⚔️ Joshua 4 — Key Summary: ๐ The Purpose of Crossing the Jordan → So That All the Peoples of the Earth Would Know the Lord
Joshua chapters 1–3 show how Joshua, the new leader, completed all the preparations and commanded the people to cross the Jordan into the territory of Canaan. They crossed on dry ground.
⚔️ Key Summary of Joshua 4
Joshua 4 records the command the Lord gave to Joshua after all the people had finished crossing the Jordan.
① The command to take twelve stones (verses 1–8)
One man from each tribe was chosen, and each was to take one stone from the middle of the Jordan.
The twelve stones were to be carried to the place where they would spend the night and serve as a sign for future generations.
② Twelve stones were also set up in the middle of the Jordan (verse 9)
Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, at the place where the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant had stood.
The text says that they remained there “to this day.”
๐ก Let’s think about this for a moment.
The location of the twelve stones placed in the Jordan
๐ The Jordan River today is much narrower and has considerably less water than it likely had at that time.
Its normal width today is approximately 20–30 meters (65–100 feet). In some places it is only 10–15 meters (33–50 feet), while in wider areas it can reach 40–60 meters (130–200 feet).
However, the Bible records that Israel crossed the Jordan at the time of the harvest, when the river was overflowing (Joshua 3:15).
If we also consider the floodplain, it is possible that, depending on the area, the water could have spread over 300–500 meters (1,000–1,600 feet), and in some places perhaps close to 1 kilometer (about 0.6 mile).
Therefore, I personally wonder whether the twelve stones set up “in the middle of the Jordan” mentioned in Joshua 4 might not have been in what we would imagine today as “the middle of a narrow river,” but somewhere within the much wider area covered by the flooding Jordan at that time.
The Bible does not tell us their exact location. But two things are clearly recorded: “in the middle of the Jordan” and “during the flood season.”
So I personally like to imagine this possibility. After all, there is nothing wrong with thinking and imagining. ๐
③ All the people crossed the Jordan (verses 10–14)
After all the people had finished crossing, the Ark of the Lord and the priests crossed in front of the people.
In other words, it was the Lord who caused the priests to enter the Jordan and remain there, and it was also the Lord who determined when they should come out.
The warriors from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed at the front.
✔️ Just as God had promised in chapter 3!
“On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel.”
And the people came to respect him, just as they had respected Moses.
④ When the priests came up, the Jordan began flowing again (verses 15–18)
When the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant came up from the middle of the Jordan and their feet touched dry ground, the waters of the Jordan began flowing again.
๐ The Lord told Joshua to command the priests to come up from the Jordan. (v. 15)
After the people had finished crossing the Jordan, the Bible records that, according to God's word, Joshua commanded the priests to come up from the Jordan.
This clearly demonstrates the authority Joshua had received as the leader. ๐
→ Moses and Joshua were men chosen by God Himself.
→ The priests, after Aaron, became priests through their lineage.
๐ In simple terms, we could say that they were in completely different categories.
They were leaders chosen directly by the Lord God.
⑤ The meaning of the twelve stones set up at Gilgal (verses 19–24)
The Bible records the exact date Israel crossed the Jordan: the tenth day of the first month.
They camped at Gilgal, east of Jericho.
There Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been taken from the Jordan.
๐ Joshua explained the meaning of these stones.
When their children asked:
“What do these stones mean?”
they were to explain that:
Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground;
the Lord God dried up the waters of the Jordan, just as He had dried up the Red Sea;
and all this happened so that all the peoples of the earth would know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and would fear the Lord forever.
๐ There are 12 stones... but Gemini drew 13! ๐
The 13th stone is probably Gemini itself, disguised as a stone! ๐
Final Thoughts
In Joshua 4, we find a passage that may seem somewhat difficult or even a little out of place. I am referring especially to verse 10:
“For the priests who carried the ark stood in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that the Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people, according to everything Moses had commanded Joshua...”
Here we find two commands, but the expression “according to everything” shows that they are connected and point to the same mission.
1. The Lord commanded Joshua to give an order to the people.
2. That same mission was connected to what Moses had commanded Joshua.
Moses is mentioned.
➡️ After Joshua became the leader, we do not find a specific command from Joshua to the entire people in chapters 1 and 2. The commands to the people begin in chapter 3, precisely when Israel prepares to cross the Jordan.
The officers went throughout the camp and delivered the instructions to the people.
➡️ We already mentioned this in the previous chapter's summary. Consider what is recorded in Deuteronomy 31:3.
Moses said to the people of Israel:
“The Lord your God Himself will go over before you and will destroy these nations before you, and you shall take possession of their land. Joshua also will go over before you, as the Lord has said.”
➡️ Therefore, we can understand that Joshua 4:10 does not suddenly mention Moses without any connection to the context.
It is the continuation of the mission that Moses had entrusted to Joshua in Deuteronomy 31.
๐ Crossing the Jordan was both an order that the Lord gave through Joshua to the people and the fulfillment of the mission that Moses had entrusted to Joshua.
✔️ In this way, God shows that He had established Joshua as the successor to Moses.
And through the extraordinary event of drying up the waters of the Jordan and establishing the twelve stones as a memorial, God intended to make known not only to Israel but to all the peoples of the earth the power of His hand and His name.
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