No man will b abl to stand bfor you all th days of your lif. Just as I hav bn with Moss, I will b with you. I will not fail you or forsak you. ( 1:5). Similarly, God will mak it clar that is His rulr ovr Isral in th land. On that day, Jhovah xaltd in th sight of all Isral, so thy rvrd him, just as thy had rvrd Moss all th days of his lif ( 4:14). 9 Thim: Exprinc is not th scrt of victory, but grac is. NIV Study Bibl: a prim objctiv for th divin intrvntion at th Jordan was to validat th ladrship of. With a miraculous vn so much lik that of th Rd Sa crossing, s position as th Lord s srvant would b shown to b comparabl to that of 10 Moss. W hav bcom totally confusd about idntifying God s man. In th Old Tstamnt and in th arly church, God stablishd His authority in a man through whom H prformd incrdibl fats and astonishing miracls. Moss, bfor th court of Pharaoh, prformd miracl aftr miracl, idntifying him with God (vn though Pharaoh and his court rjctd Moss as a man from God). Also bfor th popl of Isral, Moss did many incrdibl miracls, albit, not an uncountabl numbr. W ar spaking of roughly a dozn miracls. Furthrmor, ths wr fats which oftn appard miraculous and thr was no doubting that God was bhind thm. And our Lord prformd almost an uncountabl numbr of miracls and stablishd His authority and His link with God th Fathr. What is important hr is that Moss and wr both taking command of a group of vry unruly, hard-hadd Isralits who had to b convincd of vn th most obvious. Thy wr both instrumntal in stablishing th nation Isral. Thrfor, God prformd incrdibl works through thm. Whn our Lord walkd this arth, H had brought th kingdom of God to this arth, to b accptd or rjctd. Through hundrds, if not thousands of miracls, prformd bfor th popl of Isral who had nvr bfor sn such things, H stablishd His Mssiahship. Barns: On caus why th miracl now to b narratd was wrought is hr suggstd. As Moss was dclard to b snt immdiatly from God with an xtraordinary commission by th miracls which h workd, mor spcially that of dividing th Rd Sa in two parts, so was both snt and accrditd in a lik mannr. 11 On th othr hand, w don t s such a thing whn a nw man taks ovr th pulpit somwhr. It would b foolish for th congrgation to look to a nw pastor to s if h could prform incrdibl and unqustionabl miracls. And, although w hav a handful of Satanic miracls which hav occurrd in som churchs, w don t hav any third-party obsrvd and tstd miracls. That is, w don t hav a skptic with an objctiv st of masurs following a modrn halr around haling to vrify his so-calld miraculous powrs. Furthrmor, that is not how w ar to idntify thos who ar of th faith or not. John carfully xplains: Blovd, do not bliv vry spirit, but analyz th spirits to s whthr h is from God, bcaus thr ar many fals prophts gon out into th world. By this you know th Spirit of God: vry spirit that confsss that Jsus Christ has com in R.B. Thim, 1962, lsson #4. Th NIV Study Bibl; 1995 by Th Zondrvan Corporation; p Barns Nots, Bakr Books, 1996; Vol. II, p. 357.

