THE STONES OF THE JORDAN As the River Jordan refers to the holy Baptism, from its positive aspect, Joshua chose twelve men of the people to carry twelve stones from the bottom of the Jordan, to set them in Gilgal, as a proclamation of the establishment of the holy church through Baptism. 1- The memorial stones 1 - 8 2- The stones set up in the midst of the Jordan 9 3- Hastening to crossover 10 - 11 4- Crossover of the armed forces 12 - 13 5- Joshua exalted in the eyes of the people 14 6- Coming up to Gilgal 15 - 24 1- The memorial stones: “And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve men, from the people, one man from every tribe; and command them saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, you shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’ ”(Joshua 4: 1 - 3) 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)] 1. 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 (Genesis 35: 12). In the New Testament, the Lord Christ chose 12 disciples to judge the 12 tribes (Matthew 19: 1 On Ps. 87. 79 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” (Revelation 21: 3), has 12 gates, 3 on each side (Revelation 21: 12). In ‘Elim’ the people found 12 wells of water (Exodus 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 (Exodus 24: 4), to reveal that the Church comprises 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 (1 Kings 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 (Exodus 28: 34) 1, 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 (Matthew 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. 2- The stones set up in the midst of the Jordan: “Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood.” (Joshua 4: 9) At the same time, men took 12 stones from the bottom of the Jordan, they carried to it 12 stones and set them there. Bishop Caesarius believes that [the 12 stones they brought to the bottom, refer to the fathers of the Old Testament; while the 12 stones that they carried from the bottom, refer to the disciples of the Lord Christ] 2. The stones brought to the bottom refer to the Jews, who were buried and disappeared in the wilderness; while the stones carried away from the bottom refer to the Gentiles who set forth to the land of promise through Baptism. 1 Adv. Haer. 1: 18. 2 Sermon 115: 3,4. 80 Actually, we can not separate between the stones, that were carried on the shoulders to be set in the Gilgal, and those that were set on the bottom of the Jordan; as the first refer to the Church, being the body of Christ, that crossed over the Jordan, and suffered the cross, the death, and the burial, to rise together with His head, and experience with Him, every day, the new resurrected life. While the other stones, refer to the persistence of the cross with Christ; The true believer is committed to rise together with the Lord, and to experience sitting every day with Him in the heavenly places, to live with an angelic thought, an exalted holy life; and, at the same time, he should stand on the bank of the Jordan, to behold himself buried in its depth together with his Savior, to experience the resurrection with Him. It is to be noticed that the Holy Book, tells us about the stones carried up to the Gilgal, to where the Kingdom (the land of promise) is, before talking about the stones brought to and set in the midst of the Jordan; although burial precedes resurrection, suffering precedes comfort, and humility precedes glory. But actually, spiritually speaking, there is no separation between the cross and the resurrection, between suffering with Christ and enjoying His comfort, and between humility for His sake to gain His glory. The Lord, being the resurrection, was raised on the cross, before His resurrection was realized; He was entering Passion, although His glories are eternal! The Christian, likewise, is not to receive burial, sufferings, and humility, unless he realizes, by the Spirit of God, the resurrection, comfort, and glory of Christ! That is why the apostle Paul says: “ ... that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3: 10, 11); He can not enter into the fellowship of His sufferings, unless he knows the power of His resurrection; then he can accept death with joy, with the hope of the great day of resurrection. I wish our heart wander every day in the Gilgal -- the land of promise -- to find for itself a place among the living stones; realizing the power of the Lord working in him, to lift him up from glory to glory, and to bring him into the depths of the heavenliness; Then, he would set forth to the bank of the Jordan, to realize that he can not set forth to the true Gilgal, unless he is buried in the depths of the Jordan! He rejoices in the power of resurrection, yet not outside of the cross and burial together with Jesus, the Lord of glory. 81 Finally, the holy Book confirms to us, that there is no enjoyment of these divine gifts, except in the person of Jesus Christ, about whom is said: “Now this, ‘He ascended’ -- What does it mean by that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things”(Ephesians 4: 9, 10). 3- Hastening to crossover: “The people hastened and crossed over. Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over, that the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed over.” (Joshua 4: 10, 11) The scholar Origen presents us with a living portrait of the concept of the hasty crossover; saying: [It seems to me that the words “The people hastened and crossed over,” were not put by the Holy Spirit without significance; But, it is fitting for us, who are to approach the Baptism of salvation, and to receive the secrets of the Word of God, to avoid looseness and negligence, but to hasten to crossover completely. Complete crossover means observing all commandments; Let us then hasten to crossover, through consummating the Scripture: “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5: 3); if we forsake all pride, and embrace the humility of Jesus, we shall be worthy of that promised blessing. And having observed this commandment, we should not stop at that, but crossover to the rest of the commandments, like: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5: 6); “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (5: 4), “Blessed are the meek” (5: 5), and “Blessed are the merciful” (5: 7), ... Then we would be worthy to be called “sons of God” (5: 9). Let us hasten to crossover, through the virtue of patience, and bearing persecution. By such active pursuit of every perfection so that virtue conquers, we can hasten to crossover the Jordan ... But once we get to complete that crossover, it is fitting for us to be aware and alert, lest, with negligence in our behavior, we would stumble “My feet had almost stumble” (Psalm 73: 2); as though the prophet says, that we should not be less active in keeping the virtues, than when we were in pursuing them] 1. Therefore, let us hasten to crossover through working faith, to live striving to consummate the divine commandments, and to keep the gifts and virtues that we gained from God. In the old, when Lot and his family lingered, the two angels took hold of their hands, brought them 1 In Jos Hom 5: 1. 