Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 4:20
And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.
20. those twelve stones ] which seem to have been invested with a reverence which came to be regarded at last as idolatrous (Hos 4:15; Hos 9:15; Amo 4:4; Amo 5:5).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 20. Those twelve stones] It is very likely that a base of mason-work was erected of some considerable height, and then the twelve stones placed on the top of it; and that this was the case both in Jordan and in Gilgal: for twelve such stones as a man could carry a considerable way on his shoulder, see Jos 4:5, could scarcely have made any observable altar, or pillar of memorial: but erected on a high base of mason-work they would be very conspicuous, and thus properly answer the end for which God ordered them to be set up.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Which most probably were placed severally and in order, like so many little pillars, which was most proper to keep remembrance of this miraculous benefit vouchsafed to this people.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
20-24. those twelve stones, whichthey took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in GilgalProbably torender them more conspicuous, they might be raised on a foundation ofearth or turf. The pile was designed to serve a double purposethatof impressing the heathen with a sense of the omnipotence of God,while at the same time it would teach an important lesson in religionto the young and rising Israelites in after ages.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And those twelve stones which they took out of Jordan,…. The twelve men who were sent there for that purpose, and took them from thence, and brought them hither, Jos 4:3;
did Joshua pitch in Gilgal; set them in rows, or one upon another, and made a pillar of them commemorative of their passage over Jordan into the land of Canaan: according to Josephus n, he made an altar of these stones; and Ben Gersom is of opinion, that they were placed in the sanctuary by the ark, though not in it; which yet was the sentiment of Tertullian o, but very improbable; since that ark was not capable of such a number of large stones; and it must be a very large ark or chest, if one could be supposed to be made on purpose for them; but it is most likely they were erected in form of a pillar or statue, in memory of this wonderful event, the passage of Israel over Jordan, see Jos 4:7; they may be considered as emblems of the twelve apostles of Christ, and their ministrations and writings; their number agrees, and so does the time of their appointment to go into all the world, and preach the Gospel, which was after the resurrection of Christ, typified by the passage of Joshua over Jordan, and out of it; the name of one of them, and he a principal one, was Peter or Cephas, which signifies a stone; and all of them in a spiritual sense were lively stones, chosen and selected from others, and called by grace, and were very probably most, if not all of them, baptized in this very place, Bethabara, from whence these stones were taken; and were like them unpolished, as to external qualifications, not having an education, and being illiterate, but wonderfully fitted by Christ for his service; and were not only pillars, as James, Cephas, and John, but in some sense foundation stones; as they were the instruments of laying Christ ministerially, as the foundation of salvation, and of preaching the fundamental truths of the Gospel, in which they were constant and immovable; and their ministry and writings, their Gospels and epistles, are so many memorials of what Christ, our antitypical Joshua, has done for us in passing over Jordan’s river, or through death; finishing thereby transgression and sin, obtaining peace, pardon, righteousness, and salvation, opening the way to the heavenly Canaan, abolishing death, and bringing life and immortality to light.
n Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 4.) o Contr. Marcion. l. 4. c. 13.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
There Joshua set up the twelve stones, which they had taken over with them out of the Jordan, and explained to the people at the same time the importance of this memorial to their descendants (Jos 4:21, Jos 4:22), and the design of the miracle which had been wrought by God (Jos 4:24). On Jos 4:21, Jos 4:22, see Jos 4:6, Jos 4:7. (Jos 4:23), quod , as (see Deu 2:22). The miracle itself, like the similar one at the Dead Sea, had a double intention, viz., to reveal to the Canaanites the omnipotence of the God of Israel, the strong hand of the Lord (compare Exo 14:4, Exo 14:18, with Jos 6:6; and for the expression “the hand of the Lord is mighty,” see Exo 3:19; Exo 6:1, etc.), and to serve as an impulse to the Israelites to fear the Lord their God always (see at Exo 14:31).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. 21 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? 22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. 23 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: 24 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.
The twelve stones which were laid down in Gilgal (v. 8) are here set up either one upon another, yet so as that they might be distinctly counted, or one by another in rows; for after they were fixed they ar not call a heap of stones, but these stones.