10 Chaptr 3 86 th flsh is from God and vry spirit that dos not confss Jssu is not from God; and this is th spirit of th antichrist, of which you hav hard that h is coming and now it is alrady in th world (I John 4:1 3). No longr do w automatically assum that thos who can prform apparnt miracls ar from God. And thn that lawlss on will b rvald whom th Lord will slay with th brath of His mouth and bring to an nd by th apparanc of His coming th on whos coming is in accord with th activity of Satan, with all powr and signs and fals wondrs and with all th dcption of wickdnss, for thos who prish bcaus thy did not rciv th lov of th truth, so as to b savd (II Thss. 2:8 11). Th ky in th dispnsation of th church is not miracls and signs but doctrin. Blovd, I am not writing a nw commandmnt to you, but an old commandmnt which you hav had from th bginning; th old commandmnt is th word which you hav hard (I John 2:7). In othr words, signs and miraculous wondrs, whthr apparnt or ral, do not indicat that a man is from God th ky is th doctrin. W ar no longr to b childrn, tossd hr and thr by wavs, and carrid about by vry wind of doctrin, by th trickry of mn, by th craftinss of thir schming (Eph. 4:14). Now I urg you, brothrs, to kp your y on thos who caus dissnsions and hindrancs, contrary to th taching which you larnd, and turn away from thm (Rom. 16:17). In pointing out ths things to th brothrs, you will b a good srvant of Christ Jsus, constantly nourishd on th words of th faith and of th sound doctrin which you hav bn following (I Tim. 4:6). And what dos Paul tll th pastor Timothy to do? Dos h tll him to run around th church and slay vryon in th Spirit? Dos Paul tll him to visit th sick? Is Timothy supposd to lay hands on vryon and hal thm and thn prsnt th gospl? Just what is Timothy supposd to do as a pastor? Until I rturn, giv attntion to th xgsis [of Scriptur], to xhortation and to taching. Do not nglct th spiritual gift within you [th gift of pastor-tachr], which was bstowd upon you by mans of prophtic uttranc with th laying on of hands by th ministrs. Tak pains with ths things to b in thm, so that your progrss may b vidnt to all. Pay clos attntion to yourslf and to your taching; prsvr in ths things; for as you do this, you will insur salvation both for yourslf and for thos who har you (I Tim. 4:13 16). To th pastor, Titus, Paul wrot: But, as for you, spak th things which ar fitting for sound doctrin...in all things, show yourslf to b an xampl of good dds, with purity in doctrin, dignifid, sound in spch which is byond rproach, in ordr that th opponnt may b put to sham, having nothing bad to say about us (Titus 2:1, 7 8). Latr, w will mov into th book of Judgs, w will s that God s man is chosn, but it is not as clar-cut as Moss and. And you [vn] you will command th prists, barrs of [th] ark of th covnant, to say, As you com upon watrs of th Jordan, by th Jordan, you will rmain [standing still]. 3:8 And you will spcifically command th prists, thos carrying th ark of th covnant, saying, Whn you com to th watrs of th Jordan, you will halt at th Jordan. Th prists ar thos who rprsnt man to God. Having any sort of rulrship ovr th prists is a grat rsponsibility. God duplicatd two major signs to th two gnrations of Isral. Whn thy wr thirsty, God gav both gnrations watr from a rock; and whn thy stood at th brink of a rivr that thy ndd to cross, God partd th watrs for thm. Th first word in th quotation from to th prists will b th prposition kaph or k ( ) [pronouncd k ], which mans lik, as, according to. No Strong s # BDB #453. Th final vrb is th Qal imprfct of âmad ( ) [pronouncd aw-mahd], which mans to tak a stand, to stand, to rmain, to ndur. Strong's #5975 BDB #763. Th Isralits would b dlivrd by standing still. Thr ar a lot of church groups that mphasiz doing things but a grat dal of lif is sitting back and ltting God do th work. How do you know whn you should act and whn you should stand back? That coms through doctrin. Th prist play a most important plac in th guidanc of Isral. Th first popl across th Jordan will not b s most crack division, but it will b th spiritual ladrs, th prists. God first ss th prists and thn allows vryon ls across. It is th spiritual ladrship who should lad us, not our political ladrs. And don t bcom confusd I am not calling for Christians in politics, for Christians to hold political offic, or for Christians to bcom intnsly politically involvd or anything lik that; nor am I saying that it is incorrct to bcom politically involvd. Your ladrship should b thos who impart to you spiritual information). instructd his popl to follow thir spiritual ladrs not th political ladrs of Isral.

