Twelve Stones from the River (Joshua 3:1-4:24)

Lyrics · Joshua

Twelve Stones from the River

Joshua 3:1-4:24

[Verse 1] Three days Israel waited where the Jordan overflowed, Then the ark went out before them and the priests approached the water. Sanctify yourselves, tomorrow wonders will be shown, And the feet that bore the covenant stepped down into the current. [Pre-Chorus] Upstream waters rose in one great heap, Downstream emptied toward the sea. [Chorus] Twelve stones from the river, One for every tribe to carry. When the children ask what happened, Tell them Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground. [Verse 2] Priests stood firm within the river till the final soul had crossed, Armed men from eastern tribes went forward as their promise bound them. Twelve men lifted stones beside the feet that held the ark, And Joshua raised another witness in the riverbed itself. [Bridge] When the priests came up, the waters rushed again between the banks, God magnified His servant as He had with Moses in the land. Gilgal held the carried stones, a story standing in the camp, So every nation knew the mighty hand that dried the Jordan. [Final Chorus] Twelve stones from the river, One for every tribe to carry. When the children ask what happened, Tell them Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground. [Outro] The river closed behind them, But the stones kept speaking.

Named in this songJordan Ark Joshua Moses Gilgal

About the passage

Joshua 3: The ark stands where the river should be

Israel reaches Jordan at flood stage and is told to follow the ark while keeping enough distance to see where it leads. The crossing is prepared as a holy event, but also as a public sign with several meanings. God says it will begin to establish Joshua before Israel, while Joshua says it will show that the living God is among them and will give the land. The ark belongs to "the Lord of all the earth," so the river is treated as no barrier to divine authority. When the priests' feet enter the overflowing water, the flow stops upstream and the people cross on dry ground opposite Jericho. The priests remain in the riverbed with the ark until everyone is safely over. The chapter's great image is therefore not frantic movement but a fixed centre: the ark standing where the river should be while the entire nation passes around it.

Study Joshua 3 in depth

Joshua 4: The river closes, but the evidence stays

The crossing immediately becomes a problem of memory. Twelve men, one from each tribe, carry stones from the riverbed so future children can ask what they mean, while Joshua also sets stones where the priests stood. The memorial is designed to make later generations ask for an explanation, not to replace explanation. Meanwhile, the crossing is completed in the same ordered way it began. The eastern tribes fulfill their promise by crossing armed, Joshua is publicly magnified before Israel, the ark comes up only after the people are over, and the river returns when the priests' feet reach dry ground. At Gilgal, the stones are given two audiences. Israel's children are to know how the nation crossed Jordan, and the peoples of the earth are to know the might of the LORD's hand. The water closes, but the evidence is meant to keep speaking.

Study Joshua 4 in depth