JOSH. 3:5
"And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you. "
A short recap on the background. Moses has recently died as was promised by God that he would see, but not enter the promised land due to disobedience(Num. 20: 8-12; Dt. 34:1-4). The nation of Israel is about to enter the promise land with Joshua as their leader. However, the Jordan river is between them and it. On the other side of the Jordan is the city of Jericho which would have to be captured if the Jews were to advance into the land.
The Hebrew word translated "sanctify" {qadash} is translated many times to many different words: purify, prepare, to be holier, hallowed, consecrate, and others. It applies to God doing the act as well as men. Here it is the
people which must do the sanctifying. It is themselves which they must sacntify(Lev. 20:7; 1 Sam. 16:5). They must cleanse, purge, set themselves apart for what God is about to do. This included washing of clothes. This also
included abstaining from sex that day and night. Clothes had to be free from not only bodily fluids, but also of the dust from the journying period. The Jews were about to enter their land and no longer wander. They were not allowed to have any part of the past journeys on them. Sex was not allowed because fluids from others could be a temporary defilement, which for the man, lasts 7 days. Lev. 15 talks about fluid from the man making him unclean. This could refer to a disease such as gonorrhea as translated in the LXX (Lev. 15:4 running issue) or semenal flow in general. See Ex. 19:10-15 for more. God was on a time schedule and they had to be clean by the morning.
In Jn. 17:19, we hear Jesus (in the real Lord's prayer) say "And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth." Jesus here is not speaking about a self cleansing-He had never been defiled. Rather, here, the idea is of Him setting Himself apart and revealing His Supreme Holiness. More on that in a later study.
In the latter part of Josh. 3:5 we read "...for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you." In Ex. 19:10, we see the Jews being told to sanctify themselves for 2 days and on the 3rd, the LORD would appear to them on a
mountain top! Which He did and gave them the Ten Commandments.
The Jews did not know what the LORD would do here at the edge of the Jordan. None of the men of war which were alive when God Parted the Red sea, were still alive(Josh. 5:4-6). Countless others were alive and presumably passed the account down to those who were born during the wilderness years. They all knew the story. Would God do it again, or did He have something else up His sleeve?
In Ex. 20, after their sanctification, God gave them their law. In Josh. 3, after thier sanctification, He gave them their land.
Our application can be seen as this. If during your reading, studying, praying, etc., you hear God telling you to sanctify yourself, GET READY! A miracle is on the way! The Jordan which is front of you, is about to be parted!
The obstacle is being removed! You will be able to go forward in what He has promised you! It is an obstacle that only He can remove. He wants it that way! He wants and should get all the credit for your success.
"And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you. "
A short recap on the background. Moses has recently died as was promised by God that he would see, but not enter the promised land due to disobedience(Num. 20: 8-12; Dt. 34:1-4). The nation of Israel is about to enter the promise land with Joshua as their leader. However, the Jordan river is between them and it. On the other side of the Jordan is the city of Jericho which would have to be captured if the Jews were to advance into the land.
The Hebrew word translated "sanctify" {qadash} is translated many times to many different words: purify, prepare, to be holier, hallowed, consecrate, and others. It applies to God doing the act as well as men. Here it is the
people which must do the sanctifying. It is themselves which they must sacntify(Lev. 20:7; 1 Sam. 16:5). They must cleanse, purge, set themselves apart for what God is about to do. This included washing of clothes. This also
included abstaining from sex that day and night. Clothes had to be free from not only bodily fluids, but also of the dust from the journying period. The Jews were about to enter their land and no longer wander. They were not allowed to have any part of the past journeys on them. Sex was not allowed because fluids from others could be a temporary defilement, which for the man, lasts 7 days. Lev. 15 talks about fluid from the man making him unclean. This could refer to a disease such as gonorrhea as translated in the LXX (Lev. 15:4 running issue) or semenal flow in general. See Ex. 19:10-15 for more. God was on a time schedule and they had to be clean by the morning.
In Jn. 17:19, we hear Jesus (in the real Lord's prayer) say "And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth." Jesus here is not speaking about a self cleansing-He had never been defiled. Rather, here, the idea is of Him setting Himself apart and revealing His Supreme Holiness. More on that in a later study.
In the latter part of Josh. 3:5 we read "...for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you." In Ex. 19:10, we see the Jews being told to sanctify themselves for 2 days and on the 3rd, the LORD would appear to them on a
mountain top! Which He did and gave them the Ten Commandments.
The Jews did not know what the LORD would do here at the edge of the Jordan. None of the men of war which were alive when God Parted the Red sea, were still alive(Josh. 5:4-6). Countless others were alive and presumably passed the account down to those who were born during the wilderness years. They all knew the story. Would God do it again, or did He have something else up His sleeve?
In Ex. 20, after their sanctification, God gave them their law. In Josh. 3, after thier sanctification, He gave them their land.
Our application can be seen as this. If during your reading, studying, praying, etc., you hear God telling you to sanctify yourself, GET READY! A miracle is on the way! The Jordan which is front of you, is about to be parted!
The obstacle is being removed! You will be able to go forward in what He has promised you! It is an obstacle that only He can remove. He wants it that way! He wants and should get all the credit for your success.
