The Lord
said to me…”I will test my people with a Plumbline, Amos 7:8 (TLB)
The
Successor – Joshua # 5
Memorial Stones from the Jordan:
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| The Holy Bible - God's Eternal Word |
Joshua
4:1 (ESV) 1 When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the LORD
said to Joshua, 2 “Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, 3
and command them, saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the
Jordan, from the very place where the priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring
them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.’ ”
The
Lord told Joshua to direct 12 men, previously chosen (cf. Jos 3:12), to carry
12 stones from the bed of the river to the place of the first night’s
encampment as a memorial. Calling the 12 tribal representatives together Joshua
instructed them. They were to return to the middle of the riverbed and each one
was to bring back one stone. These stones would be a vivid reminder (a
memorial) of God’s work of deliverance (cf. v. 24) and an effective means for
the Israelites to teach their young (vv. 6-7; cf. vv. 21-24). The response of
the 12 men was immediate and unquestioning. They could well have feared
reentering the Jordan. After all, how long would it stay dry? Whatever fears
they may have had were put aside and they unhesitatingly obeyed God’s
instructions. Joshua joined these men on their strange mission, and while they
were wrenching up great stones from the bed of the river, he set another pile
of 12 stones (niv. marg.) in the riverbed itself to mark the precise spot where
the priests stood with the ark of the covenant. This was apparently done on
Joshua’s own initiative and expressed his desire to have a personal reminder of
God’s faithfulness at the very beginning of the Conquest of Canaan.
Joshua 4:10-18. All was now accomplished that the Lord... commanded. In anticipation
of the Jordan flowing again the details of the crossing were reviewed. (1) The
priests and the ark remained in the riverbed while the people hurried across
(v. 10; cf. 3:17). (2) The armed men of the Transjordanian tribes, not hampered
with families and goods, led the crossing (4:12-13). (3) As soon as all the
people had crossed and the special mission for the memorials was completed, the
priests left the riverbed—they were the first ones in and the last ones out—and
resumed their position at the head of the people (vv. 11, 15-17). (4)
Immediately the Jordan resumed its flow (v. 18).
Thus
all the tribes participated in the crossing, though Reuben, Gad, and the
half-tribe of Manasseh sent only representative armies. The rest of those two
and one-half tribes remained on the east side to protect their homes and cities
(cf. v. 13). The population of males in those tribes 20 years of age or older
totaled 136,930 (Num. 26:7, 18, 34). The 40,000 soldiers (Josh. 4:13) were 29
percent of that adult male population—less than one of every three adult males.
One
can imagine what it must have been like for the Israelites to stand on the
riverbank, watching the hurrying torrent covering up their path, and then
lifting their eyes to look at the opposite side where they had stood that
morning. There was no returning now. A new and exciting chapter in their
history had begun.
Joshu 4:19-20. But this was no time for reflection. Joshua led the people to Gilgal,
their first encampment in Canaan, about two miles from Jericho. There the 12
stones... taken out of the Jordan were set up, perhaps in a small circle. The
name Gilgal means “circle,” and may have been taken from an ancient circle of
stones of pagan significance. If so, the more recent circle commemorating
Yahweh’s great work would serve to counteract the idolatrous association of the
site.
Joshua 4:21-23. The purpose of the stones was clearly to remind Israel for generations
to come that it was God who brought them through the Jordan (cf. vv. 6-7) just
as He had taken their fathers through the Red Sea.But how were the future
generations to know what the stones meant? The answer is clear. Parents were to
teach God’s ways and works to their children (cf. Deut. 6:4-7). A Jewish father
was not to send his inquisitive child to a Levite for answers to his questions.
The father was to answer them himself.
Joshua 4:24. However, besides serving as a visual aid for parental instruction of
children, the memorial stones had a broader purpose: that all the peoples of
the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful. As the families of
Israel spent their first night in the land, their hearts may well have been
filled with uncertainty and fear. The mountains rising steeply to the west
looked foreboding. But then the people looked at the 12 stones taken out of the
Jordan and were reminded that God had done something great for them that day.
Surely they could trust Him for the days ahead.
Adapted
from The Bible Knowledge Commentary:
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