TWO SETS OF STONES:  THOSE PUT UNDER JORDAN
& THOSE LIFTED OUT OF JORDAN
Part 1

October 17, 2010 am
MF Blume


Joshua 3:14-17 (14)  And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people; (15)  And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) (16)  That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. (17)  And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

Joshua 4:1-10  (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. (10)  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: and the people hasted and passed over.



The Tetragrammaton is the Hebrew letters from which YAHWEH, or JEHOVAH, is spoken.

יהוה

Hebrew Letter name Pronunciation
י Yodh "Y"
ה He "H"
ו Waw "W" or placeholder for "O"/"U" vowel (see mater lectionis)
ה


The KJV translated this as "LORD" in the Old Testament.

YOOD = HAND
HAY = WINDOW – BEHOLD OR LOOK
WAH = NAIL

When you speak these meanings in the order of the letters of YHWH, you get...

Y                 H                  W          H
HAND         BEHOLD       NAIL     BEHOLD


Turn it around to make sense in English and you read:

Jesus means: "Yahweh" (YHWH)  is our salvation

“BEHOLD THE HAND BEHOLD THE NAIL is our salvation!”

IT IS ALL ABOUT THE CROSS!


Similarly, all Old Testament stories focus on the cross if you have eyes to see.

The Jordan River was cut off by the Ark of the Covenant.

Josh 3:(16)  That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.

They came down and were piled up all the way back to the city of ADAM!

When Israel crossed Jordan, the exact place where the Ark of the Covenant was upheld and the Jordan River was miraculously opened for Israel to cross was where Joshua told the people to remove 12 stones.

TWO SETS OF STONES for memorial.

Israel had finally entered the KINGDOM LAND.

It took 38 years to enter, when it should have only taken a few months, because the elders doubted God.

John 1:26-30 (26)  John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; (27)  He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. (28)  These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. (29)  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (30)  This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.

John the Baptist was baptizing at a place named BETHABARA.

Many scholars believe the region BETHABARA was the precise location where Joshua led Israel through the Jordan when the Ark of the covenant opened up the river.

Mat 3:7-12 (7)  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (8)  Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:  (9)  And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. (10)  And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (11)  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: (12)  Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

John pointed to some rocks while baptizing at Jordan, at BETHABARA, and told the Pharisees that God would raise up those stones as Children of Abraham INSTEAD OF THE PHARISEES and SADDUCEES.

Like the unbelieving elders of Israel who doubted they could take the KINGDOM LAND and were REPLACED by the younger generation, these religious leaders of Israel WOULD BE REPLACED by a people receiving the KINGDOM INSTEAD OF THEM.

Jesus spoke to the same sort of unbelieving religious people…

Mat 21:43 (43)  Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.

The elders were supposed to receive the Kingdom, but their unbelief robbed them of it, and others replaced them.

It is interesting that the ARK OF THE COVENANT represents JESUS CHRIST and HIS KINGDOM.

And the thought of the Ark of the Covenant sprinkled with ATONEMENT BLOOD, to which the faces of the golden cherubim on it were fashioned to look, speaks of the ATONEMENT SACRIFICE OF JESUS CHRIST on the cross.

When Israel crossed the Jordan with the ARK it was because the elders had finally died and the younger replaced them, and the younger would enter the KINGDOM LAND.

Moses speaks of LAW.

Even John the Baptist, at the Jordan River, showed a FORESHADOW of this KINGDOM ENTRANCE by preaching…

Mat 3:1-2 (1)  In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, (2)  And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mat 4:12 (12)  Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;
Mat 4:17 (17)  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Even Jesus began preaching KINGDOM.

Just like the KINGDOM LAND was AT HAND for the younger to enter and rule, while the elders were ready to be totally removed, John and Jesus preached the KINGDOM IS AT HAND.