Stones taken out of Jordan.
The works of the Lord are so worthy of remembrance, and the heart of man is so prone to forget them, that various methods are needful to refresh our memories, for the glory of God, our advantage, and that of our children. God gave orders for preparing this memorial.
Verses that belong to this explanation: 1-9
1 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, 2 Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, 3 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, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. 4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: 5 And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: 6 That this may be a sign among you, [that] when your children ask [their fathers] in time to come, saying, What [mean] ye by these stones? 7 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 unto the children of Israel for ever. 8 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 the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. 9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.
 | Author: Matthew Henry Rank: Priest AD: 1714 Source: Title: Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible Author: Matthew Henry |
God commanded Joshua to choose twelve men, to carry twelve stones from the bottom of the Jordan, from where the priests’ feet stood firm, as a proclamation of the establishment of the Church, being the living body of Christ; that we came to enjoy through the water of Baptism. And as St. Augustine says: [The figure 12 refers to the holy Church gathered from the four corners of the earth [Mark 13:27], through Baptism, in the name of the Holy Trinity (3 X 4)]. Or we can say that the Holy Trinity reigns on humanity in the east, west, north and south. The figure 12, thus refers to the Kingdom of God that reigns on all mankind; namely, to the Church that embraces members from all nations and peoples.
Through this figure, the church has been proclaimed in the Old Testament: in the 12 tribes that represented the people of God, or His Kingdom on earth at that time [Gen 35:12]. In the New Testament, the Lord Christ chose 12 disciples to judge the 12 tribes [Matt 19:28]. Even the heavenly Jerusalem, which, in essence, means the eternal Kingdom of God in us, or as called by St. John “Where God dwells with His people” [Rev 21:3], has 12 gates , 3 on each side [Rev 21:12]. In ‘Elim’ the people found 12 wells of water [Gen 15:27], a reference to the Church, to which the Holy Spirit came to be (the well of water) the secret of its life and comfort amid the wilderness of this world. When Moses built an altar to the Lord, he set 12 pillars [Gen 24:4], to reveal that the Church, is living pillars in the heavenly temple of the Lord, and a spiritual altar, on and in which the unique and eternal sacrifice of the cross is offered. In the same sense, the prophet Elijah built an altar of 12 stones, to offer his sacrifice [1Kgs 18:31]. According to the law, the High Priest puts 12 precious stones on his breastplate, that he wears in the presence of the Lord; as though he is the Lord Jesus Christ, the heavenly High Priest, who bears His Church in His heart and on His shoulders, to offer it forever to the Father. St. Erinaos believes that the priest’s garment in the Old Testament, used to carry 12 bells [Exod 28:34], that had the following significance: As the garment refers to the body, it is as though our High Priest Jesus Christ, wears His Church a white undefiled garment, shining as white as light [Matt 17:2]; its bells giving, wherever He goes, ringing of joy and rejoice to His saints, and warnings of woe to those who neglect their salvation.
Through this figure, the church has been proclaimed in the Old Testament: in the 12 tribes that represented the people of God, or His Kingdom on earth at that time [Gen 35:12]. In the New Testament, the Lord Christ chose 12 disciples to judge the 12 tribes [Matt 19:28]. Even the heavenly Jerusalem, which, in essence, means the eternal Kingdom of God in us, or as called by St. John “Where God dwells with His people” [Rev 21:3], has 12 gates , 3 on each side [Rev 21:12]. In ‘Elim’ the people found 12 wells of water [Gen 15:27], a reference to the Church, to which the Holy Spirit came to be (the well of water) the secret of its life and comfort amid the wilderness of this world. When Moses built an altar to the Lord, he set 12 pillars [Gen 24:4], to reveal that the Church, is living pillars in the heavenly temple of the Lord, and a spiritual altar, on and in which the unique and eternal sacrifice of the cross is offered. In the same sense, the prophet Elijah built an altar of 12 stones, to offer his sacrifice [1Kgs 18:31]. According to the law, the High Priest puts 12 precious stones on his breastplate, that he wears in the presence of the Lord; as though he is the Lord Jesus Christ, the heavenly High Priest, who bears His Church in His heart and on His shoulders, to offer it forever to the Father. St. Erinaos believes that the priest’s garment in the Old Testament, used to carry 12 bells [Exod 28:34], that had the following significance: As the garment refers to the body, it is as though our High Priest Jesus Christ, wears His Church a white undefiled garment, shining as white as light [Matt 17:2]; its bells giving, wherever He goes, ringing of joy and rejoice to His saints, and warnings of woe to those who neglect their salvation.
Verses that belong to this explanation: 1-3
1 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, 2 Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, 3 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, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.
 | Author: Tadros Yacoub Malaty Rank: Monk Posted on: 2022-11-10 |
The listed verse explanations of the individual persons have nothing to do with the explanations of the other persons. This also applies to the Bible translations.
