He Gave Israel a Clear Message – v.3:1-13
He Gave Israel a Confirming Miracle – v.3:14-17
He Gave Israel a Continuing Memorial – v.4:1-24
It is this last point that we want to focus on this time.
The greatest enemy of faith may be forgetfulness. How often have we been delivered by God passed an obstacle in our life, only to struggle passed a new obstacle because we forgot about how God had delivered us before?
The Lord did not want Israel to forget about how He delivered them through the obstacle of the Jordan River, because they would face many more obstacles to come (Jericho being the next one). Because He did not want them to forget He commanded them to establish a memorial to remind them and future generations of His great work on their behalf.
If you remember Joshua 3:14-17 gave us a general account of the crossing of the Jordan with the emphasis on the miracle itself. Now as we come to chapter 4:1-24, we are given some specific details about the completion of the crossing and the establishment of the memorial. Chapter 4 really gives us the big picture of the crossing.
As we go through this passage we will be going back and forth between a description of the memorial and the completion of the crossing. Given this fact, it is a very difficult chapter to outline. However, we are going to divide the chapter into five parts. The memorial is commanded, the memorial is explained, the memorial is copied, the crossing is completed and the memorial is established.
The Memorial is Commanded – v.1-3
1 Now it came about when all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan, that 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 firm, and carry them over with you, and lay them down in the lodging place where you will lodge tonight.' "
Verse 1 is an almost verbatim repeat of the last nine words of v.3:17. This helps to tie the two chapters together. The writer adds the phrase that the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, in order to remind us that everything that was done was done according to the Lord’s commands. Warren Wiersbe states,
The Lord was in control of all the activities at the Jordan River that day. He told the priests when to enter the river and when to leave and go to the other side. He told the water when to roll back and when to return. Both the water and the people obeyed Him, and everything worked out as God planned. It was a day that glorified the Lord and magnified His servant Joshua (v.14) (Be Strong, pp. 52).
Back in v.3:12 Joshua mentioned that the people would have to select twelve men, one from every tribe and then he left us hanging there. Now we are going to get some more details. This reminds us that there seems to be an interesting pattern that develops in chapters 3-4. The pattern involves anticipation / confirmation and command / fulfillment. David M. Howard explains,
God’s words in 3:7 promising Joshua that he would exalt him in Israel’s eyes, and the report in 4:14 that this came about precisely as God had promised, or Joshua’s words in 3:13 about what would happen to the waters of the Jordan when the priests entered them, and the report in 3:16-17 showing that this was exactly what happened.
God’s command in 4:2-3 is more detailed than Joshua’s words in 3:12. In 4:3, the actual duties of these men are revealed, the men were to take twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from the spot where the priests were standing firmly, and carry them to their lodging place for the night (Joshua: NAC, pp. 133-134).
There is also an interesting pattern that develops here in regard to communication and obedience. This pattern is seen throughout the book of Joshua.
(1) God tells Joshua what to do
(2) Joshua tells the people
(3) The people obey
We have already seen an example of this pattern in chapter one.
(1) God gave His commands to Joshua – v.1:2ff
(2) Joshua communicated His commands to the people – v.1:10-11ff
(3) The people obeyed – v.1:16-18
Here in chapter four the pattern continues.
(1) God commands – v. 4:1-3, 15-16
(2) Joshua Instructs – v. 4:4-7, 17
(3) The people obey – v. 4:8, 18
This gives us good insight into the communication process of God’s revelation. (However, we don’t want to minimize the priesthood of the believer in the communication process. There must be a balance between personal study and corporate teaching).
The Memorial is Explained – v.4-8
4 So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe;
In v.3:12 (and implied in 4:2) we are told that the people were to choose the twelve men, but here in v.4:4 we are told that Joshua appointed them. Is this a contradiction and if so, what is the solution?
The word “appointed” is from the same root word that is translated as “firm” in 3:17 and 4:3. The idea here is that just as the priests stood firmly in the midst of the Jordan River, Joshua was causing these twelve men who had been selected by the people to be firmly established as the right choices.
It is also significant that twelve men were selected not nine and a half (given that only none and half tribes were actually going to reside on this side of the Jordan). The fact that they were to choose twelve men reinforced the unity of the nation.
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.
These twelve men were to go back into the dry Jordan (compare v.3:17; 4:1) and each one was to select a stone and take it back to the shore (where they would be residing that night v.3). The fact that they were to place the stone on their shoulder indicates that these were large rocks. Verse 20 indicates that this place would become Israel’s base of operation and be called Gilgal. These stones were to be used specifically for the memorial.
6 Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?' 7 then you shall say to them,' Because 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. "
As a memorial stones were to be a sign and a point teaching to future generations about God’s great work in getting Israel passed this obstacle. According to Paul Enns the memorial actually served four purposes.
(1) It was a witness of God’s faithfulness in bringing the nation into the land of Canaan. (2) It was a sign to future generations of what God had done. It was the Oriental way of continually handing down important teachings of how God had worked on behalf of His people (4:6). (3) It was to teach the Israelite children of God’s power (cf. vv.22-24). (4) It was to teach the nations of the earth that the Lord alone is God (Joshua: Bible Study Commentary, pp. 44).
He goes on to say that this was not an unusual procedure,
…for Scripture contains incidents where Israel used similar methods of teaching their children: (1) The Feast of the Passover was a teaching device for the children to show them God had redeemed the nation Israel from out of Egypt by the applied blood (Exod. 12:26-27). (2) The firstborn animals of the Israelites were the Lord’s and were set apart for Him (13:12-14). (3) The law was a sign of how God wanted the nation to live after He brought them out of Egypt (Deut.
