June 4, 2019: Day 38 – Joshua 4

Here you find the entire story of the crossing over of the Jordan from after the beginning all the way until the end.  God wants to be sure that the people of Israel do not forget what God did for them when they crossed the Jordan so he tells Joshua for each tribe to take a stone as a memory for that which the Lord had done.  So, as you read this story in chapter 4 how big do you think the stones were that they took?  I know I took 5 smooth stones and each one was the size that I thought would be able to kill Goliath.  We have a detail in this chapter that gives us an insight into how big the stones might have been.  See if you can find it.

Look at vs.5 and you will find it there.  Joshua commands them: “Each of you take up a stone on his shoulder.”  You are not going to take a pebble and put it on your shoulder.  I am guessing that these stones could have been 40 or 50 pounds in weight and who knows how big.  That is a lot of stone that is being placed as a memorial.  Probably at least 500 pounds worth.  You can see the people carrying their stones and wondering when they were going to stop for the night because they were to be set up where they were camping out.  

Once again you get a lesson at the end of this chapter.  Why did God have them take the stones and place them?  We find the answer in vs.24: “So that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, and so that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”  What a great way to end a chapter.