Joshua 4:18

_AND 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._ The priests that bare the ark ... were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up х_ NITQUW_ (H5423)] - were plucked out of the miry, wet, sandy channel (Josephus, 'Antiquities,' b. 5:, ch. 1:, sec. 3), and placed on the dry land. Their crossing, which was the final act, completed the evidence of the miracle; for then, and not until then, the suspended laws of nature were restored, the waters returned to their place, and the river flowed with as full a current as before. It was a stupendous miracle; and although writers like Stanley suggest that the...

10-19 The priests with the ark did not stir till ordered to move. Let none be weary of waiting, while they have the tokens of God's presence with them, even the ark of the covenant, though it be in the depths of adversity. Notice is taken of the honour put upon Joshua. Those are feared in the best manner, and to the best purpose, who make it appear that God is with them, and that they set him before them....

Verse Joshua 4:18. _THE WATERS OF JORDAN RETURNED UNTO THEIR PLACE_] It is particularly remarked by the sacred historian, that as soon as the soles of the priests' feet touched the water, the stream of the Jordan was cut off, Joshua 3:15, and the course of the river continued to be inverted all the time they continued in its channel; and that as soon as the soles of their feet had touched the dry land, on their return from the bed of the river, the waters immediately resumed their natural course. All this was done by the sovereign influence of that God whose _presence_ was represented by the ark of the covenant....

EXPOSITION THE MEMORIAL.— JOSHUA 4:2 TWELVE STONES. The commemoration of events by the setting up of huge stones was by no means peculiar to the Jews, though it was often used by them, as, for instance, Genesis 28:18; Genesis 35:14, 1 Samuel 7:12. Almost every nation has adopted it. The Egyptian obelisks, the stones at Hamath, supposed to be of Hittite origin, the dolmens and other megalithic monuments of the Celts, the Logan or rocking stones, are cases in point. The Scandinavians filled their country with them. Our own Stonehenge and the Avebury s

AND 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,.... According to the command of Joshua in the name of the Lord: [AND] THE SOLES OF THE PRIESTS' FEET WERE LIFT UP UPON THE DRY LAND; and set upon it, on the bank of Jordan, and shores of the land of Canaan: THAT THE WATERS OF JORDAN RETURNED UNTO THEIR PLACE; those that came from above, and had stood on an heap, gradually came down into the channel, and those below that were cut off returned: AND FLOWED OVER ALL HIS BANKS, AS [THEY DID] BEFORE; and usually did at this time of the year, see Joshua 3:15; so that there was no decrease or loss of the waters by their failing, and being cut off....

4. THE MEMORIAL STONES CHAPTER 4 _ 1. The first memorial (Joshua 4:1)_ 2. The second memorial (Joshua 4:9) 3. The return of the priests with the ark (Joshua 4:10) 4. The encampment at Gilgal (Joshua 4:19) Jehovah commanded that the great event should be remembered by a memorial. From the river-bed, where the priest's feet stood firm, twelve men, one from each tribe, were to carry twelve stones and leave them at the first lodging place in the land, that is, at Gilgal. These memorial stones were to tell subsequent generations the story of God's faithfulness and power in bringing His people through Jordan into t

JOSHUA 3:1 TO JOSHUA 5:1. THE CROSSING OF JORDAN. Here we begin to meet with more serious difficulties. The old tradition was that after the Israelites had crossed the Jordan, they commemorated the event by the erection of twelve stones. But this simple narrative existed in two recensions, which differed as to the destination of these memorial stones. According to one account, they were to be placed in the midst of the river; according to the other, they were to be set up on the W. side of the Jordan in the place where the army encamped for the night. Deuteronomic additions have been made to these narratives, _i.e._ additions of a religious colouring as in Joshua 3:7, And Yahweh said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in t

_the waters of Jordan returned_ Thus the history of the crossing is related in sections: (_a_) first briefly, Joshua 3:14-17; (_b_) then more completely, Joshua 4:1-11; (_c_) some supplementary notices, Joshua 4:12-17; (_d_) finally, the conclusion, concerning the return of the water, till Jordan "flowed over all his banks," as it did before....

_VER._ 15-18. _AND THE LORD SPAKE UNTO JOSHUA,_ &C.— Before the people advanced into the country, Joshua had commanded the priests, who bare the ark, to quit the channel of the river, and come to the western bank; and as soon as they had gained this side, and their feet were beyond the place to which the waters had formerly reached, we see that the waters gradually resumed their wonted course, and flowed, as before, over the two shores. Thus every thing in this memorable event was miraculous....

_The Crossing Completed Joshua 4:10-18_ 10 For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until every thing 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. 11 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, the ark of the Lord passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people. 12 And 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: 13 About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle, to the plains of Jericho. 14 And 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