The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, on the east border of Jericho.
Joshua set up those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, in Gilgal. He spoke to the children of Israel, saying, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you shall let your children know, saying, ‘Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. For Yahweh your God dried up the waters of the Jordan from before you until you had crossed over, as Yahweh your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up from before us, until we had crossed over, that all the peoples of the earth may know that Yahweh’s hand is mighty, and that you may fear Yahweh your God forever.’ ”
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv19, 24 19. And the people came up, etc Why the…
19. And the people came up, etc Why the day on which they entered the land, and first encamped in it, is marked, we shall see in next chapter. But the name of Gilgal is given to the first station by anticipation, for this new name was afterwards given to it by Joshua on the renewal of circumcision; its etymology will be explained in its own place. Moreover, the thing here principally treated of is the monument of twelve stones; for though it was formerly mentioned, a kind of solemn dedication is now related, namely, that Joshua not only erected a mound, but called the attention of the people to its use in enabling fathers to keep the memory of the divine goodness alive among their children. From his introducing the children asking, What mean these stones? we infer that they were arranged so as to attract the notice of spectators. For had they been heaped together at random without any order, it would never have come into the mind of posterity to inquire concerning their meaning. There must therefore have been something so remarkable in their position as not to allow the sight to be overlooked.
Moreover, because the covenant by which God had adopted the race of Abraham was firm in an uninterrupted succession for a thousand generations, the benefit which God had bestowed on the deceased fathers is, on account of the unity of the body, transferred in common to their children who were born long after. And the continuation must have more strongly awakened their attention, inasmuch as posterity were in this way reminded that what had long ago been given to their ancestors belonged to them also. The answer of the parents would have been coldly listened to had the divine favor been confined to a single day. But when the sons’ sons hear that the waters of Jordan were dried up many ages before they were born, they acknowledge themselves to be the very people towards whom that wonderful act of divine favor had been manifested. The same account is to be given of the drying up of the Red Sea, though the event was not very ancient. It is certain that of those who had come out of Egypt, Caleb and Joshua were the only survivors, and yet he addresses the whole people as if they had been eye-witnesses of the miracle. God dried up the Red Sea before our face; in other words, it was done in virtue of the adoption which passed without interruption from the fathers to the children. Moreover, it was worth while to call the passage of the Red Sea to remembrance, not only that the similarity of the miracle might cause belief, but that on hearing the story of the Jordan, that former miracle might be at the same time renewed, although no visible symbol of it was present to the eye.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv19, 24 Called Abib or Nisan, containing part of March and…
Called Abib or Nisan, containing part of March and part of April.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv19–24 Jos 4:19 And the people came up out of…
Jos 4:19 And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth [day] of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.
Ver. 19. On the tenth day of the first month.] {See Trapp on "Exo 12:3"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv19, 20, 23 The first month, to wit, of Nisan, which wanted…
The first month, to wit, of Nisan, which wanted but five days of forty years from the time of their coming out of Egypt, which was on the fifteenth day of this month; so punctual is God in the performing of his word, whether promised or threatened. And this day was very seasonable for the taking up of the lambs, which were to be used four days after, according to the law, Exo 12:3,6.
Gilgal; a place so called hereafter upon a following occasion, Jos 5:9. So here it is an anticipation.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v20 The twelve stones which were laid down in Gilgal…
The twelve stones which were laid down in Gilgal (Jos 4:8) are here set up either one upon another, yet so as that they might be distinctly counted, or one by another in rows; for after they were fixed they ar not call a heap of stones, but these stones.
I. It is here taken for granted that posterity would enquire into the meaning of them, supposing them intended for a memorial: Your children shall ask their fathers (for who else should they ask?) What mean these stones? Notes, Those that will be wise when they are old must be inquisitive when they are young. Our Lord Jesus, though he had in himself the fulness of knowledge, has by his example taught children and young people to hear and ask questions, Luk 2:46. Perhaps when John was baptizing in Jordan at Bethabara (the house of passage, where the people passed over) he pointed at these very stones, while saying (Mat 3:9) God is able of these stones (which were at first set up by the twelve tribes) to raise up children unto Abraham. The stones being the memorial of the miracle, the children's question gave occasion for the improvement of it; but our Saviour says (Luk 10:40), If the children should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out; for one way or other the Lord will be glorified in his works of wonder.
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II. The parents are here directed what answer to give to this enquiry (Jos 4:22): "You shall let your children know that which you have yourselves learned from the written word and from your fathers." Note, It is the duty of parents to acquaint their children betimes with the word and works of God, that they may be trained up in the way they should go.
