Today we begin Joshua Chapter Four.
For the Complete Jewish Bible, click here.
For the King James version, click here.
“After the whole nation had finished crossing the Yarden, Adonai said to Y’hoshua, Take for yourselves from the people twelve men, a man from every tribe; and give them this order: ‘Take twelve stones from the middle of the Yarden riverbed, where the cohanim are standing, carry them over with you and set them down in the place where you will camp tonight.’’”-Joshua 4:1-3
After the Israelites had miraculously crossed over the Jordan, an interesting set of instructions was given out.
We’re told that 12 men, one from each tribe of Israel was to go to the center of the riverbed where the priests had been standing and each take one huge stone.
The men weren’t given a reason why they had to carry out this task but later on we’ll find out the stones were to be set up as monuments.
Folks, right here is another major event that occurred in God’s salvation plan for His People.
One interesting point we shouldn’t overlook is that the 12 men selected were given special approval to come very close to the Ark of the Covenant.
They must have been nervous as hell wondering if their task was an honor mission or a death wish.
It turns out the 12 stones would be put to good use that very night when the Israelites set up camp near Jericho.
Now the King of Jericho must have been very surprised that all of a sudden thousands of Israelites were now camping right outside his doorstep.
Because of the harvest season rush of the water, he was probably assuming he had at least a month to prepare his army to deal with the Israelites.
So we can see the Lord had a good war strategy in mind when He decided to have the Israelites cross the Jordan when He did.
The lesson to be learned here is when possible take your enemy by surprise when his defenses are down.
Also, let’s not overlook the fact that after Israel crossed through the Red Sea, at that time they also set up 12 standing stones.
So we can see both of these crossings are closely linked to each other.
The setting up of these stones established BOTH a key Biblical principle and a Jewish tradition.
When the descendants are asked what’s the meaning behind the 12 standing stones, they are to share how the Lord performed a great miracle that allowed them to cross over the Jordan when the rushing waters were at their strongest.
In terms of tradition, it is the custom that every Jew (or Hebrew) is to speak of the Exodus and the taking of the Promised Land as though he or she personally participated in those events.
This is the attitude Hashem wants you to have whether you currently live in the land or not.
It is Israel’s identity with her historical past that bonds all Hebrews together to this very day.
You are 150% RIGHT. We often pray and make declarations in conformity to these transactions as if we were present at the time of execution. For instance, my family usually pray recounting the events of Ex 12:21 – 30 in the affirmative.
Secondly, I hold the view that gathering the stones is remarkable for a sign to tell the future generations that indeed these events did happen and also authenticate the OWNERSHIP of the Israeli lands.
Shalom