Joshua 3:14Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Joshua halted the current of the Jordan River, but this cessation only persisted while the ark of the covenant was immersed in the waters. Once the people had traversed and the ark was lifted from the river, the waters returned to their usual course. In the case of the Red Sea, its depths lay bare as the wind divided the waters; however, this miraculous event continued only until the army had crossed over on dry ground. Subsequently, the waters reunited, and what had been separated for a brief moment became whole once more. The significance of this occurrence remains unaltered by the passage of time, continually affirmed by the evidence of its lasting impact.

This reflection contemplates Jesus as a leader and his passage across the Jordan, as well as his unique circumcision with flint knives. Jesus, the faithful successor of Moses, is difficult to fully describe due to the richness of his ministry. He recognized the people who, after Moses' death on the mountain, faced numerous exhortations to piety during their time in the wilderness. He purified them through an unusual circumcision with flint knives and miraculously parted the Jordan as the divine ark was presented. He brought the entire nation across dry land, symbolically pointing to the Savior's Word—revealed typologically by him—following the conclusion of the written law.

These are the deeds of Jesus, who was known as the Lord: he was the commander of the Jordan River, which ceased its flow, and he contained the waters as though the Almighty were an ark preceding him. An unfamiliar force separated the waters: some froze and retreated, while others rushed toward the sea, leaving the riverbed parched; where the waters once roared, they rose up, surging with powerful waves, immense torrents of water, that trembled and leaned down from above onto the feet of those walking on the dry riverbed, marking the ground with dusty footprints in the hardened clay.