The Bible Says
Joshua 4:8−14 Meaning

Joshua 4:8−14 describes the continuation of the Jordan Crossing, as the Israelites enter Canaan at last.

In the previous passage, the LORD asked Joshua to choose twelve men, one from each tribe of Israel. The men were to pick up twelve stones from the Jordan River. The River was at flood stage; it was higher than usual and overflowing. But God dried up a place in the river to allow the Israelites to cross, similar to how He parted the Red Sea to allow the first generation of Israelites to escape the Egyptians (Exodus 14:21-22).

This dry place in the Jordan River made by God granted the Israelites safe and easy passage to the west bank. The twelve stones collected from the riverbed would be a perpetual reminder of God’s miraculous work to deliver His covenant people (Joshua 4:1−7).

In the present passage, the sons of Israel did as Joshua commanded (v. 8). They received Joshua as the leader replacing Moses, so they followed his leadership. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the LORD spoke to Joshua. Since Israel had twelve tribes, the LORD instructed Joshua to pick up twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. Thus, the number “twelve” highlights Israel’s unity under the leadership of Joshua (Exodus 24:4).

All the tribes participated in the commemoration of the Jordan Crossing. The twelve stones represent a permanent marker to educate future generations of God’s work and to strengthen their faith. The people carried them to the lodging place and put them down there. These stones taken from the dry riverbed of the Jordan River would be visible to everyone. In addition to the twelve stones placed on the western shore of the Jordan River, Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing (v. 9).

The ark of the covenant was a wooden box overlaid with gold. It contained the second set of stone tablets on which the LORD wrote the Ten Commandments, Aaron’s rod which budded almond blossoms, as well as a bowl of manna. God’s presence moved within the ark, to signify His presence with His chosen people. It was taken into some of Israel’s battles, such as the coming siege of Jericho, in obedience to God’s command, showing the Israelites’ faith that the battle belonged to the LORD (Joshua 6:6, 2 Samuel 11:11).

Years earlier, when the first generation of Israelites learned that they would not be allowed to enter the Promised Land due to their disbelief and rebellion, they attempted to enter the Land anyway by going into battle against the Amalekites. Moses warned them they would “not succeed” and “Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for the Lord is not among you” (Numbers 14:41). Moses and the ark of the covenant stayed in the camp, and the Israelites carried out the battle plan anyway without God’s help, and were defeated, and driven back (Numbers 14:44).

But here, as the second generation of Israelites are commanded to enter the Promised Land, the ark of the covenant is with them. The Levitical priests were the ones who bore the ark on their shoulders. They walked before the people to lead the way. Then, once they entered the Jordan, they stood in its midst, and God dried the waters to allow His covenant people to cross the river on dry ground. For this reason, Joshua set up twelve stones amid the river. They would be visible only in drought seasons when the river was low.

In sum, this chapter records two sets of stones. The first set would stay on the west bank of the Jordan and be visible all the time to remind the people of Israel how they crossed the river on dry ground. The second set of stones would stay in the Jordan River and emerge in times of drought. In other words, in times of drought crisis, when some Israelites could doubt God’s presence, these memorial stones would remind them of God’s faithfulness. This reminder would help strengthen their faith in God, knowing He would always provide for all their needs. The writer ended this verse by saying, They are there to this day, meaning that the stones were still there when he wrote the book of Joshua.

The next five verses (vv. 10−14) summarize the crossing of the Jordan River. Starting in verse 10, the writer said, The priests who carried the ark were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that the LORD had commanded Joshua to speak to the people (v. 10). Joshua received the divine command and passed it on to the priests. Everything happened according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua.

Moses, the predecessor of Joshua, had encouraged him to lead the Israelites faithfully to the land of Canaan since Joshua was his assistant (Exodus 17). Before Moses passed away, he “called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, ‘Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance’” (Deuteronomy 31:7).