1. They must let their children know that Jordan was driven back before Israel, who went through it upon dry land, and that this was the very place where they passed over. They saw how deep and strong a stream Jordan now was, but the divine power put a stop to it, even when it overflowed all its banks - "and this for you, that live so long after." Note, God's mercies to our ancestors were mercies to us; and we should take all occasions to revive the remembrance of the great things God did for our fathers in the days of old. The place thus marked would be a memorandum to them: Israel came over this Jordan. A local memory would be of use to them, and the sight of the place remind them of that which was done there; and not only the inhabitants of that country, but strangers and travellers, would look upon these stones and receive instruction. Many, upon the sight of the stones, would go to their Bibles, and there read the history of this wondrous work; and some perhaps, upon reading the history, though living at a distance, would have the curiosity to go and see the stones.
2. They must take that occasion to tell their children of the drying up of the Red Sea forty years before: As the Lord your God did to the Red Sea. Note. (1.) It greatly magnifies later mercies to compare them with former mercies, for, by making the comparison, it appears that god is the same yesterday, today, and for ever. (2.) Later mercies should bring to remembrance former mercies, and revive our thankfulness for them.
3. They must put them in the way of making a good use of these works of wonder, the knowledge whereof was thus carefully transmitted to them, Jos 4:24. (1.) The power of God was hereby magnified. All the world was or might be convinced that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that nothing is too hard for God to do; nor can any power, no, not that of nature itself, obstruct what God will effect. The deliverances of God's people are instructions to all people, and fair warnings not to contend with Omnipotence. (2.) The people of God were engaged and encouraged to persevere in his service "That you might fear the Lord your God, and consequently do your duty to him, and this for ever," or all days (margin), "every day, all the days of your lives, and your seed throughout your generations." The remembrance of this wonderful work should effectually restrain them from the worship of other gods, and constrain them to abide and abound in the service of their own God. Note, In all the instructions and informations parents give their children, they should have this chiefly in their eye, to teach and engage them to fear God for ever. Serious godliness is the best learning.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv19–24 And the people came up out of Jordan,.... The…
And the people came up out of Jordan,.... The channel of it, to the shore:
on the tenth day of the first month; the month Nisan or Abib, which from the time of Israel's coming out of Egypt was appointed the first month of the year, Exo 12:2; on the fifteenth of which month they came out of Egypt, having kept the passover on the fourteenth at even; so that their coming out of Egypt, to their entrance into Canaan, was just forty years, wanting five days. This tenth day was the day in which the passover was taken from the flock, and kept till the fourteenth, on which day the children of Israel kept their first passover in Canaan, in the plains of Jericho, Jos 5:10,
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and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho; it has its name here by anticipation, for it was so named after this for a reason given, Jos 5:9; It was, according to Josephus (l), ten furlongs, or a mile and a quarter, from Jericho. Jerom says (m), there was shown in his time a desert place two miles from Jericho, had in wonderful esteem by men of that country, which he suggests was this place; as it was had in great veneration, both by the worshippers of the true God, and by idolaters, for many ages.
(l) Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 4.) (m) De loc. Heb. fol. 91. M.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv19, 20, 23 The first month - Namely, of Nisan, which wanted…
The first month - Namely, of Nisan, which wanted but five days of forty years from the time of their coming out of Egypt, which was on the fifteenth day of this month. So punctual is God in the performing of his word, whether promised or threatened. And this day was very seasonable for the taking up of the lambs which were to be used four days after, according to the law, Exod. xii, 3, 6. Gilgal - A place afterwards so called, chap. v, 9.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv19, 20, 22, 24 Verse 19. On the tenth day of the first…
Verse 19. On the tenth day of the first month] As the Israelites left Egypt on the fifteenth day of the first month, A.M. 2513, (see Ex 14:1-31), and they entered into Canaan the tenth of the first month, A.M. 2553, it is evident that forty years, wanting five days, had elapsed from the time of their exodus from Egypt to their entrance into the promised inheritance.
Encamped in Gilgal] That is, in the place that was afterwards called Gilgal, see Jos 5:9; for here the name is given it by anticipation. In Hebrew, gal signifies to roll; and the doubling of the root, galgal or gilgal, signifies rolling round and round, or rolling off or away, because, in circumcising the children that had been born in the wilderness, Joshua rolled away, rolled off completely, the reproach of the people. From this time Gilgal became a place of considerable eminence in the sacred history.
