Joshua 4:1-24 - Remember your Deliverance!

Joshua 4:1-24

The Memorial Stones

1 And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying: 2 “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’”

4 Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; 5 and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”

8 And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the LORD had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. 9 Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day.

10 So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished 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 over. 11 Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over, that the ark of the LORD and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people. 12 And the men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them. 13 About forty thousand prepared for war crossed over before the LORD for battle, to the plains of Jericho. 14 On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life.

15 Then the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, 16 “Command the priests who bear the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.” 17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.” 18 And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before.

19 Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. 20 And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. 21 Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ 22 then you shall let your children know, saying, ‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land’; 23 for the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, 24 that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.”

The twelve stones that the LORD commanded the tribes of Israel to take out of the middle of the Jordan River were for remembrance in the future of how God had delivered each of them into the promised land by His power, taking the stones from where the Ark of His covenant presence was as the priests stood still there as they crossed.  They did this to recall how the LORD God dried up the waters of the Jordan until they had crossed over into the inheritance of blessings, just as He did to the Red Sea which He dried up before them until they had crossed over out of the curse of bondage.  This was a reminder not only for God’s people, but also as a witness or testimony to all the peoples of the earth that they might hear and see and know the mighty hand of the LORD when they looked at this heap of stones representing each tribe of the people, and that they all would then consider and fear the LORD God forever.  This covenant promise was made by God and so He had them also set up twelve stones in the middle of the riverbed also as a remembrance for God and His people to look back on and consider, even though they are underwater and unseen by human eyes.  We see then that remembrance is the covenant and promises of God made by His word and work that delivers His people from bondage as in Egypt representing sin (Romans 6:20-21, 22-23) and delivers into the promised land of paradise to come temporarily on earth and eternally in the heavens (2 Corinthians 5:1-2, 1 Peter 1:3, 4) and new world to come after first delivering we the people of the Lord from sins’s bondage with the remembrance of the words of promise by the Son of God to lead us into glory before His face forevermore (Revelation 22:4) to look back with wonder upon all the works of grace (2 Peter 1:12, 3:1, Jude 1:5) to bring us there in the heavenly (Hebrews 11:16) land of promise which we eagerly (Romans 8:24-25, Galatians 5:5, Philippians 3:20-21, Hebrews 9:28) anticipate when we cross the river of transformative bodily death (1 Corinthians 15:51-52) into eternal life.  Look back at the moment you moved from darkness to light as you were led to first believe, and remember your deliverance with joy unspeakable and full of glory (1 Peter 1:8) in anticipation of what is to come!  Each of us in Christ is then like a tribe of those gone before us as we pick up our own stones of salvation from our journey our of sin’s bondage into salvation in Christ (John 5:24, Ephesians 2:8-9), like Ebenezer (1 Samuel 7:12) reminders of grace.