How could these stones be a monument of this work, when they were not seen, but generally covered with the waters of Jordan?
How could these stones be a monument of this work, when they were not seen, but generally covered with the waters of Jordan?
Joshua 4:9
ESV - 9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day.
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Asked April 19 2018
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Sekhar Babu
Supporter
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Tim Maas
Supporter
In the previous chapter (Joshua 3:13), God had said to Joshua, "And when the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be stopped from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap." This suggests to me that the place where the priests who were bearing the ark were standing was not in the middle of the river (as one might suppose from the phrase "in the midst of the Jordan"), but at the river's edge (which would also have been higher, or closer, than it would be when the river was not in its annual flood stage). The memorial that Joshua made from the twelve stones taken from this location would therefore have always been visible, rather than being covered by the Jordan.
Mark Mobley
Supporter
My understanding is that the 12 stones that were placed by Joshua into the Jordan (Joshua 4:9-10) was not commanded from God. It was from his own awe and amazement of what he had witnessed God do that day, and the steadfastness of the priests to stand firm bearing the ark for hours on end while thousands of families with all of their belongings and thousands of livestock crossed over safely. These stones were placed in the Jordan where the priests had stood firm, by Joshua to personally honor God not to be a memorial. The stones that were taken out of the Jordan (Joshua 4:1-3) by 1 member of each tribe and placed in Gilgal where they would lodge that night, were placed there as a commandment from The Lord to be set up as a memorial to His people of what He had done for them.
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