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1. It was the place where the Israelitish camp rested the first night of their entering into that land which had been promised to their fathers from the days of Abraham.
2. It was the place in which Joshua circumcised all the people who had been born in the wilderness, during the forty years of their wandering, after they left Egypt.
3. It was the place in which Joshua had what we might term his fortified camp, and to which he and his army constantly returned after each of their expeditions against the inhabitants of the land.
4. It appears to have been the place where all the women, children, cattle, and goods, &c., were lodged, probably during the whole of the Canaanitish war.
5. It was the place where they celebrated the first passover they kept in the promised land.
6. It was the place where Saul, the first king of Israel, was proclaimed.
7. There the manna ceased to fall. And,
8. There the ark was fixed till, after the conquest of the country, it was removed to Shiloh.
Gilgal was about ten furlongs from Jericho, and fifty from Jordan: Jericho being on the west, and Jordan on the east, Gilgal being between both. See Josephus, De Bello, &c., lib. v., c. 4, and Calmet on this place. Calmet supposes there was neither city nor town here before the arrival of the Israelites.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv19, 20, 22, 23, 24 Jos 4:19. On the tenth day of the first…
Jos 4:19. On the tenth day of the first month — Namely, of Nisan, which wanted but five days of forty years from the time of their coming out of Egypt, which was on the fifteenth day of this month. So punctual is God in the performing of his word, whether promised or threatened. And this day was very seasonable for the taking up of the lambs which were to be used four days after, according to the law, Exo 12:3; Exo 12:6. Gilgal — A place afterward so called, Jos 5:9.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v19 Gilgal, mentioned here by anticipation (compare Jos 5:9), the…
Gilgal, mentioned here by anticipation (compare Jos 5:9), the modern Jiljulieh (Conder), was on rising ground (compare Jos 5:3), and, according to Josephus, nearly five miles from the river, and consequently about two from the city itself. The site of the camp was no doubt fortified by Joshua, as it constituted for some time the abiding foothold in Canaan, from where he sallied forth to subdue the country. It was also the place of safety where the ark, and no doubt also the women, children, cattle, and other property of the people were left. Hence, the demolition of Jericho and Ai, strong fortresses in the neighborhood of Gilgal, was no doubt dictated by sound policy as well as by religious obligations.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv19–20 Month of the ecclesiastical year. They had left Egypt…
Month of the ecclesiastical year. They had left Egypt on the 15th of Nisan, so that they had spent forty years, within five days, on their journey. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv19–20 the people came up out of Jordan on the…
the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month--that is, the month Nisan, four days before the passover, and the very day when the paschal lamb required to be set apart, the providence of God having arranged that the entrance into the promised land should be at the feast.
and encamped in Gilgal--The name is here given by anticipation (see on Jos 5:9). It was a tract of land, according to JOSEPHUS, fifty stadia (six and one-half miles) from Jordan, and ten stadia (one and one-fourth miles) from Jericho, at the eastern outskirts of the palm forest, now supposed to be the spot occupied by the village Riha.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv19, 20, 24 19. The tenth day of the first month —…
19. The tenth day of the first month — In Jos_5:10, we learn that the passover, the anniversary of the Exodus, occurred on the fourteenth of the same month, so that there were forty years, wanting four days, between the departure from Egypt and the entrance into Canaan. They did not enter earlier because of their unbelief. Heb_3:19.
Gilgal — On the significance which the Israelites afterwards attached to this name, see note on Jos_5:9. According to Josephus, Gilgal was fifty stadia, about six miles, from the Jordan, and ten stadia, exceeding a mile, from Jericho. No trace of the name or site now remains. This Gilgal must be carefully distinguished from another Gilgal in Central Palestine, known by the modern name Jiljilia. See note on Jos_9:6. Gilgal is noted as the first encampment of Israel in Canaan. Here was the scene of the circumcision, here the first passover was celebrated in the land, and here the manna ceased to fall.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv19, 20, 21, 24 19–24. Erection of the Monument at Gilgal
19–24. Erection of the Monument at Gilgal
19. the tenth day of the first month] Notice the exactness of the narrative. The first month is elsewhere called Abib, i.e. “the month of green ears” (Exo_13:4; Exo_23:15; Deu_16:1), and subsequently “Nisan” (Neh_2:1; Est_3:7).
