And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God.
Come hither and hear the words of the Lord. It seems that the Israelites had no intimation how they were to cross the river until shortly before the event. The premonitory address of Joshua, taken in connection with the miraculous result exactly as he had described it, would tend to increase and confirm their faith in the God of their fathers, as not a dull, senseless, inanimate thing, like the idols of the nations, but a Being of life, power, and activity, to defend them and work for them.