Joshua 4:1 "And it came to pass, when all the People were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying,"

Joshua 4:2 "Take you twelve men out of the People, out of every tribe a man,"

God was being fair with all the tribes of Israel, for each tribe sent a man to contribute to this memorial. There was participation with all the people.

Joshua 4:3 "And command ye them, saying, `Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place were the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.' "

God is telling Joshua to tell these twelve men to go to the same place where the priests stand holding the ark, and these twelve men are each to select one large stone, and carry those stones to the camp site on the other side of Jordan. When the twelve tribes set up camp, it formed a five pointed star with the tabernacle tent in the center.

Joshua 4:4 "Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:"

Again see the fairness of God to each of the tribes.

Joshua 4:5 "And Joshua said unto them, "Pass over before the Ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:"

Joshua is giving instructions to these men to select a good sized stone, not just a pebble, and hoist it on your shoulder, and carry it over to the other side of the river. This selection is to take place as the rest of the people are passing by the ark of the Covenant, and walking on dry ground to the other side.

Joshua 4:6 "That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, `What mean ye by these stones?' "

The purpose of this memorial is not for the generation that passed over Jordan, but the generations to come that hear of the protection that God gave His people, and they have a memorial to focus their attention on while the parents are explaining this even to them. The stones were laid in this circle, and the memorial is important, because it documents that God protects His children. That is the same reason that we have memorials today from past wars, of great events, and people that we want the future generations to remember. The events spoken of and the people talked about actually happened, and the really did exist.

Joshua 4:7 "Then ye shall answer them, `That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; 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."

God is explaining exactly what we are to tell our children about this event. How that the priests stepped into the waters and they departed and were cut off to all the children of Israel to pass over on dry ground. So these stones are to be set in place as a memorial to our people forever. This is a reminder that God takes care of His own.

When we set a memorial in place to give honor for the people that gave their lives for the defense of their country, those people are the ones we want to continue to remember as we enjoy our freedom that they paid for with their lives. Memorials are markings set in place for the future generation.

There are many other streams of trouble that you will face in your life, things and times that looked impossible at the time to cross. When you place those problems in the hands of the Lord, when there is nothing that you can do, then Father steps in to take care of those problems and you pass over to the other side; and go on with your life. Jesus told us in Matthew 11:27 - 30; "All things are delivered unto Me of My Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him." [27] "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." [28]

There are no problems in this entire world that are impossible to the Father of to the Son. When God reveals Himself to you, He desires that you come to Him when your worldly problems become to great to handle. When we place our faith in Jesus Christ, just as the children of Israel did when they picked up their tents and fell in behind the ark of the covenant as it passed by, and headed to the river. The river was still there until the feet stepped forth to be placed on the water, then the waters parted, and God action of parting the waters was in response to the faith of the believers. You come to the Lord, and the Lord does the lifting of the heavy burden. Father opens your mind, and gives you the faith to see, then its up to you to choose faith or no faith.

Matthew 11:29 - 30 "Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." [29] "For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." [30]

Our Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross to pay the price for your sins for one and all times. However, even though that price has been paid, it is still up to you to respond to that gift and take that yoke on yourself and come under God's protection. Jesus is telling us to learn of Him, for He is not the hard taskmaster that many try to make Him to be, but a loving caring God who loves and cares for each of His children. If you have that faith, God will always take care of you and protect you, that His work and will can be fulfilled. However it is up to you to be strong and have the courage to see the problem through to the end. That is what this memorial is all about; remembering the love and protection of our heavenly Father for His children.

Joshua 4:8 "And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the Lord spake 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."

The twelve men of the children of Israel did exactly as Joshua asked of them, they obeyed. So with in this verse we see the obedience of the people, the protection of God for His people, and the faith set in place to do what the Word of the Lord commanded of them. Within these stone of this memorial sets the history markers for all generations to remember this day forever. God's command was listened to, understood and carried out to the letter of the Word. When we are doers of the Word, we can expect to receive the blessings from God for our obedience.

Joshua 4:9 "And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day."

This is the memorial of the crossing over of the Jordan river.

Joshua 4:10 "For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until everything was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the People hasted and passed over."

God arranged for this crossing, and the people were instructed in what they were to do, and were obedient to the letter of all things that they were commanded to do. God spoke to Moses and Moses instructed Joshua, which in turn passed on the instructions to the people and all the people were doers of the Word of God. Joshua was magnified just as Moses was, and when the people crossed over, they set a memorial to the faithfulness of God.

Joshua 4:11 "And it came to pass, when all the People were clean passed over, that the ark of the Lord passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the People."

Our in front of the all the people were the priests, their duties were to be first in, last out of the river. They stood in the gap and held the covenant of the Lord to bring reality to the protection of the people. That is the same way that it should be today, the pastor should be the first to lead the way in the congregation, and the spiritual leader to instruct the people as to what is taking place at all times, according to all the Word. Joshua did not withhold information from the people, but all the people got all the Word of God's commandments.

Joshua 4:12 "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 spake unto them:"

Did God send the children of Israel across this river, directly at the walls of Jericho unarmed? No, God placed three tribes east of the river Jordan, they set up their homes, and and settled their wives and children in their homes. Then the men armed themselves of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, and became the armed guards for the rest of the tribes that had to cross over Jordan to claim their part of God inheritance for their families. God expects you to use common sense and protect your family from trouble and the rift-raft of this world age.