I. It is here taken for granted that posterity would enquire into the meaning of them, supposing them intended for a memorial: Your children shall ask their fathers (for who else should they ask?) What mean these stones? Notes, Those that will be wise when they are old must be inquisitive when they are young. Our Lord Jesus, though he had in himself the fulness of knowledge, has by his example taught children and young people to hear and ask questions, Luke ii. 46. Perhaps when John was baptizing in Jordan at Bethabara (the house of passage, where the people passed over) he pointed at these very stones, while saying (Matt. iii. 9) God is able of these stones (which were at first set up by the twelve tribes) to raise up children unto Abraham. The stones being the memorial of the miracle, the children’s question gave occasion for the improvement of it; but our Saviour says (Luke x. 40), If the children should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out; for one way or other the Lord will be glorified in his works of wonder.
II. The parents are here directed what answer to give to this enquiry (v. 22): “You shall let your children know that which you have yourselves learned from the written word and from your fathers.” Note, It is the duty of parents to acquaint their children betimes with the word and works of God, that they may be trained up in the way they should go.
1. They must let their children know that Jordan was driven back before Israel, who went through it upon dry land, and that this was the very place where they passed over. They saw how deep and strong a stream Jordan now was, but the divine power put a stop to it, even when it overflowed all its banks–“and this for you, that live so long after.” Note, God’s mercies to our ancestors were mercies to us; and we should take all occasions to revive the remembrance of the great things God did for our fathers in the days of old. The place thus marked would be a memorandum to them: Israel came over this Jordan. A local memory would be of use to them, and the sight of the place remind them of that which was done there; and not only the inhabitants of that country, but strangers and travellers, would look upon these stones and receive instruction. Many, upon the sight of the stones, would go to their Bibles, and there read the history of this wondrous work; and some perhaps, upon reading the history, though living at a distance, would have the curiosity to go and see the stones.
2. They must take that occasion to tell their children of the drying up of the Red Sea forty years before: As the Lord your God did to the Red Sea. Note. (1.) It greatly magnifies later mercies to compare them with former mercies, for, by making the comparison, it appears that god is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. (2.) Later mercies should bring to remembrance former mercies, and revive our thankfulness for them.
3. They must put them in the way of making a good use of these works of wonder, the knowledge whereof was thus carefully transmitted to them, v. 24. (1.) The power of God was hereby magnified. All the world was or might be convinced that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that nothing is too hard for God to do; nor can any power, no, not that of nature itself, obstruct what God will effect. The deliverances of God’s people are instructions to all people, and fair warnings not to contend with Omnipotence. (2.) The people of God were engaged and encouraged to persevere in his service “That you might fear the Lord your God, and consequently do your duty to him, and this for ever,” or all days (margin), “every day, all the days of your lives, and your seed throughout your generations.” The remembrance of this wonderful work should effectually restrain them from the worship of other gods, and constrain them to abide and abound in the service of their own God. Note, In all the instructions and informations parents give their children, they should have this chiefly in their eye, to teach and engage them to fear God for ever. Serious godliness is the best learning.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Jos. 4:20. Pitch in Gilgal] Heb., erect, rear up (Bush). It is very likely that a base of mason-work was erected, of some considerable height, and that the twelve stones were placed on the top of it (A. Clarke).
Jos. 4:24. All the people of the earth] The Israelites and the various peoples of the land. Even the idolatrous Canaanites, and any of the heathen who might in after years see these stones, were to learn from them that Israels God was a God of might. To the close of the twenty-third verse, the parents are represented as speaking to their children; in the twenty-fourth verse Joshua gives the reason for this instruction, and points out the object for which the memorial was to be erected.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Jos. 4:20-24
RELIGIOUS TEACHING
I. Its inspiring topics.
1. The glory of God in His works. Not merely in His works in Nature; in such also as are contrary to Nature.
2. The love and mercy of God in His works FOR HIS PEOPLE. The Lord doth put a difference between these and others. God loves all men. Under the Gospel, He invites all men into His family. It is simply cruel and sinful to teach that the Lord works for and defends everybody alike. If the Bible be true at all, Gods merciful works are as distinctively given to the Church now as of old. He has always caused His rain to descend, and made His sun to shine, on the fields of the just and the unjust; for by His goodness and in His all-reaching love He would lead the unjust to repentance; nevertheless, The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Every page of the Bible reveals this. These old typical nations were specially meant to set forth the truth that distinctive mercies here, and salvation hereafter, were the heritage of only such as feared the Lord.
3. The efficiency of Gods works to make a way for His people through any and all obstacles. The sea and the flooded river are two of the strongest symbols of force which the world presents. In His hands, neither can hinder for an hour the free movement of His people.
