JOSHUA 4 COMMETARYEDITED BY GLE PEASE

1 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua,

GILL, "And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan,.... As related, Jos_3:17,

that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying: as follows.

HERY, "We may well imagine how busy Joshua and all the men of war were while they were passing over Jordan, when besides their own marching into an enemy's country, and in the face of the enemy, which could not but occasion them many thoughts of hear, they had their wives, and children, and families, their cattle, and tents, and all their effects, bag and baggage, to convey by this strange and untrodden path, which we must suppose either very muddy or very stony, troublesome to the weak and frightful to the timorous, the descent to the bottom of the river and the ascent out of it steep, so that every man must needs have his head full of care and his hands full of business, and Joshua more than any of them. And yet, in the midst of all his hurry, care must be taken to perpetuate the memorial of this wonderous work of God, and this care might not be adjourned to a time of greater leisure. Note, How much soever we have to do of business for ourselves and our families, we must not neglect nor omit what we have to do for the glory of God and the serving of his honour, for that is our best business. Now,

I. God gave orders for the preparing of this memorial. Had Joshua done it without divine direction, it might have looked like a design to perpetuate his own name and honour, nor would it have commanded so sacred and venerable a regard from posterity as now, when god himself appointed it. Note, God's works of wonder ought to be kept in everlasting remembrance, and means devise for the preserving of the memorial of them. Some of the Israelites that passed over Jordan perhaps were so stupid, and so little affected with this great favour of God to them, that they felt no concern to have it remembered; while others, it may be, were so much affected with it, and had such deep impressions made upon them by it, that they thought there needed no memorial of it to be erected, the heart and tongue of every Israelite in every age would be a living lasting monument of it. But God, knowing their frame, and how apt they had been soon to forget his works, ordered an expedient for the keeping of this in remembrance to all generations, that

those who could not, or would not, read the record of it in the sacred history, might come to the knowledge of it by the monument set up in remembrance of it, of which the common tradition of the country would be an explication; it would likewise serve to corroborate the proof of the matter of fact, and would remain a standing evidence of it to those who in after-ages might question the truth of it. A monument is to be erected, and, 1. Joshua, as chief captain, must five direction about it (v. 1): When all the people had clean passed over Jordan, not even the feeble, that were the hindmost of them, left behind, so that God had done his work completely, and every Israelite got safe into Canaan, then God spoke unto Joshua to provide materials for this monument. It is the pious conjecture of the learned bishop Patrick that Joshua had gone into some place of retirement to return thanks immediately for this wonderful mercy, and then god met him, and spoke thus to him. Or, perhaps, it was by Eleazar the priest that God gave these and other instructions to Joshua; for, though he is not mentioned here, yet, when Joshua was ordained by the imposition of hands to this great trust, god appointed that Eleazar should ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim, and at his word Joshua and all the children of Israel must go out and come in, Num_27:21.

JAMISO, "CALVI, "l.And it came to pass, etc The brief and obscure allusion previously made with regard to the twelve men he now explains more at length. He had said that they were chosen by the order of God, one each from his own tribe; but breaking off his discourse, he had not mentioned for what purpose. He now says, that by command of Joshua (47) they took up twelve stones and placed them in Gilgal, that a well marked memorial might exist among posterity. Moreover, as he only relates what was done after the passage of the people, what is interposed should be interpreted as in the pluperfect tense. (48) It is also very obvious that the copula is used instead of the rational particle. (49) The substance is, that before the priests moved their foot from the middle of the river where they stood, the stones at their feet were taken and placed in Gilgal, to be perpetual witnesses of the miracle, and that Joshua thus faithfully executed what God had commanded. Joshua, therefore, called the men whom he had previously chosen, but not without the command of God, that through it he might have a stronger attestation to his authority. For had Joshua raised up a trophy of that kind of his own accord, the piety which dictated it might indeed have been laudable, but the admonition founded only on the will of man might perhaps have been despised. But now when God himself raises the sign, it is impious to pass it carelessly by. He intimates, accordingly, that it was a monument deserving of the greatest attention when he introduces the children asking, what mean these stones?

TRAPP, "Joshua 4:1 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying,

Ver. 1. And it came to pass, when all the people.] Heb., All the nation; Goi, so the Israelites are here and elsewhere called. The Jews, then, have no reason to reproach Christians by that name, calling us Goiim and Mamzer Goiim, bastardly heathens.

Were clean passed over.] Without the least opposition of the Canaanites, who were

intimidated and infatuated.

BESO, ". The Lord spake unto Joshua This was commanded before, (Joshua 3:12,) and is here repeated with enlargement, as being now to be put in execution. It is the pious conjecture of the learned Bishop Patrick, that Joshua was gone into some place of retirement, to return thanks immediately for this wonderful mercy; and then God met him and spake thus to him. Or, perhaps, it was by Eleazar the priest that God gave these and other instructions to Joshua; for though he is not mentioned here, yet, when Joshua was ordained by the imposition of hands to this great trust, God appointed that Eleazar should ask counsel for him, after the judgment of Urim; and at his word Joshua and all the children of Israel were to go out and come in, umbers 27:21.

COFFMA, "Verse 1"And it came to pass when all the nation had clean passed over the Jordan, that Jehovah spake unto Joshua saying, Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, and command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of the Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and carry them over with you, and lay them down in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: and Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of Jehovah your God in the midst of the Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel; that this may be a sign among you, that, when your children ask in time to come, What mean ye by these stones? then ye shall say unto them, Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; when it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off; and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel forever."

The use of cairns of stones as memorials is a mark of the extreme antiquity of this narrative. (See the introduction to Joshua.)

"Forever ..." ow, that cairn is invisible; but the institutions the two cairns (one in the midst of the river, and the other at Gilgal) typified, namely, Christian baptism and the Lord's Supper, shall indeed last forever! The instructions here show clearly that the "crossing" is still under way, and that the priests were still standing in the midst of the Jordan. Blair and others have supposed that the Crossing was indeed complete, and that these twelve special representatives of Israel went back to the place where the priests had stood to gather the stones. It is very difficult to reconstruct all of the action precisely. In any case, the purpose of the twelve and the memorial was to show the participation of all of the twelve tribes of Israel in this event.

COSTABLE, "Verses 1-14Piling up stones was often a covenant ritual in the ancient ear East. [ote: G. Herbert Livingston, The Pentateuch in its Cultural Environment, p157.] It was a common method of preserving the memory of important events (cf. Genesis 8:20;

Genesis 12:7; Genesis 35:7; et al.).

There were apparently two piles of12stones each, one at Gilgal ( Joshua 4:3-8; Joshua 4:20) and one in the Jordan River bed ( Joshua 4:9). Some scholars believe there was only one pile of stones, which the IV translation also suggests. [ote: E.g, Hess, p109.] The Israelites probably constructed two memorials because the crossing was so miraculous that God wanted to be sure their children and the Canaanites believed it really happened. The monument at Gilgal probably consisted of large stones that people could not normally remove from the riverbed. Building a monument in the river was impossible under normal circumstances due to the volume and current of the water there. Thus the Israelite children and the Canaanites had a double proof, two witnesses, of God"s faithfulness and power. God specified12stones for each monument to represent the12tribes.

"o certain identification exists for the site of "the Gilgal". It is not necessary or even likely that all the occurrences of Gilgal in the Bible refer to the same location. The name means "circle", and is a good description for a fortified camp such as must have been present in Joshua"s time." [ote: Ibid, p115.]

"It is doubtful whether there was either city or town in that place before the arrival of the Israelites." [ote: Bush, p52.]

EBC, "JORDA DIVIDED.

Joshua Ch. 3-4.

