Joshua got up early the next day and moved the camp to the Jordan River. They camped by the river for three days.

Then the leaders went through the camp and told the people, when you see the priests carrying God’s ark of the covenant, then follow them staying far back so you can always see it.

Joshua said, Get ready everyone for tomorrow the Lord God will do special wonders for you.

The Lord told Joshua, Today I will make you very high in the eyes of the people so that they will know that I will be with you like I was with Moses.

Then Joshua told the people, Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. By this you will know that the living God is with you and that He will drive out all those who follow the bad ones before you.

The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth goes before you across the Jordan River. When the priests who carry the ark stand still in the river, God will stop the waters and they will pile up and you will walk across the river on dry ground.

And that’s what happened. As soon as the feet of the priests touched the water, the water stopped and piled up for many miles backward and the people didn't have to swim or take boats across the river. They walked across the river on dry ground. The priest stood still in the middle of the river on dry ground until all the people had crossed  over the Jordan River.

When the people were across, Joshua had 12 men, one from each first family of Israel, go to where the priests were standing and take 12 large rocks, all smooth from the waters, and carry them on their shoulders to set up in the place they camped that night.

And Joshua put 12 stones in the middle of the Jordan where the priest feet stood.

When everything was done, the priests walked out of the dry riverbed and the waters gently began flowing again until the pile of waters was all gone back like it was before.

Because of all God’s power that He showed, the people were afraid of Joshua from that day on and obeyed everything he said.

Joshua put the 12 stones from the Jordan River in the camp that night and said to the people, When your children ask, What do these stone mean? Tell them: The Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before us like He dried up the waters of the Red Sea until we were across so that all the people of the world will know how strong our God is and honor Him forever.

When the kings in God’s special land heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan River so that the children of Israel could cross over, their hearts melted and they had no strength to fight left in them.

At that time the Lord God told Joshua to do the special sign of dedicating the men’s bodies to Him, because this was a new generation of men. All the men who had come out of Egypt died in the wilderness because they didn’t believe God though He showed them so many things to help them believe.

It was also time for a Passover ceremony on the 14^th day of month, in the evening. The next day they ate the grain of the special land and God stopped raining the angel’s bread from heaven for them to eat.

When Joshua was looking around Jericho, the first city that the children of Israel were going to conquer, he saw a man standing there with a sword drawn in His hand.

Joshua said, Are you for us or an enemy? No, the

man answered. I am captain, I am in charge of the Lord’s army.

When Joshua heard this he fell flat on his face and held God high in his heart. Then Joshua said, What do you tell me to do?

The man said, Take your shoes off your feet. The place you are standing is holy. Then Joshua knew that this man was God standing there with him.

At Jericho, the gates of the city were locked and no one went in or out of the city because they were scared of the children of Israel. The Lord said to Joshua, I have given this city into your hand, its king and its warriors.

God told Joshua to have Israel’s warriors march around the outside walls of Jericho once a day for seven days. Don’t let the people say a word or make any sound. Only let the priests blow seven trumpets as you march around and let God’s throne, the Ark of the Covenant, follow the priests.

So Joshua did this for seven days. On the last day God had them march around the city seven times. Then all the warriors shouted real loud. When they shouted, the walls of Jericho fell down flat and the soldiers marched in and took the city.

God told them to take nothing from the city except the metals, the gold and silver and bronze and iron to put in God’s treasure. Everything else in the city was cursed because the people were so deep in the bad one.

After they were done, Joshua put a curse on the city that no one should ever build it again.

If people do what God says, their life is happy and good because what God says keeps out the bad ones and their bad stuff.