I actually wanted to save thing for another occasion, but it's just too tempting to reveal the answer. Why? Because it is just so intrigueing. Anyway, I gurantee, I WILL NOT ask you any questions of this nature during the Bible Quiz. It's just reading too deep into the Bible, but there is a lesson to draw from it and that lessons is patience.
I asked, "When Joshua and the Israelites crossed the Jordan, how long did it take for the waters to recede?". Technically, the waters did recede immediately. But it not seem that way to the Israelites, in fact something quite the opposite happened. So a better question is perhaps, "How did it seem to take for the Israelites for the waters to recede?"To fully appreciate the answer, let's look at the context, in Exodus as well as the situation the Israelites faced.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided. - Exodus 14:21
As you can see, even in Exodus, the waters did not recede immediately (a la Prince of Egypt or Ten Commandments). It took all night, but nonetheless, it sounds like a spectacular sight and it took place in front of the Israelites. While the water did not receded immediately, the Israelites could certainly see the action at work immediately! And that imagery has been stuck in our heads, and hence when we think of Joshua, we think that the same thing happened! I did too, till it was pointed out to me at Go4th that is was far different from that!
Let's go to the main text; Joshua chapter 3. I will only quote selected verses, but I would prefer if you read the whole chapter
So when the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant before the people, and when those who carried the ark came into the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest), the waters which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap, a great distance away at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those which were flowing down toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. So the people crossed opposite Jericho. - Joshua 3:14-16
I believe that this is the passage which most of you read when I posed the question this afternoon. Well the answer IS in the above passage, but it implicit rather than explicit. Read it carefully.
The Jordan is usually quite easy to cross, it is only a few feet deep at most points. But this was the flooding season (verse 15) and it was dangerous to cross.
Next, where exactly did the waters stop flowing? Immediately in front of the Iraelites? Nope! The waters were cut off "a great distance away at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan".
Where were the Israelites at? It is logical to expect the Israelites to cross the Jordan at Jericho. And the city Adam, while it's location is not exactly known, the location of Zarethan is. The speaker at Go4th estimated it to be about 12 miles away. So, this "great distance" translates into about 12 miles. (Some sources on the internet say between 16 to 20 miles in fact!)
So, by reading the text directly, we know that the situation was very different from Moses' time. It wasn't spectacular; the water stopped way out of sight of the Israelites. So when the priests stepped into the Jordan, it seemed to the Israelites that nothing happened. But something did, just that they could not see it.
So how long did the priests have to stand in the water while carrying the ark? That would answer the quesion wouldn't it? For that we need a little general knowledge.
How long they stood in the water would depend on how fast the water would flow in a river of it's size during flooding season. I couldn't find an article on flooding patterns in the Jordan, but according to the speaker at Go4th, (who was a naval officer before) a good and fast current speed would have been about 4 knots. Which is slightly over 4 miles. Now do your maths.
12 miles is the distance, 4 miles per hour is the speed. That translates into roughly 3 hours. That's how long the priests had to stand in the Jordan before they finally saw the waters recede; and only after that would they cross the Jordan. Amazing isn't it?
PS: Actually, I have some links to some article to verify some of the above points, but due to my lack of HTML knowledge, I've given up trying to post them. If you want them, just go to google.com and search of "jordan flooding" or something like that.