AT Joshua's command the priests carrying the ark are again in motion. Bearing the sacred vessel on their shoulders, they make straight for the bank of the river. "The exact spot is unknown; it certainly cannot be that which the Greek tradition has fixed, where the eastern banks are sheer precipices of ten or fifteen feet high. Probably it was either immediately above or below, where the cliffs break away; above at the fords, or below where the river assumes a tamer character on its way to the Dead Sea."* Following the priests, at the interval of a full half-mile, was the host of Israel. "There was the mailed warrior with sword and shield, and the aged patriarch, trembling on his staff. Anxious mothers and timid maidens were there, and helpless infants of a day old; and there, too, were flocks and herds and all the possessions of a great nation migrating westward in search of a home. Before them lay their promised inheritance,

'While Jordan rolled between,'

full to the brim, and overflowing all its banks. evertheless, through it lies their road, and God commands the march. The priests take up the sacred ark and bear it boldly down to the brink; when lo! 'the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon a heap very far from the city Adam, that is before Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the Salt Sea, failed, and were

cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.' And thus, too, has all-conquering faith carried the thousand times ten thousand of God's people in triumph through the Jordan of death to the Canaan of eternal rest."**

*Stanley's " Sinai and Palestine," p. 303.

**"Land and Book," vol. 2:, pp. 460-61.

The description of the parting of the waters is clear enough in the main, though somewhat obscure in detail. The obscurity arises from the meaningless expression in the Authorized Version, "very far from the city Adam, which is beside Zaretan." The Revised rendering gives a much more natural meaning - "rose up in one heap, very far off, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan." The names Adam and Zaretan occur nowhere else in Scripture, nor are they mentioned by Josephus; some think we have a relic of Adam in the first part of ed-Damieh, the name of a ford, and others, following the rendering of the Septuagint, which has consider the final "arim" to be equivalent to "adim " or "adam," the Hebrew letter "r" being almost the same as ''d." What we are taught is, that the waters were cut off from the descending river a long way up, while down below the whole channel was laid bare as far as the Dead Sea. The miracle involved an accumulation of water in the upper reaches of the river, and as it was obviously undesirable that this should continue for a long time, enough of the channel was laid bare to enable the great host to cross rapidly in a broad belt, and without excitement or confusion. The sceptical objection is completely obviated that it was physically impossible for so vast a host to make the passage in a short time.

As soon as the waters began to retreat, after the feet of the priests were planted in them, the priests passed on to the middle of the channel, and stood there "firm, on dry ground," until all the people were passed clean over. The vast host crossed at once, and drew up on the opposite bank. That no attempt was made by the men of Jericho, which was only about five miles off, to attack them and stop their passage, can be explained only on the supposition that they were stricken with panic. One inhabitant undoubtedly heard of the passage without surprise. Rahab could feel no astonishment that the arm of God should thus be made bare before the people whom He was pledged to protect and guide. As little could she wonder at the paralysis which had petrified her own people.

The priests passed on before the people, and stood firm in the midst of the river until the whole host had passed. It was both a becoming thing that they should go before, and that they should stand so firm. It is not always that either priests or Christian ministers have set the example of going before in any hazardous undertaking. They have not always moved so steadily in the van of great movements, nor stood so firmly in the midst of the river. What shall we say of those whose idea, whether of Hebrew priesthood or of Christian ministry, has been that of a mere office, that of men ordained to perform certain mechanical functions, in whom personal character and personal example signified little or nothing? Is it not infinitely nearer to the Bible view that the ministers of religion are the leaders of the

people, and that they ought as such to be ever foremost in zeal, in holiness, in self-denial, in victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil? And of all men ought they not to stand firm? Where are Mr. Byends, and Mr. Facing-Both-Ways, and Mr. Worldly- Wiseman more out of place than in the ministry? Where does even the world look more for consistency and devotion and fearless regard to the will of God? What should we think of an army where the officers counted it enough to see to the drill and discipline of the men, and in the hour of battle confined themselves to mere mechanical duties, and were outstripped in self-denial, in courage, in dash and daring by the commonest of their soldiers? Happy the Church where the officers are officers indeed! Feeling ever that their place is in the front rank of the battle and in the vanguard of every perilous enterprise, and that it is their part to set the men an example of unwavering firmness even when the missiles of death are whistling or bursting on every side!

Who shall try to picture the feelings of the people during that memorable crossing? The outstretched arm of God was even more visibly shown than in the crossing of the Red Sea, for in that case a natural cause, the strong east wind, contributed something to the effect, while in this case no secondary cause was employed, the drying up of the channel being due solely to miracle. Who among all that host could fail to feel that God was with them? And how solemn yet cheering must the thought have been alike to the men of war looking forward to scenes of danger and death, and to the women and children, and the aged and infirm, dreading otherwise lest they should be trampled down amid the tumult! But of all whose hearts were moved by the marvellous transaction, Joshua must have been pre-eminent. "As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee." At the dividing of the sea the leadership of Moses began, and they were all baptized unto him in the cloud and in the sea. And now, in like manner, the leadership of Joshua begins at the dividing of the river, and baptism unto Joshua takes the place of baptism unto Moses. A new chapter of an illustrious history begins as its predecessor had begun, but not to be marred and rendered abortive by unbelief and disobedience like the last. How true God has been to His word! What wonders He has done among the people! What honour He has put upon Joshua! How worthy He is to be praised! Will disloyalty to Him ever occur again, will this marvellous deed be forgotten, and the miserable gods of the heathen be preferred to Jehovah? Will any future prophet have cause to say, "O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? For your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew, it goeth away"?

It is to be especially remarked that God took into His own hands the prescription of the method by which this great event was to be commemorated. It seems as if He could not trust the people to do it in a way that would be free from objection and from evil tendency. It was assumed that the event was worthy of special commemoration. True, indeed, there had been no special commemoration of the passage of the sea, but then the Passover was instituted so near to that event that it might serve as a memorial of it as well as of the protection of the Israelites when the firstborn of the Egyptians was slain. And generally the people had been taught, what their own hearts in some degree recognised, that great mercies should be specially commemorated. The Divine method of commemorating the drying up of

the Jordan was a very simple one. In the first place, twelve men were selected, one from every tribe, to do the prescribed work. The democratic constitution of the nation was recognised - each tribe was to take part in it; and as it was a matter in which all were concerned, each person was to take part in the election of the representative of his tribe. Then each of these twelve representatives was to take from the bed of the river, from the place where the priests had stood with the ark, a stone, probably as large as he could carry. The twelve stones were to be carried to the place where the host lodged that night, and to be erected as a standing memorial of the miracle. It was a very simple memorial, but it was all that was needed. It was not like the proud temples or glorious pyramids of Egypt, reared as these were to give glory to man more than to God. It was like Jacob's pillar before, or Samuel's Ebenezer afterwards; void of every ornament or marking that could magnify man, and designed for one single purpose - to recall the goodness of God.

It would appear, from Joshua 4:9, that two sets of stones were set up, Joshua, following the spirit of the Divine direction, having caused a second set to be erected in the middle of the river on the spot where the priests had stood. Some have supposed that that verse is an interpolation of later date; but, as it occurs in all the manuscripts, and as it is expressly stated in the Septuagint and Vulgate versions that this was a different transaction from the other, we must accept it as such. The one memorial stood on the spot where the ark had indicated the presence of God, the other where the first encampment of the host had shown God's faithfulness to His word. Both seemed to proclaim the great truth afterwards brought out in the exquisite words of the psalm - ''God is our refuge and our strength; a very present help in time of trouble." They might not be needed so much for the generation that experienced the deliverance; but in future generations they would excite the curiosity of the children, and thus afford an opportunity to the parents to rehearse the transactions of that day, and thrill their hearts with the sense of God's mercy.

Among devout Israelites, that day was never forgotten. The crossing of the Jordan was coupled with the crossing of the sea, as the two crowning tokens of God's mercy in the history of Israel, and the most remarkable exhibitions of that Divine power which had been so often shown among them. In that wailing song, the seventy-fourth psalm, where God's wonderful works of old are contrasted in a very sad spirit with the unmitigated desolations that met the writer's eye, almost in the same breath in which he extols the miracle of the sea, "Thou didst divide the sea by Thy strength," he gives thanks for the miracle of the river, "Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: Thou driedst up mighty rivers." And in a song, not of wailing, but of triumph, the hundred and fourteenth psalm, we have the same combination: -

"When Israel went forth out of Egypt, The house of Jacob from a people of strange language; Judah became His sanctuary, Israel His dominion. The sea saw it, and fled; Jordan was driven back. The mountains skipped like rams, The little hills like lambs.

