Joshua 4

The twelve memorial stones (vs. 1-9)—We see the purpose now of the twelve men who were selected in chapter 3. They were, at the command of the Lord (v. 1), to take twelve stones, “out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm” (v. 3), and take them to the place where they camped that night. Joshua passed that information on to the people, and then told them why they should do it: it would be a memorial for future generations (v. 7), to remind them of the Lord’s holding back the waters of the Jordan so the people could cross over.

The people did “just as Joshua commanded” (v. 8). It is possible that two sets of 12 stones were set up, because verse 9 mentions that “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.” They obviously were placed in a location where they could be seen once the river returned to its normal condition. A second set of stones was situated at Gilgal (v. 20).

The people pass over the Jordan (vs. 10-14)—“The people hurried and crossed over,” (v. 10), not because they were afraid, but because they were being obedient to all “that the LORD had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua” (v. 10). It’s nice to see obedience, for a change, in the children of Israel. The men of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh come in for special mention (v. 12), to indicate that they were fulfilling their promise to aid their brethren in the coming conquest of the land. They brought 40,000 warriors (v. 13). It was obvious to the people that the Lord was with Joshua, as He had been with Moses, so “they feared him (Joshua), as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life” (v. 14).

The water returns (vs. 15-18)—The Lord issues all of His commands through Joshua. Now, since the people had all crossed, He orders the priests to come up out of the river basin (v. 16). Joshua passes the command along (v. 17), and the priests come out. As soon as ”the soles of the priests' feet touched the dry land…the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before” (v. 18). That must have been an awesome spectacle, though perhaps not as breathtaking as the restoration of the Red Sea.

The second set of stones (vs. 19-24)—If there was, as it appears, another collection of twelve stones, we learn of their disposition in this passage. The people came to a locale named Gilgal, “on the east border of Jericho” (v. 19). Gilgal will become an eminent location in Israelite history; we will come across it several times in subsequent stories. But it is noteworthy here that it was the first place the Israelites camped upon entering the land God had promised Abraham 500 years previously. Twelve stones were placed here to memorialize the crossing of the Jordan, something they were to tell their children in subsequent generations (vs. 21-24). This obviously implies that the Lord intended for these stones to be there, and visible, for a long time. Perhaps they were. But if they are yet there in our day, we are fully unaware of it.