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| 1 And it came to pass when the whole nation had completely gone over the Jordan, that Jehovah spoke to Joshua, saying, |
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| 2 Take you twelve men out of the people, one man out of every tribe, |
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| 3 and command them, saying, Take up hence out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and carry them over with you, and lay them down in the lodging-place where ye shall lodge this night. |
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| 4 And Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had appointed of the children of Israel, a man out of every tribe; |
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| 5 and Joshua said to them, Pass before the ark of Jehovah your God into the midst of the Jordan, and lift up each of you a stone and put it upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, |
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| 6 that this may be a sign in your midst. When your children ask hereafter, saying, What mean ye by these stones? |
These stones – Twelve stones were taken from the bed of the river and piled on the shore as a memorial; while twelve from the shore were placed in the bed of the river as a similar memorial. R5345:2
To bear witness to future generations of this great act of divine providence on behalf of the twelve tribes of Israel. R5345:3
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| 7 then ye shall say to them, That the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; when it went through the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. |
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| 8 And the children of Israel did so, as Joshua had commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, as Jehovah had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the lodging-place, and laid them down there. |
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| 9 And twelve stones did Joshua set up in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant had stood firm; and they are there to this day. |
Twelve stones – (In the river), typifying the 144,000 of the elect as dying in the midst of Jordan so that all might pass over. R3086:5
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| 10 And the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan, until everything was finished that Jehovah had commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hasted and passed over. |
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| 11 And it came to pass, when all the people had completely gone over, that the ark of Jehovah went over, and the priests, in the presence of the people. |
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| 12 And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, went over in array before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them. |
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| 13 About forty thousand armed for military service passed over before Jehovah to the war, unto the plains of Jericho. |
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| 14 On that day Jehovah magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life. |
Magnified Joshua – Type of Christ. A79
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| 15 And Jehovah spoke to Joshua, saying, |
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| 16 Command the priests who bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of the Jordan. |
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| 17 And Joshua commanded the priests, saying, Come up out of the Jordan. |
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| 18 And it came to pass when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of Jehovah had come up out of the midst of the Jordan, when the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up on to the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and they flowed as previously, over all its banks. |
Unto their place – Representing the Second Death, which will be the portion of any who, in the Millennial age, renounce the goodly heritage which the Lord has provided for the redeemed world. R4063:2
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| 19 And the people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, on the eastern extremity of Jericho. |
Tenth day of the first month – Forty years to the day from when they set out from Egypt to Palestine. R4063:1
There the Jubilee cycles began to count. R1980:3
From their entrance into the promised land in the spring to the spring of AD 1875 was the total 3449 years of the Jubilee cycles. HG59:6
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| 20 And those twelve stones which they had taken out of the Jordan did Joshua set up in Gilgal. |
Gilgal – There seem to have been several Gilgals, meaning "circle"; so-called from places where circles of memorial stones were set up. R3344:2*
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| 21 And he spoke to the children of Israel, saying, When your children hereafter ask their fathers, saying, What mean these stones? |
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| 22 then ye shall let your children know, saying, On dry land did Israel come over this Jordan; |
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| 23 because Jehovah your God dried up the waters of the Jordan from before you, until ye had passed over, as Jehovah your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we had passed over; |
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| 24 that all peoples of the earth might know the hand of Jehovah, that it is mighty; that ye might fear Jehovah your God continually. |
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