Deuteronomy 3
Joshua 3 describes Israel crossing the Jordan River into the land. The chapter includes preparation at the river (verses 1–6), God's confirmation of Joshua's leadership and promise concerning the waters (verses 7–13), and the actual crossing on dry ground while the priests stand with the ark in the riverbed (verses 14–17).
1verseThen we turned, and went up the way to Bashan. Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.
2verseThe LORD said to me, “Don’t fear him; for I have delivered him, with all his people and his land, into your hand. You shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.”
3verseSo the LORD our God also delivered into our hand Og, the king of Bashan, and all his people. We struck him until no one was left to him remaining.
4verseWe took all his cities at that time. There was not a city which we didn’t take from them: sixty cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.
5verseAll these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, in addition to a great many villages without walls.
6verseWe utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying every inhabited city, with the women and the little ones.
7verseBut all the livestock, and the plunder of the cities, we took for plunder for ourselves.
8verseWe took the land at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon.
9verse(The Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir.)
10verseWe took all the cities of the plain, and all Gilead, and all Bashan, to Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.
11verse(For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron. Isn’t it in Rabbah of the children of Ammon? Nine cubits was its length, and four cubits its width, after the cubit of a man.)
12verseThis land we took in possession at that time: from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, and half the hill country of Gilead with its cities, I gave to the Reubenites and to the Gadites;
13verseand the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh—all the region of Argob, even all Bashan. (The same is called the land of Rephaim.
14verseJair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob, to the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and called them, even Bashan, after his own name, Havvoth Jair, to this day.)
15verseI gave Gilead to Machir.
16verseTo the Reubenites and to the Gadites I gave from Gilead even to the valley of the Arnon, the middle of the valley, and its border, even to the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon;
17versethe Arabah also, and the Jordan and its border, from Chinnereth even to the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah eastward.
18verseI commanded you at that time, saying, “The LORD your God has given you this land to possess it. All of you men of valor shall pass over armed before your brothers, the children of Israel.
19verseBut your wives, and your little ones, and your livestock, (I know that you have much livestock), shall live in your cities which I have given you,
20verseuntil the LORD gives rest to your brothers, as to you, and they also possess the land which the LORD your God gives them beyond the Jordan. Then you shall each return to his own possession, which I have given you.”
21verseI commanded Joshua at that time, saying, “Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings. So shall the LORD do to all the kingdoms where you go over.
22verseYou shall not fear them; for the LORD your God himself fights for you.”
23verseI begged GOD at that time, saying,
24verse“Lord GOD, you have begun to show your servant your greatness, and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or in earth that can do works like yours, and mighty acts like yours?
25versePlease let me go over and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that fine mountain, and Lebanon.”
26verseBut the LORD was angry with me because of you, and didn’t listen to me. The LORD said to me, “That is enough! Speak no more to me of this matter.
27verseGo up to the top of Pisgah, and lift up your eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and see with your eyes; for you shall not go over this Jordan.
28verseBut commission Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you shall see.”
29verseSo we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.
Following the Ark of the Covenant
The people are instructed to follow the ark, which represents the LORD's presence and covenant. They are also told to keep proper distance from it. The emphasis is that the people do not enter the land by their own direction alone; they follow God's presence ahead of them.
The Jordan Crossing
The Jordan is overflowing its banks during harvest season, yet when the priests carrying the ark step into the water, the river stops flowing and the people cross on dry ground. The event confirms Joshua's leadership and recalls the earlier crossing of the sea in the exodus story.
Points for Reflection
- What does it mean for the ark to go before the people?
- How does obedience appear before the path is fully visible?
- How do remembered acts of deliverance strengthen trust in a new generation?
Try Applying It to Yourself
- When facing an obstacle, reflect on what faithful preparation and the first step of obedience might look like.
- Consider how past guidance can help you trust through present uncertainty.
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