Joshua 4:1-24

When the entire nation had finished their miracle-crossing of the Jordan, YAHWEH said to Joshua, “Choose twelve men, one from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. Instruct each of them to take a stone from the riverbed, twelve stones from the very place where the priests stand with the ark. Have them carry the stones over to the place where you camp tonight.” So Joshua summoned the twelve men he had selected from the Israelites, one per tribe. Joshua instructed them, “Walk out to the middle of the riverbed to the ark of YAHWEH your God. Each of you choose a stone and lift it up onto your shoulder—one stone for each tribe. The stones will always be a sign to you. Someday, when your children ask you, ‘Why are these stones so important?’ tell them, ‘The Jordan stopped flowing in front of the ark of the covenant of YAHWEH—the floodwaters were completely cut off.’ These stones will serve as a memorial for Israel forever.” The Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of Israel, from the middle of the riverbed, and carried them to the camp and put them there. Joshua set up the memorial stones that they had taken from the exact spot where the priests stood bearing the ark in the riverbed. They remain there to this day. While the priests remained standing in the middle of the Jordan with the ark on their shoulders, the people hurried across. All the instructions YAHWEH had given to Joshua were carried out —just as Moses had told Joshua. And when Israel had finished crossing, the ark of YAHWEH and the priests crossed as the people looked on. The Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh went across, armed and ready for battle, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had commanded them. In all, about forty thousand men were equipped for battle. And they all marched before YAHWEH to wage war on the plains of Jericho. On that day, YAHWEH exalted Joshua before all the people. As they had stood in awe of Moses, so they stood in awe of Joshua for the rest of his life. YAHWEH said to Joshua, “Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant to come up from the Jordan.” So Joshua did as he was commanded, and the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of YAHWEH came up from the riverbed. And the moment their feet touched the western bank of the Jordan, the floodwaters surged back in place where they were before and returned to flood stage. The people experienced the miracle-crossing of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month of the Jewish calendar. They established their base camp at Gilgal, east of Jericho, where Joshua set up a memorial with the twelve stones taken from the Jordan. He told the Israelites, “In time to come, when children ask their fathers, ‘Why are these stones so important?’ tell them, ‘Here is the place where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground!’ For your God, YAHWEH, dried up the waters of the Jordan before your eyes until you crossed over, just as YAHWEH your God did for us years ago; he dried up the Red Sea while we crossed over! He has done these miracles so that all the earth will be in awe of the mighty power of YAHWEH and that you might always obey YAHWEH your God!”

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