On two great occasions God parted the waters for the children of Israel. When God led the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage the Biblical text says, "And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; ...and made the sea dry land and the waters divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left." (Ex. 14:21,22)

The second occurrence of the waters being divided for the Israelites came when God stopped the river Jordan. Joshua 3:13 informs us that when the priests of God walked into the waters "that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon a heap," and that very thing happened. (Josh. 3:13,16)

Charles Pfeiffer, in the book, Old Testament History, ventures the wild idea that since the waters of the Jordan were swollen by the spring floods, that "they were held back, perhaps by a landslide. The Jordan Valley is part of the earthquake prone Rift Valley which extends southward through the Arabah and across into Africa. If such an earthquake or landslide occurred, its timing was such as to convince the Israelites that God was indeed making it possible for them to enter the land." (p. 200)

Is it not much better to believe the miraculous account of Joshua that the waters stopped flowing and stood in a heap, that is, they simply built up until Israel had crossed. Then, they flowed again. (Josh. 4:18) In order for Pfeiffer’s idea to have been correct, another earthquake would have had to occur to undo the landslide that had taken place. Such is preposterous, and the ultimate consequences of trying to explain away the hand of God in the powerful drama of human events.

These events that happened in connection with the parting of the waters demonstrate the power of the mighty hand of God and the care and protection he has always given to his people.

– Max Patterson, 4438 South 89^th Road, Bolivar, MO 65613-8012