The Testimony of the Stones – Joshua 4

by Rev. Jeremiah Cheung

In Joshua chapter 4, we can see two piles of stones. Each pile is composed of 12 pieces of stones. God had commanded Joshua, when they crossed the Jordan River, that twelve men chosen from each of the twelve tribes were to take up twelve stones from the river and put them down at the place where they were to stay that night. The second pile of stones was set up in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. These two piles of stones had the same purpose, they were both a testimony to the same thing – how the Lord cut off the flow of the Jordan and allowed the Israelites to cross the river on dry ground. The only difference is that one is under the river and cannot be seen, the other pile is on dry ground and can be seen.

The pile on the ground is a testimony which can be seen. Which among these two piles of stones is more important? The pile under the Jordan River is more important, because without the one under the river, the one on the ground would be a false testimony. This reminds us that real testimony is unseen, not the external, but the internal. The unseen pile of stones testifies to the pile that can be seen.

2Cor 4:18 “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” What can be seen are all temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. The unseen are truly more important than what can be seen. Joshua set up two piles of stones, the unseen pile of 12 stones testifies three important truths:

I. The Twelve Stones are a Testimony of the Twelve Tribes’ Unity

The twelve stones were picked by twelve people. These twelve represented the twelve tribes of Israel. These 12 stones are a testimony to the unity of the 12 tribes. But remember, the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh had decided not to cross the Jordan River. They wanted to reside east of the river, so, in reality, only 9 tribes crossed the Jordan River. But verses 12-13 tell us ‘The men of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, armed, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed them. About forty thousand armed for battle crossed over before the Lord to the plains of Jericho for war.’ These two and a half tribes sent out forty thousand warriors to help the 9 tribes in battle.

The Book of Numbers, chapter 26, records that the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh together numbered approximately a hundred thousand warriors. Now they had sent forty thousand to help in fighting, that would be about 40%; 60 percent remained to protect the women and the children. Imagine a nation sending 40% of its troops to help another nation fight its battle, this is not an easy thing to do. But if the two and a half-tribes did not go, Joshua would not have set up 12 stones, he would have only set up 9 and a half stones, then, this would not be a testimony of unity, it would be a testimony of disunity.

This is a generation of disunity. People and nations find it hard to cooperate with each other, even churches find it hard to cooperate with each other. But the Lord wants us to establish a testimony of unity. Psalm 133:1 “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” In an age of disunity, we can learn an important principle for cooperation, from the pile of stones, that is, maintaining unity in principle.

The twelve tribes had been slaves in Egypt, they had no freedom there, the Lord brought them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. There, they were no longer slaves, they had true freedom. These twelve tribes had the same goal, and under this great cause, although they had different views, they were willing to unite in battle. What is unity? Unity is acknowledging our differences; yet seeking similarities amidst them , so that we can cooperate with each other for the bigger cause.

II. The Twelve Stones is a Testimony of God’s Faithfulness

Four hundred years before, God promised Abraham his descendants will inherit the land of Canaan; four hundred years later, because of unbelief, the Israelites wandered 40 years in the wilderness. After 40 years, Joshua led them across the Jordan River and they stepped into the Promised Land. As they set up that pile of 12 stones in Canaan, they set up a testimony of God’s faithfulness. The Lord is faithful, he will never fail us. Four hundred years ago, the Lord promised them the land of Canaan, four hundred years after, God’s promise came true.

Psalm 37:3 “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.” The Lord wants us to enjoy his safe pasture. The Chinese have a saying, “For the people, food is of the utmost importance.” Nothing is more important than food. Without food to eat, the people will riot. Having food, the people will dwell in peace and security. When a nation is impoverished, it becomes unstable, there will be turmoil within. When a man is hungry, he is capable of anything. God wants us to trust in his faithfulness, and enjoy safe pasture, because when we have spiritual food, we will not be restless, but thrive in abundance.

God is faithful but men are not. There are three reasons why men are unfaithful:

• Forgetfulness. Sometimes, we promised to do something, but we forget.
• Unwillingness. Sometimes it is not because we forget, but because we are unwilling; maybe, because it is difficult or inconvenient, so we fail to do what we promised to do.
• Powerlessness. Maybe, at the start, we did not know that the task would be so difficult, so we make promises; but when we find ourselves unable to complete the task, we have no recourse but to apologize and beg off.

But our God is faithful, He is omniscient, He will never forget. He is omnipotent, He will not be powerless to accomplish anything. He can never be unfaithful. He will forever be faithful.

III. The Twelve Stones is a Testimony of God’s Power

Verses 21- 24 “In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground. For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”

The Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground. For the Israelites then, this was a great matter, because that generation of Israelites was born in the wilderness. They had never seen a vast river, do not know how to swim, so, for them, crossing the Jordan River was a big problem. When the Lord divided the Jordan River, their hearts must have shouted within, “God, how great you are!” Isaiah 43:2 promised “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Can this be possible?

The Lord divided the Red Sea and the Jordan River, so that the Israelites could cross over. When they pass through the waters, the waters did not sweep over them. Daniel’s three friends were thrown into the fiery furnace because they refused to bow down to the gold image set up by Babylon’s king. They were walking around in the fire, the fire did not burn them. And then, the king saw that there were four men in the furnace. The fourth man looked like a son of the gods. This is Jesus in the Old Testament. Jesus was walking around with Daniel’s three friends. When you go through fiery trials, do not forget the Lord is with you, he is beside you, he goes through the waters with you, he goes through the fire with you. As long as we acknowledge God’s power, we can face all difficulties with faith. The Lord causes us to know Him through many different situations, and His goal is so that we may revere Him. In the original text, the meaning of the word “revere” is “to fear.” Psalm 33:8 “Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him.” There are two reasons we fear God:

1. We are afraid of God’s punishment – Sometimes we revere God because we are afraid of Him. God is a consuming fire, God will pursue us for our sins. A man who reveres God will not easily give in to sin, because He is afraid of God’s punishment. Just like a son who fears his father’s spanking.

2. We are afraid of grieving God’s heart – There is another reason we revere God, it is because we love Him, we do not want to sin against Him, we are afraid of grieving His heart. Joseph told Potiphar’s wife, “How can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” Logically, Joseph could have argued in three ways 1. How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against my master? My master trusts me so much, how can I do such an unfaithful and wicked thing? 2. How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against you, turning you into an immoral woman? You are my master’s wife, it would ruin your reputation, you would become an adulteress! 3.How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against myself? This is a holy body, how can I defile it and sin against myself? But Joseph said, “How can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” We see, therefore that Joseph was afraid of grieving God’s heart. A man who truly reveres God is one who truly loves God. Love is a special force. When you love someone, you will not do anything to hurt your loved one.

The twelve stones Joshua set up is a testimony to the unity of the 12 tribes of Israel; it also testified of God’s faithfulness and power. Like this pile of stones, may our lives hold such beautiful testimonies.