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encamped] The site was doubtless fortified by Joshua “as a frontier fortress, such as the Greeks under the name of epitichisma, and the Romans under the name of colonia, always planted as their advanced posts in a hostile country, such as at Kufa the Arab conquerors founded before the building of Bagdad, and at Fostal before the building of Cairo.” Stanley’s Lectures, p. 233.
in Gilgal] situated apparently on a hillock or rising ground in the Arboth-Jericho, or, as it is rendered in our Version, “the plains of Jericho,” the more level district of the “Ghôr” which lay between the town and the river. We find Gilgal mentioned again, (a) in the time of Saul (1Sa_7:16; 1Sa_10:8), and (b) some sixty years later in the history of David’s return to Jerusalem (2Sa_19:15). The name is here mentioned by anticipation, Jos_5:9.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv19–20 EVENTS AT GILGAL (Jos_4:19 to Jos_5:12, inclusive).
EVENTS AT GILGAL (Jos_4:19 to Jos_5:12, inclusive).
(19) On the tenth day of the first month.—Of the forty-first year after they left Egypt. Exactly forty years before, on the tenth day of the first month, (Exo_12:5), they had been commanded to take them “a lamb for an house,” that they might keep the Passover. The forty years of the Exodus were now complete, and on the self-same day they passed over the last barrier, and entered the Promised Land.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv19, 21, 23, 24 On the tenth day of the first month. This…
On the tenth day of the first month. This statement, compared with Jos_5:10, will bear close analysis, and refutes the clumsy compiler theory. There was just time between the tenth and fourteenth day of the month for the events described in the meantime. And the scrupulous obedience to the law, the provisions of which, we are expressly told, had been of necessity neglected hitherto, is a fact closely in keeping with the character of Joshua, and the whole spirit of the narrative. Gilgal. The Gilgal, according to the Masorites, no doubt from its being a circular encampment. Not as yet, however, called by this name. (see Jos_5:9) It was "about five miles" (50 stadia, according to Josephus), "from the river banks" (Stanley, "Sinai and Palestine," p. 307). We gather from Jos_5:3 that it was a rising ground, but it isimpossible to identify the spot, since there never existed any town or village there. A spot is shown by the inhabitants about two miles from Jericho, which is held by them in great reverence, but this is further from Jericho than Josephus imagines it to be, for he places it about a mile and a quarter from Jericho. Tristram ("Land of Israel," p. 216) identifies Riha (see note on Jos_2:1) with Gilgal, but Bartlett (p. 452) places it "a mile east of Riha," "some three miles or more from the fords." It is hardly probable, however, that the Israelites, in their then unprepared condition (see next chapter, and cf. Gen_34:25), encamped so near the city, even though they were conscious of Divine protection, as Josephus would have us suppose. It has been denied by some that the Gilgal mentioned in Jos_9:6 Jos_10:6 is the same as this one (see notes there, as well as the Masoretic translation above). The reverence for sacred places, such as Gilgal, degenerated in the course of time, according to a well known law of humanity, into superstition a superstition severely rebuked by the prophets. (Hos_4:15 Hos_9:15 Amo_4:4 Amo_5:5) We may compare the idolatrous worship of the brazen serpent. (2Ki_18:4) It is sometimes contended by Roman Catholic commentators that no approval of the conduct of Hezekiah is here expressed; but a comparison of this passage with those above cited will show in which direction the minds of inspired men tended. Other places seem to have been similarly regarded with superstitious reverence. Not only do we find Bethel mentioned among such places as we might well expect from Jeroboam"s idolatrous worship there, but Beersheba also seems to have become a seat of this misdirected devotion (see Amo_5:5 Amo_8:14)
HOMILIES BY J. WAITE Vers. 19-24. Memorials.
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The passage of the Jordan has been called a "priestly miracle," a natural event "turned into a miracle" by the historian for the sake of exalting the priestly office. We fail, however, to see that any such special prominence has been given to the priestly clement. It is the ark that is the medium of the miracle working power, the priests are but its servants and attendants. The ark, as the symbol and throne of the Divine presence, is the centre around which all the supernatural glory of the incident gathers. Indeed, there is rather a notable subordination of the priestly element at this period of Hebrew history. Joshua did not belong to the priestly order any more than Moses did. There was no sacerdotal rule. The twelve men who gathered these memorial stones from the bed of the river were not priests, but men chosen by the tribes for that particular work. The priestly functions were not those most brought into prominence by these incidents. There is no sign of anything like undue homage being paid to the priesthood at that period, and even as regards the religion of the people it was, as Stanley says, "a part of the mechanism of that religion rather than its animating spirit." The raising of these stones, then, to commemorate the great event that had just taken place, was the act of the whole people through their chosen representatives. Two piles of stones were raised: the one by direct Divine command; at Gilgal, where the Israelites rested for the night after the passage, and where they observed their first passover in the land of Canaan; the other, apparently without Divine command, on the other side, at the spot where the feet of the priests first touched the brink of the flooded river. The words of Joshua present them in two lights before us:
(1) As a memorial for the men of that generation, and
(2) as a means of instruction for their children.