4. The comfort which the Lord can give, and loves to give, to those who walk in His paths. No matter where the paths lie, He loves to shew His people that through sea or through river He can make the way as dry land. Such are some of the themes which this one work and its memorials were to set to music.
II. Its unlimited aims. Religious teaching is to aim at the benefit:
1. Of our own children. Home should be our first care. Some earnest people in the present day seem to think that religious life and zeal must be very poor unless they spend four or five evenings in the week at religious meetings. Some can hardly avoid this, and to these it may be a duty which they dare not neglect; may those who can avoid it never have to say, They made me the keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard have I not kept.
2. Of neglected children. The Jews were all supposed to teach their own children. Religious instruction among them was to be parental. The heads of each family were supposed to fear God, and, fearing Him themselves, were to teach their households to fear Him also. Still, some parents would be careless, and, from various causes, some children would be neglected. These were to be carefully instructed by others. At the feast of tabernacles in the year of release, special attention was to be given to any who were ignorant of God (Deu. 31:10-13). So carefully did the Lord provide against the leaven of ignorance that might in time leaven the whole lump of the nation.
3. Of neglected men and women. Opportunity was to be taken to let all the people of the land know of God (Jos. 4:24).
4. Of the generations to come. It was said of Achilles, that he was vulnerable only in the heel. However fictitious that may be as to the ancient Greek, there is only one place in which the sin and ignorance of the future can be attacked; it is as some one has said, The children of this generation are the only point at which the generation to come is vulnerable. If it be asked, as some have asked, Why all this care about the coming generations? What do we owe to future society? it would be enough to reply as the late John Stuart Mill replied to the same question, put in our British parliament,What have we received from society? Let us count but a little of that, and even from this human point of view our duty will be clear. But every Christian must also ask, What have I received from God? What does God demand of me in return? Our fathers have been the channel through which a thousand mercies have come to us, and the generations to come are calling upon us by our most sacred obligations to the generations that are past.
III. Its lofty and holy purposes.
1. To help men to know God.
2. To help men to fear God.
3. To help men to live as in the presence of God for ever. F. W. Faber beautifully said, The more we know of God, the more our complacency increases; because, to fill our minds and engross us, the simple thought of God must be multiplied and repeated from a thousand objects. It is like the sun lighting up a mountain chain. He is not multiplied in himself, but as his golden magnificence lights up peak after peak, we become more and more surrounded by His effulgence. It is thus with God: each attribute to which we give a name, though His attributes in truth are His simple self, is to us a separate height crowned and glowing with His glory, and so reflecting Him upon our souls; while the multitude of nameless perfections, for which we have neither ideas, words, nor standards, are to us like the consciousness of the glorious sea of mountain tops which are beyond our ken, but which we know to be resting in that furnace of golden light, and adding to the burning splendour which is circumfused over earth and sea and sky. So, too, as we learn to see God in His many works which are about us, especially in those works which make part of our personal experience and life, His name will be repeated to us as from a thousand points instead of one or two. Our grateful remembrances of His mercies will make them so many upstanding points, rising far above the low and poor levels of a natural life, and catching and retaining for our vision something of the brightness of His majesty and the glory of His love, which will thus be suffused over us from all our personal history, and hardly less from the history of the whole Church of Christ.
OUTLINES AND COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Jos. 4:20-22. SUNDAY SCHOOL INSTRUCTION
The principles involved in the work of our Sunday-schools are repeatedly enforced even in the O.T.
I. The duty of this work. To whom does the duty belong? Given that time and opportunity are at command, surely it belongs to all who love Christ. Our Lord, on receiving the assurance of Peters love, said, Feed my lambs. Many feel that they are not worthy to engage in labour like this. The thought of personal sin keeps many back, albeit they claim to be Christians, and could not bear to think themselves without love to the Saviour. Is not that scene at the sea of Tiberias specially meant to assure such? We are usually told that our Lord there rebuked Peter three times, because Peter had thrice denied Him. The reason of our Lords threefold utterance lay far deeper than that. Possibly rebuke was intended, but mercy and the forethought of Divine love were far more prominent. Would-not the day be likely to come in Peters future when he should say, Can I who have denied Christ dare to teach Him to others? Peter might come to feel that he who had thrice disowned his Lord was utterly unworthy to engaged in work like this. So three times, once for every denial, does the Saviour tenderly recommission him to the work of feeding both the sheep and the lambs. It seems as if our Lord had not only thus anticipated what might be the future feeling of His apostle, but the feeling of many of His disciples now. To love Him is to become responsible for doing all that we have opportunity to perform.