What aileth thee, O thou sea, that thou fleest? Thou Jordan, that thou turnest back?

Ye mountains, that ye skip like rams;

Ye little hills like lambs?

Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord,

At the presence of the God of Jacob;

Which turned the rock into a pool of water,

The flint into a fountain of waters."

The point of this psalm lies in the first verse - in the reference to the time ''when Israel came out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language.'' Israel on that occasion gave a signal proof of his trust in God. At God's bidding, and with none but God to trust in, he turned his back on Egypt, and made for the wilderness. It was a delight to God to receive this mark of trust and obedience, and in recognition of it the mightiest masses and forces of nature were moved or arrested. The mountains and hills skipped like living creatures, and the sea saw it and fled. It seemed as if God could not do too much for His people. It was the same spirit that was shown when they followed Joshua to the river. They showed that they trusted God. They renounced the visible and the tangible for the invisible and the spiritual. They rose up at Joshua's command, or rather at the command of God by Joshua; and, pleased with this mark of trust, God caused the waters of the Jordan to part asunder. Surely there is something pathetic in this; the Almighty is so pleased when His children trust Him, that to serve them the strongest forces are moved about as if they were but feathers.

In many ways the truth has been exemplified in later times. When a young convert, at home or abroad, takes up decided ground for Christ, coming out from the world and becoming separate, very blessed tokens of God's nearness and of God's interest are usually given him. And Churches that at the call of Christ surrender their worldly advantages, receive tokens of spiritual blessing that infinitely outweigh in sweetness and in spiritual value all that they lose. "Them that honour Me, I will honour."

Occurrences of more recent times show clearly that God did well in taking into His own hands the prescription of the way in which the crossing of the Jordan was to be commemorated. Tradition has it that it was at the same place where Joshua crossed that Jesus was baptized by John. That may well be doubted, for the Bethabara where John was baptizing was probably at a higher point of the river. But it is quite possible that it was at this spot that Elijah's mantle smote the river, and he and his servant passed over on dry ground. Holding that all these events occurred at the same place, tradition has called in the aid of superstition, and given a sacred character to the waters of the river at this spot. Many have seen, and every one has read of the pilgrimage to the Jordan, performed every spring, from which many

hope to reap such advantage. ''In the mosaics of the earliest churches at Rome and Ravenna," says Dean Stanley, "before Christian and pagan art were yet divided, the Jordan appears as a river god pouring his streams out of his urn. The first Christian emperor had always hoped to receive his long-deferred baptism in the Jordan, up to the moment when the hand of death struck him at icomedia. . . . Protestants, as well as Greeks and Latins, have delighted to carry off its waters for the same sacred purpose to the remotest regions of the West."

o doubt the expectation of spiritual benefit from the waters of the Jordan is one cause of the annual pilgrimage thither, and of the strange scene that presents itself when the pilgrims are bathing. It seems impossible for man, except under the influence of the strongest spiritual views, to avoid the belief that somehow mechanical means may give rise to spiritual results. There is nothing from which he is naturally more averse than spiritual activity. Any amount of mechanical service he will often render to save him from spiritual exercise. Symbols without number he will willingly provide, if he thereby escape the necessity of going into the immediate presence of God, and worshipping Him who is a Spirit in spirit and in truth. But can mechanical service or material symbols be anything but an evil, if the would-be worshipper is thereby prevented from recognising the necessity of a heart-to-heart fellowship with the living God? Must we not be in living touch with God if the stream of Divine influence is to reach our hearts, and we are to be changed into His image? In the Psalms, which express the very essence of Hebrew devotion, spiritual contact with God is the only source of blessing. "O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee: my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where there is no water. To see Thy power and Thy glory, so as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary."

Thus it was that by God's prescription the twelve plain stones taken out of the Jordan were the only memorial of the great deliverance. There was no likeness on them of the Divine Being by whom the miracle had been performed. There was nothing to encourage acts of reverence or worship directed toward the memorial. Twelve rough stones, with no sculptured figures or symbols, not even dressed by hammer and chisel, but simply as they were taken out of the river, were the memorial. They were adapted for one purpose, and for one only: "When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the 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: 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."

PETT, "Commentary On The Book of Joshua Chapters 1-4.

Israel prepare to enter the land of Canaan, and experience the miraculous power of YHWH in opening up the River Jordan so that they can pass over. Meanwhile two military scouts have reconnoitred Jericho, being saved from capture by a prostitute

innkeeper Rahab who is promised that when Jericho is taken she and all her close family will be spared. The crossing of the Jordan is safely accomplished and twelve stones set up as a memorial of the event.

Chapter 4. Setting Up A Memorial.

This chapter describes how God commanded that the men of Israel should take twelve stones out of the middle of Jordan, and carry them to the first place they lodged at as a memorial of their passage over it. It also describes how Joshua set up twelve other stones in the river itself, and how many men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, went before the Israelites when they crossed over. Once this was done, the priests were ordered to come out of Jordan, and the waters then returned to their place. The time when this miracle was wrought is noted, and an account given of Joshua's placing the twelve stones taken out of Jordan in Gilgal, and the use that they would have in the future time.

The importance of this episode comes out especially in the deliberate repetition and tracking back that takes place which has confused many scholars. They overlook the fact that this was intended to be read to the people, and that the repetition and tracking back enabled the listeners not only to grasp the story but to take part in it and to grasp it fully so as to remember it. It helped to ram the significance of the story home to them, together with each important detail, so that they would not overlook it or forget it. They could not glance back at the previous page to remind themselves what had happened, so the account repeats it to ensure that they have grasped and absorbed it. A reading of many ancient narratives will bring home how this was an important method used by ancient writers.

Verses 1-3Chapter 4. Setting Up A Memorial.

This chapter describes how God commanded that the men of Israel should take twelve stones out of the middle of Jordan, and carry them to the first place they lodged at as a memorial of their passage over it. It also describes how Joshua set up twelve other stones in the river itself, and how many men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, went before the Israelites when they crossed over. Once this was done, the priests were ordered to come out of Jordan, and the waters then returned to their place. The time when this miracle was wrought is noted, and an account given of Joshua's placing the twelve stones taken out of Jordan in Gilgal, and the use that they would have in the future time.

The importance of this episode comes out especially in the deliberate repetition and tracking back that takes place which has confused many scholars. They overlook the fact that this was intended to be read to the people, and that the repetition and tracking back enabled the listeners not only to grasp the story but to take part in it and to grasp it fully so as to remember it. It helped to ram the significance of the story home to them, together with each important detail, so that they would not overlook it or forget it. They could not glance back at the previous page to remind

themselves what had happened, so the account repeats it to ensure that they have grasped and absorbed it. A reading of many ancient narratives will bring home how this was an important method used by ancient writers.

Joshua 4:1-3

And so it was that when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, YHWH spoke to Joshua, saying, Take you twelve men out of the people, a man from each tribe, and command them saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and carry them over with you, and set them down in the lodging place where you shall lodge this night. The piling up of stones was a recognised method of establishing a memorial. It carried covenantal overtones (Genesis 31:46-48). Here, as in Genesis, each tribe was represented by a stone. As promised the twelve tribes had reached the promised land. God had fulfilled His covenant.

Other examples of memorial stones can be found in Genesis 28:18; Genesis 31:45-49; Joshua 7:26; Joshua 8:29; Joshua 24:26; 2 Samuel 18:18). In no case where they put in a circle.

The command was through Joshua to the people. Take you (plural). It was the people who were to select the twelve men. These twelve men, representatives of each tribe acting on behalf of the people, were then to take from the place where the priests stood with the Ark, in the middle of the Jordan riverbed, twelve stones, and place them where they lodged that night on behalf of the whole people.

