History · Chapter 4 of 24
Joshua 4
God commands twelve men, one from each tribe, to lift twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan where the priests stood, and carry them to the camp. Joshua also sets twelve stones in the riverbed. When the priests come up, the waters return. The stones become a lasting memorial at Gilgal, so children will ask their meaning and be told how the LORD dried the Jordan.
What happens in Joshua 4
Once the nation has crossed, the LORD tells Joshua to appoint twelve men, one per tribe, to take twelve stones from the place the priests' feet stood firm in the Jordan and carry them to that night's lodging. Joshua explains their purpose: they are a sign, so that when children later ask what the stones mean, their fathers can tell them the waters were cut off before the ark. He also sets up twelve stones in the middle of the river. About forty thousand armed men from Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh cross for battle, and the LORD magnifies Joshua that day.
When the priests come up from the riverbed to dry land, the Jordan returns and overflows its banks as before. The people camp at Gilgal on the tenth day of the first month, and Joshua pitches the twelve stones there, charging Israel to teach their children, that all peoples may know the LORD's hand is mighty.
Joshua 4 in context
Joshua 4 completes the crossing account of chapter 3, dwelling not on the miracle but on its memory. Gilgal, near Jericho, becomes Israel's first base in the land. The date, the tenth of the first month, sits days before Passover, tying the entry into the land to the exodus from Egypt.
The whole chapter is built around teaching the next generation to remember what God has done.
Main themes of Joshua 4
Joshua 4 (KJV)
1And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, 2Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, 3And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where 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. 4Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: 5And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: 6That 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? 7Then 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. 8And 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. 9And 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. 10For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until everything was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over. 11And 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. 12And 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: 13About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto battle, to the plains of Jericho. 14On 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. 15And the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, 16Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan. 17Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan. 18And 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 his banks, as they did before. 19And 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. 20And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. 21And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? 22Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. 23For 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: 24That 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.
Verses to carry from Joshua 4
“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?”Joshua 4:6
“Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.”Joshua 4:22
“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.”Joshua 4:24
Thematic connection
How Joshua 4 points to Jesus
This chapter is thematically, not prophetically, tied to Christ; it teaches how God's saving acts are to be remembered so faith endures. That impulse finds its fullest expression at the Lord's Supper, where Jesus takes bread and cup and says, this do in remembrance of me (Luke 22:19). Like the twelve stones, the bread and cup are a physical sign that prompts the question and carries the story to the next generation.
The stones marked a crossing from wilderness wandering into promised rest; Christ marks the greater crossing from death into life. God still gives His people tangible memorials, so that children will ask, and parents will answer, telling how the LORD's mighty hand made a way.
Questions about Joshua 4
Why did God want Israel to set up stones after crossing the Jordan?
The stones were a teaching memorial. God knew memory fades, so He gave a visible marker that would prompt children to ask its meaning and lead parents to retell the deliverance. The stated goal was that every generation, and even all the peoples of the earth, would know the LORD's hand is mighty and learn to fear Him (Joshua 4:6, Joshua 4:24).
What does What mean these stones teach about passing on faith?
It shows that faith is handed down through remembered acts of God and the questions they provoke. Rather than abstract lessons, Israel was given a concrete monument that invited curiosity. Healthy faith welcomes the child's question and answers it with the story of what God has done, so the memory does not die with one generation (Joshua 4:21-22).
Reflection
God built forgetfulness into His plan and answered it with stones. He knew the next generation would only know Him if this one deliberately told the story. What memorials mark your own crossings, and are you telling the children around you what they mean before the memory fades?
A prayer from Joshua 4
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