I A MEMORIAL FOR THAT GENERATION. The wisdom of God is seen in the command to raise such a memorial. It meets that weakness in human nature by which it comes to pass that the most sacred impressions are prone to die the lapse of time and the succeeding waves of circumstance obliterate them. Most Divine institutions have rested on this principle. God "set his bow in the cloud" a sign and pledge of His faithfulness. The Sabbath was intended to quicken in men the sense of their Divine relations and their longing for the "rest that remaineth." The passover and other feasts were to be "for memorials;" and when Christ said to His disciples, "Do this in remembrance of me," He asserted the same principle. The sign was to be a stimulus to spiritual apprehension and a help to faith. The history of the olden times is full of examples of the way in which men, as by a natural instinct, have sought to create for themselves some permanent record of the most momentous experiences of their life, by the names they gave to certain scenes, or by the erection of altars, etc.. (Abraham at Mount Moriah, "Jehovah Jireh," Gen_22:19; Jacob at Bethel, Gen_28:18; Moses at Rephidim, Exo_17:14; Samuel at Mizpeh, "Ebenezer," 1Sa_7:12) All memorials of this kind have their outlook towards the past and towards the future. They serve a double purpose; they keep alive precious memories and awaken buoyant hopes, they excite gratitude and strengthen faith. We do well to set up such way marks in the pilgrimage of our life. Their value lies not so much in the fact that they record the extraordinary that which happened once and is not likely to happen again but rather in the fact that they link the past with the future. They show us that through all change something abides. Our nature is the same in its needs, dangers, responsibilities; God is the same in His loving regard for us and His power to deliver. Every passing experience of His grace is a pledge that He will not fail us in emergencies yet to come. Anything is good that deepens this impression, provokes to thankfulness, and rebukes distrust. The darkest passages in our history thus "leave benedictions behind them, are transformed into occasions of triumphant joy: "Out of our stony griefs Bethels we raise.
II A MEANS OF INSTRUCTION FOR THEIR CHILDREN. "When your children shall ask their fathers," etc. A glimpse here of the simplicity and sanctity of domestic relations which was so important a feature of ancient Hebrew life. The authority of the father over his children almost absolute and unlimited. Something terrible in its despotism, if it had not been modified and softened by certain provisions defining parental duty. Instruction in the sacred traditions of the nation, its memories and hopes an obligation continually enforced. (see Exo_12:26, 27 12:14 Deu_6:7-20, et seq. )
1. The beauty and worth of a spirit of inquiry in children. It is natural for the child to ask questions. A boundless realm of mystery lies all around the awakening mind, and an irresistible instinct moves it to inquire, "Why these things? What mean ye by these services?" The contact of mind with mind is needful in order to development, and of whom should the children ask, but of "their fathers," for the solution of the problems that perplex them? The most notable chapter, the only recorded chapter, in the early development of Jesus is that scene in which we behold Him in the temple, "sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions.
2. The generous, sympathetic response this spirit of inquiry should meet with. No tender sensibility of childhood is to be suppressed, least of all any that may lead to the discovery of truth. The inquisitiveness of the child is a precious faculty that demands to be rightly directed. The indifference of many parents to the stirrings of the spirit of inquiry in their children arises from selfish indolence, and is a cruel wrong. No doubt children will often ask questions which the wisest cannot answer, but at least let the difficulty be frankly confessed; let the ground and reason of it be defined in a way adapted to the young intelligence. The very disappointment then becomes a means of Divine instruction. The higher interests of our being the laws of God"s government, the revelations of His love, the workings of His Providence and Spirit let these especially be unfolded. What nobler office can any parent perform than to mediate between the mind of his child and the mystery of the Unseen to lift up the veil that hides God"s glory, to explain and justify His ways, to be the medium of His truth and Spirit to the young requiring soul?
