Joshua Chapter 4

Men's Group Study Guide

Study notes: verses 1-24

Vs.1-9 And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying: “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’” Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, 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.” And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the LORD had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the Ark of the Covenant stood; and they are there to this day. Most of us would have wanted to rush on through and take care of Jericho - why not take advantage of the time when they are all afraid of you? But God is never in a hurry; and He knows that beyond us doing something, we must be something for Him - so He takes time out to conquer Israel spiritually before they can conquer Jericho under His guidance. The promise land was not the end of the road for Israel there were still battles to be fought, there was still land to be taken and conquered. But there were also more potential blessings. So to in our own lives we want to rush right into what the Lord has spoken to our heart but God in his wisdom knows that there are things that need to change before we are ready for his promise in our life. There are sharp edges that need to be broken off. David was anointed King of Israel 18 years before he actually became King. During those 18 years he was pursued and hounded by Saul. Why would God allow such a thing to happen? AW tozer wrote it this way for God to use a man mightily he needs to first wound him deeply. So to God gives us a promise but before the fulfillment of that promise he needs to change us. For if we were allowed to do the work he called us to currently we would fail utterly. : “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight. When the Lord brings us across the Jordan we need to make a memorial to remind us of what God has done for us. 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. We are to teach our children about the Lord by pointing the mighty things that he has done in our lives. Show them the memorials in our own lives and share with the Love of God and power of him. . Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the Ark of the Covenant stood; and they are there to this day. As we have placed a public memorial for our children and those around us so to we should place a private memorial that only God and I can see.

Vs. 10-18 So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the LORD had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua; and the people hurried and crossed over. Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over, that the ark of the LORD and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people. And the men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them. About forty thousand prepared for war crossed over before the LORD for battle, to the plains of Jericho. On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life. Then the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, “Command the priests who bear the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.” Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.” And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before. The manner and timing with which the Jordan returned to its natural flow shows that God supernaturally arranged this event.

Vs. 19-20 Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. Gilgal will become their base of operations for the conquest of the entire Promised Land. Therefore, it was appropriate that the first work at Gilgal was to set up a memorial to God’s great works.

Vs. 19-24 Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ then you shall let your children know, saying, ‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land’; “for the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.” The question is after crossing the Jordan we setup a memorial commemorating what God has done but then the question is how do I know if I am filled with the Holy Spirit? How do I know if I am walking in the promises of God? 1 Pet 2:5 states we are being built up into a spiritual house. What is the glue to hold us together, Love? Christ put it this way John 13:34-35. Love is how people will recognize us as followers of Jesus Christ. Gal 5:22- 23 states that the fruit of spirit is Love. Being filled to over flowing with the spirit is summed in one word Love or Agape.

Truths Applied

Q.1 Have you been given a promise but like David it seems that God is slow in bringing it to fruition? What are some practical steps that we can take to keep from getting discouraged and to stay in step with allowing the Lord to complete what he has started in us?

Q.2 As the head of the household and fathers were given the opportunity and responsibility to be the spiritual leader of the house. Looking at your life have you been actively engaged with your family in sharing with about the Lord and the Love of the Lord. Dads do you use every day instances to show your sons and daughters God’s grace and mercy?

Q.3 is there an individual in your life that you are having a hard time loving? Chances are that you are relying on your own resources, which are for all intent bankrupt. If I am relying on myself I will be angry and disappointed all the time but if I rely on the resources from the Lord I will find that I will have the ability to love anyone.

Conclusion:

My desire and hope for you from the study is build those memorials in your life to look back on to share with your spouses, children, and people in your sphere of influence the things which God has done for you. It is also my prayer that we would give up our own resources and capacity for love which is utterly bankrupt and rely on the ever mercies and love of God that he would pour into us his resources which are boundless and that we would learn to call on him, and respond to him. Love is what holds us together and it binds stronger than anything else. May God richly bless you and keep you and may he do amazing things through you.