Oscar JF Seitz has an interesting article in a 1960 issue of JBL . He connects the stones in the Jordan in Josh 4 with the stones that Jacob erects in Gen 28, which form the “House of God” in contrast to the false house of Babel. Bringing this into the NT, he notes that John the Baptist preached near the Jordan, where the stones of Joshua were placed, and suggests that John was talking about God’s ability to raise up sons of Abraham from THESE stones in particular, stones that (Seitz thinks) went in the water and were brought across the Jordan to the land - ie, baptized stones. John is warning of approaching judgment: if this generation does not heed warning, He can still raise up stones, like a new generation from the wilderness.
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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