3. The practical result at which all instruction should aim. "That ye might fear the Lord your God forever." The miracle, the memorial, the teaching, all find here their ultimate issue. All subordinate purposes must lead on to this the showing forth of God"s glory, and the submission of His intelligent creatures to Him in reverence and godly fear. "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter," etc.. W. (Ecc_12:13)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v20 Jos_4:20. Pitch in Gilgal] “Heb., erect, rear up” (Bush).…
CRITICAL NOTES.
Jos_4:20. Pitch in Gilgal] “Heb., erect, rear up” (Bush). “It is very likely that a base of mason-work was erected, of some considerable height, and that the twelve stones were placed on the top of it” (A. Clarke).
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Jos_4:24. All the people of the earth] The Israelites and the various peoples of the land. Even the idolatrous Canaanites, and any of the heathen who might in after years see these stones, were to learn from them that Israel’s God was a God of might. To the close of the twenty-third verse, the parents are represented as speaking to their children; in the twenty-fourth verse Joshua gives the reason for this instruction, and points out the object for which the memorial was to be erected.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Jos_4:20-24
RELIGIOUS TEACHING
I. Its inspiring topics.
1. The glory of God in His works. Not merely in His works in Nature; in such also as are contrary to Nature.
2. The love and mercy of God in His works FOR HIS PEOPLE. The Lord “doth put a difference” between these and others. God loves all men. Under the Gospel, He invites all men into His family. It is simply cruel and sinful to teach that the Lord works for and defends everybody alike. If the Bible be true at all, God’s merciful works are as distinctively given to the Church now as of old. He has always caused His rain to descend, and made His sun to shine, on the fields of the just and the unjust; for by His goodness and in His all-reaching love He would lead the unjust to repentance; nevertheless, “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” Every page of the Bible reveals this. These old typical nations were specially meant to set forth the truth that distinctive mercies here, and salvation hereafter, were the heritage of only such as feared the Lord.
3. The efficiency of God’s works to make a way for His people through any and all obstacles. The sea and the flooded river are two of the strongest symbols of force which the world presents. In His hands, neither can hinder for an hour the free movement of His people.
4. The comfort which the Lord can give, and loves to give, to those who walk in His paths. No matter where the paths lie, He loves to shew His people that through sea or through river He can make the way as “dry land.” Such are some of the themes which this one work and its memorials were to set to music.
II. Its unlimited aims. Religious teaching is to aim at the benefit:
1. Of our own children. Home should be our first care. Some earnest people in the present day seem to think that religious life and zeal must be very poor unless they spend four or five evenings in the week at religious meetings. Some can hardly avoid this, and to these it may be a duty which they dare not neglect; may those who can avoid it never have to say, “They made me the keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard have I not kept.”
2. Of neglected children. The Jews were all supposed to teach their own children. Religious instruction among them was to be parental. The heads of each family were supposed to fear God, and, fearing Him themselves, were to teach their households to fear Him also. Still, some parents would be careless, and, from various causes, some children would be neglected. These were to be carefully instructed by others. At the feast of tabernacles in the year of release, special attention was to be given to any who were ignorant of God (Deu_31:10-13). So carefully did the Lord provide against the leaven of ignorance that might in time leaven the whole lump of the nation.
3. Of neglected men and women. Opportunity was to be taken to let “all the people” of the land know of God (Jos_4:24).
4. Of the generations to come. It was said of Achilles, that he was vulnerable only in the heel. However fictitious that may be as to the ancient Greek, there is only one place in which the sin and ignorance of the future can be attacked; it is as some one has said, “The children of this generation are the only point at which the generation to come is vulnerable.” If it be asked, as some have asked, “Why all this care about the coming generations? What do we owe to future society?” it would be enough to reply as the late John Stuart Mill replied to the same question, put in our British parliament,—“What have we received from society?” Let us count but a little of that, and even from this human point of view our duty will be clear. But every Christian must also ask, “What have I received from God? What does God demand of me in return?” Our fathers have been the channel through which a thousand mercies have come to us, and the generations to come are calling upon us by our most sacred obligations to the generations that are past.
