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?
Joshua had his hands full moving wives, children, cattle, tents, and all their effects across a treacherous ford while an enemy watched; yet even in that press of business, he would not delay the memorial God required. Mark this: however urgent our own affairs, we dare not neglect what belongs to God's glory and His honour, for that is our truest business.
AI summary
Commenting on Joshua 4:1-9
That this may be a sign among you,.... A commemorative one: that when your children ask their fathers in time to come; or "tomorrow" (g) and so in all time, or any time hereafter: saying, what mean you by these stones? what is the reason of setting them up, and in this place, and being just of such a number? (g) Sept. "eras", Pagninus, Montanus.
That this may be a sign among you--The erection of cairns, or huge piles of stones, as monuments of remarkable incidents has been common among all people, especially in the early and rude periods of their history. They are the established means of perpetuating the memory of important transactions, especially among the nomadic people of the East.