The Twelve Men Called - Joshua 4:5

In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man”, and in chapter four and verse five of the book of Joshua, we see how Joshua told the twelve men, “pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan” where we read,

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 the children of Israel:

The verse reads, “And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan,…” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and Joshua” which means “and Joshua whose name means Jehovah is salvation” “said unto them” or “uttered, declared and proclaimed to them, the twelve men from the clans of the children of Israel”, “pass over before the ark of the LORD your God” which means “cross prior to and in advance of the box or chest belonging to Jehovah whose name means ‘the existing One’ and the proper name for the One True God” “into the midst of Jordan” or “in the middle of the Jordan river whose name means descender and was the river of Palestine running from the roots of Anti-Lebanon to the Dead Sea a distance of approximately 200 miles (320 km)”. Joshua instructed the “twelve men” from the clans of the people of Israel to cross to the middle of the river “Jordan” in advance of Jehovah God’s “ark of the covenant”.

 

The verse continues, “… and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:” Joshua added the words, “and take you up” or “and lift up you, the twelve men” “every man of you” which means “each, the whole and everyone of the twelve men” “a stone upon his shoulder” or “a large rock on his, the twelve men’s, shoulders of the body”, “according to the number of the tribes” which means “in keeping with the tale or count pertaining to the clans” “of the children” or “pertaining to the offspring and progeny” “of Israel” which means “belonging to Israel whose name means God prevails and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”. Joshua instructed the “twelve men” to all lift up a large rock on their “shoulder” in keeping with the count of the clans belonging to Israel. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn how “Joshua” was carrying out God’s plan to have “twelve stones” from the middle of the “Jordan” river removed by the “twelve men” chosen from the “twelve clans” of Israel. God wanted the people of Israel to remember what He did for them as they entered the promise land, and He wants us to remember what He did for us when He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days. When we yield to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and lead us according to His perfect will and plan for our lives. 

Next time we see how Joshua told the twelve men, “that this may be a sign among you”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".