CONTEXT
Part
1: Ch.1-5: Preparation & Entry
Ch.1
– Joshua installed as Leader
Ch.2
– Rahab and the Spies
Ch.3
– Crossing the Jordan
Ch.4
– Establishing a Memorial
Ch.5
– Circumcision & Passover
FRAMEWORKS:
Joshua 4: Establishing a Memorial
v.1-3
The Lord instructs twelve stones to be taken
v.4-7
Joshua instructs men to take the stones as a sign
v.8,9
So the stones are collected and set up
v.10-13
The men pass over while the ark remains on the river bed
v.14-18
The Priests come out and the river flows again
v.19-24
The Memorial Stones are set up at Gilgal
v.1-3
The Lord instructs twelve stones to be taken
v.1
When
the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said
to Joshua,
v.2
“Choose
twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe,
v.3
and
tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan,
from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over
with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.”
[Notes:
There had been preparation for this in 3:12 with a representative
from each tribe being ready and the Lord instructs that they are
now each to go back and collect a large stone from the now-dry
river bed and take it with them to the other side.]
v.4-7
Joshua instructs men to take the stones as a sign
v.4
So
Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the
Israelites, one from each tribe,
v.5
and
said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into
the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on
his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites,
v.6
to
serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask
you, ‘What do these stones mean?'
v.7
tell
them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of
the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters
of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial
to the people of Israel forever.”
[Notes:
Joshua conveys this to them which they do to create
a memorial to remind future generations what happened here.]
v.8,9
So the stones are collected and set up
v.8
So
the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve
stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number
of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua;
and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they
put them down.
v.9
Joshua
set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan
at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant
had stood. And they are there to this day.
[Notes:
On the other side, when they make camp, Joshua sets
up these twelve stones as a memorial.]
v.10-13
The men pass over while the ark remains on the river bed
v.10
Now
the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle
of the Jordan until everything the Lord had commanded Joshua was
done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people
hurried over,
v.11
and
as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the Lord and the
priests came to the other side while the people watched.
v.12
The
men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over,
ready for battle, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed
them.
v.13
About
forty thousand armed for battle crossed over before the Lord to
the plains of Jericho for war.
[Notes:
Joshua takes his army across the river, the men collect
the stones [as above] and then the priests and the ark follow
the people out. From v.13 it would appear that of all the armed
men available, Joshua only took a limited number while presumably
the rest stayed on the eastern side of the Jordan until; the land
was taken.]
v.14-18
The Priests come out and the river flows again
v.14
That
day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they
stood in awe of him all the days of his life, just as they had
stood in awe of Moses.
v.15
Then
the Lord said to Joshua,
v.16
“Command
the priests carrying the ark of the covenant law to come up out
of the Jordan.”
v.17
So
Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.”
v.18
And
the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant
of the Lord. No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground
than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran
at flood stage as before.
[Notes:
This miracle puts Joshua in good stead with the people
for when the priests come out of the river bed, the river starts
flowing again.]
v.19-24
The Memorial Stones are set up at Gilgal
v.19
On
the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan
and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho.
v.20
And
Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of
the Jordan.
v.21
He
said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask
their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?'
v.22
tell
them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.'
v.23
For
the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had
crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had
done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had
crossed over.
v.24
He
did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that
the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always
fear the Lord your God.”
[Notes:
The twelve stones, mentioned before are set up near
Gilgal to the north-east of Jericho.]