The Beginning:
After Moses’ death, Joshua leads Israel to the Jordan River at the edge of the land God promised to their ancestors. The river is at flood stage, creating a natural barrier to entering Canaan. God instructs Joshua that the priests carrying the ark of the covenant are to go ahead of the people.
The Middle:
As the priests step into the Jordan, the waters stop flowing and pile up upstream, leaving dry ground for the crossing. The priests stand in the riverbed with the ark while all Israel passes over safely. God uses this event to confirm Joshua’s leadership before the people and to show that His presence is with Israel as they begin the conquest.
The End:
After the nation crosses, Joshua commands that twelve stones be taken from the riverbed—one for each tribe—and set up as a memorial. The priests then come up from the river, and the Jordan returns to its normal flow. The memorial is to prompt future generations to remember that the LORD brought Israel through the waters by His power.
The crossing of the Jordan presents God as the faithful covenant-keeper who brings His people into what He promised, not by human strength but by His presence and power. The ark at the center of the event underscores that Israel’s life in the land is grounded in God’s holiness and guidance. The twelve-stone memorial connects the miracle to ongoing covenant memory: Israel is to interpret its identity and future in the land through God’s saving acts.
In the ancient Near East, standing stones and memorial markers were commonly used to preserve communal memory of significant events. Joshua’s twelve-stone memorial fits this cultural pattern, functioning as a tangible “witness” that could be pointed to and explained to later generations (Joshua 4:6–7).
"The waters of the Jordan were cut off." — Joshua 4:7
Answer the questions below. When you choose an option, you will see the result and an explanation.
1. What happened when the priests carrying the ark of the covenant stepped into the Jordan River?
2. Why did Joshua command twelve stones to be taken from the riverbed after the crossing?