Twelve Memorial Stones from the Jordan

Twelve Memorial Stones from the Jordan

And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, Jos. 4:1

when all the... After the people had fully crossed, the Lord commanded a memorial to be erected to commemorate such a great miracle (Jos. 4:1-10).

Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, Jos. 4:2

Take you... Command—setting up a memorial: Take twelve men, one from each tribe, and have them take twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan and carry them to the place where you lodged the night before, to make a memorial of the miraculous crossing (Jos. 4:2-8).

out of every... This policy of representative government is seen many times in Scripture (Jos. 4:2, 4:4; 3:12; Num. 1:4; 13:2-15; 34:18; Deut. 1:23).

And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. Jos. 4:3

command ye them... The Lord told Joshua to direct 12 men, previously chosen (see Jos. 3:12), to carry 12 stones from the bed of the river to the place of the first night’s encampment.

Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: Jos. 4:4

Calling the 12 tribal representatives together Joshua instructed them.

And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: Jos. 4:5

They were to return to the middle of the riverbed and each one was to bring back one stone.

That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. Jos. 4:6, 7, 8

These stones would be a vivid reminder (a memorial) of God’s work of deliverance (cf. Jos. 4:24) and an effective means for the Israelites to teach their young (Jos. 4:6-7; cf. Jos. 4:21-24).

And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day. Jos. 4:9

Joshua set up... There were two memorials to testify that the Jordan dried up and Israel crossed on dry ground:

1. Twelve stones taken from the midst of Jordan (Jos. 4:3-8) and carried to Gilgal, the first lodging place in Canaan (Jos. 4:19-20)

2. Twelve stones set up in the middle of the river bed where the priests’ feet rested with the ark (Jos. 4:9-10)

and they are... Until the time of the writing of Joshua.

For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until every thing was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over. Jos. 4:10

priests which bare... It was not easy for men to hold the ark on their shoulders and stand still for the length of time required for the people to cross over Jordan (Jos. 4:10-18).

and the people... The people hurried to complete the passage during daylight hours in order to be ready to camp at night.

And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the LORD passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people. Jos. 4:11

came to pass... As soon as all the people had crossed and the special mission for the memorials was completed, the priests left the riverbed — they were the first ones in and the last ones out — and resumed their position at the head of the people (Jos. 4:11, 4:15-17).

And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them: Jos. 4:12

Thus all the tribes participated in the crossing, though Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh sent only representative armies.

About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto battle, to the plains of Jericho. Jos. 4:13

About forty thousand... Only 40,000 of 110,000 soldiers of these tribes passed over Jordan to help conquer Canaan (Jos. 4:12; Num. 26:7, 26:18, 26:34).

On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life. Jos. 4:14

On that day... This is what God promised in Jos. 3:7-8.

they feared him... It took Moses forty years of hardship to get Israel to the place where they respected their leaders. Joshua did not have to endure what Moses did. All of us profit by those that precede us in life. Their trials make it easier for coming generations.

all the days... Perhaps about 30 years.

And the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan.

Jos. 4:15, 16

Command the priests... This shows that every step of direction was divinely given by God. This was the secret of success for Joshua and Israel at this time. Scripture is full of such instances of success when God spoke and He was obeyed. There are also many instances of Him being ignored when He spoke, with failure always being the result. Then too, there are many other examples of failure where God did not give the directions. All are recorded for our profit that we might learn that true and eternal success comes only by the direct leading and guidance of God. It is imperative for the child of God to be led by the Spirit, to live and walk in the Spirit, and to meditate on His Word and to obey it—if he is to have success and live a Christian life (Rom. 8:1-16; Gal. 5:16-26; Jos. 1:8; Psm. 1:3-4).

Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan. And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before.

Jos. 4:17, 18

came to pass ... This was the first miracle in reverse. It was just as great as the one that kept the waters from flowing perhaps a whole day (Jos. 3:13-17).

dry land... Even the river bed was dry land (Jos. 3:17), so the idea expressed is that they came up out of what was usually wet to the river bank which was dry ground.

that the waters... This shows that the overflowing of Jordan every spring was normal.

And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. Jos. 4:19

on the tenth... The crossing of Jordan was on the tenth day of the first month, nine days after the death of Moses which was on the first day of this month (Jos. 4:19; Deut. 1:3, 1:10; 31:2; 34:7). This means they crossed the Jordan during the thirty days of mourning for Moses, proving that life was not at a standstill during such periods. The two spies went to Jericho and back during this time as well (Jos. 2:1-24). The tenth day of the first month would be five days short of a full forty years after leaving Egypt, which was on the fifteenth day of the first month (Num. 33:3; see Num. 5:6; 14:33-34; 32:13; Deut. 2:7; 8:2, 8:4; 29:5). How many went abreast over Jordan or how wide a passage they used for the actual crossing is not known, but if the people went over 400 abreast, it no doubt took them all day to march through.

And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. Jos. 4:20

And those twelve... There the 12 stones taken out of the Jordan were set up, perhaps in a small circle. The name Gilgal means “circle,”.

in Gilgal... But this was no time for reflection. Joshua led the people to Gilgal, their first encampment in Canaan, about two miles from Jericho.

And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: Jos. 4:21, 22, 23

Joshua explains... The purpose of the stones was clearly pedagogical: to remind Israel for generations to come that it was God who brought them through the Jordan (cf. Jos. 4:6-7) just as He had taken their fathers through the Red Sea.

shall ask their... But how were the future generations to know what the stones meant? The answer is clear. Parents were to teach God’s ways and works to their children (cf. Deut. 6:4-7). A Jewish father was not to send his inquisitive child to a Levite for answers to his questions. The father was to answer them himself.

That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever. Jos. 4:24

That all the... The drying up of Jordan was a sign of God’s greatness, not only to Israel, but to the Gentiles as well (Jos. 4:23-24). However, besides serving as a visual aid for parental instruction of children, the memorial stones had a broader purpose: that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful. As the families of Israel spent their first night in the land, their hearts may well have been filled with uncertainty and fear. The mountains rising steeply to the west looked foreboding. But then the people looked at the 12 stones taken out of the Jordan and were reminded that God had done something great for them that day. Surely they could trust Him for the days ahead.