Joshua 3 describes how Israel crossed the flooded Jordan River into the promised land, with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant ahead of the people and the waters stopping at their feet. These questions are for small groups, Sunday classes, and personal study. Each section gives you a set of questions along with a leader’s note so you can run the session without preparing a separate summary.
Joshua 3 at a Glance
The chapter opens with Israel camped by the Jordan after three days of waiting. Joshua instructs the people to keep a distance behind the ark, then announces that God will do something among them the next day. He tells the priests to step into the river, and the waters upstream pile up while the people walk across on dry ground.
Joshua also appoints twelve men, one from each tribe, for a task that the chapter sets up but does not yet complete. The whole crossing is framed as proof that the living God is with Israel just as He was with Moses.
Observation Questions
Use these questions at the start of the session to get everyone reading the text closely before anyone offers an opinion. Ask someone to read the verses aloud first, then let the group answer from what is on the page.
Joshua 3:5
Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”
(WEB)
Read this verse early so the group hears Joshua’s call to preparation. It sets the tone for the whole chapter and invites listeners to consider how they prepare for what God is about to do.
Joshua 3:7
The LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to magnify you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
(WEB)
This verse records God’s promise to magnify Joshua and to be with him as He was with Moses. Reading it aloud helps the group hear the link between past faithfulness and present leadership.
Joshua 3:13
It shall be that when the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan will be cut off. The waters that come down from above shall stand in one heap.”
(WEB)
Here the chapter explains that the waters will be cut off when the priests’ feet rest in the river. Hearing this line aloud draws attention to the connection between obedience and the miracle that follows.
Joshua 3:15-16
15 And when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark had dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the time of harvest), 16 the waters which came down from above stood, and rose up in one heap, a great way off, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those that went down toward the sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people passed over near Jericho.
(WEB)
These verses describe the priests reaching the water and the river stopping upstream. Reading them together lets the group picture the moment and notice the detail that the Jordan was overflowing at harvest.
Joshua 3:17
The priests who bore the ark of the LORD’s covenant stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the nation had passed completely over the Jordan.
(WEB)
This verse closes the scene with the priests standing firm and the whole nation crossing on dry ground. Ending the reading here gives the group a clear picture of God’s faithfulness before discussion begins.
Memory Verse for Joshua 3
Joshua 3:10
Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Hivite, and the Perizzite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Jebusite out from before you.
(WEB)
This verse states clearly that the living God is among His people and will act on their behalf. It is a short line that is easy to carry into a week of uncertainty and remind yourself of God’s presence.
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come to You as people who are standing at the edge of places we have not been before. Just as the priests stepped into the Jordan with the ark of Your covenant, help us trust that You go ahead of us into every hard place. Give us the courage to move when You call, even before we see how the way will open. Thank You for being the living God who is among us, and for the faithfulness You showed Joshua and all Israel. Keep our eyes on You as we follow You into what lies ahead. Amen.