82 out, and set them outside the city, and said: “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain; escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed” (Genesis 19: 16, 17); which they did, but Lot’s wife could not keep the gift of salvation; after hastening she turned back with her heart, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. St. John El-Dargi, warns us against lingering and not hastening in crossing over, especially at the beginning of our spiritual life; saying: [Lingering at the beginning of our spiritual battle, would surely lead to something dangerous and hateful. A firm beginning will surely be of great benefit, even if we happen to linger later on; as a strong soul, if it happens to linger, would remember its previous zeal, and that will motivate it to resume its progress; thus she would assume wings] 1. It is admirable, that the priests, bearers of the Ark of the Covenant, kept standing on the bottom until all the people completely crossed over (Joshua 4: 11). What a true fatherhood that was! A good shepherd does not seek what is his, but what is others’; although he is the one to open the way and to pave it for them, yet he persistently stays at the rear, to be sure that all are safe. The priests started the crossover and ended it; as though they follow the example of their Lord, who, although He is above all, kept Himself at the rear of the rows, to embrace all humanity, He who is “The Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last” (Revelation 22: 13). 4- Crossover of the armed forces: “And the men of Reuben, the men of God, and half the tribe of Manasseh, crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses has spoken to them. About forty thousands prepared for war crossed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho.” (Joshua 4: 12, 13) In our interpretation of the book of Numbers, we recall that these tribes requested from the prophet Moses to give them the land of Gilead, east of the Jordan, as their portion of inheritance, and not to have a portion of the lands west of the Jordan with the rest of the tribes; Moses consented to their appeal, on one condition, that they crossover together with their brothers (Numbers 32). Here, the divine inspiration confirms that 40, 000 of them, prepared for war, crossed over before the people and before the Lord for battle. In this text we notice the following: 1 Ladder, step 1: 11. 83 (1) The number of those men, who crossed over for battle from the mentioned tribes, was 40,000. So if the figure 4 refers to the flesh, that is coming out of the earth (the 4 corners of the world); the figure 1000 refers to heavenly or spiritual life, as we previously said in that interpretation. It is as though, those men came to share with the congregation, physically as well as spiritually; in the worldly as well as in the heavenly things. It is comparatively easy to share with others, physically, by attending their joyful or sorrowful occasions; yet, together with that, we should share with them spiritually, by heart and thoughts. For example, in case we come to share with someone his celebration of success, I should not stop at just being there, or even at giving him a gift, but what is more valuable, is to share with him spiritually: wishing him a spiritual success, and an enjoyment of divine gifts. Let our fellowship with the other members be through the Head -- Jesus Christ -- who cares for us spiritually, physically, psychologically, socially, and culturally ... He wants us to succeed in all aspects of our life. (2) The divine inspiration confirms that they crossed over “before the children of Israel”, as well as “before the Lord”. It is not enough to work on the account of the holy congregation, for the sake of its spiritual growth, and its conquest of the forces of darkness, but our work should be on the account of the Lord. There are many, who minister in the Church, and who do glorified things “before the children of Israel”, Yet they do not present the work on the account of God, and do not appear “before the Lord” ... They actually minister to the people, to their own dignity, and their self glory, and not to the Lord. (3) The book describes them as being “prepared for war” and “for battle”. The scholar Origen says: [Who are these men, described by the book as ‘lightly girded’? I cannot suggest anything by myself, but can learn from the epistles of the apostle, saying: “Having girded your waist with truth” (Ephesians 6: 14). So, it is fitting for us to gird our waist with the “truth”, if we are to be honest toward this secret, represented by this military weapon (spiritual). If the truth is the girdle of Christ’s soldiers, every time we err in our talk, and utter lies, we are taking off the girdle of Christ. If we actually live in truth, we would be armed for strife; but if we walk with lies, we are unarmed! Oh! I wish we would conform with those 40, 000, girded for war, who crossed over before the Lord, girded with the truth. I also wish we do not forget the words of the book, “girded before the Lord”. It is not enough to make the truth apparent before the people; as we may manage to deceive the 84 people, while seeming truthful; but we can not be counted as girded with truth, unless we do that before the Lord; I do not mean by that, the truth that the people hear in our talk, but what the Lord sees in the depths of our hearts. We should have no deceit on our lips, nor in our hearts; not like those rebuked by the prophet; saying: “Who speak to their neighbors, but evil is in their hearts” (Psalm 28: 3) 1. 