II. The necessity of adaptation in this work. God adapts Himself to the minds of children, now in the imposing rites of the Passover, and now in this cairn of stones at Gilgal. What is here indicated in the way of a general principle, a wise teacher will endeavour to carry out in detail; he will try and meet each child where he finds him; he will study even individual dispositions. One child will be loving and warm-hearted; excite his love, meet him where he is accessible, tell him something which has pathos. Another boy will be strong in integrity, and honesty, and truthfulness; tell him of Joseph and Daniel, and the three Hebrews. A third will be quiet and gentle; speak low to him. One will hate hard; give him fit subjects for his idiosyncrasy, tell him of Herod and Judas, and presently he will hear you on higher themes. Another will be the stupid boy of the class; on him, most of all, lavish kindness, attention, and gentleness. Our aim in Christian work is to win others to love the Saviour; and God, who comes to men where they are, and brings pictures into the nursery of the infant world, teaches us adaptation.
III. The nobility of this work. Addressing, a few years since, a convention of Sunday-school teachers, the Right Hon. John Bright said, I may be in a more conspicuous, but I am certainly not in a more noble field than that in which you are engaged. Peradventure the statesman was right, for there are few labours more exalted than this. We look at Rembrandts picture of Christ stilling the tempest, and as we see the storm-tossed waves dashing over the prow of the boat, and behold the agitated faces of the disciples, we love to think of the majesty of Him who with His mere word hushed both sea and men into calm and peace. But Over-becks subject of Christ with the little children is even more sublime. In the one case you see power controlling power; in the other you have the loftier spectacle of power blessing weakness. It is this which makes the ministry of the Saviour so glorious; all through it, His perfect power and spotless holiness are seen healing and helping sinful men in their weakness and necessity. Whatever of greatness was manifested in the work of Knibb and Clarkson, Sturge and Wilberforce, in nothing were they so great as in using their power to take off the fetters from the last of Englands slaves. Howard and Cobden won all their fame in helping the weak and the oppressed. It is this which makes the work of Sunday-schools so truly noble. In that work, Christian men and women give their time and strength, not only for children, but for neglected children. Many of these, in their weakness and guilelessness, would be taken captive by the wicked on every hand, and dragged low as perdition; this work hopefully proposes to make them heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ.
Jos. 4:23. New mercies should lead us to call to mind mercies that are past. If we compare those which our fathers had with those which God gives to us, great as theirs undoubtedly were, ours will often be found to be even greater.
The mercies which came to our fathers should also be counted among our own; they too made way for the heritage on which we daily enter.
Gods mercies to us should be so turned to account, that they may become an inheritance to our children.
Meditation on the ways of God in past mercies will serve to assure us that the mercies which we now have will be continued so long as we need them: sea or river, it matters not which, each is divided till the Lords people have passed over.
Jos. 4:24. MIGHTY WORKS AND THEIR MIGHTY PURPOSES
I. The mighty works of God are never meant to be self-contained. They invariably reach out to things beyond the actual work, and beyond those to whom it seems confined. No Divine miracle is ever complete in itself. Though it may sound paradoxical, the miracle ever appears to be the smallest part of the work which the work contemplates. For once, the less is made to contain the greater. Divine works are seed-forms which are sown from the hand of Omnipotence; they are meant to swell and germinate and grow, and to bring forth fruit through the years and centuries which follow. Who knows but that during the ages which have since fled, more souls have not been brought by this miracle into the heavenly Canaan, than even the number who, through it, entered the goodly land on earth? Our works, like those of our heavenly Father, should ever contemplate results beyond those which are immediate and present. He works well, and after the pattern of God, who works
(1) for others,
(2) for time to come, and
(3) for eternity.
II. The mighty works of God are meant to teach us the knowledge of God.
1. All work is declarative of the worker. Some persons profess to read a character in the handwriting of a letter; they might read more perfectly if, to the manner in which it were set down, they added a study of the letter itself. What a man does is a photograph of what a man is; it is the outward expression of his inward self. Perhaps we need our works to know ourselves; certainly others need them in order that they may know us. Our features and bearing reveal much of our disposition to others; but our works, most of all, seem to be the glass through which men look into our consciousness and life. If works are needed to declare to us men whom we have seen, much more must we study Divine works if we would know God, whom we have never seen.
