Joshua 4:1-9

The Memorials of the Crossing Joshua 4:1-9

And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying,
2 Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,
3 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.
4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:
5 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:
6 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?
7 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.
8 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.
9 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.

1.

How long did Israel take to cross the Jordan? Joshua 4:1

The Scripture does not tell us how many hours were consumed in crossing the last natural barrier which stood between the people of Israel and the land God had promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacoband their descendants. Since the people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the month and observed the Passover at the regular timethe fourteenth day of the first month, the month Abiband some six days were evidently spent in waiting, the people must have moved across rapidly. The priests stood throughout the time, and we are led to believe the hundreds of thousands of Israelites were moved across the river in a period of no more than several hours. Certainly they did not take a number of days to make this last journey.

2.

Who were the men Joshua commanded the people to take? Joshua 4:2

The men mentioned here are evidently the men referred to in Joshua 3:12. Joshua gave the people some time to select the men from each of the tribes. At the time the initial order was given, he did not indicate the reason for their being selected. After they had crossed Jordan, the reason was made clear. They were to carry stones from the bed of the Jordan River to a point on the west bank where a memorial of Israel's miraculous crossing of the river was to be erected.

3.

How is the importance of the taking of twelve stones exemplified? Joshua 4:3

The main point of the story of their crossing the Jordan is their taking twelve stones with them from the bed of the river to the opposite side to serve as a memorial. To set forth the importance of this fact as a divine appointment, the command of God to Joshua is mentioned first of all (Joshua 4:2-3); then the repetition of this command by Joshua to the men appointed for the work (Joshua 4:4-7); and lastly, the carrying out of the instructions (Joshua 4:8). The people were not to erect a memorial to remind them of the greatness of one of their own leaders, but they were to be reminded of God's great miraculous blessing upon them.

4.

What other stones served as monuments in Bible history?

Stones were quite often used as monuments. Some of the more famous ones are these:

1.

Jacob (Genesis 28:18) going to Haran

2.

Jacob (Genesis 35:14) returning from Haran

3.

Jacob and Laban. (Genesis 31:45-47) as they parted

4.

Samuel at Ebenezer (1 Samuel 7:12) when the Philistines were defeated

They were sometimes consecrated with oil (Genesis 28:18). At other times, they seem merely to be set up with very little ceremony,

5.

When was the commandment given to the men? Joshua 4:5

Although the twelve men had been selected earlier it is apparent that the commandment for them to pick up the stones was not given to them until the waters of the Jordan were stopped and the people had crossed on dry land. They must have stood about in amazement wondering what their assignment was to be as the crossing proceeded and there was nothing for them to do, When the commandment was finally given, they each must have eagerly selected a choice stone. One can imagine how they carried the stones with alacrity when they moved out to the western side of the Jordan River.

6.

What was the purpose of the memorial? Joshua 4:7

The memorial served a didactic purpose. God was looking into future ages and making preparation for later generations. The Israelite fathers were responsible for the training and education of their children. The memorial stones would be a visible reminder of God's great guidance of Israel. The inquisitive nature of children would incline them to ask about these stones whenever they saw them. The fathers were to be prepared to recount what happened at the Jordan as the people crossed over the dry river bed.

7.

Did Joshua set up a second memorial? Joshua 4:9

In addition to the twelve stones set up by the twelve men, Joshua set up twelve stones for a memorial on the spot where the feet of the priests had stood as they bore the Ark of the Covenant. There is nothing to warrant our calling this statement in question. We cannot set it aside as a gloss, either because nothing is said about any divine command to set up these stones, or because of the opinion that such a memorial would have failed to achieve its object. Some say it could not possibly have remained, but would very speedily have been washed away by the stream. The water would reach where the priests stood only in flood times, and for the rest of the year this memorial would be high on dry ground. It would appear from Joshua 4:9 that two sets of stones were set up. Joshua, following the spirit of the Divine direction, caused a second set to be erected in the middle of the river on the spot where the priests had stood. Water would reach the spot only at flood times, and the memorial would thus be enabled to stand for a number of years. Some have supposed the verse to be an interpolation of later date; but, as it occurs in all manuscripts and as it is expressly stated in the Septuagint and Vulgate that this was a different transaction from the other, we must accept it as such.