5- Joshua exalted in the eyes of the people: “They feared him as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life.” (Joshua 4: 14) The scholar Origen says: [Every man under the law, feared Moses; Yet as he sets forth from the law, to crossover to the Bible, his worship and fear becomes different; according to the words of the apostle: “For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatian 2: 19) 2. Those who live under the killing letter fear the law and get terrified before it; But who live in the freedom of the Spirit, will fear our living Jesus, as would do a son who fears to hurt his father’s feelings! We fear Him through love that lifts us from the fear of slaves, up to the holy fear of children. It was said about the Lord Christ Himself: “His delight is in the fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11: 3). 6- Coming up to the Gilgal: “Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: ‘Command the priests who bear the ark of the testimony to come up from the Jordan’....And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and flowed over all its banks as before.” (Joshua 4: 15 -- 18) The ascent of the people from the Jordan to settle in Gilgal, took place on the tenth day of the first month; and here we notice the following: (1) The people came up from the Jordan to the land of promise, on the same date, that everyone of them took for himself a lamb, to offer it a Passover sacrifice (Exodus 12: 3). It is as though, on the same day, in which they celebrated the secret of Passover, their coming up from the 1 Jos. Hom 5: 2. 2 Ibid 5: 4. 85 Jordan to put their feet on the land of promise, was realized; And as though their coming up to inheritance, is to be realized through the Passover; namely, through the cross. There is no conquer nor an inheritance for us outside the circle of the cross. This, and the day the exodus from servitude began, is the same day the movement to enter into freedom started; as though the exodus and the entry represent one integrated work, inseparable by time. In the cross, as well as in the baptism, I set forth from the servitude of the real Pharaoh, to enter into the freedom of glory of the children of God, in the true Joshua; In the Holy Spirit, I cast off the old man with all his evil works, that bound me all my life, to put on, by the Holy Spirit, the new man, with his holy nature in Christ Jesus, to consummate the days of my sojourn free in the Lord. (2) The coming up to the land of promise was realized on the tenth day of the first month. And as the first month refers to the beginning of a new year, that coming up refers to entrance into the new life, through our enjoyment of the new inner man, to live by the thought of Christ (Philippians 2: 5), and to carry His features in us. The figure 10 refers to perfection, as well as to the ten commandments; as though we enter into inheritance in its perfection, when we consummate our strife on earth, and proclaim, by Christ Jesus, the consummator of the commandments, that we are not breakers of the law ... We have been, indeed breakers of the law, but, in Christ Jesus, who is “born under the law” (Galatians 4: 4), for our sake, we became non-breakers of it. By the new life (the first month), we come up from under the law, to above it, to live in the righteousness of God, by His Holy Spirit. (3) The first camp for the people after their crossing over of the Jordan and their entry into Canaan was called ‘Gilgal’, meaning ‘rolling’ or ‘circle’. This name came to proclaim the rolling away of the old reproach of servitude (Joshua 5: 9). Although they set forth from the servitude of Pharaoh forty years before that, yet, the reproach of servitude was not rolled away, until they stepped into the Gilgal, in the land of Canaan. It is as though the reproach of sin would not be rolled away from us, except by our entry into the ‘circle of eternity’, and our enjoyment of the pledge of the eternal inheritance inside us. Talking about His work with His people, God talks of setting them free from the land of servitude, and bringing them over to Gilgal; as though it is the last place to settle in, although geographically it is the first location they reached in Canaan ... By enjoying Gilgal, God counted 86 them as though they have enjoyed all Canaan. Gilgal had numerous memorable events that reveal God’s work with His people in that new land, of which are the following: a- Gilgal was the headquarters of Joshua; In it he set the twelve memorial stones (Joshua 4: 19); and in it the people were re-circumcised (Joshua 5: 9) ... As we crossover to the heavenly life (the circle), our Jesus would receive our life, and control all our affairs, until our victory is consummated in Him. b- Gilgal appears as a holy place even till the days of Samuel (1 Samuel 7: 6); In it Saul was anointed a king (1 Samuel 10: 8; 11: 14; etc.); and in it, there probably was a temple. Thus, our heart would become the true Gilgal, sanctified by the Spirit of God, who make it a temple for Himself; and set us kings united to the King of Kings, who have the spiritual authority over all hosts of darkness (the devils), and all their works. c- Gilgal was the center of Saul’s military activities against other nations, especially Amalek. When the heart is sanctified, it turns into a military spiritual center against evil and sin, on the account of God. Moreover, many events happened in Gilgal; to it, men of Judah came to meet David, as he returned from Gilead (2 Samuel 19: 16). Unfortunately, that location, later on, was transformed into a center of pagan worship, in the days of the kings who reigned after Jeroboam; that earned them the curse of prophets (Hosea 4: 15; 9: 15; 12: 11; Amos 4: 4; 5: 5) 1. Most probably it was ‘House of Gilgal’, referred to after the captivation (Nehemiah 12: 29). The exact location of Gilgal is not accurately known; believed by some to be ‘Athla ruins’ close to the swamp of ‘Galgola’, three miles south-east of ‘Ein Sultan’; while others suggest that it is the ‘Ruins of Maphgir’, a mile and a quarter north-east of old Jericho ‘Ein Sultan’2. 1 Mckenzie. P. 311. 2 New Westminister Dict. Of Bible, p. 332.
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