2. Even aimless work proclaims the character of its author. So far as such work goes to make up the life, it shews a worker who is willing that power should be thrown away. Aimless work tells of no to-morrow in a mans mind, of no consciousness of the woes and wants of men around, of no longings and yearnings to help them. Aimless work tells of nothing but the corresponding blank in the workers heart, out of which it was born. It is the outward and empty amen to the inward and empty life.
3. The design of work reveals the character of the worker. Is the work selfish or generous; for the hour only, or for time to come? What a magnificent study, taken in this light, is presented by the works of God!
4. The execution of a work no less proclaims the worker. It tells us of the measure of his power, and writes down the character of his patience; it tells us whether there is a love of effect and display, or whether the energy which performs is animated mainly by the generosity that desires to help. The best works of the best of men shew failure in purpose, failure in capability failure in patience; it is only before the results of Divine wisdom and energy and love that we can dare to say, ALL Thy works praise Thee, O God! If Gods works do not teach us of Himself, though they may bring us temporary relief, the chief purpose of them is lost.
III. The mighty works of God are for all men, and whether men will or not, they will be for all men for ever.
1. They are designed to teach His people.
2. They are wrought and perpetuated before the heathen and the stranger, so that whosoever will may see, and fear, and turn to the Lord.
3. They will be for ever a cause of self-reproach to the lost.
4. They will be eternally a theme of praise for the redeemed. As though in allusion to the rejoicing at the Red Sea, we are told of the host above who have gotten the victoryThey sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty: just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(205:9) It would seem that these verses all belong to one section. The use of the first person in Jos. 5:1, until we were passed over, is most naturally explained by taking the verse as part of what the Israelites were to say to their children by the command of Joshua. The difficulty has been met in the Hebrew Bible by a Masoretic reading, in which they is substituted for we. But the more difficult reading is to be preferred. There is nothing else in the section that creates any difficulty. The twenty-third verse authorises a comparison between the passage of Jordan and the passage of the Red Sea. As the one is called a baptising unto Moses, in the New Testament, we may call the other a baptising unto Joshua. (Comp. the us in Jos. 4:23, with the we of Jos. 5:1.) The first person also appears in Jos. 4:6, that he would give us. It would appear that, besides explaining the erection of the stones, the Israelites were also to explain to their children the meaning of Gilgal, the place where the stones were, and this explanation is not completed until the end of Jos. 4:9.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
20. Did Joshua pitch in Gilgal The Hebrew word here rendered pitch is precisely the same as that rendered set up in Jos 4:9, where see note. These twelve memorial stones were here built up by Joshua into a perpetual monument, resting, doubtless, upon a pedestal, to render it more conspicuous. More than six hundred years afterwards the Minor Prophets, Hosea (Hos 4:15; Hos 9:15; Hos 12:11) and Amos, (Amo 4:4; Amo 5:5,) repeatedly reprove the Jews for going to Gilgal “to multiply transgression;” and Stanley, in his History of the Jewish Church, suggests that this monument came to be regarded with idolatrous veneration, like the worship of the cross among the Papists.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And those twelve stones which they took out of Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal.’
This was in obedience to YHWH Who had told them that they must be set up at the place where they first lodged (Jos 4:3). The stones had been carried there and laid there (Jos 4:8), now Joshua erected them in a pile (or in a line, or even as a memorial altar) and declared their significance and importance for the future. The heap was a witness to the faithfulness of YHWH and His great power (compare Gen 31:48). It indicated the border of the land and that YHWH watched over the land (compare Gen 31:49; Gen 31:52).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Ver. 20. And those twelve stonesdid Joshua pitch in Gilgal Josephus relates the matter as if the Israelites had reared these stones in the form of an altar. It is more probable, that, in order to represent the number of the tribes, they were pitched each upon its basis, as so many small pillars, perhaps in three lines, and probably on an elevation.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 245
THE PASSAGE OF JORDAN COMMEMORATED
Jos 4:20-24. Those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, 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 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.
