Joshua Set Up Twelve Stones - Joshua 4:9

In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spoke unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there”, and in chapter four and verse nine of the book of Joshua, we see how, “Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan” where we read,

And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.

The verse reads, “And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood:” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and Joshua” whose name means “Jehovah is salvation” “set up twelve stones” or “erected and established twelve large rocks” “in the midst of Jordan” which means “in the middle of the Jordan 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)”, “in the place” or “within the location” “where the feet of the priests” which means “in which the physical feet belonging to the spiritual leaders, chiefs and officials” “which bare the ark of the covenant stood” or “who lifted up and carried the box or chest belonging to the alliance, pledge, treaty and agreement, were standing and remained in place”. Joshua or the writer shared how “Joshua” established “twelve large rocks” in the middle of the “Jordan” river at the location where the spiritual leaders were standing with the “ark of the covenant”. 

 

The verse continues, “… and they are there unto this day.” Joshua added the words, “and they are there” or “and they, the twelve large rocks, exist within that location” “unto this day” which means “to the very sunrise to sunset of this writing”. Joshua or the writer declared that the “twelve stones” established by “Joshua” in the middle of the “Jordan” river remain in that location to the very day of this writing. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how “Joshua” established “twelve stones” in the middle of the “Jordan” river in the place that the spiritual leaders were standing with the “ark of the covenant” as the children of Israel crossed over to the other side. These stones remained in place to the very day of this writing. Once again these were reminders of the work God did on behalf of the people of Israel. God loves Israel, and He loves us. He knew we all have sinned and come short of His glory, (See Romans 3:23) and the “wages” for those sin is death. (See Romans 6:23) For this reason He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when He raised Him from the dead after three days, He made the way for all who put their faith and trust in Him to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and provided with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and constantly remind us of God’s love and commitment to us which was demonstrated by Jesus’s death on the cross. (See John 16:13; 2 Corinthians 5:21)

Next time we see how, “the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan”, 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".