4 And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: 2 "Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, 3 and command them, saying, 'Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests' feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.' "
4 Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; 5 and Joshua said to them: "Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?' 7 Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever."
8 And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. 9 Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day.
The Lord instructed them to set up these 12 stones as a memorial. Memorials mark both a time and place that needs to be remembered. This was a great day; a day that God's faithfulness to His promises was on display. A day when the promise first made to Abraham became a reality. It was a day to glorify God.
These were large stones that had to be hoisted up on their shoulders. These were stones that came from the bottom of the river, polished by the flow. The stones themselves speak of the miracle God did. Someone would drown trying to bring a large stone up from the bottom of the river, let alone 12.
These people saw and experienced this event first hand so this memorial wasn't for them, at least not now. They may need reminded at some future point in their life. When things got difficult and it seemed like God had looked away and times were hard, they could look to this memorial and remember God's faithfulness, provision and care. This could be for that generation, the next or even us.
We all have memorials in our life. These are markers where God's moved in an amazing way; where He touched you, blessed you or did a work through you. When we lose our way, the Holy Spirit may well bring you back to these memorials or help you to remember them so that you may be reminded of God's faithfulness and love for you.
There were also 12 more stones left in the middle of the Jordan as if to say, "We were here!" A memorial that is just below the surface and out of sight is just as real as one on land in the open. It's a reminder that God is at work even when we can't see what He's doing.
10 So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua; and the people hurried and crossed over.
This wasn't a few minutes. There were a few million people involved in this. We might say this is an event of 'biblical proportions'.
11 Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over, that the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people. 12 And the men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them. 13 About forty thousand prepared for war crossed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho. 14 On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life.
The affect of God moving in this way and speaking to the people through Joshua was very much like they had experienced through Moses. They now saw that God was exalting Joshua.
15 Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, 16 "Command the priests who bear the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan." 17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, "Come up from the Jordan." 18 And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before.
19 Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. 20 And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. 21 Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: "When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, 'What are these stones?' 22 then you shall let your children know, saying, 'Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land'; 23 for the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, 24 that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever."
They had to be excited, anxious and scared about this new land. They knew this was hostile territory. They were crossing over in faith, trusting God. There were probably many who had questions and wondered if they were making a mistake. It's not hard to imagine someone saying, "Remind me again, why we are doing this?"
God built a memorial for them to remember that day and it's interesting to note that being buried in the water was a picture of death. This stone memorial was buried under the water, as it was set up during the transition from death to life. God's people were delivered from bondage. The law took them tot he edge of the promise, but the law couldn't deliver the promise. Then Joshua (Yeshua, or Jesus) led them through the midst of the waters and delivered them to the promise.
Verse 19 reveals this to be the 4 days before the 40th anniversary of the Passover - the 14th of Nissan. It's no coincidence that they came to the land in time to prepare for the Passover. God's timing is perfect. Jesus, our Passover lamb, led us to the promise. When we identify with Jesus we die to our self and are raised again into new life. This is portrayed when a believer is baptized. Then, just like these people, a new life and new adventure has begun. All our problems don't magically go away. In fact, life is just starting to get interesting. But in this new life we are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and equipped to walk in this promise.
Read also: Isaiah 43:2; Romans 6
©2015 Doug Ford
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