Lesson 24. Joshua & Crossing the Jordan
Bible Story
This Week's Scripture
Story Summary Below is an overview of the Bible story from this week
When Moses died, Joshua became the leader of the Israelites. In Joshua 1, God reaffirmed his promises to give the promised land to the Israelites. God told Joshua to be strong and brave three times between verses 6 through 9 just in chapter 1 of Joshua. God promised to be with Joshua, as He was with Moses.
In chapter 3, Joshua began to rally the Israelites to get prepared to cross the Jordan river and into the promised land. The Israelites approached the Jordan river and then set up camp there. The priests prepared the Ark of the Covenant to be carried into the Jordan river. Remember that the Ark of the Covenant was created by Moses under instruction from God. They placed the 2nd set of stone tablets that had the 10 Commandments written on them into the Ark of the Covenant (anyone remember what happened to the 1st set of stone tablets?).
Joshua told the people that they need to watch for the Ark of the Covenant, and when they see it pass by, to follow along, but not too close (about 1000 ft behind). So the priests picked up the Ark of the Covenant and carried it into the Jordan River. As they entered the river, the water began to pile upstream so that it stopped flowing. The priests were standing in the middle of the river on dry ground!
Joshua chose 12 men - one from each of the 12 tribes of Israel - to gather a stone from the middle of the river and carry it across. Joshua wanted a physical reminder of where they had been, so he piled up the stones as a monument to this very important event. He told the Israelites to tell the story of how God led them across the river on dry ground to all of their children when they asked about that pile of stones.
After the men gathered the 12 stones and all of the Israelites had crossed the river, Joshua ordered the priests to finish carrying the Ark of the Covenant across the river. As soon as they stepped onto the river's bank, the water began to flow again.
Videos
Resource Sheet
During the Week
Comprehension Questions you can ask your child these questions to see how much of the story they remember
- What river did the Israelites cross to go into the promised land?
- The Jordan River
- What city was across the river?
- Jericho
- What did the priests carry into the river?
- The Ark of the Covenant
- What was in the Ark of the Covenant?
- The 2nd set of stone tablets that had the 10 Commandments written on them
- What happened to the first set of stone tablets?
- Moses broke them in anger when he came down the mountain to the Israelites worshipping the golden calf
- What happened when the priests stepped into the water?
- It stopped flowing and they stood on dry ground
- What did Joshua order 12 men to pick up from the river?
- 12 stones
- Why did he want them to pick up the 12 stones
- So they could have a physical reminder of when they crossed the river on dry ground
- Who were the 12 tribes of Israel?
- The descendants of the sons of Jacob
- This was the 2nd time the Israelites crossed a body of water on dry ground as they were leaving Egypt. What was the first?
- When the crossed the Red Sea fleeing Pharaoh and the Egyptian army
Faith Questions help them apply the story to their lives and open up a conversation about faith and the gospel
- We've talked a lot today about important events in our lives and how we should remember them.
- Do you remember when God saved you?