http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 1 Commentary by Ron Thomas Questions by John C. Sewell Crossing the Jordan, concluded A Memorial Erected Joshua 4:1-24
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 2 Text: Joshua 4:1-24, Crossing the Jordan, concluded A Memorial Erected 1. 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 you 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.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 3 10. For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until everything was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over. 11. And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the LORD passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people. 12. And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them: 13. About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto battle, to the plains of Jericho. 14. On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life. 15. And the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, 16. Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan. 17. Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan. 18. And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before. 19. And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. 20. And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. 21. And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? 22.Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 4 23. For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: 24. That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever. Commentary: I. Joshua was to take twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan. A. The men who were to remove the stones were identified earlier (3:12) by Joshua. 1. One gets the impression that something more than pebbles were taken upon their shoulders. 2. This would be remarkable evidence of the river s having been stopped in order for the Israelites to cross. B. These stones were taken from the riverbed to be set up on the western bank of the Jordan River as a memorial to the crossing. 1. Memorial signs will provoke questions from young people. 2. When these questions arose, much teaching could be done. 3. It was like this in Joshua s day and the same is true in ours.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 5 II. The stones that were picked up were laid at the place commanded. A. It was later (4:20) that they set up the memorial already mentioned. 1. Joshua, without a direct word from the Lord, sets up a memorial in the river as well. B. Keil & Delitzsch made a point of saying there is no reason for us to consider this as a false statement because we can imagine the river would wash away the memorial placed once the Lord released the rivers restraints (Keil & Dollish, pp. 48-49). III. Two memorials were to be placed, one in the river and one on the western bank of the river at Gilgal. A. We read of this memorial in the midst of the river; this would be naturally interpreted as being in the middle of the riverbed. 1. However, that is not necessarily how we need to interpret this. 2. In 3:15, as soon as the bearers of the Ark of the Covenant reached the river (on the eastern bank), the river was stopped. B. Whatever distance they might have traveled into the river (with its banks being overflowed), it can be said this was the midst of the river. IV. To the Lord, Joshua demonstrated whom he served.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 6 A. To the people, however, though they expressed a willingness to obey Joshua as they did Moses, it was on this occasion that Joshua really stood out. B. The Ark of the Covenant went into the river and the river stopped flowing. 1. Memorial stones were retrieved and a memorial was set up in the river. 2. 40,000 men crossed over ready to take on the enemya sort of protective wall (physically) to the Israelites in the plains of Jericho. C. As people reflected on the day s events, Joshua stood tall because of whom he served. V. The presence of the Ark of the Covenant prevented the waters of the Jordan from flowing downstream. A. We can be sure it was not the Ark of the Covenant, per se, but the Lord who prevented the waters of the Jordan from flowing freely. B. In 4:15-18 we see the continuing theme of Scripture: God commands and people obey. 1. Wouldn t it have been great if people had always obeyed God? 2. As it is, we see God s commands, the people s rejecting them, and the Lord is ultimately punishing them.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 7 3. The people camped at Gilgal on the western side of the Jordan, east of Jericho. C. They crossed over on the 10 th day of the first month. 1. By the Lord s direction, the people passed over the Jordan River on the day in which every man was to take a lamb for his home and hold it until the 14 th day and then sacrifice it (Exodus 12:1-6). a. Exodus 12:1-6, And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 2. 40 years earlier, Israel had prepared to leave Egyptian bondage. 40 years after having left Egypt, they crossed the Jordan and came into the Promised Land.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 8 3. The twelve stones they took from the riverbed were placed as a memorial to their crossing. a. Madvig wrote that Joshua could have piled the stones or placed them in a circle. It is simply unknown (not to mention unimportant). 4. The memorial was not just to the Israelites, but to the whole world (all the people of the earth ESV) as well, most likely the Canaanites in particular.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 9 Questions Joshua 4:1-24 (Questions based on NIV text.) 1. What did twelve chosen men do? When did they do it? From which tribes were they chosen? How were they chosen? 2. Of what significance was the memorial set up by the twelve men? What was the meaning of this memorial and what use were the Israelites to make of it? 3. Is the memorial still there to this day? See verse 9. If not, what happened to it? 4. Of how many stones did the memorial consist? Why was this number chosen?
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 10 5. How long did the Ark of the Covenant and its bearer priests remain in the middle of the Jordan river? 6. How large was the Israelite army? Was this army large and strong enough to conquer the promised land? By the end of the book of Joshua had all the land been subdued? If not why not? 7. That day the in the of all ; and they him all the of his, just as they had. 8. What happened when the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant came up out of the dry land?
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 11 9. When the Jordan River had been crossed by the nation of Israel, where did they camp? 10. It was there Joshua set up the twelve stones which had been taken out of the Jordan. What did Joshua tell Israel on that occasion? 11. Why did God enable Israel to cross the Jordan in this marvelous manner? Give two reasons. See verse 24. 12. The of, and the - of crossed over,, in of the, as had them. 13. What psychological effect did this have on the route of the Israelites?
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 12 14. On what day and month did Israel go up from the Jordan? Give the date two ways, by the Jewish calendar and by our calendar. 15. What was in the Ark of the Covenant when Israel crossed Jordan?