Stones of Remembrance, Stones of Death Text: Joshua 4:8-13
Introduction: The Gospel According to Rocks
We live in a forgetful age. We are a people addicted to the new, the novel, and the next thing. Our history is something to be erased or rewritten, and our memorials are torn down by petulant mobs who have no idea what they are doing. But the God of Scripture is a God who insists that His people remember. He does not want a people with spiritual amnesia. He builds remembering into the very fabric of our worship and our lives. He gives us tangible, physical signs to remind us of intangible, spiritual realities.
This is because the Christian faith is not a philosophy or a set of abstract principles. It is a history. It is rooted in things that actually happened in time and space. God parted the Red Sea. God came down on Sinai. God the Son became incarnate, was born in a stable, walked on dusty roads, was crucified on a Roman cross, and was raised bodily from a real tomb. And here, in our text, God stopped the flow of the Jordan River at flood stage so that His people could cross over into the Promised Land on dry ground. These are not myths or fables. They are historical bedrock.
And because we are forgetful creatures, prone to wander, God commands that memorials be established. He tells Israel to set up stones. These are not just decorative rocks. They are sermons in stone. They are covenantal signposts. They are witnesses that preach to future generations, asking the question, "What do these stones mean?" And the answer is the gospel. The answer is the story of God's mighty acts of salvation. What we see in this passage is the formal establishment of Israel's memory. It is the laying of a foundation, not just for their life in the land, but for their understanding of who they are and whose they are. And in these stones, we find a picture of our own salvation, our own baptism, and our own calling to remember the work of the greater Joshua, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Text
Thus the sons of Israel did as Joshua commanded and carried twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as Yahweh spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the lodging place and laid them down there. But 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, and they are there to this day. Now the priests who carried the ark were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that Yahweh had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hurried and crossed. And it happened when all the people had completed crossing, that the ark of Yahweh and the priests crossed before the people. And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over in battle array before the sons of Israel, just as Moses had spoken to them; about 40,000 equipped for war crossed for battle before Yahweh to the desert plains of Jericho.
(Joshua 4:8-13 LSB)
Obedience and Memorial (v. 8)
We begin with the simple obedience of the people.
"Thus the sons of Israel did as Joshua commanded and carried twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as Yahweh spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the lodging place and laid them down there." (Joshua 4:8)
The first thing to note is the straightforward obedience. "The sons of Israel did as Joshua commanded." This is faith in shoe leather. True faith is not a warm feeling in your heart; it is obedient action in the real world. God gives a command, and His people do it. The command was specific. One man from each of the twelve tribes was to go into the middle of the riverbed, hoist a large stone onto his shoulder, and carry it to the place where they would camp for the night. This was not an easy task. These were not pebbles. They were memorial stones, meant to be seen.
The number twelve is significant. It represents the entire covenant people of God. This was not the memorial of one tribe, but of the whole nation. It was a unified act of remembrance. Each tribe participated in constructing the memory of their deliverance. This tells us that remembering what God has done is a corporate responsibility. We do it together, as the church. When we celebrate the Lord's Supper, we are taking up our memorial stones and proclaiming the Lord's death until He comes.
They carried these stones to "the lodging place," which was Gilgal. This was their first foothold in the Promised Land. And what is the first thing they do? They build a monument to God's faithfulness. Before they build their own houses, before they plant their own fields, they establish a public testimony. This is a principle for us. Our first business in any new venture, in any new place, is to set up a memorial to the grace of God. Our homes, our businesses, our communities should be marked by these stones of remembrance, testifying that we are here only by the grace of God.
The Buried Stones (v. 9)
But then Joshua does something else, something not commanded in the same way. He sets up a second memorial.
"But 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, and they are there to this day." (Joshua 4:9 LSB)
This is a fascinating detail. The first set of stones was taken out of the Jordan to be a visible reminder of God's power. This second set of stones is placed in the Jordan, right where the priests stood, to be immediately covered by the returning waters. One memorial is for resurrection life on the other side. The other memorial is for the death that was overcome. The first set says, "God brought us through." The second set says, "This is what He brought us through."
