Rocks of Remembrance

By: Adam McClendon
www.newlineministries.com

We forget things all the time, such as anniversaries, birthdays, when we signed up to receive emails of this blog, etc.  Our memory is all too often selective and short.  Over time, memories fade, become distorted, distant, and disappear.

That is why memorials are helpful.  We are constantly building memorials to help us remember significant events and people such as World Wars, Vietnam, 9/11, Martin Luther King Jr., and George Washington.

In Joshua 3-4, God commanded that a memorial of twelve stones be made to mark the significant event of entering the Promised Land: an event that has many correlations for believers today.

The text (and the memorial) reveals three truths about entering the Promised Land that point us to marvel in the majesty of God.

1.   God Provides (3:15-17)

God provided in the midst of an insurmountable obstacle.  The Jordan River was at flood stage and God dried up the river all the way to the city Adam so that the people of God crossed on dry ground.

2.    God Preserves (4:1-3)

God preserved all of his people.  The whole nation crossed and no one belonging to God was left.

3.   God Proves (4:4-7; 20-24)

In this miracle, God proved that he alone is God.  He is the God who delivers and the God to be reverentially worshipped. 

So, he tells them to build a memorial that would remind them of what he had done.  The memorial would also serve as a means of teaching their children, so that when their children asked, they could explain the mighty work God had done to bring his people into the land.  Finally, the purpose of the memorial is expanded in verse 24 to show that, ultimately, God desires the entire world to know his power, and his people to walk in reverence before him.

As we look at what God did at the Jordan in bringing his people into the Promised Land, we should be reminded of a New Testament Kingdom into which God is bringing his people.

1.   Through Jesus, God provides for our insurmountable sin problem (Rom 5:17).

2.   Through Jesus, God preserves all his people.  He loses no one (John 6:39-40).

3.   Through Jesus, God proves his loving power by bringing all who trust in him into a new kingdom (Col 1:13-14).

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had a memorial like that of Joshua and those who crossed over the Jordan?  Wouldn’t it be great if we had something to continually remind us of the great things God has done, to prompt questions from our children so that we could teach them, and questions from the nations so that they could have record of his awesome power?

But, then again, don’t we in the Bible?  Isn’t the Bible a grand memorial to the amazing work of God in Christ throughout history so that man can be placed in right relationship with God through the blood of Christ?

The Bible is a wonderful trophy we have that reminds us of his work.  Sure, we can build other memorials to help such as a Ten Commandments monument, shadow boxes on our walls, or baptism certificates, but let us not forget that we have the ultimate memorial of the great work God has done in the Bible.

Remember, our memories are frail and often fail us.  So, let us spend time in the Word of God: studying it, memorizing it, and cherishing it.  Let his Word remind us of the power of redemption and motivate us to reverential worship in all that we do.

www.newlineministries.com