Lesson Text: Joshua 3:14-4:9
Date the Lesson is Scheduled For: June 21st , 2026
Session: 3
Title: Remembering God’s Works
Theme: God instructed the people to set up a memorial as a reminder of His power
Memory Verse: Psalm 77:11-12, “I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.”
Content Overview:
- Dry Ground (Josh. 3:14-17)
- Memorial Stone (Josh. 4:1-7)
- Lasting Reminders (Josh 4: 8-9)
Lesson:
Looking back on our lives there were significant milestones worth remembering. Do you remember when you were saved? Do you remember your wedding day? Do you remember times when God worked to give you a spiritual breakthrough, a tremendous step of growth in Christlikeness? Maybe you remember significant historical events that have happened in your lifetime and where you were at when that event took place. What happens in our text is so significant that God called Israel to erect a monument, a memorial, to remember what God did in our passage and remind future generations, too.
Main Point:
- Dry Ground (Josh. 3:14-17)
God makes a way when there seems to be no doable way through.
Text: “14 So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), 16 the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. 17 Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.”
Explanation: The Spring rains were overflowing the banks. This seemed like the most unlikely time to make a Jordan-river crossing. Yet, God told them to do it. As soon as the priests soles struck the water as they carried the ark of the covenant, God would stop the waters from moving and create a dry pathway. The Levites bearing the ark of the covenant would have to stand in place, in the midst of the river until the last Israelite had crossed safely over, and then and only then they could exit the riverbed. The NAC states, “These verses are the climax of the chapter—indeed, of all of chaps. 3–4. Here, the narrative slows to a crawl, so that the reader can savor the wonder of the miracle and view it from as many different perspectives as possible. The author, by writing in this way, affirms God’s greatness and power and intervention on his people’s behalf. The point is not so much that the people were able to cross over the Jordan, but the manner in which they were able to cross: by a glorious and mighty miracle of God. The immediate purpose of the miracle was obviously to get Israel across the Jordan. However, the larger purpose was—as it is with all miracles—to testify to God’s greatness and faithfulness, both to Israel (v. 10) and to all the peoples of the earth (4:24a), and to stimulate proper worship of him (4:24b).[1]”
Illustration: If you have ever had a knee, foot, or leg injury, taking a step becomes much more daunting. What we usually take for granted becomes a greater mental and physical focus, and once we heal we appreciate the use of the leg that much more. Sometimes God leads us into these tests to strengthen our faith, be it a physical injury or another situation.
Application: How have you seen God make a way through when you thought there could be no way? In these times we have to exercise faith, trust God, remember His mighty works reinforced by Scripture, and then take the next Spirit-filled step for His glory. Cling to the promise of Isaiah 43:19 (ESV), “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
Transition: Point #1, dry ground. Point #2,
2. Memorial Stone (Josh. 4:1-7)
We are to remember the great works of God in our lives and recite them to the next generations for their benefit.
Text: “When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.’” 4 Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. 5 And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”
Explanation: Having twelve representatives leading the way was important to make sure that all twelve tribes cross over, no one left behind or hesitant. It speaks to the corporate unity of the Body of Christ that brings Him glory. When we are unified, not self-centered, focused on His glory, not individual agendas, moving forward in obedience, not grumbling in self-indulgence, God is glorified. It is interesting how on the wilderness side of the promised Land they are continually referred to as a “people,” but going forward after crossing the Jordan they are called more frequently a “nation” (ESV Study Bible, page 399).
Illustration: Have you ever experienced disunity in some way. Disunity is disheartening. It only takes one dissenter to ruin what could have been a God-glorifying unity. The Puritan Samuel Rutherford is quoted as saying, “Show yourself a Christian by suffering without murmuring.” They could have gotten cold feet, given up, held back, but instead they stepped forward together.
Application: But when the church is unified in a common cause and petty preferences are set aside for the greater shared goals, God is greatly glorified.
Transition: Dry ground, memorial stones, thirdly,
3. Lasting Reminders (Josh 4: 8-9)
Text: “8 And the people of Israel did just as Joshua commanded and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, just as the Lord told Joshua. And they carried them over with them to the place where they lodged and laid them down[a] there. 9 And Joshua set up[b] twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day.”
Explanation: The memorial stones are obediently gathered from the river, not as a memorial to themselves, but to God, a reminder for each passerby and their heritage. The important principle to note here is Joshua’s and the peoples’ shared obedience to God.
Joshua simply spoke and led according to God’s Word. Verse 10 concludes, “10 For the priests bearing the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to tell the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua.” The NAC says, “The verse ends tersely: the people crossed over the Jordan quickly.233 The message is clear: when God’s people obeyed what they knew they were supposed to do, things went well for them. The first example of disobedience in the book comes in chap. 7, and the results are disastrous. God’s desire was ultimately to glorify himself and have his people revere him (4:24).[2]”
Illustration: My parents used to tell us, “Slow obedience is no obedience.”
Application: It’s the same for us in the Christian life. When we’re slow to obey it often slips into all out disobedience. Not here in this passage. We see immediate, swift, faith-filled, active, exemplary obedience. Israel would fail, but another individual would come who would be perfectly obedient; Matthew 3:13-17 speak to the importance of the obedience of Christ In place of our disobedient lives , saying, “13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him,[a] and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son,[b] with whom I am well pleased.”; Apart from His obedience, all our works are filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), even the most moral and speedy of obedience is complete brokenness in comparison to the holiness of God. By Jesus’s righteous and obedient life as the holy Son of God, He took our sin to the cross, that we might be recipients of mercy and forever be made right by Him. Once saved, we then can live unified lives of obedience and growing Christlikeness. Our lives can be memorials to the grace of God.
Transition: Dry ground, memorial stones, lasting reminders.
Doctrine: God, “To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience.” (Lifeway, Explore the Bible Leaders Guide, page 22).
- Verse: Exodus 20:1-3 (ESV), “And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 ‘You shall have no other gods before me.’”
- Verse: I Timothy 1:17 (ESV), “To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”
Discussion Question(s): How does God use barriers—like the flood waters—as important part of our lives and journeys as we grow in Christlikeness? What are the dangers of forgetting important events in our lives? How can we cultivate remembering what God has done in our lives?
Wrap up: God bless you as you teach His Word this week. God will never fail you in the floods of life. He will take you safely through to the other side and bring Himself much glory as well as use these tests to witness to a watching world who needs to see Jesus.
Sources: The sources are partially the Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson, and primarily use the New American Commentary, ESV Study Bible, the Expositors Bible Commentary, a good quote from one of the Puritans found online, and various cross references.
[1] David M. Howard Jr., Joshua, vol. 5, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 129.
233 The NIV’s “hurried” can be misleading. The operation was completed quickly and easily because of the obedience of all those involved. It was a quick, effortless action. “Hurried” might lead one to infer that they made haste because of fear or some other motivation, but that is not in view here at all. (See Woudstra, Joshua, 93 on this.)
[2] David M. Howard Jr., Joshua, vol. 5, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 137.
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