Out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm. This may signify that the priests very sensibly stood on rocks on the river bed, but it need not mean that those actual rocks had to be selected.

It should be noted that there is no mention of a circle of stones and Gilgal strictly means a rolling or the cartwheel, not specifically a circle. If the account was supposed to explain a famous circle of stones that fact would surely have been made clear. The usual method was piling up stones and there is no reason to doubt that this was so in this case. The pile showed that the twelve tribes had survived and had arrived and camped there.

PIK 1-24, "Typical ApplicationThat which is recorded in the book of Joshua fully maintains the Truth presented in the Pentateuch, yet its typical teaching carries us considerably beyond what is there set forth. This is to be expected, especially when we bear in mind (as we must do continually while pondering its contents) that it was the new generation of Israel which is here in view. The lesson taught at the supernatural crossing of the Jordan conducts us farther in the unfolding of the Gospel than what was signified at the Red Sea. There, it was the might of God put forth on behalf of His covenant people in the total destruction of that antagonistic power which had held them captive so long and had refused to let them go. Here, it was His vanquishing of that obstacle

which barred the way into their inheritance. When Satans captives are freed at the miracle of regeneration, he does not henceforth ignore them and leave them in peace: though he cannot prevent their entrance into the "purchased possession," yet he is ever assailing them in one form or other as he seeks to keep them from a present enjoyment of the same. What is required from us in order to thwart those designs of our Enemy, we are seeking to show in the course of this series of articles.But it was the Divine side of things, the provisions God made for Israels entrance into and occupation of the land of Canaan with which we were more concerned in our last. Those provisions were, first, the appointing and qualifying of Joshua to be the leader of Israel, the typical captain of their salvation." Second, the ark of the covenant, which (we repeat) was both the witness of Jehovahs presence in Israels midst and the symbol of His relations to them. And third, the priesthood, culminating in their service in "the tabernacle which was pitched in Shiloh." Thus, as we hope to yet show, not only are we required to turn unto the epistles of Paul to the Romans, the Ephesians and the Colossians, in order to find the antitypical truths of what was spiritually adumbrated of us by Israel in the book of Joshua, but also to his epistle to the Hebrews. We know of only one other writer who has called attention to that fact, in an article written before we were born, and which appeared in a magazine (The Bible Treasury) under the title of "The Book of Joshua and the Epistle to the Hebrews," unto which we gladly acknowledge our indebtedness and of which we made flee use.We are now to take notice of the Divine command which Joshua received, to take twelve stones from the bed of the Jordan, "out of the place where the priests feet stood firm" (Josh. 4:3), which were made a "memorial" unto future generations, and in addition, the setting up of "twelve stones in the midst of Jordan" (Josh. 5:9). At the Red Sea Israel neither left twelve stones in its bed, nor took twelve with them unto the other side. Instead, Pharaoh and his chosen captains, his chariots and his host, God drowned therein, so that Israel sang "The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone" (Ex. 15:4, 5). "But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians" (Ex. 14:29, 30), and put the song of redemption into their mouths, saying, "The Lord hath triumphed gloriously" (Ex. 15:1, 13). At the Red Sea Jehovah showed Himself strong on the behalf of that people who had previously found shelter under "the blood of the lamb," and whom He now brought nigh unto Himself"unto Thy holy habitation" (Ex. 15:13, 17).But at the Jordan a further and grander lesson was taught Israel, something which went beyond the truth of redemption by blood and by power, even that of resurrection. Fundamental and blessed as is the truth taught us by the cross of Christ, there is something further which is even more vital and glorious, and that is our Lords victory over the grave. When the apostle throws out that irrefutable challenge, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of Gods elect?" his triumphant answer is, "It is God that justifieth, who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again" (Rom. 8:33, 34). It is abundantly clear in 1 Corinthians 15 (see especially verses 3 and 4, 14, 17) that the resurrection of Christ is not only an integral part of the Gospel but its distinctive and outstanding feature; and those evangelists who go no farther than the cross are preaching only half of the

Gospel. But more, the saints themselves are greatly the losers if their faith and spiritual apprehensions stop short at the atoning death of Christ, for unspeakably precious as it is to recognize our death unto sin in the death of the Surety, still more blessed is it to perceive our federal union with Him and our title to the inheritance in His triumph over death.At the Jordan the redeemed of God were shown their own passage through death and resurrection by the figure of the twelve stones placed in the Jordan and the twelve stones taken out of it. It was at this point that Israel entered upon a new stage in their history, yet perpetuating all the essential features which had previously marked them as the peculiar people of the Lordas will be seen when we examine (D.V.) into the new circumcising at Gilgal, the celebration of the Passover, and the appearing of the Captain of the Lords host with drawn sword (chapter 5). evertheless, as said above, that which characterized the crossing of the Jordan is in sharp contrast with what took place at the Red Sea. There, instead of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant being seen, it was Israels enemies which lay there, consumed as stubble by the wrath of the Lord. On the other hand, no Canaanites were in Jordan, not a single foe was overthrown there; yet it was sanctified to the Lord and to Israel by the priests and the ark of the covenant for glory and victory as truly as were the waters of the Red Sea when they returned and engulfed the host of Pharaoh in terrible judgmentthat glory and victory quickly appears in the sequel.As previously pointed out, the river Jordan was not only the emblem of death, but of judgment also, as the word itself signifies"jor," literally, "spread," and "dan" which means "judging" (Gen. 30:6). The use made of this river in ew Testament times supplies clear confirmation, for the Jordan was where the Lords forerunner exercised his ministry, of whom it was foretold "prepare ye the way of the Lord." And how did he do so? By preparing a people to receive Him. In what manner? By preaching "Repent ye," i.e., judge yourselves; and those who did so were (most appropriately) baptized of him in the Jordan confessing their sins" (Matthew 3:8); and by that "baptism of repentance unto the remission of sins" (Mark 1:4) they acknowledged that death was their due, and therefore were they (symbolically) placed in a watery grave. There too, the Lord Jesus as the Surety and Sin-bearer of His people identified Himself with them by being placed beneath its waters, thereby pledging Himself unto that "baptism" of death (Luke 12:50) wherein He met the needs of all who truly repent or adjudge themselves worthy of death, when all "the waves and billows" of Gods wrath (Ps. 42:6) passed over Him.The good Shepherd entered the river of judgment on behalf of His sheep, making for them a new covenant by His atoning death, delivering thereby from judgment all who follow Him: "this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28) He declared only a few hours before the crucifixion, when He instituted the memorial of His death. That was typified by the entrance into Jordan of the ark of the covenant "borne by the priests" and at once the flow of its waters was stayed, so that the people who followed it passed over dry-shod, though the ark itself did not come out of the Jordan until it had secured a passage for all the people (Josh. 3:17). Profoundly suggestive and significant are those words For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan until every thing was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua (Josh. 4:10). How that reminds us of

"Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst . . . when Jesus therefore had received the vinegar He said, It is finished, and He bowed His head and gave up the spirit" (John 19:28, 30). All that the justice of God demanded, all that the Law required (" Moses commanded") had been rendered by the antitypical Joshua."And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying, Take ye twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, 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 there in the lodging place where ye shall lodge this night" (Josh. 4:1-3), i.e., in Gilgal (v. 19). That those stones were large ones is evident from the fact that they were to be carried upon the "shoulder." The men who carried them had been selected beforehand (Josh. 3:13), ready for this task, that there might be no delay in connection with what lay immediately before the nationthe encamping of that vast multitude for the night in a suitable place, namely, at one which was afterwards called Gilgal, and which some inform us was about mid-way between the river Jordan and the city of Jericho. In the light of Joshua 4:4, "then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had prepared of the children of Israel," we personally regard that as a foreshadowing of the antitypical Joshua, who at an early stage of His ministry "called unto Him the twelve" (Mark 6:7)."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 Israel: That they may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? 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" (vv. 5-7). The two words we have italicized call attention to the double design which those stones were intended to serve, which will be more intelligible to the reader when he bears in mind that those twelve stones "did Joshua pitch in Gilgal" (v. 20). They were not left flat on the ground but orderly formed into a cairn or monument. The Hebrew word for "pitch" there, Youngs Concordance defines as "To cause to stand, raise." Twenty times this verb is rendered "set up" in the Authorized Version. It is the same word which is used in connection with the erection of the Tabernacle when it was complete (Ex. 40:2, etc.). Thus, those large stones were arranged in such a manner, possibly placed one on top of another monolith-like, so as to attract the attention and invoke the inquiry of those who should afterwards behold them.That monument of stones was designed first as a "sign" unto Israel. It was a message for their hearts via their eyes rather than ears. It was an enduring sermon in stone. It spoke of the goodness and power of God exercised on their behalf at the Jordan. That word "sign" is a very full oneour Lords miracles are termed "signs" (John 20:30; Acts 2:22). The two wonders which Moses was empowered to work before his brethren were called "signs" (Ex. 4:1-9), they authenticated him as their Divinely-appointed leader and signified that the power of the Almighty was with him. In Deuteronomy 11:18, and Judges 6:17, "sign" has the force of token or

representationof Israels being regulated by Gods Word, and of the Lords granting success to the commission He had committed to Gideon. In other passages a "sign" was a portent or pledge of something concerning the future1 Samuel 10:1-9; 2 Kings 19:29. In each of those senses may "sign" be understood in Joshua 4:6. That cairn of stones was to signify that Israel had not crossed the Jordan by their own ability, but because of the miracle-working power of God. It was a representation unto them that they had passed through the rivers bed dry-shod. More especially, it was an earnest and pledge of what God would yet do for them.Second, that monument was designed as a "memorial" that Israel had passed through the river of death, that they were now (typically) on resurrection ground, that judgment lay behind them. Israel upon the Canaan side of Jordan adumbrated that blessed truth expressed by our Redeemer in John 5:24, where He so definitely assures His people that each soul who hears His word and believes on the One who sent Him "hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life." The reason why he shall not "come into condemnation" is because in the person of his Surety he has already been condemned and suffered the full judgment of God upon all his sins, and therefore, judicially, as federally united to Christ, he "is passed from death [that death which is the wages of sin] unto life"that "life" which is the award of the Law, as it was "magnified" by the Savior and "made honorable" (Isa. 42:21). As the ark of the covenant entered the river of death and judgment the flow of its waters was stopped until the ark had secured a safe passage for all who followed it; so Christ endured the unsparing wrath of God that by His atoning death those who were legally one with Him, and who are made voluntary followers of Him, shall be delivered from all future judgment.In addition to the monument erected on the Canaan side of the river we are told that "Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there unto this day" (Josh. 4:9). Thus there was a double monument to perpetually commemorate Israels passing through the place of judgment: the one in the midst of the Jordan, the other in their new camping-ground at Gilgal. What anointed eye can fail to see in them the two signs and memorials which Christ has instituted to symbolize that, as the result of their faith in His atoning death, His people have not only passed through death and judgment, but are now united to a risen Christ and are "alive unto God"! The meaning of the two ordinances appointed by Christ dearly confirms this, for each of them speaks of both death and resurrection. "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:4, 5; and cf. Colossians 2:12). Christian baptism is designed to symbolize the believers union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection, as well as being his personal profession that he is dead to the world and has resolved to walk in newness of life.The Lords Supper also, while it celebrates our passage with Christ through death, yet it is with the added blessedness and triumph of being now on the resurrection side of judgment. Just as the twelve stones which had been in Jordan were formed into a single cairn in the camp at Gilgaltype of "the Israel of God" (Gal. 6:16) in

its entirety, made into "one body"was a testimony that the twelve tribes had passed through the unfordable river; so the Lords supper, partaken of by those who were once lost sinners under condemnation, is a testimony that they have passed over, and being on resurrection ground can look forward not to judgment but to the consummation of their hope and bliss. This is clear from 1 Corinthians 11:26, "For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lords death till He come." The Lords supper not only looks back to the cross but forward to Christs return in glory, and therefore is it designated a "feast" (1 Cor. 5:8) and not a fast, and instead of "bitter herbs" (Ex. 12:8) being eaten, the "wine" of gladness is drunk.Practical ApplicationThe very fact that God saw fit to devote two whole chapters of His Word unto a description of Israels crossing of the Jordan is more than a hint that the narration of that memorable incident embodies teaching of much importance and value for His people in succeeding generations. Christians are greatly the losers if they concentrate their attention chiefly upon the ew Testament and regard the Old Testament as containing little of vital moment for their souls. If on the one hand the ew Testament often illuminates and explains the Old, yet on the other hand there is not a little in the ew Testament which cannot be properly understood apart from the Old. In the last two or three articles we sought to indicate the typical and spiritual significance of Israels passage through the river of death and judgment; on this occasion we propose to point out some of the practical lessons to be learned from the things there recorded. We shall not give a complete exposition of chapter 4: but single out various details for comment, and intimate the many useful truths inculcated by the memorial erected in Gilgal."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" (v. 10). There are three things here which are worthy of our observation and admiration. First, the implicit obedience and patient fortitude of the priests. They were the ones who occupied the place both of honor and of danger. They were the ones who bore the ark, before whose presence the waters had "rose up like a heap," held by an invisible Hand. Advancing to "the midst of Jordan," they remained stationary for many hours, until all the vast host of Israel had crossed to the far shore. It was a severe test both of their courage and patience. Therein an example is left the ministers of the Gospel to continue steadfast in their duty, to be a model unto their people of uncompromising fidelity, of undaunted courage, of patient endurance. Second, we see again how that Joshua closely followed the orders he had received from Moses, doing nothing without a Divine command; while the priests, in turn, were required to be regulated by Joshuas ordersthe ministers of the Gospel are to be governed solely by Christ.Third, the deportment of "the people" on this occasion exemplified that which should ever characterize the rank and file of the saints in connection with those who minister unto them in spiritual things. We are told that they "hasted and passed over." That denoted their thoughtful consideration of the priests, so that they would not be put to unnecessary delay and strain through their dilatorinessthe slower their movement, the longer the priests would have to stand bearing the ark! The

practical lesson is that Gods people should do everything in their power to make the spiritual lot of Gods servants easier. That can be done by promptly responding to their instructions, by supporting them through earnest prayer, and by being thoughtful of their comfort. That is something which particularly needs to be laid to heart in this day of selfishness and lack of concern for the comfort of others. It is both solemn and blessed to note how God took note of this detail, that the Holy Spirit has specifically recorded this thoughtful "haste" of the people. The Lord not only marks what we do, but how we do it: as in "his princes gave willingly" (2 Chron. 35:8), "their nobles put their necks to the work of the Lord . . . Zabbi earnestly repaired the other piece" (eh. 3:5, 20)."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: About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle, to the plains of Jericho" (vv. 12, 13). Here is a case in point how that one part of Scripture is dependent upon another for its explanation and interpretation. We have to go back to umbers to discover why these particular ones constituted the fighting force of the nation. Those two and a half tribes, who were rich in cattle, desired to have for their portion the fertile lands of Jazer and Gilead, rather than any part of Canaan (vv. 1-5). When Moses demurred, they agreed to build sheepfolds for their cattle and fenced cities for their little ones, and then they would go armed before the children of Israel until the remaining tribes had secured their inheritance (vv. 16, 17). Moses agreed to their proposal, and they ratified that arrangement; and Moses then gave command to Eleazar and Joshua to see that their promise was made good. Here in Joshua 4 we are shown the fulfillment of the same. Those two and a half tribes were the only ones unencumbered with their families and flocks, and thus we see how suited they were to be the fighting force, and how graciously God made all things work together for good unto His people."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" (v. 14). Therein we may see how the Lord made good unto Joshua the word He gave him in Joshua 3:7. "Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it" (1 Thess. 5:24). That detail has been placed upon imperishable record for the encouragement of every servant of the Lord. Ministers of the Gospel may prosecute their labors with absolute confidence in the promises of their Master: not one of them shall fail. He has said of His Word, "it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it" (Isa. 55:11); then he need not entertain the slightest doubt about the same. He has declared "all that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me," that they "shall believe on Me through their [His ministers] word" (John 6:37; 17:20); then neither the perversity of the opposition of Satan can prevent it. He has promised human nature nor His servants, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world (Matthew 28:20), then let them conduct themselves accordingly. Let them also learn from Joshua 4:14, and its context that the surest way. for them to gain the respect and observation of their people is to be diligent in personally honoring and obeying God, and caring for their welfare."And the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying, Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan. Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan" (vv. 15-17). That is indeed striking: the

