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Joshua
Chapter
4
{Verses
1-9: The Two Memorials -
Why the Twelve Men were Set Aside in Chapter 3 is Revealed}
1-2~~And
it came to pass,
when
all the people were {clean} passed over Jordan,
that
the Jehovah/God spoke unto Joshua, saying,2~~
"Take
you twelve men out of the people,
out
of every tribe a man."
{Note: Stage ONE: Obedience to God. Stage TWO: Further instructions from God. Details of selection of the 12 men in Chapter 3. Note there are 12 men but 13 tribes at this time (tribe of Joseph divided into two - Ephraim and Manasseh). Which tribe is excluded? The Levites. They are already standing in the middle of the Jordan. As spiritual leaders they are excluded here.}
3~~And
command you them, saying,
"Take
you here out of the middle 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."
{Note: From verse 19 we see the stones will be deposited at Gilgal. Gilgal means 'circle' and circle represents eternity.}
{See
Matthew Chapter 3:9 for a reference to the 'stones'}
4~~Then
Joshua called the twelve men,
whom
he had prepared
{how had he prepared them? By crossing the Jordan - expressing faith}
of
the children of Israel,
out
of every tribe a man.
{First
Memorial Taking of 12 Stones from the Jordan}
5-7~~And
Joshua said unto them,
"Pass
over before the ark of the Jehovah/God your 'Elohiym/Godhead
into
the middle 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 6~~
That
this may be a sign among you,
that
when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying,
'What
do you mean by these stones?' 7~~
Then
you shall answer them,
'That
the waters of Jordan were cut off
before
the ark of the covenant of the Jehovah/God
when
it passed over Jordan,
the
waters of Jordan were cut off
and
these stones shall be for a memorial
unto
the children of Israel for ever.' "
{Note: They make a mound out of these big stones carried on their shoulders and stacked up by 12 men with strong backs! Water is a picture of death (same with baptism - picture of death of your old life, now life in Union with Christ). So then the stones are moved to Gilgal - the circle - so the stones are transferred from the place of death to the place of eternal life. Memorial to the Grace of God and represents salvation. Picking up stones is a picture of faith. See also Matthew 3:9.}
8~~And
the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded,
and
took up twelve stones out of the middle of Jordan,
as
the Jehovah/God 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 {at Gilgal (see verse 19)}.
{Note: These 12 stones are placed in the River Jordan THEN removed to Gilgal. Next Joshua will personally get 12 more stones and place them in the river Jordan.}
{Second
Memorial - Now a Different 12 Stones Are Placed In the River Bed of
the Jordan}
9~~And
Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of Jordan,
in
the place where the feet of the priests
who
bare the ark of the covenant stood
and
they are there unto this day.
The
stones on the dry land were placed
where
the men stood.
{Note: Now Joshua carried 12 stones out one at a time. Joshua is the Hebrew word for Jesus. Both mean 'God saves' or 'savior'. So, Christ bore our sins in His body at the cross - the place of death. These stones remain. Salvation remains. Believers are now on dry land (place of life). The stones Joshua/Jesus carries are left where they will be covered with water (place of death). This is called 'Retroactive positional truth' and it means believers in Christ are identified with Christ in His Death (Romans 6:1-13) - it is the basis of victory in Canaan and Phase II.}
{Verses
10-24: Record of the Crossing}
10~~The
priests who bare the ark stood in the middle of Jordan,
until
every thing was finished
that
the Jehovah/God commanded Joshua to speak unto the people,
according
to all that Moses commanded Joshua
and
the people have and passed over.
{Note: The priests stayed in the middle of the Jordan while the army passed and while the rock carrying process was going on and was completed.}
11~~And
it came to pass,
when
all the people were {clean} passed over,
that
the Ark of the Jehovah/God passed over,
and
the priests,
in
the presence of the people.
{Interesting
Addendum - 2 1/2 Tribes had Settled on the East Side - The Warriors
passed with them}
12~~And
the children of Reuben,
and
the children of Gad,
and
half the tribe of Manasseh,
passed
over armed before the children of Israel,
as
Moses spoke unto them.
{Note: Principal: When you cross the River Jordan (Salvation), you must be ARMED (with the Word of the Lord) and ready to do battle. These three tribes already had their inheritance, but they helped their fellow believers.}
13~~About
forty thousand prepared for war passed over
before
the Jehovah/God unto battle,
to
the plains of Jericho.
14~~On
that day the Jehovah/God
magnified
Joshua in the sight of all Israel
and
they 'respected the authority of'/feared him,
as
they respected/feared Moses,
all
the days of his {Moses'} life.
{Note: The people of his day did not 'like' Moses. Leaders do not have to be liked. But they MUST be under divine guidance. Today, that comes from the written Word. The people did not love these two, they 'respected their authority'/feared them.}
{Closing
Commands from God Here}
15-16~~And
the Jehovah/God spoke unto Joshua, saying, 16~~
"Command
the priests
who
bear the Ark of the Testimony {Ark of the Covenant},
that
they come up out of Jordan."
17~~Joshua
therefore commanded the priests, saying,
"Come
you up out of Jordan."
18~~And
it came to pass,
when
the priests who bare the Ark of the Covenant of the Jehovah/God
were
come up out of the middle of Jordan,
and
the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry land,
that
the waters of Jordan returned unto their place,
and
flowed over all its banks, as they did before.
{Note: Notice there was no tidal wave. The water was turned loose by God in another miraculous controlled and orderly fashion.}
19~~And
the people came up out of Jordan
on
the tenth day of the first month,
and
encamped/bivouacked in Gilgal,
in
the east border of Jericho.
20~~And
those twelve stones,
which
they took out of Jordan,
did
Joshua pitch in Gilgal.
{Importance
of Knowing Doctrine}
21-24~~And
He spoke unto the children of Israel, saying,
"When
your children
shall
ask their fathers in time to come, saying,
"What
mean these stones?" 22~~
Then
you shall let your children know, saying,
"Israel
came over this Jordan on dry land. 23~~
For
the Jehovah/God your 'Elohiym/Godhead
dried
up the waters of Jordan
from
before you {God did it! Grace},
until
you were passed over,
as
the Jehovah/God your 'Elohiym/Godhead
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 {knowledge of doctrine is always the key}
the
hand of the Jehovah/God,
that
it is mighty . . .
that
you might 'respect the authority of'/fear/'worshipable trust'
the
Jehovah/God your 'Elohiym/Godhead for ever.
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