Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passes over before you into the Jordan.
Now it is perfectly true, of course, that the unaided word of God, without any agency whatever, could have produced the result indicated here, but, inasmuch as the instrument of "strong winds" was utilized in the miracle of the Red Sea crossing, there is no reason whatever why natural phenomena might also have aided here.  In such a case, which we believe to be the proper understanding of this place, the miracle consisted in its timing, and in its being precisely predicted by the Word of God communicated to Joshua, and by its being precisely terminated with the complete passage of Israel over the river.  This understanding does not diminish in any degree whatever the truly miraculous nature of this astounding event.