Those stones in the riverbed are a picture of burial. They represent the death and judgment that should have been Israel's. The Jordan, as an extension of the Dead Sea valley, is a symbol of the curse and death. For Israel to pass through, something had to be buried there. Those stones, placed where the Ark of the Covenant stood, are a sign of substitution. The Ark, representing God's presence, held back the waters of judgment, and these stones were set up as a testimony to the death that was left behind in the river.
This is a profound picture of our baptism. Paul tells us in Romans 6 that we have been "buried with him by baptism into death." When we go down into the waters of baptism, we are identifying with the death of Christ. We are leaving our old man, our sin, and the judgment we deserved buried in the grave with Him. The stones in the river, which "are there to this day," are a hidden testimony. Though the world cannot see them, God can. He sees the death that Christ died for us, and He remembers it no more. The first set of stones is for our assurance. The second set is for God's justice.
The Steadfast Priests and the Eager People (v. 10-11)
The narrative then emphasizes the linchpin of the whole operation: the priests holding their position.
"Now the priests who carried the ark were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed... And the people hurried and crossed. And it happened when all the people had completed crossing, that the ark of Yahweh and the priests crossed before the people." (Genesis 4:10-11 LSB)
The entire miracle depended on the priests standing firm in the middle of the river with the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was the symbol of God's presence and His covenant faithfulness. As long as they stood there, the waters were held back. This is a picture of our great High Priest, Jesus Christ. He entered the river of God's judgment for us, and He stands firm, holding back the wrath we deserve, until every last one of His people is brought safely across.
Notice the people's response: they "hurried and crossed." This is not the hurry of panic, but the hurry of eagerness. They saw the way God had opened for them, and they did not linger. They seized the opportunity of their salvation. When God opens a door, we are to go through it without dithering. When the gospel call comes, the response should be one of urgent faith. We do not stroll casually away from slavery and toward the Promised Land. We hurry.
Only after everyone was safely across did the priests and the Ark come up out of the Jordan. God's presence, which led them into the river, now leads them in the land. This is the pattern of salvation. Christ goes before us to open the way, stands with us to secure the way, and leads us forward in the new life He has won for us.
Covenant Faithfulness in Battle Array (v. 12-13)
Finally, we see a specific group of Israelites and their role in this crossing.
"And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over in battle array before the sons of Israel, just as Moses had spoken to them; about 40,000 equipped for war crossed for battle before Yahweh to the desert plains of Jericho." (Joshua 4:12-13 LSB)
These two and a half tribes had already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan. They could have stayed home. They could have argued that their families and lands were now settled, and the fight on the west side was not their concern. But they had made a covenant promise to Moses that they would cross over and fight with their brothers until the entire land was conquered (Numbers 32). And here, they honor that promise.
They cross over "in battle array before the sons of Israel." They are the vanguard. They are leading the charge. This is a magnificent display of covenantal solidarity. Their faithfulness to their word is put on display for all to see. They understood that the people of God are one people. The battles of their brothers were their battles. They were not a loose confederation of tribes; they were one covenant family.
This is a powerful lesson for the church. We are not isolated individuals or independent congregations. We are one body. When one part of the body is engaged in a spiritual battle, the other parts are to come to its aid. We are to bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. The faithfulness of these tribes is a rebuke to all our selfish individualism and parochialism. They crossed over for battle "before Yahweh." Their obedience was an act of worship, performed in the sight of God, for the good of His people.
Conclusion: Our Living Stones
The Israelites were commanded to teach their children what these stones meant. They were gospel stones, preaching salvation through God's mighty acts. But these stones were just a shadow. They pointed forward to the true memorial, the true living stone, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is the stone the builders rejected who has become the cornerstone. He is the one who entered the floodwaters of judgment for us. He was buried, like the stones in the river, but He was also raised up and brought out on the other side, like the stones at Gilgal. Our baptism is our Jordan crossing, where we are buried with Him and raised to walk in newness of life.
And we have our memorial stones. We have the bread and the wine. Every week, we come to a table and are asked, "What does this mean?" It means that a greater Joshua has secured a greater victory. It means the river of judgment has been parted. It means the way into the true Promised Land, the New Creation, has been opened. And we are to remember. We are to teach our children. We are to live as a people who have been brought through the waters, standing on resurrection ground, all because our High Priest stood firm for us.