6:20-25) (ibid pp. 44).
We have a memorial today in the church. What is it? Communion. Like Israel we ought to use our memorial as an opportunity to teach our children and future generations.
Verse 7 indicates that this memorial was to be a perpetual reminder (“forever”). Evidently, Israel didn’t do a very good job of teaching (Judges 2:7-10). What a sober warning that should be to us.
8 And thus the sons of Israel did, 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 lodging place, and put them down there.
Verse 8 is a summary verse that tells us that Israel immediately obeyed all that God had commanded.
The Memorial is Copied – v.9
While there is some disagreement, it is evident to me that two memorials were established on this day, one on the shore at Gilgal and one in the riverbed.
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. NAS
These verses indicate there were two memorials. The first was at Gilgal, on the land, to show what happened (v.4:8; cf. v.19f.). The second memorial was in the river to show where it happened (vv.9-18) (Paul Enns Joshua: Bible Study Commentary pp. 44).
Why did Joshua do this? Gene Getz gives his opinion:
There is no record that God had instructed him [Joshua] to do this. Probably it was a spontaneous act of worship. Joshua already knew what God’s purpose was in having them carry the stones from Jordan, so he simply decided to pile up 12 stones in Jordan as a personal testimony to what God had done for Israel in backing up the waters of the Jordan River. The text tells us that these stones “are there to this day” (v.9) (Joshua: Defeat to Victory pp. 74).
Each year as the water of the river rose and subsided the memorial in the river would become visible and serve to remind all those who saw it of God’s care and protection of His people.
The Crossing is Completed – v.10-18
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 it came about when all the people had finished crossing, that the ark of the LORD and the priests crossed before the people. 12 And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over in battle array before the sons of Israel, just as Moses had spoken to them; 13 about 40,000, 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.
The crossing of the people was completed just as God had promised and Joshua was exalted in the eyes of Israel in fulfillment of God’s word in chapter 3:7.
7 Now the LORD said to Joshua, "This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you.
Verses 15-18 describe the final stage of the crossing as the priests, who had remained in the river, were finally able to come ashore.
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 And 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.
Joshua 4:18 is a mirror image of Joshua 3:15. Notice also that the miraculous nature of the crossing is again highlighted.
that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks as before
The Memorial is Established – v.19-24
19 Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth of the first month and camped at Gilgal on the eastern edge of Jericho.
Verse 19 is a very exciting verse because it tells us that the crossing was completed on the tenth day of the first month. The month of Nisan (March-April) was the first month in the Jewish calendar and it is also the month in which God had commanded Israel to celebrate the Passover. The tenth day was the day that the Passover Lamb was to be selected (Exodus 12:3). It was also the day in which Israel began to prepare for the Exodus 40 years earlier. One other important thing the mention of the day does, it hints at what is going to happen in chapter 5.
As mentioned previously, Gilgal became Israel’s early base of operation because it was strategically located (cf. Joshua 9:6; 10:6, 15, 43; 14:6). Warren Wiersbe notes that,
In later years Gilgal became an important center for the nation. Israel crowned their first king at Gilgal (1 Sam. 11); there David was welcomed back after Absalom’s rebellion was subdued (2 Sam. 19); and Samuel thought Gilgal important enough to include it in his “ministry circuit” (1 Sam. 7:16). There was a “school of prophets” at Gilgal in the days of Elijah and Elisha (2 Kings 2:1-2; 4:38) (Be Strong, pp. 52-53).
It is worth noting that later Gilgal was condemned by the prophets for its false worship. Wiersbe writes,
It’s unfortunate that this memorial at Gilgal gradually lost its spiritual meaning and instead became a shrine where the Jews sinned against God by worshiping there. The Prophet Hosea condemned the people for worshiping at Gilgal instead of Jerusalem (Hosea 4:15; 9:15; 12:11), and Amos echoed his warnings (Amos 4:4; 5:5) (ibid).
20 And those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal.
Verse 20 reinforces the point that Israel did as God had commanded. In verses 21-24 Joshua reviews and reinforces the purpose of the memorials.
21 And he said to the sons of Israel, "When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, 'What are these stones?' 22 then you shall inform your children, saying,' Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.' 23 "For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as the LORD your God had done to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed; 24 that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, so that you may fear the LORD your God forever."
We close this section with two thoughts concerning miracles and memorials.
(1) Memorials are important as long as they don’t become idols.
It is important for us to lay down markers in the life of the church so that we can be reminded of God’s wondrous working in our ministries. In addition, the next generation needs reminders of what God has done for us so that their faith can be strengthened. However, the there is a danger in that we can be so linked to the past that we lose focus for the present and momentum for the future.
(2) Miracles are important but infrequent events designed to be long term reminders of God’s power.
Dale Ralph Davis says,
It is important for us to be able to explain to the next generation what the memorials and markers in our lives mean. Unfortunately, when you read the book of Judges you will see that Israel failed to do this.There is an implication here. If Yahweh so insists that Israel remember this day, it implies that this event was unique and that Yahweh does not usually work with such visibly raw power. If Yahweh did something of this magnitude every fifth Wednesday or so, why should Israel need to remember Jordan Day? Apparently, this sort of miracle will be infrequent. Yahweh’s standard method of retaining his people’s fidelity is not by frequent and dazzling displays of power but by faithful witness and teaching of those particular acts in which he had already demonstrated his care fir his own (Joshua: No Falling Words, pp. 39-40).
Judges 2:6-10
6 When Joshua had dismissed the people, the sons of Israel went each to his inheritance to possess the land. 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the LORD which He had done for Israel. 8 Then Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of one hundred and ten. 9 And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.
May we do better!
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