Page 1 of 6 What Do These Stones Mean? Joshua 4:21-22 21 And he said to the people of Israel, When your children ask their fathers in times to come, What do these stones mean? 22 then you shall let your children know, Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground. Where did Moses and Aaron go? In Numbers 20, we see once again the children of Israel in complaining mode. This time there is no water for the livestock or people. Numbers 20:2 2 Now there was no water for the congregation. And they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. After the deliverance they had experienced and all the miracles they had witnessed they still did not believe. Numbers 20:4-5 4 Why have you brought the assembly of the LORD into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle? 5 And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring
Page 2 of 6 us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink. Numbers 20:7-8 7 and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 8 Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle. Numbers 20:10-12 10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock? 11 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. 12 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them. Here is the story: Joshua 3:5-17 5 Then Joshua said to the people, Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.
Page 3 of 6 6 And Joshua said to the priests, Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people. So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. 7 The LORD said to Joshua, Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8 And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan. 9 And Joshua said to the people of Israel, Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God. 10 And Joshua said, Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. 12 Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. 13 And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap. 14 So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the
Page 4 of 6 Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), 16 the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. 17 Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan. Joshua 4:20-24 20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. 21 And he said to the people of Israel, When your children ask their fathers in times to come, What do these stones mean? 22 then you shall let your children know, Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground. 23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, 24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever. What Do These Stones Mean?
Page 5 of 6 God is faithful Romans 8:28 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. We do not worship memorials; we honor them. Memorials should help us learn. Memorials encourage us to teach.
Page 6 of 6 Memorials remind us of a better time. Memorials remind us of a difficult time. Memorials can serve as a deterrent.