Joshua 4:1-18
1 Now when the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying,
2 “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe,
3 and command them, saying, ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firmly, and carry them over with you and lay them down in the encampment where you will spend the night.’”
4 So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe;
5 and Joshua said to them, “Cross again to the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel.
6 This shall be a sign among you; when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’
7 then you shall say to them, ‘That the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”
8 So the sons of Israel did exactly as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the Lord spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the encampment and put them down there.
9 Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing, and they are there to this day.
10 For the priests who carried the ark were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed 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;
11 and when all the people had finished crossing, then the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed in front of the people.
12 The sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over in battle formation before the sons of Israel, just as Moses had spoken to them;
13 about forty thousand equipped for war, crossed for battle before the Lord to the desert plains of Jericho.
14 On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, so that they revered him, just as they had revered Moses all the days of his life.
15 Now the Lord said to Joshua,
16 “Command the priests who carry the ark of the testimony that they come up from the Jordan.”
17 So Joshua commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.”
18 It came about when the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come up from the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up to the dry ground, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks as before.
Memorial Stones
Stones collected from the riverbed
Let us look at what is happening during the event of crossing the Jordan River in chronological order. (1) Before the crossing, one man was selected from each of the 12 tribes. (2) The priests carrying the ark of the covenant step foot into the river. At that moment, the flow of the river had stopped. (3) The Israelites hurried across the dry ground as the priests stood in the riverbed. There were two million people, and many livestock was with them. For all of them to cross in a short time, they needed to hurry. (4) Each of the 12 men representing each tribe picked up a stone from the riverbed where the priests stood – 12 stones total – and carried it to the other side of the river. (5) After the Israelites had crossed, Joshua commanded the priests to cross the river. The moment their feet touched the land on the opposite side, the river returned to its original state, and the water went over all its banks as before. (6) The priests resumed their position ahead of the people at the camp, and then the 12 stones were erected. (7) The priests went ahead of the people, then the army equipped for battle marched behind them. The tribes of Reuben, Gad, half-tribe of Manasseh, those who were given land in the east of the Jordan River as inheritance, marched ahead of the army. The total number of the army was 40,000. However, the remaining soldiers stayed behind at the camp to protect the women, children, and livestock.
The purpose of the miracle
The miracle of crossing the Jordan River taught the Israelites two things. (1) On that day, the Lord showed the Israelites that Joshua was now the commander-in-chief, succeeding Moses. The Israelites experienced the same thing as they did 40 years ago when they crossed the Sea of Reed. (2) They now revered Joshua, for they saw him as the servant of the Lord, just like how they revered Moses throughout his life. The 12 stones were erected as a memorial of the Lord’s work. Let us learn from this the importance of remembering the grace of our Lord. The Lord, who was with us until now, will continue to be with us and help us. With that in mind, let us go to the world with peace.
Today's prayer
God the Father of Jesus Christ, Your grace never ends. I give thanks today for Your presence with me. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.