11 Th Book of 87 So hr w hav th prists standing with thir ft in th watr, holding aloft th ark of God. J. Vrnon McG dscribs th Jordan thus: Th Jordan is a quit littl stram in th summrtim, but it is a rushing torrnt during 12 th rainy sason. Th popl ar watching from afar, thos who can s (which is going to b svral thousand). Thy obsrv th prists with thir ft in th watr and th watr is raging across. Whr th prists ar standing, anyon could stand upright, but that is on th astrn shor; a fw mor ft furthr in, and no on could ford th rivr xcpt by swimming. And God has mad it clar that thy ar going to walk across with thir familis and thir animals. Rturn to Chaptr Outlin Rturn to th Chart Indx Dscribs What Will Happn to th Popl So said unto sons of Isral, Com hr and har words of Y howah your God. 3:9 So said to th sons of Isral, Com narr and har th words of Jhovah your God. rturns to a simplr vocabulary, bginning with th Qal imprativ of nâgash ( ) [pronouncd naw- GASH] which mans com nar, draw nar, approach, com hithr. Th prists ar to com nar. Strong's #5066 BDB #620. Th accompanying advrb is hênnâh ( ) [pronouncd HAYN-naw], which mans hithr, hr. Strong s #2008 BDB #244. Both vrbs in this vrs ar in th imprativ. This should b th call of vry pastor to his congrgation: Com nar and har th words of Jhovah your God. Thn said, In this you will know that a God of living [is] in your midst; and [in] a dispossssion, H will dispossss from bfor your facs th Canaanits, and th Hittits, and th Hivits, and th Prizzits, and th Girgashits, and th Amorits, and th Jbusits. 3:10 Thn told thm, This is how you will know that th Living God is among you: right bfor your vry facs H will without fail dispossss th Canaanits, th Hittits, th Hivits, th Prizzits, th Girgashits, th Amorits and th Jbusits. th first thing that says is th bêyth prposition and th dmonstrativ fminin singular adjctiv zh ( ) [pronouncd zh], which mans hr, this. Strong's #2063, 2088, 2090 BDB #260. Togthr, thy man in this [plac], hr, with this, on ths conditions, hrwith, thus providd, by this, through this, for this caus, in this mannr. Thn w hav that oft-rpatd phras in th Grk and Hbrw: you will know. God providd us with a lush and rich Word for a rason. If all w ndd to know was four spiritual laws, thn th Bibl would hav bn a pag thick. Th nxt phras is litrally a God of living; w would bttr undrstand this as a living God. Th popls of th land of Canaan had gods; but thy wr gods which had bn cratd by man s hands. Th Living God is thn said to b in your midst. NIV Study Bibl: Th mannr by which God is about to bring Isral across th Jordan Rivr, th watry boundary of th promisd land, will bring assuranc that th on tru God is with thm and that h will surly dislodg th prsnt inhabitants of Canaan. Two fundamntal issus ar at stak: 1. who is th tru and mighty God th God of Isral or th god on whom th Canaanits dpnd (Baal, who was blivd to rign as king among th gods bcaus h had triumphd ovr th sa-god)? By opning th way through th floodd Jordan th Lord would show both Isral and th Canaanits that h is Lord ovr th watrs (as h was at th "Rd Sa," at th flood and at cration) and that h is abl to stablish his own ordr in th world...2. Who has th rightful claim to th land th Lord or th Canaanits?..By passing safly through th Jordan at th had of his army th Lord showd th rightnss of his claim on th land. In th ancint Nar East a common way for obtaining th judicial vrdict of th gods was 12 J. Vrnon McG, Judgs, h1976 by Thru th Bibl Books; p. 39.

