When the ark of the covenant was taken into the Jordan, Israel crossed on dry ground. As soon as the priests carrying the ark were on the other side, the water returned to its place. God commanded Joshua to choose 12 men to establish a memorial in Gilgal [between the Jordan & Jericho] with stones from where the ark crossed. This was not to idolize their past, but to be a reminder [memorial] for the future! When children asked the meaning of the stones, they would respond: “…’This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’” (22b). Before we engage in battle for God’s promises, we must establish memorials of God’s work on our behalf. Before the first battle they memorialized God’s supernatural intervention in their crossing of the Jordan river. It was not by their might they crossed and it will not be by their power they take the land.