Joshua 3:2-3

"And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the midst of the camp; and they commanded the people, When ye see the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it."

The chronology of the narrative here follows no stereotyped pattern. "There can be no reasonable doubt that the spies had returned before the order given in Joshua 1:10, and there is no need to suppose that each separate act was enjoined at the moment when the necessity for the injunction came."[11] The order for the people to follow the ark of the covenant, given here in preparation for the march, would not be obeyed until some time later. It seems to be mentioned here because of the supreme importance of the truth typified by it, namely, that only by following Divine instructions could the crossing be executed. Commenting on the symbolism of following the ark, Matthew Henry remarked that, Christians should follow their pastors, only as far as the pastors were holding up the Word of God. They (Israel) must follow the priests as far as they carried the ark, but no further; so we must follow our ministers only as they follow Christ."[12]

This crossing of the Jordan would be, for Israel, AN EXTREME ACT OF FAITH. It was one thing to follow God's Word into the Red Sea, for their facing the vengeful armies of Pharaoh was the only alternative for not doing so, but here, they would cross into hostile country to face fortified cities with no immediate hope of retreat on their part. There would be armies with chariots and fighting unto the death. "Here a whole nation took the step to hazard their lives in total commitment to the Lord![13] It was a tough generation indeed that followed Joshua into Canaan. They were accustomed to hardship. They were a lean, hardened, and determined group of people, disciplined to face and overcome any hardship. What a contrast with their status 40 years earlier!

"The priests the Levites ..." The mention of Levitical priests here was not, as some have supposed, to distinguish between the Levitical priests and other priests who were not Levites. "It was not until much later, in the times of Jeroboam, that non-Levites were made priests."[14] The most likely reason for the Levitical priests, and not the Kohathites, being commissioned here to carry the ark (contrary to the normal pattern which assigned the task to the Kohathites), appears to be, as Plummer said, "That it was to emphasize the position of Levi as the sacerdotal tribe, having no part in the war ... This expression occurs forty-five times in the O.T. with the meaning that the priests are from the tribe of Levi."[15] There were a number of other "special occasions" upon which the priests replaced the Kohathites as bearers of the ark. Adam Clarke listed these examples: (1) when they compassed Jericho; (2) when they took it to war against the Philistines (2 Samuel 15:25); (3) when David sent it back to Jerusalem; and (4) when it was taken out of the tabernacle to be deposited in the temple (1 Kings 8:6-11).[16]