TO remember Gods mercies to us, and to transmit the remembrance of them to future generations, is a solemn duty imposed upon us, especially where the mercies are of such a nature as to involve the welfare of our posterity as well as our own [Note: Psa 78:4-8.]. On different occasions God appointed memorials for that express purpose; and ordered, that the children in all succeeding generations should make inquiries respecting them, and receive an answer from one duly qualified to give the desired instruction. This was the case with respect to the passover, which was instituted in order to perpetuate the remembrance of the deliverance of Israel from the sword of the destroying angel, when all the first-born of Egypt were slain [Note: Exo 12:24-27. So the unleavened bread, 13:7, 8.]. The passage of the Israelites through Jordan was also to be borne in everlasting remembrance. For this end twelve stones were erected in Gilgal; and an order was given, that when children, even to the remotest ages, should inquire what event these stones referred to, they should be informed of all the circumstances which took place when their forefathers first entered into the promised land. We propose to notice two things;
I.
The mercy commemorated
[Here we shall content ourselves with briefly relating the circumstances which preceded and accompanied the passage of the Israelites over the river Jordan. That they are deserving of our attention is evident from the injunction given by the prophet many hundred years afterwards; O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal, that ye may know the righteousness of the Lord. Shittim was the place from whence they last proceeded (perhaps about seven miles) to the banks of Jordan [Note: Jos 3:1.]. There all the people were ordered to sanctify themselves, in order that on the morrow they might be in a fit state to behold the wonders which the Lord was about to do for them [Note: Jos 3:5. A similar order was issued previous to the giving of the law, Exo 19:10-11; Exo 19:13-14.].
The time being arrived, the ark, which was wont to be carried in the midst of them, was borne before them, and they were to follow it at a respectful distance (about three quarters of a mile), that they might all be able to behold it, and that they might see, that, instead of their protecting it, they owed all their protection to it. And the respectful distance which they were to keep, gives us a most important hint in reference to the mode in which we should on all occasions follow divine providence: precipitancy must be avoided, as well as delay.
As soon as the priests who carried the ark touched the brim of the waters with their feet, (for at that season, the snows of Lebanon having begun to melt, the river, as was usual, had overflowed its banks,) the waters were arrested in their course, and formed a wall on their right hand; whilst those which had passed them ran down towards the Dead Sea, and left the channel dry for the space of several miles [Note: From the city Adam to the part opposite Jericho was eighteen or twenty miles, Jos 3:16.]. The priests then proceeded with the ark into the midst of the channel, and abode there whilst the whole nation of Israel, with their cattle and baggage, passed over: nor did they leave their position, till they were expressly ordered to do so by God himself: and then, as soon as ever their feet touched the opposite bank, the waters resumed their course, and flowed in their accustomed channel. What a proof was here, that the passage was opened not by any natural means, but by the immediate agency of God himself! The people hasted over, for, where so much was to be done in one day, there was no time to be lost; but we do not apprehend that their haste proceeded from any unbelieving fear of the impending flood; it rather indicated a fearless confidence in the divine protection, and an assurance that the enemies whom they were invading should not be permitted to prevail against them.]
Such was the mercy vouchsafed unto them. Let us now proceed more particularly to notice,
II.
The means used to perpetuate the remembrance of it
For this end two monuments were erected; one, of twelve stones, in Jordan, on the very spot where the priests who bore the ark had stood, which was probably visible at low water; and the other in Gilgal, where they immediately afterwards encamped.
In our text two reasons are assigned for the erection of them; they were to serve, both to Israel and to the world at large,
1.
As evidences of Gods power
[What could not God effect, who by a simple act of volition wrought such a miracle as this? The miracle could not be denied, because the stones which commemorated it were taken out of the midst of the river by persons selected for the purpose out of all the tribes. Who then, we may ask,
Who can ever oppose him with success?
It should seem that the Canaanites, if they had acted according to the rules of war, should have opposed the Israelites in their passage: but the destruction of Pharaoh at the Red Sea had spread such a panic through the land, that they did not dare to avail themselves of any supposed advantage, lest they should perish after his example. The event indeed shews how vain any attempt on their part would hare been. And does not this convince us, that, when the measure of any persons iniquities is full, he shall in no wise escape the vengeance of his God? Whatever obstacles may appear to lie in the way, and whatever barrier an ungodly world may have, or think they have, for their defence, God will surely make a way for his indignation: opposing myriads shall be only as the stubble before the consuming fire: though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished. Let any one, dreaming of security, go and behold the stones in Gilgal: let him ask of Jordan, What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? and thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back? and then let him add with the Psalmist, Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob [Note: Psa 114:1-7.]. We may further ask,
Who can ever fail, that trusteth in him?