Remember that these three tribes were already home, for their land was on the east side of Jordan. The battles to claim their land were fought for by all the tribes, and the dangers of foreign nations and kings had already been taken care of. King Sihon and Og of the Amorites were destroyed, and their people killed, and now it is time to face those other seven nation talked about in Joshua 3:10; "the Canaanites, Hittites, and Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites and the Jebusites" that possessed the the land of the other nine tribes.

These men that would act as protectors for the families of the other tribes knew that their families would not have to travel this dangerous route, and face those problems. It was the fair thing to do. This group of armed men was disciplined, and and second in line to the Priests that were carrying the ark. As the priests stood the ground to hold back the water, the armed men moved into the land and protected the setting up of the new camp. They knew it was time to get the job done, take the land and get back to the wife and kids.

Joshua 4:13 "About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle, to the plains of Jericho."

The army formed from these three tribes were forty thousand soldiers, prepared to fight the battles for the other tribes. They secured the land on the other side, and made save a camp site for the families of the other tribes.

We are about to cross over another Jordan, and enter into another promise land in the near future, and this requires us to be spiritually armed and ready for the battle of the final conflict. That battle will be a battle of lies and deception, and it will be fought with word, and ideas, and supernatural acts that would even deceive the elect, if it were possible. But is isn't for the elect will know the truth from God's Word and see right through the tricks of Satan and his realm. Paul talked about preparing for this conflict in Ephesians 6:10 - 20, and this war we will be fighting will not be against the "power of the arm, but against principalities in high places, evil spirits and fallen angels of the supernatural. The only way to fight that war is with the Gospel armor on and in place; the truth of God's Word sealed in your mind. Your knowledge of the Word of God, and those events that are to happen within the plan of God will hold you together in those trying times. We know the outcome before we start, for we know we will have the victory in the end.

Joshua 4:14 "On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life."

On that day of the crossing over, the children of Israel saw Joshua leading them, and they learned to revere and respect Joshua just as they did Moses when Moses was leading them. The word "fear" should read "revered" for it wasn't God's intent to have the people fear Joshua or Moses. "In that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they revered him, as they revered Moses all the day of Moses' life."

Joshua 4:15 "And the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying,"

Joshua 4:16 "Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan."

In other words, everyone had crossed over, and the priest and ark of the covenant followed the last person out of the river.

Joshua 4:17 "Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, "Come ye up out of Jordan."

Joshua 4:18 "And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord were come up out of the midst 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 the banks, as they did before."

Remember that it was harvest time before the priests entered into the river, and when the priests brought the ark of the covenant out of the river onto where the dry ground should be, the river returned to its flowing and started to flood the fields again. Everything went back to normal. If you saw this river being dammed with no wall in site, and the people crossing over on dry ground, you would know absolutely that God was with these people. This showed obedience on all the peoples part, as well as Joshua's.

Joshua 4:19 "And the People came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho."

The first month and the tenth day: The first month started at the Spring Equinox, and the fourteenth day of the month starts the Passover. They arrived here in the promise land four days from Passover. So time wise on our calendar it would fall sometime between April first to the fourth. This is only about four weeks time until the time of the locust, in a prophetic sense. These stories given of past history are ensamples or examples as how it shall be in the time of the end.

Joshua 4:20 "And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal."

Joshua set up that memorial there in Gilgal.

Joshua 4:21 "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?' "

Joshua 4:22 "Then ye shall let your children kow, saying, `Israel came over this Jordan on dry land."

Joshua told the children of Israel that these twelve stones will be a reminder of this time they just went through, the miracle crossing of the Jordan on dry ground.

Joshua 4:23 "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:"

Joshua is calling attention that this was the second time that God preformed this miracle of parting the waters and allowing the people to cross over on dry ground. When the danger came, the waters were parted and God saved His people. Both these people and their dead parents that died in the wilderness over the past forty years witnessed the parting of the waters. One generation did not have the faith to trust God, and they died in the wilderness. The other generation had the faith to trust God, and they lived to enter into the promise land.

Would you faith allow you to pass between two walls of water where there was nothing visible holding the water back, based only on a promise from God; would you do it?

Joshua 4:24 "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.' "

This is the purpose for this happening: "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."

Ezekiel 38 and 39 tell us of a time that will come in our generation, when God shall protect His people when the armies of Gog, and their allies are bearing down on us. We will be dwelling safely in our unwalled cities, when this force is coming against us, and God will be the one to bring down the great hailstones, fire and brimstone on our enemies. He will do this for the same purpose that we read of here in Joshua 4:24. Those that don't love and trust God will not be around for ever, for they will go with Satan into the lake of fire; but these mighty events are all done for the sake of people that have come to know the Lord God.

Ezekiel 38:23 "Thus will I magnify Myself, and sanctify Myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.' "

The priests were the first in and the last out, and the protection came from the Ark of the covenant, the very Word of God, with the mercy seat setting on top. God held back the waters of a flood stage river for the protection of His people. God made the way, instructed the people, and the people followed in obedience to the other side. God promised that He would deliver them and He did.