III. Its lofty and holy purposes.
1. To help men to know God.
2. To help men to fear God.
3. To help men to live as in the presence of God for ever. F. W. Faber beautifully said, “The more we know of God, the more our complacency increases; because, to fill our minds and engross us, the simple thought of God must be multiplied and repeated from a thousand objects. It is like the sun lighting up a mountain chain. He is not multiplied in himself, but as his golden magnificence lights up peak after peak, we become more and more surrounded by His effulgence. It is thus with God: each attribute to which we give a name, though His attributes in truth are His simple self, is to us a separate height crowned and glowing with His glory, and so reflecting Him upon our souls; while the multitude of nameless perfections, for which we have neither ideas, words, nor standards, are to us like the consciousness of the glorious sea of mountain tops which are beyond our ken, but which we know to be resting in that furnace of golden light, and adding to the burning splendour which is circumfused over earth and sea and sky.” So, too, as we learn to see God in His many works which are about us, especially in those works which make part of our personal experience and life, His name will be repeated to us as from a thousand points instead of one or two. Our grateful remembrances of His mercies will make them so many upstanding points, rising far above the low and poor levels of a natural life, and catching and retaining for our vision something of the brightness of His majesty and the glory of His love, which will thus be suffused over us from all our personal history, and hardly less from the history of the whole Church of Christ.
OUTLINES AND COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Jos_4:20-22. SUNDAY SCHOOL INSTRUCTION
The principles involved in the work of our Sunday-schools are repeatedly enforced even in the O. T.
I. The duty of this work. To whom does the duty belong? Given that time and opportunity are at command, surely it belongs to all who love Christ. Our Lord, on receiving the assurance of Peter’s love, said, “Feed my lambs.” Many feel that they are not worthy to engage in labour like this. The thought of personal sin keeps many back, albeit they claim to be Christians, and could not bear to think themselves without love to the Saviour. Is not that scene at the sea of Tiberias specially meant to assure such? We are usually told that our Lord there rebuked Peter three times, because Peter had thrice denied Him. The reason of our Lord’s threefold utterance lay far deeper than that. Possibly rebuke was intended, but mercy and the forethought of Divine love were far more prominent. Would-not the day be likely to come in Peter’s future when he should say, “Can I who have denied Christ dare to teach Him to others?” Peter might come to feel that he who had thrice disowned his Lord was utterly unworthy to engaged in work like this. So three times, once for every denial, does the Saviour tenderly recommission him to the work of feeding both the sheep and the lambs. It seems as if our Lord had not only thus anticipated what might be the future feeling of His apostle, but the feeling of many of His disciples now. To love Him is to become responsible for doing all that we have opportunity to perform.
II. The necessity of adaptation in this work. God adapts Himself to the minds of children, now in the imposing rites of the Passover, and now in this cairn of stones at Gilgal. What is here indicated in the way of a general principle, a wise teacher will endeavour to carry out in detail; he will try and meet each child where he finds him; he will study even individual dispositions. One child will be loving and warm-hearted; excite his love, meet him where he is accessible, tell him something which has pathos. Another boy will be strong in integrity, and honesty, and truthfulness; tell him of Joseph and Daniel, and the three Hebrews. A third will be quiet and gentle; speak low to him. One will hate hard; give him fit subjects for his idiosyncrasy, tell him of Herod and Judas, and presently he will hear you on higher themes. Another will be the stupid boy of the class; on him, most of all, lavish kindness, attention, and gentleness. Our aim in Christian work is to win others to love the Saviour; and God, who comes to men where they are, and brings pictures into the nursery of the infant world, teaches us adaptation.
III. The nobility of this work. Addressing, a few years since, a convention of Sunday-school teachers, the Right Hon. John Bright said, “I may be in a more conspicuous, but I am certainly not in a more noble field than that in which you are engaged.” Peradventure the statesman was right, for there are few labours more exalted than this. We look at Rembrandt’s picture of Christ stilling the tempest, and as we see the storm-tossed waves dashing over the prow of the boat, and behold the agitated faces of the disciples, we love to think of the majesty of Him who with His mere word hushed both sea and men into calm and peace. But Over-beck’s subject of Christ with the little children is even more sublime. In the one case you see power controlling power; in the other you have the loftier spectacle of power blessing weakness. It is this which makes the ministry of the Saviour so glorious; all through it, His perfect power and spotless holiness are seen healing and helping sinful men in their weakness and necessity. Whatever of greatness was manifested in the work of Knibb and Clarkson, Sturge and Wilberforce, in nothing were they so great as in using their power to take off the fetters from the last of England’s slaves. Howard and Cobden won all their fame in helping the weak and the oppressed. It is this which makes the work of Sunday-schools so truly noble. In that work, Christian men and women give their time and strength, not only for children, but for neglected children. Many of these, in their weakness and guilelessness, would be taken captive by the wicked on every hand, and dragged low as perdition; this work hopefully proposes to make them “heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ.”