priests did not take a step until they were Divinely authorized. There they stood hour after hour, and there they still remained after the vast concourse had passed through and reached the other side in safety! Patiently they waited until leave was given them to move. They did not act on their own impulse or initiative, but meekly waited Gods time. "The priests did not quit their station till Joshua, who had commanded them hitherto, ordered them from thence: nor did he thus order them till the Lord commanded him: so obedient were all parties to the Word of God, and so entirely confident of His protection" (Matthew Henry). It is ours to render unquestioning obedience to God, and leave the consequences with Him; nor need we have the least fear or hesitation in so doingwe shall not be the losers, but the gainers. "Them that honor Me, I will honor" (1 Sam. 2:30) is more certain than that night shall follow day, as the writer has often proved."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" (v. 18). o sooner did the priests with the ark step upon the shore of Canaan than the Jordan resumed its normal flow, or rather its abnormal condition, for it was then in flood. That at once accentuated the miracle which had just been wrought, making it the more apparent that the stopping of its flow was not from any abnormal natural cause, but that it was the will of their Creator which had temporarily suspended the laws of nature, for the display of His glory and the fulfillment of His promise unto His people. As Israel beheld the upper waters which had been invisibly dammed and the lower ones that had stood up in a heap now suddenly acting as formerly, how apparent it would be unto them that it was the presence and power of their covenant God which had wrought so gloriously for them!Bearing in mind the meaning of "Jordan," the spiritual application of verse 18 is apparent. It was the presence in its midst of the priests who bore the ark which stayed its course: and it is the godly example and faithful ministry of Gods servants which, under the Divine blessing to His people, and through their moral influence upon others, which hold back His judgments upon the world. They are the salt of the earth, which prevents the carcass of the unregenerate mass turning into complete putrefaction. But that "salt" has steadily diminished during the last two centuries. As the population of the world has increased, the proportion of the righteousdespite a widespread "profession"has decreased, and therefore sin has abounded more and more; and so too have the judgments of God. As the entrance of righteous oah and his family into the ark was the signal for the flood to commence, as the removal of just Lot from Sodom was at once followed lay the fire and brimstone from heaven, so the removal of Gods eminent servants and saints from the earth (the places of few being filled) has been followed by the Divine judgments which we have witnessed and are still witnessing. Dispensationally, Joshua 4:18, foreshadowed the awful fact that when the Day of grace is concluded, the world will be completely inundated by the storm of Gods wrath."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" (v. 19). There is nothing meaningless or valueless in the Scriptures. and we are the losers if we ignore or pass hurriedly over its time marks. The carnal critic would say, what interest is it unto

me which particular day of the month this event occurred; but different far should be the spirit of the believer. But how is he to ascertain the significance of this detail? By looking up the marginal references, and if they do not furnish what he needs, by consulting his concordance, where he will find that the first reference to "the tenth day" of the first month (Ex. 12:2, 3) supplies the key. It was the day when the paschal lamb was selected !to be slain on the fourteenth (Ex. 12:6, and see Joshua 5:10). How wonderfully God times everything for His people! "He so ordered things here that Israel entered Canaan four days before the annual solemnity of the Passover, and on the very day when the preparation for it was begun, for He would have them enter into Canaan graced and sanctified with that religious feast, and would have them to be reminded of their deliverance from Egypt that, combining the two together, God might be glorified as the Alpha and Omega of their blessing" (Matthew Henry)."And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch [i.e. "erect"] in Gilgal" (v. 20). Probably those large stones were placed on some eminence where there was none other, for they were to be "a monument unto the children of Israel forever" (v. 7). Some surmise, and we think with considerable probability; that when the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Johns baptism and he said unto them "Think not to say within yourselves we have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham" (Matthew 3:9) he pointed to the very cairn erected by Joshua. Confirmation of this appears to be furnished by John 1:28, which informs us that he baptized in "Bethabara beyond Jordan," for "Bethabara" means "the house of passage." i.e., the place where Israel passed over the river."And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers, in time to come, saying, What meaneth these stones? Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. 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" (vv. 21-23). ormal children have inquiring minds and ought not to be snubbed or even discouraged when they ask their parents questions. Rather should parents seek to improve their curiosity as an opening for instruction, directing the same into profitable channels. The very inquisitiveness of little ones affords their elders an opportunity to make known unto them the wonderful works of God, that their minds may be informed and their hearts awed by His perfections. But note well, it is the father (the "head" of the home) upon whom the main responsibility devolves, to see to it that his children are taught by him the things of God (Eph. 6:4). Let him not pass on this task to his wife, still less to "Sunday-school teachers.""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" (v. 24). Gods miraculous deliverances of His own people have a message for all the world, and when He is pleased to sanctify the same unto the unregenerate, they are deeply impressed thereby (Dan. 3:29; 6:25-27). The effects produced by the Jordan miracle are recorded in verse 1, which properly ends chapter iv: "Anal it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites which were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the

waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel." The Canaanites were completely dispirited and cowed, realizing their utter incompetence to successfully oppose a people who had the Almighty for their Friend and Benefactor. But we must now seek to formulate the various lessons which we should learn from the memorial erected at Gilgal to mark the miraculous passage of the Jordan.First, the wonderful works of God are worthy of treasuring in our memories, and He requires that pains be taken by us to see that they are so. It should be carefully noted that Joshua, even in the midst of a most exacting business, was not permitted to neglect the promotion of the Lords honor. While superintending the passage through the rivers bed of that vast concourse of people, with all their baggage (tents, etc.) and cattle, God bade him see to it that he took a man from each tribe and bid them select the twelve stones which were to be carried to Gilgal (Josh. 4:2, 3). or did he demur or ask for a more convenient season.Second, Gods ordering of this memorial is a solemn reminder of how prone our hearts are to forget His past interpositions on our behalf. Of Israel we are told they "forgat His works and His wonders that He showed them "; and again, that "they soon forgat His works" (Ps. 78:11; 106: 13). Alas, is not the same true of us? Even of the apostles Christ asked, "Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves ye took up?" (Matthew 16:9).Third, because of our proneness to forget, suitable means are to be used in assisting us. We are to make conscience of the fact that God has bidden us to "remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee" (Deut. 8:2), and that precept should be turned into earnest prayer that we may not be negligent therein. We should frequently call to mind our previous experiences of Gods faithfulness and tender care of us. This will strengthen the spirit of thanksgiving and cause us to praise God anew. It will deepen our confidence in Him to count upon Him in present emergencies and trust Him for future deliverances. The more we do so, the less shall we fear the experience of death, assured that God will undertake for us as we are called upon to pass through the valley of the shadows, as certainly as He conducted Israel safely through the Jordan (see 2 Corinthians 1:10)!Fourth, not only Gods past deliverances of us are to be treasured up in our memories, but also His mercies unto His people in times gone by. Faith is to look back to what the arm of the Lord hath done "in the ancient days, in the generations of old," and say, "Art not Thou He which hath dried the sea . . . that made the depths of the sea, a way for the ransomed to pass over." And what will be the consequence of such exercise of believing memories? This: "Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion" (Isa. 51:9-11). Why has God recorded the deliverance of oah from the flood and of Lot from Sodom but to assure us that "the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation" (2 Pet. 2:5-9). ot only is "what was written aforetime written for our learning and comfort" (Rom. 15:4), but what God did aforetime is to teach us what He can and will now do for His own. "I remembered Thy judgments of old, O Lord, and have comforted myself" (Ps. 119:52).Fifth, the monument erected at Gilgal teaches us that we should take thought of and seek to make provision for the rising generation. That cairn of stones was erected

