Twelve Stones from Jordan - Joshua 4:3

In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spoke unto Joshua, saying, take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man”, and in chapter four and verse three of the book of Joshua, Joshua told the twelve men, “take out of the midst of Jordan … twelve stones” where we read,

And command you them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and you shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where you shall lodge this night.

The verse reads, “And command you them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and command you them” which means “and order and charge you, Joshua, them, the twelve men from the clans of Israel”, “saying” or “uttering, declaring and proclaiming”, “take you hence” which means “lift up and carry you, the twelve men from the clans of Israel, from this location” “out of the midst of Jordan” or “from 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)”, “out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm” which means “from the location in which the spiritual leaders, chiefs and officials’ physical feet were standing stable and established”. Jehovah God told Joshua to order the twelve men from the clans of Israel to lift up and carry the following from the middle of the “Jordan” river where the “priests” were standing upon their feet. 

 

The verse continues, “twelve stones, and you shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where you shall lodge this night.” Joshua added the words, “twelve stones” or “twelve large rocks”, “and you shall carry them” which means “and you, the twelve me, are to march and take them, the twelve stones” “over with you” or “across the river alongside you, the twelve men”, “And leave them” which means “and settle, rest or set them, the twelve stones, down” “in the lodging place” or “within the caravanserai or encampment location”, “where you shall lodge this night” which means “in which you, the twelve men, will have rest and repose upon this very nighttime”. Joshua was to tell the “twelve men” to take the “twelve stones” across the river with them, and they were to let them rest within the encampment in which they would settle down to rest that very nighttime. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how Jehovah God instructed Joshua to order the “twelve men” chosen from the “twelve tribes” of Israel to lift up and take up “twelve stones” from the middle of the “Jordan” river where the “priests” were standing in place. They were to take those “stones” to the other side of the “Jordan” and lay them down in the location of the encampment where they would spend that very nighttime. These “stones” were to become a memorial for the people of Israel, and they would serve as a reminder of Jehovah God’s work among them. God desires to have a personal relationship with us through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was a raised from the dead after three days. When we surrender our lives to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with His Holy Spirit who will lead and guide us into God’s truth and cause us to remember all that He has done for us.

Next time we see how, “Joshua called the twelve men”, 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".