Now I need to acknowledge that there’s a bit of a technical problem at this point. It’s perfectly evident from any reading of this chapter that the twelve men chosen by the people were to each lift up a stone from the Jordan, carry it up, and then place it upon the bank. These were then arranged into a memorial. This was a mark of their camp at Gilgal to which they often returned. There’s no question about that. This technical difficulty that I refer to comes from the fact that in the original version of verse 9, the text literally says, “Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood.” This has led many commentators to suppose that there were two memorials.
Now I need to acknowledge that there’s a bit of a technical problem at this point. It’s perfectly evident from any reading of this chapter that the twelve men chosen by the people were to each lift up a stone from the Jordan, carry it up, and then place it upon the bank. These were then arranged into a memorial. This was a mark of their camp at Gilgal to which they often returned. There’s no question about that. This technical difficulty that I refer to comes from the fact that in the original version of verse 9, the text literally says, “Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood.” This has led many commentators to suppose that there were two memorials.
Last week, when we looked at chapter 3 and the crossing itself, we saw that the most important element in that crossing is the emphasis found there upon the Ark of the Covenant. The ark symbolized the presence of God. It has not been mentioned in Joshua until now, but suddenly in these chapters connected with the crossing of the Jordan, it is mentioned many times. The ark symbolized the presence of God, and as the people crossed the river, they did so with the ark going before them. In other words, God went before them.
Now, we’re looking at those chapters of Joshua that deal with the crossing of the Jordan River. Like all good stories, Joshua is written in episodes. There have been two already. Chapter 1 focuses on the commissioning of Joshua in his first commands to the people. Chapter 2 concerns the sending of the spies into the Promised Land and their meeting with Rahab, and it focuses on Rahab’s act of faith in protecting them and identifying with the people of Israel. And then in chapter 3, we have the beginning of this new episode, which is the crossing of the Jordan.
You can ask, “Where is the God of Moses—the God who operated so powerfully in Moses’ day, the God of miracles, the God of redemption, the God who brought His people out of slavery?” “Where is the God of Joshua, the God of conquest who led His people into the Promised Land?” “Where is the God of Elijah?” “Where is the God of Elisha?” “Where is the God is Isaiah?” “Where is the God of any great character in the Old or New Testaments?” The answer is that the God of all these people is the same God to you. He does not change.
The third thing that was kept before the eyes of the people was His justice. This God was a God of judgment. You see, the picture of that ark with God symbolically dwelling between the wings of the cherubim over the ark, which contained the law of God, is a picture of judgment because here is portrayed as the holy God and righteous God, staring down upon the law, the expression of His moral character which every single human being has violated. That picture is a picture of judgment. It’s meant to strike terror into the hearts of sinful men and women. God’s standard of justice does not change; and God judges, and will judge all things in the end.
The second lesson is that the God who goes before us is the same God who has gone before His people at all times. That, too, was symbolized by the ark. He is the God of the exodus who had brought judgment upon the Egyptians, and who had parted the Red Sea, and who had led the people out with a strong hand. This was the same powerful, sovereign God now who was leading them into the Promised Land, just as He had led them out of Egypt.
The thing that is the most prominent, especially in chapters 3 and 4, is the presence of the Ark of the Covenant. Now we haven’t seen the Ark of the Covenant up to this point, but suddenly here it is as the focal point of the narrative. And it is mentioned again and again. It’s mentioned nine times in chapter 3, seven times in chapter 4, and four more times by the use of a pronoun. What was important about the ark? It was the focal point of the nation of Israel. It was where God symbolically resided among His people.
Canadian Committee of The Bible Study Hour
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