Thus, just as Moses obeyed the LORD, Joshua obeyed Moses. He commanded the priests to “stand still in the Jordan” (Joshua 3:6−8). They obeyed him and stood in the dried riverbed patiently until all the Israelites crossed the river. The people hurried and crossed because they were excited to enter and possess the Promised Land.

Then, when all the people had finished crossing, the ark of the LORD and the priests crossed before the people (v. 11). Earlier, the Levitical priests carrying the Covenant Box were to march ahead of the people until they reached the banks of the Jordan River (Joshua 3:11). But when the priests reached the waters, God would stop the upstream flow and cut off the downstream to allow the priests to stand motionless on dry ground as the people crossed ahead of them (Joshua 3:13−17).

Now that all the people had crossed the river successfully and reached the west bank, the priests crossed too and regained their customary position. The sons of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over in battle array before the sons of Israel (v. 12).

According to Genesis, the Reubenites descended from the first son of Jacob by his wife Leah (Genesis 35:23). The Gadites were descendants of Jacob’s son Gad by his maidservant, Zilpah (Genesis 35:26). The half-tribe of Manasseh belonged to the first son of Joseph and consisted of two clans represented by Jair and Machir (Genesis 41:51). These two and half tribes were to receive the portions of land located east of Jordan. However, as part of the Israelite community, they were obligated to help their fellow countrymen conquer the west side (Deuteronomy 3:18−20).

The Book of Numbers records the agreement between Moses and the eastern tribes. When they claimed their portions east of the Jordan River, Moses said to them:

“If you will do this, if you will arm yourselves before the LORD for the war, and all of you armed men cross over the Jordan before the LORD until He has driven His enemies out from before Him, and the land is subdued before the LORD, then afterward you shall return and be free of obligation toward the LORD and Israel.”
(Numbers 32:20−22)

The Gadites and the Reubenites answered Moses: “Your servants will do just as my lord commands. Our little ones, our wives, our livestock and all our cattle shall remain there in the cities of Gilead; while your servants, everyone armed for war, will cross over in the presence of the LORD to battle” (Numbers 32:25−27).

In Joshua, they did just as Moses had spoken to them. They fulfilled their promises. Thus, about 40,000 equipped for war, crossed for battle before the LORD to the desert plains of Jericho (v. 13). This number represents the warriors from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh who settled east of the Jordan River. They all reached the west bank and crossed before the LORD, meaning that they were obedient to the divine commands. Now, they made it to the desert plains of Jericho.

The city of Jericho was in the lower Jordan Valley, west of the Jordan River and about ten miles northwest of the Dead Sea. The Bible calls it the “city of palms” because it had abundant palm trees (Deuteronomy 34:3; Judges 1:16; 2 Chronicles 28:15). It was a secure fortress with formidable walls. It was the first city that stood in Israel’s way, so the eastern tribes were all ready to fight the enemy there.

God lifted Joshua up in the eyes of Israel for his leadership across the River: On that day, the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel (v. 14).

The verb exalt means “to make great” or “to magnify.” To exalt someone means to give him rank or dignity. In the previous chapter, God promised to magnify Joshua by confirming his position as Israel’s leader (Joshua 3:7). In our passage, God fulfilled His word. The purpose, God declared, was so that they [the Israelites] revered him, just as they had revered Moses all the days of his life. That means all the Israelites esteemed Joshua highly and followed his leadership. The Hebrew word for revered here could also be translated as “feared.”

For most or all their life, this generation of Israelites had grown up in the wilderness. They knew their fathers and mothers had been forbidden by God to enter Canaan due to their unbelief and rebellion. They knew they themselves would one day be permitted by God to enter the Promised Land. Now, at last, it had happened. The Israelites had entered the land of their forefathers, the land given them by God (Genesis 17:8, Deuteronomy 30:5).

The miraculous crossing of the Jordan River confirmed God’s presence in Joshua’s life. It showed that he was the man appointed by God to lead the Israelites. Thus, God elevated Joshua to encourage the people to follow him faithfully as their new leader.