READ: Josh. 4:15-24
‘When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What are these stones? then you shall let your children know, saying, Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land; for the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea’ – Josh. 4:21-23
Before the people continue, something else must happen. The LORD instructs Joshua to have 12 stones taken from the Jordan, from the place where the priests stood with the ark when the people passed by them. Twelve men, one from each tribe, will carry these twelve stones to the camp that Israel has set up on the other side. Eventually, Joshua will set them up as a memorial in Gilgal.
The meaning is clear: they are meant to serve as a reminder of the divine miracle that occurred. It is a testimony of God’s work, how He dried up the waters of the Jordan so that the Israelites could cross over on dry land. This memorial must continue to bear witness to the greatness, omnipotence, and faithfulness of God throughout the generations (v.7). It even testifies to all the peoples of the earth that “the hand of the LORD is mighty.”
So, this memorial is not only significant for the people who crossed the river at that time but also for their descendants who did not witness the miracle but for whose sake it happened, even for distant generations. This event even has universal significance: all the peoples of the earth must know about it!
This is also of great value to us. As the new Israel, we have crossed the Jordan and have the task of remembering this great act of the LORD and teaching it to our children. We cannot point to those stones ourselves, but God’s revelation about them is so vivid and rich that we grow in the fear of God and praise to Him through it. Let us not be neglectful in this regard!
What other memorials does God give us?
Singing: Ps. 66:2