Memorial stones

The sight of the nation of Israel camped on the east side of the Jordan River, numbering two million strong, must have been an awesome sight to behold. It would have naturally sown fear into the hearts of the inhabitants of Canaan as they watched this horde of men, women, children and their livestock cross over the Jordan River on dry ground. God was preparing to exalt Joshua in the sight of all Israel as he instructs him to command a man from each of the twelve tribes to take up a large stone from the middle of the Jordan River and shoulder it across to the other side.

The Lord wanted this to be a sign in the years to come, a road marker, a reminder and a memorial stone.  “That this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ Then you shall answer that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”  Joshua 4:6,7.

Let’s take a minute to use this passage as our own memorial stone or marker reminding us how God, years before, had parted the great waters of the Red Sea allowing the Israelites to escape capture and drowning Pharaoh’s army in its wake.  And if you go back just days before that event, God instituted the first Passover celebration; where all Israelites were to sacrifice a lamb and smear the blood on their door posts and lintel. This feast too was to be another reminder of God’s mighty provisions, and also as a prophetic  sign for what He would ultimately do when His own Son would become The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, Exodus 12:1-14. The bible is so wonderfully written and divinely put together as we shall see once again in this great section of scripture.

God was instructing the Israelites to pick up twelve stones out of the river in order to assemble a memorial on the other side. Then, in years to come as they passed by this memorial, their children would ask them what were these stones piled for? God knew how quickly we forget Him and the wonderful miracles He performs in our lives. These stones would stand as a reminder and a monumental opportunity to teach about the goodness of God. What a priceless opportunity to be able to teach another generation about the sovereignty of God and how He is always there for us even as we wade through the very cold, deep rivers that can flood our lives from time to time.

Try to imagine a river sixty feet across and ten to fifteen feet deep that has been miraculously dammed up some seventeen miles away at the city of Adam. The crossing of such a large gathering of people just by itself would be quite a sight, but add onto it the miracle of the water being held back until the last Israelite crossed over. One interesting fact is that God inspired Joshua to include the date of this monumental river crossing in the text Joshua 4:19, “On the tenth day of the first month”.  Remember back to the first Passover when God instructed them to take a lamb into their homes on the tenth day of the first month. They were celebrating the Passover as God held back the waters of the Jordan in much the same way He held back the mighty waters of the Red Sea and guided the Israelites safely through the sea on dry land.

Many Rabbis in Israel today say that “coincidence” is not a kosher word and for me there are just too many overlapping similarities in both Old and New Testaments to be  coincidence. The Old Testament is a perfectly prophetic descriptive picture of the coming Messiah. God both designed these events and foretold them to us to strengthen our faith. Then, as He sees opportunity, He encourages the men to build a pile of memorial stones to teach future generations about His marvelous plan for our salvation. This plan is so perfect that it stands the test of time, beckoning us to remember our own monuments in life when God saves us and breaks us away from our sin that holds us in perpetual bondage. So, I am encouraging you to set up twelve memorial stones in your own life and when your children ask you what they are for, you can answer that almighty God loves you so much and has set in motion a marvelous plan of redemption that He established before the foundations of the world were laid.