Jos_4:23. New mercies should lead us to call to mind mercies that are past. If we compare those which our fathers had with those which God gives to us, great as theirs undoubtedly were, ours will often be found to be even greater.
The mercies which came to our fathers should also be counted among our own; they too made way for the heritage on which we daily enter.
God’s mercies to us should be so turned to account, that they may become an inheritance to our children.
Meditation on the ways of God in past mercies will serve to assure us that the mercies which we now have will be continued so long as we need them: sea or river, it matters not which, each is divided till the Lord’s people have “passed over.”
Jos_4:24. MIGHTY WORKS AND THEIR MIGHTY PURPOSES
I. The mighty works of God are never meant to be self-contained. They invariably reach out to things beyond the actual work, and beyond those to whom it seems confined. No Divine miracle is ever complete in itself. Though it may sound paradoxical, the miracle ever appears to be the smallest part of the work which the work contemplates. For once, the less is made to contain the greater. Divine works are seed-forms which are sown from the hand of Omnipotence; they are meant to swell and germinate and grow, and to bring forth fruit through the years and centuries which follow. Who knows but that during the ages which have since fled, more souls have not been brought by this miracle into the heavenly Canaan, than even the number who, through it, entered the goodly land on earth? Our works, like those of our heavenly Father, should ever contemplate results beyond those which are immediate and present. He works well, and after the pattern of God, who works
(1) for others,
(2) for time to come, and
(3) for eternity.
II. The mighty works of God are meant to teach us the knowledge of God.
1. All work is declarative of the worker. Some persons profess to read a character in the handwriting of a letter; they might read more perfectly if, to the manner in which it were set down, they added a study of the letter itself. What a man does is a photograph of what a man is; it is the outward expression of his inward self. Perhaps we need our works to know ourselves; certainly others need them in order that they may know us. Our features and bearing reveal much of our disposition to others; but our works, most of all, seem to be the glass through which men look into our consciousness and life. If works are needed to declare to us men whom we have seen, much more must we study Divine works if we would know God, whom we have never seen.
2. Even aimless work proclaims the character of its author. So far as such work goes to make up the life, it shews a worker who is willing that power should be thrown away. Aimless work tells of no to-morrow in a man’s mind, of no consciousness of the woes and wants of men around, of no longings and yearnings to help them. Aimless work tells of nothing but the corresponding blank in the worker’s heart, out of which it was born. It is the outward and empty “amen” to the inward and empty life.
3. The design of work reveals the character of the worker. Is the work selfish or generous; for the hour only, or for time to come? What a magnificent study, taken in this light, is presented by the works of God!
4. The execution of a work no less proclaims the worker. It tells us of the measure of his power, and writes down the character of his patience; it tells us whether there is a love of effect and display, or whether the energy which performs is animated mainly by the generosity that desires to help. The best works of the best of men shew failure in purpose, failure in capability failure in patience; it is only before the results of Divine wisdom and energy and love that we can dare to say, “ALL Thy works praise Thee, O God!” If God’s works do not teach us of Himself, though they may bring us temporary relief, the chief purpose of them is lost.
III. The mighty works of God are for all men, and whether men will or not, they will be for all men for ever.
1. They are designed to teach His people.
2. They are wrought and perpetuated before the heathen and the stranger, so that whosoever will may see, and fear, and turn to the Lord.
3. They will be for ever a cause of self-reproach to the lost.
4. They will be eternally a theme of praise for the redeemed. As though in allusion to the rejoicing at the Red Sea, we are told of the host above who have gotten the victory—“They sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty: just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints.”
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v19 first month
first month
i.e. April.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv19, 22 came up out of the Jordan
came up out of the Jordan
This refers to when Israel crossed the Jordan River on dry ground.
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on the tenth day of the first month
This is the first month of the Hebrew calendar. The tenth day is near the end of March on Western calendars. (See: Hebrew Months and Ordinal Numbers)
The twelve stones that they took out of the Jordan
Each tribe was to take one stone from the Jordan River so Joshua could build a memorial of the crossing event. (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
Jordan River
day
Gilgal
Jericho
Joshua
people group
Israel
descend
ancestor
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv19, 24 4:19-20 The tenth day of the first month occurred…
4:19-20 The tenth day of the first month occurred a few days before Passover. • Gilgal became an important worship center for early Israel. Although its location is uncertain, it was somewhere just east or northeast of Jericho. Its name (which means “wheel of a cart,” cp. Isa 28:28) implies that Joshua set the twelve stones in a circle (cp. study note on Josh 5:9).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.