Joshua 4 explained: Stones to Remember the Crossing

Twelve stones from the riverbed (vv. 1-8)

One man from each of Israel's twelve tribes carries a stone from the spot where the priests stood holding the ark, the sacred chest that stood for God's presence among them. Piles of unmarked stones were a common way to mark a great event in that world, and these were meant to make children ask, so the story would be passed on by word of mouth.

Stones in the river itself (v. 9)

This verse can be read as Joshua setting up a second pile in the middle of the river where the priests stood, or as describing the same stones, and scholars are unsure which is meant. The words "to this day" show the writer knew the marker still stood in his own time.

Everyone crosses, armed for war (vv. 10-13)

The priests hold their place in the riverbed until every last person is across, and only then does the ark come out while the people watch. The tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh, who had already settled east of the river, keep their promise to fight alongside the others, and about forty thousand armed men cross to the plains of Jericho, ready for war.

Joshua confirmed as leader (v. 14)

Joshua's central role in the crossing shows the people that he is God's chosen leader. From then on they hold him in the same deep respect they had for Moses.

The river flows again (vv. 15-18)

Even the priests come up out of the river only when Joshua gives the word, and the moment their feet touch the bank, the Jordan comes back at full flood. The timing makes the point that the crossing happened because of the LORD, not by chance.

The meaning explained at Gilgal (vv. 19-24)

They camp at Gilgal on the tenth day of the first month, the same date the Passover lamb was chosen each year to remember leaving Egypt, and Joshua compares this crossing to the parting of the Red Sea. The stones are meant to teach Israel's children and to show other nations the LORD's power.

Key verse: Joshua 4:22

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on whether the river stopped by a direct miracle, through a natural event such as a landslide upstream that they see God using, or whether the story is mainly a shaped memory of Israel's founding meant to teach rather than record.

Something to think about

What stories or objects in your own family or community carry a memory that would fade if no one ever asked about them?