Joshua 4

Joshua 4:1

4:1-24 The LORD directed that twelve men (one man from every tribe) should carry one stone apiece out of the bed of the Jordan and erect a memorial marker where Israel first camped west of the Jordan. Accordingly, the monument was set up at Gilgal as a permanent reminder to future generations of God’s miraculous stopping of the Jordan so that the Israelites could cross over . . . on dry land. The tribes that received their inheritance east of JordanReuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manassehsent armed warriors over to help their brethren occupy the land of Canaan. Although the combined strength of the two and a half tribes was over 100,000 men (see Num. 26), only forty thousand . . . crossed the Jordan; the rest probably stayed behind to secure their land and protect their families. After all the people had crossed over, including the men of the two and a half tribes, and after the twelve stones had been taken out of the Jordan, Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, where the . . . priests were standing. Then as soon as the priests marched to the west bank with the ark of the covenant, the waters of the Jordan flowed down again in flood tide. The stones in the riverbed speak of identification with Christ in death. Those on the west bank speak of identification with Christ in resurrection. By cutting off the waters of the Jordan, the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel as He had earlier exalted Moses. Up to now, Joshua had been a servant, humbly serving in Moses’ shadow, learning the ways of God. Now was the time of his exaltation, for “he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luk_14:11). The people crossed the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, five days short of a full forty years since the Exodus from Egypt, and just in time to prepare for the Passover (see Exo_12:2-3).