12 Chaptr 3 88 by complling th accusd to submit to trial by watr ordal. Usually this involvd casting him into a rivr (if th accusd drownd, th gods had found him guilty; if not, th gods had dclard him innocnt). In Isral, howvr, anothr form of watr ordal was practicd (s Nu. 5:16 28). Significantly, th Lord would ntr th Jordan first and thn rmain thr until his whol army had crossd safly ovr. Thus his claim to th land was vindicatd bfor th ys of all who hard about it. And it was his claim, not Isral's; sh cam through th Jordan only with him and as his army, "baptizd" to his srvic. 13 W find th God of Isral rfrrd to as th Living God throughout Scriptur. For who is thr of all flsh, who has hard th voic of th living God spaking from th midst of th fir and livd? (Dut. 5:26). Whn tauntd Isral, daring any man to battl him alon, said, What will b don for th man who kills this Philistin, and taks away th rproach from Isral? For who is this uncircumcisd Philistin, that h should taunt th armis of th living God? (I Sam. 17:26b). Jhovah livs and blssd by my Rock; and xaltd b th God of my salvation; th God Who xcuts vnganc for m, and subdus popls undr m (Psalm 18:46 47). But Jhovah is th tru God; H is th living God and th Evrlasting King; at His wrath th arth quaks and th nations cannot ndur His indignation (Isa. 10:10). Darius, th king ovr Prsia, said, I will mak a dcr that in all th dominion of my kingdom mn ar to far and trmbl bfor th God of Danil; For H is th living God and ndurs forvr, and His kingdom is on which will not b dstroyd. And His dominion is forvr. (Dan. 6:26). Rcall Simon Ptr's confssion of faith to our Lord: And Simon Ptr answrd and said, You ar th Mssiah, th Son of th Living God. (Matt. 16:16). For thy thmslvs rport about us what kind of a rcption w had with you, and how you turnd to God from idols to srv a living and tru God (I Thss. 1:9; s also I Sam. 17:36 I Kings 19:4, 16 Psalm 42:2 84:2 Isa. 37:4 Jr. 23:36 Hosa 1:10). Evry nation had a national god, if not svral, and th libral thought thn, as h dos today, that on nation god was no diffrnt than any othr national god. Th consrvativ, of cours, hld to th god of his country. God chos to r-ntr history as a God of a particular popl, bginning with on man, Abraham, and rmaining with him until Abraham bcam a grat nation. Th Living God was (and is) th God of Isral. H is distinguishd from th othr gods inasmuch as H is Aliv and th Tru God of th Univrs; H is th Crator of th Earth and th Givr of Lif to all mankind. Evry othr national god was built of ston or wood and had no mor powr than th matrials out of which h was mad. Th national gods ar dad idols. Th othr national gods wr th cration of man's hands, and not vic vrsa. Crtainly, bhind ach man-cratd god thr stood a dmon, if not svral dmons but thy stand convictd and dstind to b thrown into th Lak of Fir forvr and vr. So thy ar dad gods walking. Th nxt coupl of vrbs ar actually modratly difficult. Lt s look at a fw rndrings hr: Th Amplifid Bibl Th Emphasizd Bibl NASB NKJV Young's Lit. Translation...and that H will surly driv out from bfor you......and that h will crtainly dispossss from bfor you......and that H will assurdly dispossss from bfor you......and that H will without fail driv out from bfor you......and H doth crtainly dispossss from bfor you... W bgin this phras with th wâw conjunction and thn th Hiphil infinitiv absolut of yârash ( ) [pronouncd yaw-rahsh] mans to possss, to tak possssion of, to occupy [all] gographical ara by driving out th prvious occupants], to inhrit, to dispossss. Strong s #3423 BDB #439. Th Hiphil infinitiv absolut prsnts a vrb in th activ voic with causativ action, usd as a vrbal noun, gnrally usd as a complmnt of rd affirmation. This is followd by th 3 prson, masculin singular Hiphil imprfct of th sam vrb. Whn two vrbs ar strung togthr lik this, it indicats crtain futur action. Th Canaanits wr dscndants of Canaan, th son of Ham, th grandson of Noah. Noah had vn cursd him (Gn. 9:18, 22 27). From Canaan, w hav th tribs of th Hittits, th Jbusits, th Amorits, th Girgashits, and th Hivits (Gn. 10:15 19). Th Hittits wr dscndants of Hth, a son of Canaan (Gn. 10:15). Thir mpir was gnrally north of Canaan, but apparntly som of thm had sttld in th cntral portion of th land. Th Hivits, also dscndants of Canaan, appar to hav livd in th hill country of Lbanon 13 Th NIV Study Bibl; 1995 by Th Zondrvan Corporation; p. 292.