with the express desire of evoking inquiry from those who should later behold it. God would have the wonders of His power and mercy preserved for posterity. There was to be a permanent witness of what God had wrought for His people; that no impotency or weakness of theirs prevented them reaching the shores of Canaan. It was meant as a sure pledge that God would continue to show Himself strong in Israels behalf and would overthrow those then in occupation of the land. Thus, we rejoice when readers of this magazine purchase the bound volumes with this design before them. At least one is now thankfully reading those volumes which his mother (now in heaven) purchased from us twenty years ago, when he was unconverted. We cherish the hope that the bound volumes will be read by many long after we are called Home.Sixth, in the nature or character of the two monuments which Joshua was instructed to set up, we see how different are the thoughts and ways of the Lord from those of men. o costly shrine, with useless ornamentations and affected splendor, was to mark the event, but only that which, though impressive, was simple and plain. "ever did triumphant column or arch, with all the magnificence of architecture, form so proper a monument of some celebrated victory as the twelve rude stones from Jordans channel recorded the miraculous passage of Israel into Canaan under the conduct of the ark of the Lord." Equally true is this of the two signs and memorials which God has appointed for this dispensation. When divested of all priestly and parsonic trappings, how plain and simple, yet how significant and impressive, are the ordinances of baptism and the Lords supper. The same principle was exemplified by Christ in the choice of His ambassadorsfor the most part unlettered fishermen.Seventh, that monument teaches us that we should recognize and own the corporate unity of Gods people. It was comprised of twelve stones, taken up by one man from out of each tribe (Josh. 4:2) and erected in Gilgal. That is the more noticeable since two and a half of the tribes had received their inheritance on the eastward side of the Jordan. Yet this cairn on the western shore must have in it not nine or ten, but twelve stones, to signify the oneness of Israel. We behold the same thing again in 1 Kings 18: when, centuries later, the division between the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel obtained, and Elijah "took twelve stones according to the number of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name, and built with them an altar on Mount Carmel" (vv. 31, 32), resting by faith on Gods Word when what was visible to sight clashed with the same. They were all the elect of God and brethren. So we should view Gods children, separated as they now are by party partitions and denominational walls, as members of the same Family, and sharing, a common interest. Let our hearts embrace and our prayers include the entire household of faith.

2 Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe,

BARES, "Take you twelve men - The order is given in the plural, because no doubt the tribes themselves were to choose their own representatives, the choice being approved by Joshua Jos_4:4. These twelve would be left with Joshua on the hither bank of the river, waiting to receive his orders after the rest of the people had made their way across Jos_3:17; Jos_4:1.

CLARKE,"Take you twelve men - From Jos_3:12, it appears that the twelve men had been before appointed, one taken out of each of the twelve tribes; and now they are employed for that purpose for which they had been before selected.

GILL , "Take you twelve men out of the people,.... Joshua had before this ordered twelve men to be taken from among them, which seems to have been done of himself; and now he has a direction from God for it, and what to employ them in:

out of every tribe a man; so that what they did was in the name of the several tribes, and as representing them.

HENRY, "One man out of each tribe, and he a chosen man, must be employed to prepare materials for this monument, that each tribe might have the story told them by one of themselves, and each tribe might contribute something to the glory of God thereby (Jos_4:2, Jos_4:4): Out of ever tribe a man. Not the Levites only, but every Israelite must, in his place, help to make known to the sons of men God's mighty acts, Psa_145:12. The two tribes, though seated already in their possession, yet, sharing in the mercy, must lend a hand to the memorial of it. 3. The stones that must be set up for this memorial are ordered to be taken out of the midst of the cannel (where, probably, there lay abundance of great stones), and as near as might be from the very place where the priests stood with the ark, Jos_4:3, Jos_4:5. This intended monument deserved to be made of stones curiously cut with the finest and most exquisite art, but these stones out of the bottom of the river were more natural and more apt indications of the miracle. let posterity know by this that Jordan was driven back, for these very stones were then fetched out of it. In the institution of signs, God always chose that which was most proper and significant, rather than that which is pompous or curious; for God hath chosen the foolish things of the world. These twelve men, after they got over Jordan, must be sent back to the place where the ark stood, being permitted to come near it (which others might not) for this service: Pass over before the ark (Jos_4:5), that is, into the presence of the ark, which now stands in the midst of Jordan, and thence fetch these stones. 4. the use of these stones is here appointed for a sign (Jos_4:6), a memorial, Jos_4:7. They would give occasion to the children to ask their parents in time to come, How came these stones

hither? (probably the land about not being stony), and then the parents would inform them, as they themselves had been informed, that in this place Jordan was divided by the almighty power of God, to give Israel passage into Canaan, as Joshua enlarges on this head, v. 22, etc.

TRAPP, "Joshua 4:2 Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,

Ver. 2. Out of every tribe a man.] For the two tribes and half planted beyond Jordan were also concerned, as being of the same body and way of worship. See Joshua 22:30.

BESO, "Verses 2-5Joshua 4:2-5. Take you out of every tribe a man For the greater evidence, and the more effectual spreading the report of this marvellous work among the tribes. Where ye shall lodge this night That is, in Gilgal, as is expressed, Joshua 4:19-20. Whom he had prepared That is, appointed for that work, and commanded to be ready for it. Pass over before the ark Or, Pass back again directly unto the ark. These twelve men, it seems, re- entered the channel of Jordan, and, being dispensed from the prohibition to approach the ark, came near the place where the priests stood, and each loaded himself with a stone as large as he could carry, and such as might afterward attest to each several tribe that he had seen the bed of the river dry, and the miracle prolonged till the entire execution of the commands of God.

COFFMA, ""And it came to pass when all the nation had clean passed over the Jordan, that Jehovah spake unto Joshua saying, Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, and command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of the Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and carry them over with you, and lay them down in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: and Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of Jehovah your God in the midst of the Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel; that this may be a sign among you, that, when your children ask in time to come, What mean ye by these stones? then ye shall say unto them, Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; when it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off; and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel forever."

The use of cairns of stones as memorials is a mark of the extreme antiquity of this narrative. (See the introduction to Joshua.)

"Forever ..." ow, that cairn is invisible; but the institutions the two cairns (one in the midst of the river, and the other at Gilgal) typified, namely, Christian baptism and the Lord's Supper, shall indeed last forever! The instructions here show clearly that the "crossing" is still under way, and that the priests were still standing in the midst of the Jordan. Blair and others have supposed that the Crossing was indeed

complete, and that these twelve special representatives of Israel went back to the place where the priests had stood to gather the stones. It is very difficult to reconstruct all of the action precisely. In any case, the purpose of the twelve and the memorial was to show the participation of all of the twelve tribes of Israel in this event.

PULPIT, "Twelve stones. The commemoration of events by the setting up of huge stones was by no means peculiar to the Jews, though it was often used by them, as, for instance, Genesis 28:18; Genesis 35:14, 1 Samuel 7:12. Almost every nation has adopted it. The Egyptian obelisks, the stones at Hamath, supposed to be of Hittite origin, the dolmens and other megalithic monuments of the Celts, the Logan or rocking stones, are cases in point. The Scandinavians filled their country with them. Our own Stonehenge and the Avebury stones are supposed by some to be, not temples nor burial places, but memorials of some battle. The command here given to Joshua was regarding what was to be done by the twelve men, who (Joshua 5:4; cf. Joshua 3:12) were already chosen. The form of the command is merely another instance of the common Hebrew practice of repetition.

3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.

CLARKE,"Where ye shall lodge this night - This was in the place that was afterwards called Gilgal. See Jos_4:19.

