12 stones UNDER the Jordan River
What do the 12 stones UNDER the Jordan River mean?
By Shari Abbott, Reasons for Hope* Jesus
Joshua was to “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…” (Joshua 4:9)
Before we discuss the 12 stones submerged in the
Jordan River, let’s remember the 12 stone memorial piled high on the west bank
of the River Jordan at Gilgal.
It was to serve as a sign and a call to remembrance for all
generations for the people of Israel.
When looked upon this memorial would cause the people to
remember the Lord’s goodness, when He led them into the Promised Land.
“that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to
come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ Then you shall answer them
that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of
the LORD; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut
off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel
forever.” (Joshua
4:6-7)
The Other 12
Stones in the Midst of the Jordan
You have likely never heard about the other
twelve stones.
The stones in the midst of the riverbed are seldom, if ever,
preached about, but these 12 stones are something everyone should know
about. They offer an important and motivating message.
We are told in Joshua 4 that
while the priests held the Ark of the Covenant, standing in the middle of the
Jordan River, Joshua was to “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…” (Joshua 4:9)
The Bible does not tell us the meaning of this memorial, but
I believe it can be reasoned and understood by typology and symbolism in the
Bible.
What I present is my biblical reasoning on this. I believe
it offers a profound teaching as well as a warning and a motivation for all
Christians.
..
Consider this
and decide for yourself what is the meaning of these 12 stones.
This pile of 12 stones was never to be seen by future
generations.
They would never inquire about it, once the Jordan waters
flowed again.
This 12-stone memorial would perish in the waters of the
Jordan, just as the Egyptian army had perished in the waters of the Red Sea so
many years before.
These 12 stones were a memorial
to God’s justice.
The typological lessons in this account provide an eternal,
but disheartening, perspective.
..
Understanding the
Typology
We know that God provided signs to his people, to
reveal Himself, His will and His ways, and to prepare them to recognize their
promised coming Messiah.
While the Greek mind seeks after wisdom, the Jews require a
sign (1 Corinthians 1:22).
God also gave the Jews types and patterns for their
understanding.
God did not allow Moses to lead the people into the Promised
Land because he had failed to honor God at Rephadim (Exodus 17, Deuteronomy 32:50-51).
Typologically we can understand that Moses represented the
Law (John 1:17).
And the Law has no power to save (deliver) man.
God chose Joshua to lead (deliver) His people into the
land. Typologically Joshua is a picture of salvation and the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Joshua’s given name at birth was Oshea, which means
salvation.
Moses later added an abbreviation of the covenant name of
God (Yahweh) to Oshea, resulting in Yehoshua or the English name “Joshua,”
which means “God is salvation” (Numbers 13:16).
Joshua led the people into the Promised Land, and in doing
so is a picture of grace and a type of Jesus.
Jesus is the One who leads sinners into their Promised Land
and deliver them from the wilderness of sin.
..
The Stones in
the Midst of the Jordan
I propose that the 12 stones under the waters of the
Jordan are a typological picture of all people who reject the salvation
that God offers.
They have not been delivered. They have not “crossed over” and received the grace
of God. They remain under the waters, and are not counted among those
who have entered into their inheritance, their “Promised Land.”
Symbolically throughout the Bible, water is a picture of the
wrath and judgment of God, e.g.
- the flood (Genesis 7:10, Hebrews 11:7),
- the Red Sea drowning of the Egyptians (Exodus 14:28, Hebrews 11:29),
- Jonah going under the waters (Jonah 1, Jonah 2:3), etc.
Even the name of the River Jordan, implies
judgment. A.W. Pink wrote that the word “Jordan” can be broken into
two Hebrew roots:
1. “jor” or
“yar,” which is literally, “spread”
and
2. “dan”
which means “judging” (Genesis 30:6).
Therefore, the word “Jordan” has a meaning of “spread
judging.”
Some also define the word Jordan as “yar-dane,” which means “descender.”
Hosea confirms the typology with
God’s proclamation: “…I
will pour out my wrath on them like water.” (Hosea 5:10)
Many Bible verses present water as a picture of God’s
judgment from which we are saved:
“He
sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.” (Psalm 18:16)
“Deliver
me out of the mire, And let me not sink; Let me be delivered from those who
hate me, And out of the deep
waters. Let not the floodwater overflow me, Nor let the deep swallow me
up; And let not the pit shut its mouth on me.” (Psalm 69:14, 15)
“If
it had not been the LORD who was on our side,” Let Israel now say; “If it had
not been the LORD who was on our side, When men rose up against us, Then they
would have swallowed us alive, When their wrath was kindled against us;
Then the waters would have
overwhelmed us, The stream would have gone over our soul; Then the
swollen waters Would have gone over our soul.” (Psalm 124:1-5)
Another illustration of
deliverance from judgment (water) is in Jesus’ commissioning of His disciples
to be “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19, Mark 1:17).
They were to preach the gospel
and God would fill their nets with “fish
from out of the waters.”
.
12 Stones
The 12-stone memorial on the west bank of the
Jordan was a picture of being saved from the waters of judgment.
God instructed twelve men (one from each tribe) to take a
stone from the middle of the riverbed, from the place of death—the miry bottom
of the riverbed, beneath the waters of judgment (Joshua 4:5).
The Ark of the LORD, which typologically points to Christ,
stood in the midst of the Jordan, holding back the waters and allowing the
stones to be brought up and delivered to the shore as a memorial and sign (Joshua 4:6).
But the other 12 stones are
another story (Joshua 4:9).
Those stones were covered by the Jordan. They cannot be
a sign because they cannot be seen.
Those stones are a warning!!!
It was Joshua alone (a type of Jesus) who did the work
of setting up the “twelve stones in the
midst of the Jordan” (Joshua 4:9).
Jesus is the judge of the living and the dead. Those 12 stones are a warning about
death and judgment!
If people do not repent and trust in Jesus, they remain in
the miry clay of a river— and that river will overflow in judgment at death:
“And as
it is appointed unto men once to
die, but after this the judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27).
The twelve stones, in the
midst of the Jordan River, represent the unredeemed, who have rejected Jesus
and are buried in death by the righteous judgment of God. “… and they are there to this day” (Joshua 4:9b).
There is no redemption after
judgment.
These 12 stones represent all who die having committed the
unpardonable sin of which Jesus spoke of to the Pharisees and scribes.
.
What’s the BIG Lesson in This?
The stones in the midst of the Jordan might still be “there to this day,” but they were
quickly forgotten.
Covered by the waters of the River Jordan, the children of
Israel would never see them, nor would they inquire about them.
Those who do not belong to Jesus will perish. We do not
want anyone to be covered by the waters of God’s judgment.
We want all to be take up out of the miry clay and set upon
the shores of deliverance. Jesus is holding back the judgment, but at
death it will come.
Share the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ with
all who do not know Him … before it is too late.
Tell them how they can be saved from the waters of
judgment.
Tell them how, through the work of Jesus in saving and
sanctifying them, they can be a memorial stone of remembrance of God’s goodness
and saving grace.
“Sing to
the LORD, all the earth; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to
day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.” (1 Chronicles 16:23-24)
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