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The LORD instructed Moses to tell the people of Israel;

‘When you cross the Jordan River and enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with plaster. Write this whole body of instruction on them when you cross the river to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you—a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. When you cross the Jordan, set up these stones at Mount Ebal and coat them with plaster, as I am commanding you today.’

-Deuteronomy 27:2-4

So when the time finally came…

‘When all the people had crossed the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe. Tell them, ‘Take twelve stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan. Carry them out and pile them up at the place where you will camp tonight.’”

So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel. He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”

So the men did as Joshua had commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan River, one for each tribe, just as the Lord had told Joshua. They carried them to the place where they camped for the night and constructed the memorial there.

Joshua also set up another pile of twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, at the place where the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant were standing. And they are there to this day.’

-Joshua 4:1-9

Notice: 12 men chosen, carrying 12 stones, representing the 12 tribes of Israel…

In the previous generation, Moses had also set up 12 stone pillars to represent the 12 tribes;

‘Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel.’

Hundreds of years later, Elijah restored this pattern of setting up 12 Stones in 1 Kings 18:31;

‘Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.”’

So we see 3 different leaders; Moses, Joshua and Elijah, each setting up pillars or stones to represent the people of God…

Pillars become People

In the New Testament the pillars become people;

‘The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.’

-Revelations 3:12

Peter, James and John are named as Pillars of the Church (Galatians 2:9)

And believers are referred to as Living Stones;

‘And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.’

-1 Peter 2:5

Beginning with Twelve

When beginning a new missional work or new form of church in a place, in our practice, we often look for 12 people who will form the foundation on which a healthy and fruitful work can grow.

‘Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John

Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;

Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.’

-Matthew 10:1-4

Mark’s gospel reveals that before Jesus chose His 12…

‘Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach. and to have authority to drive out demons.’

-Mark 3:13-15

Luke’s gospel further reveals that;

‘One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.’

-Luke 6:12

Are you praying into who God is calling you to invest in?

Who are your 12 Living Stones?