GILL, "And command you them, saying,.... As follows:

take you hence out of the midst of Jordan; so that they were obliged to go back into the midst of Jordan, having already passed over it, as appears from Jos_4:1,

out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm; where being stones, they chose to stand upon them, and which were a firm standing for them; and which secured them from the slime and mud at the bottom of the river the waters left behind; though it is not absolutely necessary to understand it that they were to take, and did take, the stones from under their feet, but those that lay about the place where they stood:

twelve stones; each man a stone; and, according to the Samaritan Chronicle (f), every man inscribed his name on the stone:

and ye shall carry them over with you; from the place they took them up, to the place they should next stop at:

and leave them in the lodging place where you shall lodge this night: which was in the place afterwards called Gilgal, Jos_4:19.

TRAPP, "Joshua 4:3 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.

Ver. 3. Twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you.] This is an ancient and commendable practice, by lasting monuments to propagate and perpetuate the memory of special mercies and signal deliverances; to set up some marks and mementoes upon them, that they grow not stale or moth eaten. To this end were those new names of places, Bethel, Penuel, Gilgal, Eben Ezer, Ramath Lehi, Berachah, &c. This is the best art of memory, and a very good means both to prevent Satan - who striveth to obliterate Gods great works, or else to alienate and translate them upon himself, - to excite ourselves to duty - for it fortifieth faith, feedeth hope, nourisheth joy, - and to do good to posterity. [Psalms 48:13; Psalms 102:18]

ELLICOTT, "(3) Out of the midst of Jordan . . . twelve stones(9) Twelve stones in the midst of Jordan.It would seem that we are to understand two cairns to have been set up, one on either side the river, to mark the place where the Israelites crossed. The western cairn was in Gilgal, the other on the opposite side, at the edge of the overflow, where the priests had stopped. The only difficulty lies in the words above cited, in the midst of Jordan. The phrase, like many other Hebrew phrases, is used in a different way from that in which we should use it. The words in the middle of the Jordan to an English reader appear to mean half-way between the banks. But if the river were divided, and half of it had recoiled many miles towards the north, and the rest flowed away to the south, any one standing between these two parts of the river might be said to stand in the midst of Jordan, the two parts being on either side; and he would be equally in the midst, as regards them, whether he were at the edge of the stream or not. It is contrary to common-sense, as well as to the words of the text, to suppose that a cairn was set up in the midst of the rivers bed. They are there unto this day, the writer adds in Joshua 4:9. It is perfectly clear from Joshua 3:8 that the priests stood at the brim of the overflow. That spot

and no other would be the particular spot which it would be most interesting to mark, the place from which Jordan, in full flood, was driven back.

Further, the words in the midst (Hebrew, Vthlc) do not necessarily mean more than within. In Joshua 19:1, it is said the inheritance of Simeon was within (bthk) the inheritance of the children of Judah. Yet it was entirely on one edge of it. May not the ark standing in the midst of Jordan represent that suspension of the power of death which is effected by the interposition of our Saviour, and fills the interval between the reign of death from Adam to Moses, and the second death that is to come?

4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe,

CLARKE,"Twelve men, whom he had prepared - This must refer to their appointment, Jos_3:12.

GILL, "Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had prepared of the children of Israel,.... It may be for some other purpose, Jos_3:12; but this was the destination of them eventually, and as by divine direction:

out of every tribe a man: as he had before ordered, and was now directed to.

JAMISO, "Joshua called the twelve men They had probably, from a feeling of reverence, kept back, and were standing on the eastern bank. They were now ordered to advance. Picking up each a stone, probably as large as he could carry, from around the spot where the priests stood, they pass over before the ark and deposit the stones in the place of next encampment (Jos_4:19, Jos_4:20), namely, Gilgal.

PETT, "Verse 4-5Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man, and Joshua said to them, You, pass over before the Ark of

YHWH your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel.The twelve men whom Joshua had told the tribal leaders to select (Joshua 3:12) were now informed of their purpose. They were to go into the middle of the river where the priests had been standing, and each bring a large stone, small enough for one man to carry but large enough to require shoulder work, to the bank.

Pass over before the Ark of YHWH your God. This probably signifies that the Ark was still in the river bed with the priests, and they were to cross to where it was and come before it, and gather the stones. This seems the most likely as it was the Arks presence that guaranteed that the waters would not flow. It must be seen as probable that these men had re-sanctified themselves for the task, although possibly their previous sanctification (Joshua 3:5) was sufficient, for they alone were allowed near the Ark by divine dispensation (compare the elders on Sinai - Exodus 24:9-11). Alternatively it could mean that the Ark had now been brought to the west bank and they were to enter the river bed again, followed by the priests with the Ark, for the purpose of gathering the stones. This latter is unlikely as the Ark would surely have led the way.

The differing ways of describing the Ark by the attached genitival phrases was to bring out the different aspects of and sacredness of the Ark. It represented the binding covenant, the words of YHWH it represented YHWH Himself as the King on His throne; it represented the covenant of YHWH Himself, it represented the covenant of YHWH their God, it represented the Lord of the whole earth.

5 and said to them, Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites,

GILL, "And Joshua said unto them,.... The twelve men:

pass ye over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan; that is, they were to go back to Jordan again, which they had passed over, and go into the midst of it, where were the priests bearing the ark; for it is not to be imagined that the ark went along with them, or followed them, they going before it; but they went where that was, just before it, from whence they were to take the stones, as next directed:

and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder; by which it appears they were large stones they were to take, not what they could carry in their hands, but what they were obliged to take upon their shoulders:

according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel; who had that day passed over Jordan, of which these stones were to be a memorial.

TRAPP, "Joshua 4:5 And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:

Ver. 5. Before the ark of the Lord your God.] A God in covenant with you, and who therefore may well expect this or any other service from you.

COKE, "Ver. 5. And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark Or, Pass back again directly unto the ark. These twelve men re-entered the channel of the Jordan, and, being dispensed from the prohibition to approach the ark, came near the place where the priests stood, and each loaded himself with a stone as big as he could carry, and such as might afterwards attest to each several tribe that he had seen the bed of the river dry, and the miracle prolonged till the entire execution of the commands of God.

6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, What do these stones mean?

CLARKE,"This may be a sign - Stand as a continual memorial of this miraculous passage, and consequently a proof of their lasting obligation to God.

GILL, "That this may be a sign among you,.... A commemorative one:

that when your children ask their fathers in time to come; or "tomorrow" (g)and so in all time, or any time hereafter:

saying, what mean you by these stones? what is the reason of setting them up, and in this place, and being just of such a number?

JAMISO 6-7, "That this may be a sign among you The erection of cairns, or huge piles of stones, as monuments of remarkable incidents has been common among all people, especially in the early and rude periods of their history. They are the established means of perpetuating the memory of important transactions, especially among the nomadic people of the East. Although there be no inscription engraved on them, the history and object of such simple monuments are traditionally preserved from age to age. Similar was the purpose contemplated by the conveyance of the twelve stones to Gilgal: it was that they might be a standing record to posterity of the miraculous passage of the Jordan.

K&D, "Jos_4:6-7

This (viz., their taking the twelve stones with them and setting them up) was to be a sign in Israel; the stones were to serve as a memorial of the miraculous crossing of the Jordan to all succeeding generations. For the expression if your children ask to-morrow (in future), etc., see Exo_13:14; Exo_12:26-27, and Deu_6:20-21.

TRAPP, "Joshua 4:6 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?

Ver. 6. That this may be a sign.] We stand in need of all helps. The Israelites had their fringes and phylacteries to immind them; and of all things, God cannot abide to be forgotten. [Psalms 9:16-17]

BESO, "Joshua 4:6. That this may be a sign among you A monument or memorial of this days work. Had Joshua given orders to prepare for erecting this memorial of himself, it might have looked like a design to perpetuate his own name and honour; but as it was done by the divine direction, it could be viewed in no other light than as a monument raised to the honour and glory of God, who hath so done his marvellous work