There might have been some hope of crossing the ford, as the spies had done, if the river had not overflowed its banks: but now it seemed to present an insurmountable obstacle to their passage, especially considering that their cattle and baggage were to be taken over with them. But this generation were not like those who had perished in the wilderness; they had learned to confide in God: and God interposed for them in a way which they do not appear to have at all expected. It had been promised indeed that they should pass over Jordan, and that no opposition should be made to them in their passage; for that their enemies, through fear and dread, should be still as a stone till all the people should have completely passed [Note: Exo 15:13-17.]: but they do not seem to have had any precise idea of the way in which the promises should be accomplished: nor, on the other hand, do they appear to have entertained any doubts but that they should be brought over in safety. Their confidence was well rewarded; and the very impediments which obstructed their progress served only to display and magnify the power of God.
Thus, whatever difficulties his people may have to surmount, they may at all times adopt the triumphant language of the prophet, Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and they may assuredly expect, that He who has laid the foundation, will finish it, and will bring forth the head-stone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace, unto it [Note: Zec 4:7-9.]!]
But these monuments were intended also,
2.
As memorials of his love
[The conduct of Israel in the wilderness abundantly shewed, that God had never set his love upon them for their righteousness, but solely from his own free and sovereign grace. When therefore they looked upon these stones, they could not but see how greatly he was to be loved, and honoured, and feared, and served, for all the mercy, the undeserved mercy, which he had shewn unto them. They would be ever ready to exclaim, Who is like unto thee, O God, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
In like manner we may see in these stones how effectually God will interpose in our behalf, if only we fear and honour him as our God.]
We see what we may expect from him,
In the time of trouble
[We are brought perhaps by Gods providence into great tribulation, so that all his storms and billows go over us. But we need not therefore suppose that he has forsaken and forgotten us: for his word to us is, When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; for I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel thy Saviour [Note: Isa 43:2-3.]. The greater our trials are, the richer will be the manifestations of his love and mercy: his consolations will abound, not only according to, but far above, all our afflictions. This is the very improvement which the Prophet Habakkuk made of the history before us. He expatiates upon the event, as if he had himself been an eye-witness of it: I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble. Was the Lord displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses, and thy chariots of salvation? The mountains saw thee, and they trembled; the overflowing of the water passed by; the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high. Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed. Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters. Then he adds, Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation [Note: Hab 3:7-8; Hab 3:13; Hab 3:15; Hab 3:17-18.].]
We see also what we may expect from him,
In the hour of death
[The passage of the Israelites through Jordan is not improperly considered as an emblem of the Christians transition from the dreary wilderness of this world to the Canaan that is above. And when the time is arrived for passing by that unknown, untrodden path, we are apt to fear lest we should sink in the deep waters, and never attain the wished-for end. But God has promised to be with us, to make the depths of the sea a war for the ransomed to pass over [Note: Isa 51:9-11.], and to bring us in safety to the land that floweth with milk and honey. When therefore we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we need to fear no evil: yea rather we may rest assured that God will perfect that which concerneth us, and preserve us safely unto his heavenly kingdom.]
Improvement
1.
Let us mark, and bear in remembrance, Gods mercies towards us
[There is not any one who, if he had marked the dispensations of God towards himself, might not find many occasions for erecting monuments to his praise: nor is there any thing which will be more conducive to our comfort; since every past mercy may be considered as a pledge of future blessings. The Psalmists mode of arguing may safely be adopted by every child of God: Thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before the Lord in the light of the living [Note: Psa 56:13.]? Set up then within your own bosoms an Eben-ezer, whenever God vouchsafes to favour you with any peculiar deliverances [Note: 1Sa 7:12.]: then will you have within yourselves a never-failing source of comfort, and an irresistible incentive to fear the Lord.]
2.
