Joshua 4:10 – 24 “Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the Lord had commanded Joshua was done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried over, and as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the Lord and the priests came to the other side while the people watched. The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, ready for battle, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed them. About forty thousand armed for battle crossed over before the Lord to the plains of Jericho for war.
That day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they stood in awe of him all the days of his life, just as they had stood in awe of Moses. Then the Lord said to Joshua,“Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant law to come up out of the Jordan.” So, Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.” And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord. No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before.
On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea] when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over.He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”
The first photo shown above is an actual photo of the Jordan River in flood stage. Little wonder if the Israelites had no idea how they would cross that river! The Jordan came from three principal sources on the slopes of Mount Hermon and had a high rate of flow; its floods tumbled huge boulders until they were completely smooth. The reason God had Joshua order those twelve strong men to carry those big rocks from the river was that stones that were not in the river had sharp edges while those boulders whose corners had been ground off repeatedly by flooding would immediately be recognized as having come from the center of the Jordan. Some of these boulders may have started out a great distance from Joshua’s crossing point, having been carried along by the annual floods until they reached their final resting place.
What was the point of setting up the stones at Gilgal? Gilgal was on the west side of the Jordan, just opposite the point at which the Israelites had crossed. God knew that people had short memories and that before long, future generations of Israelites might treat the miraculous crossing of the Jordan River as a myth. These stones of remembrance were to ensure that future generations would never forget God’s power and His grace!
APPLICATION: What good are memorials??? In the last few years, a number of statues and other memorials have been destroyed for various reasons; however, this destruction is not wise. In some cases, those destroying the memorials had misinformation regarding the individual honored and tore down monuments honoring the brave and virtuous. Memorials are useful for a number of reasons. There is a saying in the American South that “Everybody has some use. Some people can serve as a bad example.” Monuments honoring someone who has fallen out of political favor can still instruct future generations in how not to behave.
In our own lives, we also need stones of remembrance to help us recall God’s mercy and God’s grace. Some soldiers keep pieces of shrapnel that have been removed from their bodies to remind them of how God has saved them. Some veterans celebrate their “Alive Day” each year, the day that they survived a horrible injury.
What magnificent things has God done for you? Has God delivered you from danger? This week we celebrate 14 years of good health for my husband. In October 2007, my husband Bob had a mild heart attack while we were in Saboba. We only had this information confirmed when Bob was being screened in January 2008 for possible hip surgery. On the evening of February 4, 2008, Bob developed severe chest pain that required his emergency transport to a regional hospital, where he later underwent cardiac bypass surgery. Earlier that day, we had driven 300 miles in dense fog; had Bob developed problems then, our situation might have become dire. Bob’s last words as he was going into surgery were, “If I die on the table, go back to Saboba!” I celebrated my 60th birthday by bringing Bob home from the hospital and caring for him. Since then, Bob has done great! We don’t need a pile of stones for remembrance; Bob has a permanent scar on his chest.
Why create memorials? Memorials are a sign of gratitude to God and a reminder to us of God’s goodness and His grace. What memorials do you need to create in your life?
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to continually remember Your goodness, Your mercy, Your love, and Your grace. Help us to remember all Your kindness to us and praise You forever! In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
February 10, 2022 at 6:00 pm
I like the way stones were used, and natives keep a stone to mark an occasion. And bad people do set an example while good people set an ensample. history is disappearing. it’s too bad their history was lost about the twelve stones. Always a good word, thank you