Joshua 3:1-17
1 And 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.
2 And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;
3 And 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.
4 Yet 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.a
5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you.
6 And 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.
7 And 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.
8 And 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.
9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God.
10 And 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.
11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.
12 Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.
13 And 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.
14 And 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;
15 And 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,)
16 That 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.
17 And 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.
The text does not tell us why Joshua broke camp at Shittim, not more than 6 miles from Jordan, to move closer to the river. Some suggest it was to impress upon the people the fact that they could not cross the river without God's help (Joshua 3:1).
The people were instructed to follow the priests of Levi as they carried the ark of the covenant. Ordinarily, the Kohathites would carry the vessels of the sanctuary after Aaron and his sons had finished covering the sanctuary and its vessels (Numbers 4:15; Numbers 4:17-20). They had strict orders not to touch any of the holy things or they would die. On this and several other special occasions, the priests themselves bore the ark. This may signify the importance of the role of the priests and underscore God's presence with the people (Joshua 3:2-3).
The people were to stay some two thousand cubits, or about 3,000 feet, away from the ark. They were to follow the ark because they had never been where they were going. Rules of sanctification had already been issued by God and involved washing garments and abstaining from acts that would make one unclean (Exodus 29:1-46). Thus, we could say the people only crossed the river by God's power but they were still required to do something to prepare themselves in accord with his desire (Joshua 3:4-6).
God told Joshua to tell the people exactly what would happen so they would know he was their approved leader. The water did not stand in a heap until the soles of the feet of the priests touched the water. That such a great rushing river ceased to flow at precisely the right moment and did not flow again until all the people had crossed is absolute proof there is a God in heaven and he was fighting for Israel (Joshua 3:7-17).
Before the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had fully passed through the river's bed, Joshua, in accord with God's instructions, had one man from each of the twelve tribes go and pick up a stone to be used in building a memorial. Joshua also erected a twelve stone memorial in the midst of the river in the very place the priests had stood.