WHAT DO THESE STONES MEAN? (PVL)

(Joshua 4:1-24)
A Message by Rev. Dr. Vincent Leoh on 2nd April 2000
   
The Lord was in control of all the activities at the Jordan River that day. He told the priests when to enter the river and when to leave and go to the other side. He told the water when to roll back and when to return. Both the water and the people obeyed Him, and everything worked out as God planned it. It was a day that glorified the Lord.

At this point, God instructed Joshua to create a memorial. Two heaps of stones were set up as memorials of Israel’s crossing of the Jordan River: Twelve stones at Gilgal (:1-8, 10-24) and twelve stones in the midst of the river (:9).

I.     THE PLACE OF MEMORY STONES (:1-14)

1.   MEMORIALS ARE HELPFUL AND MOST SUITABLE

This heap of 12 stones was a reminder of what God did for His people. To an unbeliever, the heap of 12 stones was simply another stone pile; but to a believing Israelites, it was a constant reminder that Jehovah was his or her God, working His wonders on behalf f of His people.

These stones were to be an enduring sermon, directed not for the ears but for the eyes. They were to stand as a reminder to future generations that Israel crossed the Jordan not because of its own ability, its own strength or its own cleverness, but because of God.

2.   MEMORIES ARE THE SUPERSTRUCTURES OF OUR LIVES

Memories are important! God knows how we think. He knows that our memories are triggered by objects. This is why He told Joshua to take some stones, stones out of the Jordan River, and have them carried to a place of remembrance. God has through the centuries, given us signs, symbols and memorials such as the rainbow, rite of circumcision, Ark of the Covenant, empty tomb, baptism, Lord’s Supper, the cross, the empty tomb.

What memories do you caress in prayerful gratitude? There are the memories of places, people, experiences, mementos, etc.

Memorials can be simple. They are not necessarily elaborate – simple stones out of the riverbed, water in baptism, bread and grape juice in the Lord’s Supper.

3.   PROBLEM WITH MEMORIALS/MONUMENTS

It’s unfortunate that this memorial at Gilgal gradually lost its spiritual meaning and instead became a shrine where the Jews sinned against God by worshipping there (see Hosea 4:15; 9:15; 12:11 and Amos 4:4; 5:5).
There is nothing wrong with memorials, provided they don’t become religious idols that turn our hearts from God. It’s important that we not make fetishes of memorials. The power resides not in the objects but in the crucified and risen Lord. It’s easy to get so caught up and forget the essence of our faith.
Monuments can so link us to the past that we fail to serve God in the present. Glorifying the past is a good way to petrify the present and rob the church of power. Memorials should enable you to live more productively in the present with the assurance of the future hope that is yours in Christ Jesus.

II.     MESSAGES FROM STONES (:6, 15-24)

What are the significance of these memorial stones?

1.   REMEMBER GOD THROUGH HIS WORKS

Man’s Forgetfulness of God and God’s Works.

The tendency to forget what God has done.

No Time to Remember God.
Ingratitude. God speaks through Hosea – “She went after her lovers, and forget Me, saith the Lord.”
Idolatry. God lamented through Hosea – “Israel hath forgotten His maker, and buildeth temples”
Tragedy of those who Forget God
Dt. 8:19; Ps. 9:17; 50:22; Jer. 2:32

God wants you to Remember – and Remember Well!
Dt. 8:2; 8:18; 1 Chron. 16:12; Eccl. 12:1,6; 1 Cor. 11:24,25

Those who have been delivered from suffering and danger, through the covenant mercy of the Lord, should not fail to erect memorials of praise.

2.   REMIND THE “POST-JOSHUA GENERATION”(:6, 21)

The privilege of making provision for future generations.
“The children of this generation are the only point at which the generation to come is vulnerable.” If, it be asked, as some have asked, “Why all this care about the coming generations? What do we owe to future society?” it would be enough to reply “What have we received from God?” “What does God demand from me in return?” Our fathers have been the channels through which a thousand mercies have come to us, and the generations to come are calling upon us by our most sacred obligations to the generations that are past.

The possibility of early conversion is generally admitted. A lady once said that she would not communicate religious instruction to her children until they had grown to years of discretion; she received an answer no less blunt, as he replied, “Madam, if you do not teach them, the devil will.”

God’s method of teaching His children: We see God developing the spirit of inquiry (:3-5).

To whom does the duty belong? Surely it belongs to all who love Christ, but first to the parents, and the church working in partnership.

3.   REUNITE THE PEOPLE OF GOD (:5, 11-13)

Scripture says, “And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan” (4:1). This is important – when it says “all the people.” The Hebrew word used here for the people or nation is “goy” The emphasis here is clearly on the concept of the entry of the whole nation. Even representatives of the sons of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh whose families were already settled on the east bank were fully armed. There’s a corporate unity demonstrated in these stones.

These twelve stones were to be taken out of the river, and carried to Gilgal, by one man from each tribe. The tribes would soon be divided by the river. It only wants something to separate men, and forth would they grow clannish. A highway, a hedge, an idea, an instrument, a song, a dozen sticks, any small line, is often enough to divert human feelings into channels, and make the quarrelsome take sides. By this selection of a man from each tribe, God virtually says, “I will not only have your remembrance vivid, but I will have the praise of all Israel to be the same as the song of one man. Take from the very river that will separate you, the materials for a memorial of thankfulness in which all your hearts may be knit together, and knit together in Me.”

CONCLUSION

Take some time to look at these memorial stones – and what they mean – and let the memories flood within your life, reminding you of who God is, who you are, from whence we’ve come, why we’re here and where we’re going.