13 Th Book of 89 (Gn. 10:17 Judgs 3:3). It is possibl that ths ar th sam popl as th Horits. W appar to know th last about th Prizzits, who ar probably not a branch of th Canaanits. Thy appar to b hill-dwllrs. W also know vry littl about th Girgashits, although thy sm to b wll-attstd to in xtra-biblical sourcs (.g., th N Canaanit Ugait from th 14th-13th cnturis BC). Th Amorits livs on both sids of th Jordan in th hill country and wr, for awhil, allid with Abraham. Ths wr a dsrt popl who wr not acquaintd with lif in th city, houss, govrnmnt. For that rason, thy tndd to b antinomian. Th Isralits had alrady rd dfatd two Amorit kings, Sihon of Hshbon and Og of Bashan. Th Jbusits ar dscndd from th 3 son of Canaan and dwlt in th hill country around Jrusalm. 14 This was first prophsid arly on soon aftr th Isralits lft Egypt: And I will snd an angl bfor you and I will driv out th Canaanit, th Amorit, th Hittit, th Prizzit, th Hivit and th Jbusit. (Ex. 33:2). In Paul s first rcordd spch during his first missionary journy, h spok of th conqust of Canaan: And whn H had dstroyd svn nations in th land of Canaan, H distributd thir land as an inhritanc about 450 yars. And aftr ths things, H gav judgs until Samul th propht. (Acts 13:19 20). Bhold, [th] ark of th covnant a Lord [or, sovrign] of all th arth passing ovr bfor your facs up to [or, into] th Jordan. 3:11 "Look, th ark of th covnant; th Lord of all th arth passing bfor you up into th Jordan Rivr. Covnant is not in th construct, so I did not rndr this as covnant of th Lord as did Young, Rothrham, th NASB and most vryon ls. Howvr, according to Own and Zodhiats, w do not hav a construct hr. Th word Lord is th masculin substantiv âdôwn ( ) [pronouncd aw-dohn], which is th word w know as adonai (whn this word has a first prson singular suffix, it is dônây ( ) [pronouncd ah-doh-ni ]). It mans lord, mastr, ownr, suprior, sovrign. It is a word usd of both man and God; and hr of God. Strong s #113 BDB #10. H is sovrign ovr all th rts ( ) [pronouncd EH-rts], which mans arth (all or a portion), land, ground, rgion. In this contxt, it would b Lord of th arth. Strong's #776 BDB #75 (cp Strong s #127 BDB #9). Th God of Isral is many tims rfrrd to as God ovr all th arth. Now thn, if you will indd oby My voic and kp My covnant, thn you will b My own possssion among all th popls, for all th arth is Min. (Ex. 19:5). Listn, to Jhovah your God blongs havn and th highst havns, th arth, and all that is in it. (Dut. 10:14). Th ark of th covnant is associatd so closly with God, that it rprsnts God, not as an idol to b worshipd, but as a thing which commands grat rspct. As w will rcall, in our study of th ark of th covnant, that it rprsnts our Lord Jsus Christ and His dath on our bhalf. No act undr havn dsrvs mor rspct. W ar compltly undsrving of such lov. Thr is a play on words hr which w miss ntirly. Th word for Lord (or, sovrign) is âdôwn ( ) [pronouncd aw-dohn] and th word for ark is rôwn ( ) [pronouncd uh-rohn]. Strong s #727 BDB #75. This is not som clavr play on word which has thought up; it was st up that way from ags past. Aftr passing ovr bfor your facs, w hav th bêyth prposition; b ( ) [pronouncd b' ], and it dnots proximity. It is translatd in, among, into, against, with, at, through, by. It is brokn down by Gsnius into four th gnral classs, th 4 rfrring to motion to a plac; hr, it mans to, unto, upon, up to. Th qustion on might ask is how is this diffrnt from l? El dnots th action of movmnt to a plac, or toward a plac; bêyth indicats that w hav arrivd or that w hav not arrivd; w hav rachd th nd and that is whr w ar. No Strong s # BDB #88. Kil and Dlitzsch: Th xprssion passth ovr bfor you into Jordan, is mor prcisly xplaind in th cours of th narrativ: th ark of th covnant wnt (was carrid) bfor th popl 14 Most of this information cam from Th Nw Bibl Dictionary; ditd by J.D. Douglas; 1962 by th Intr-Varsity Fllowship; Pub. By Erdmans Publishing Co.; contributor. Th NIV Study Bibl has svral rfrncs at this point as wll.