Let us endeavour to transmit the knowledge of his goodness to the latest generations
[We should encourage young people to seek instruction, and should be glad of every thing may afford us an occasion of making known to them the wonders of redeeming love. The whole scene of Gods dispensations towards Israel, from their first deliverance out of Egypt to their final possession of the promised land, was figurative of our redemption by Christ Jesus: and it is worthy of observation, that this was strongly marked at the commencement and conclusion of their journey. The night before they set out from Egypt, they feasted on the paschal lamb: and they entered into Canaan, forty years afterwards, four days before the Passover, that is, precisely on the day when the law required them to set apart the paschal lamb for the approaching festival [Note: Compare Exo 12:3; Exo 12:6 with Jos 4:19; Jos 5:10.]. Thus was it intimated to them that our redemption from first to last is the fruit of Christs sacrifice: on that must we feed in order to obtain deliverance; and even in heaven itself must we ascribe the glory of our salvation to Him who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. Let us then labour to diffuse this saving knowledge, as opportunity shall offer, that our fellow-creatures may reap the benefits designed for them, and God may have the glory due unto his name.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Who knows but that these very stones were remaining in the days of our Lord? And it is not improbable, but as all the words of Jesus were significant and full of grace, Jesus might point to them when he said to the people, when he stood at Bethabara near Jordan, God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. For these twelve stones were monuments of the twelve tribes of the stock of Abraham. And Bethabara seems to have been the very spot in the house of passage, where Joshua and the people passed over. Mat 3:9 ; Joh 1:28 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jos 4:20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.
Ver. 20. And those twelve. ] See Jos 4:3 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
took out. Compare verses: Jos 4:8, Jos 4:9.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Jos 4:3, Jos 4:8
Reciprocal: Gen 31:46 – Gather Exo 24:4 – according Jos 4:9 – and they are there Jos 24:26 – set it Jdg 3:19 – quarries 1Sa 7:12 – took a stone 1Ki 18:31 – twelve stones Isa 19:20 – for a
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
MEMORIAL STONES
Twelve stones in the midst of Jordan. Twelve stones which they took out of Jordan.
Jos 4:9; Jos 4:20
There were two sets of stones raised in commemoration of the passage of the Jordan.
I. Those on the bank.From the place where the priests feet had stood in Jordan, twelve chosen men took each one a stone; and these were piled together in a heap before the eyes of all men. As they stood there, with the certainty to all men that they had once been in the river bed, they were a proof to the senses of what otherwise might have been disputed, that the river had actually been dried up. But there is a deeper lesson for us. As in the passage of the Jordan, all Israel stood in the river, and then came up on to the rivers bank, so in the death and resurrection of our Lord, the whole Church lay with Him in His grave, all rose with Him on the Easter morning, all passed with Him in the Divine intention to His throne. Those twelve stones represented the entire people, and commemorated their marvellous transportation from the one side of Jordan to the other. So each recurring Lords Day and Eastertide should remind us that the river of death rolls between us and the world, and that we have been raised together with Christ, and made to sit together with Him in the heavenlies.
II. Those in the bed of the stream.Not content with pitching a cairn of stones on the rivers bank, Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, where the feet of the priests had stood. It was to remind Israel from whence they had come, and the hole of the pit from which they had been digged. Ah! it is well to remember what the grace of God has done for us. Such were some of you
Illustrations
(1) The rude circle of unhewn stones without inscription was, no doubt, exactly like the many prehistoric monuments found all over the world, which forgotten races have raised to keep in everlasting remembrance forgotten fights and heroes. It was a comparatively small thing; for each stone was but a load for one man, and it would seem mean enough by the side of Stonehenge or Carnac, just as Israels history is on a small scale, as compared with the world-embracing empires of old. Size is not greatness; and Joshuas little circle told a more wonderful story than its taller kindred, or Egyptian obelisks or colossi.
(2) The stones were set up because Israel remembered, but also lest Israel should forget. We often think of the Jews as monsters of ingratitude; but we should more truly learn the lesson of their history, if we regarded them as fair, average men, and asked ourselves whether our recollection of Gods goodness to us is much more vivid than theirs. Unless we make distinct and frequent efforts to recall, we shall certainly forget Gods goodness. The cultivation of thankful remembrance is a very great part of practical religion.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Jos 4:20. In Gilgal Probably in order, like so many little pillars, to keep up the remembrance of this miraculous benefit. Gilgal was situate between Jordan and Jericho, and, according to Josephus, was ten furlongs from the city, and fifty from the river. Joshua had his camp there during all the time that the war lasted, and till the division of the country among the tribes. There the Israelites were circumcised; there they celebrated the passover for the first time in the land of Canaan; and there the tabernacle was erected and fixed, till, Canaan being subdued, they placed it in Shiloh. Gilgal, however, always continued to be a place of importance, as we learn from divers passages of Scripture. See Jdg 2:1; 1Sa 11:14; 1Sa 13:12.