CHAP. IV.

In this chapter we have a further account of the Israelites' miraculous passage over Jordan; the manner in which they marched through it; the return of the waters when the ark was come out ; and the setting up of the stones in Gilgal.

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AND it came to pass, when all the people were clean

passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, repeated the command given chap. iii. 12. with enlargements, ? saying, Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every 3 tribe a man, And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, every man one as large as he can carry, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place where you shall lodge this night, to transmit the memory of this great event to posterity, 4 and to be a standing proof of the truth of it. Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, chosen before for that employment, out of every tribe 5 a man; And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan; go back again to the place where the ark stands (which stood still in the river till all was done, v. 10.) and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of 6 the tribes of the children of Israel: That this may be a sign among you, [that] when your children ask [their fathers] in time to come, as doubtless they will, when they see such a pillar or heap of large stones, in a country where scarce any large ones are to be found, saying, What [mean] ye by these 7 stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off and these stones shall be for a memorial and a monument. of this great mercy unto the children of Israel for ever. And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto 9 the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. And Joshua set up other twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood, where they might sometimes be seen at low water and they are there unto this day.

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For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until every thing was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that

Moses commanded Joshua, that is, to obey God in all his come mands; and the people hasted and passed over, apprehending great danger while they were in their passage, by reason of the mountains of water that stood on each side, and seemed ready to 11 overwhelm them. And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the LORD passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people, whose faith, patience, and courage were very remarkable, waiting till all the 1.2 people, and cattle, and baggage, were safe over. And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, 13 as Moses spake unto them; About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto battle, to the plains of Jericho; about one third only of their military force: but Joshua chose so many, and left the rest to defend their settlements. 14 On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel, as he had done Moses at the Red sea; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life; they were convinced that he acted by divine authority; considered him as a favourite of heaven, and reverenced and submitted to his orders. The priests, having seen every thing safe over, stopped 15 in the midst of Jordan, waiting for further directions. And 16 the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, Command the priests

that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of 17 Jordan. Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, 18 Come ye up out of Jordan. And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan; [and] the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as [they did] before; a plain proof that it was not from any natural cause, but from the presence of God; and to all of this the people were eye witnesses. See v. 11.

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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; here they pitched their standing camp, and from hence sent out parties as there was occasion; while the rest of the army marched on further to conquer the country. 20 And those twelve stones which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal, in some conspicuous place, where they might be easily seen, and where, ancient writers tell us, they 21 were seen several hundred years after this event. And he spake unto the children of Israel saying, When your chil dren shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What 22 [mean] these stones? Then ye shall let your children know,

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On the fifteenth day of the first month they were sent out of Egypt: so that it was forty years within five days, according to the prediction, till they entered Canaan.

23 saying, Israel came over this Jórdan on dry land. For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over; thus reminding them both of this, and their former still greater deliverance at the Red sea; and the design of all 24 was, That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it [is] mighty; that all nations might be convinced of his being, power, and providence, and your relation to him; that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever, worship and serve him alone, all your lives long, and through all generations.

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REFLECTIONS.

YOD's works of wonder for his church and people ought to be carefully remembered. One would not think the Israelites had any need of these memorandums to keep up the remembrance of those great events; but God foresaw that they would forget them. These stones preserved the tradition. It is of importance that we treasure up in our memory God's mighty acts for the defence of his church, by making use of some proper means, such as keeping anniversary days, &c. But let us be careful, that while singing his praises, we do not forget his works.

2. It is the duty of parents to acquaint their children with the works of God, and transmit the remembrance of them to posterity. Children should be very desirous to learn, and should frequently be inquiring, what is the meaning of such or such rites and services; and it would be well if parents would be ready to inform them, whether they inquire or no. They should be concerned to instruct their children in those principles and facts, that may have an evident tendency to engage them to fear the Lord, and continue faithful in his service. Let them season their hearts with true religion; and by these means be training up a generation of wise and holy men, to be a blessing to the church and world in the next age. The resolution of all christian parents should be, as in Psalm 1xxviii. 4. 7. We will not hide them from our children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. That they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments,

CHAP. V.

In this chapter we find that the Canaanites, hearing of this wonderful event, are greatly terrified; circumcision is renewed; the passover is kept at Gilgal; the manna ceaseth; and an angel appeareth to Joshua.

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A rites, that all

rites, that is, all which remained, for two of their kings had been already killed, and which [were] on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which [were] by the sea, near the Mediterranean, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was their spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel. God impressed the fear and dread of them upon their minds; they lost all their courage, and could think of no means of safety. This was an happy event for the Israelites; it raised their courage, and gave them time for circumcision and the passover. tre

Accordingly, At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, or knives of flints, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. The first time was, when they came out of Egypt to Sinai; but it had been neglected since then; it was now proper to be renewed, as it was a seal of the covenant which conveyed the promised land to them. 3 And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins, a place which had 4 that name given it from this circumstance. And this [is] the cause why Joshua did circumcise: all the people that came out of Egypt, [that were] males, and above twenty years old, had joined in the rebellion, [even] all the men of war, and they died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of 5 Egypt. Now all the people that came out were circumcised but all the people [that were] born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, [them] they had not circumcised, because they were uncertain of 6 their stay in any place. For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people [that were] men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not show them the land, which the LORD Sware unto their fathers that he would give 7 us, a land that floweth with milk and honey. And their children, [whom] he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way; but it was peculiarly proper to be done now, as they were going to eat the passover, which no

8 uncircumcised person was allowed to do. And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole. This was a further trial of their faith, as it disabled them from war in 9 an enemy's country. And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you; either that for which Egypt reproaches you, or rather, that for which you reproach the Egyptians, and which is also a reproach to yourselves, that ye are not a circumcised people. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal, that is, rolling, unto this day.*

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And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. Thus calling to remembrance their deliverance out of Egypt, and receiving by this ordinance, a token of God's favour, a confirmation of his promises, and an earnest 11 of their possessing the land. And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched [corn] in the selfsame day.t

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And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more, but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. Thus God showed them that the manna was a miraculous supply, by its ceasing when it was no longer necessary. 13. And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, viewing the country, and seeing where it was most proper to attack the city, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand whether it was an angel, or Christ, the Lord of angels, is not certain; he appeared as commander of an army, in a military posture; and, notwithstanding the terror and majesty of his appearance, Joshua went unto him, with undaunted courage, 14 and said unto him, [Art] thou for us, or for our adversaries ? And he said, Nay, I am no mortal man, as thou thinkest; neither Israelite nor Canaanite, especially not an adversary, but [as] captain, or prince of the host of the LORD am I now come, to defend and assist them. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my LORD unto his servant? Showing the most profound reverence, humbly desiring to receive his orders, and expressing his 15 readiness to obey them. And the captain of the LORD's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest [is] holy; the same command as was given to Moses, (see Exodus iii. 5.) and showed that God

Joshua had certainly a command from God to do this, else it would have been a most rash and imprudent thing, considering their situation, and how near Jericho was.

They kept the feast of unleavened bread after the passover, according to divine appointment, and ate old corn, which the inhabitants had left in their barns, when they fled to the cities, and probably also ripe standing corn, both in the same day; thus coming in harvest time they had plenty.