(Ch. 4) Hall of Memories

So we just crossed the Jordan! These Jews who had only heard stories of their grandfathers’ and great grandfathers’ crossing the Red Sea now had a story of their own! Such an incredible miracle was finally something that they could imagine and believe now that God had moved in their generation as well. The Lord is all powerful and is to be worshipped for who He is. Israel’s great obstacle has been effortlessly removed by the Lord and I’m sure that it was an experience that those people would remember for all their lives. But what about their children and grand children? Would they remember and believe what the Lord had done? To ensure they do, the Israelites do something special. Let’s read about it together.

(Joshua 3:1-7) And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’” Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, 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 them 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.”

What does this mean? Well the Lord has just showed an amazing display of His power and He didn’t want His people to forget it! So Joshua commanded one man from each tribe to go back into the river (the priests were still standing in the river and God had not released the river yet) and pick up a large stone and carry it with them to Israel’s campsite. When they camped for the night, the twelve men would stack the stones to create a memorial to the Lord there as a constant reminder of what He did.

Now something that is interesting is that in verse 9 we see that Joshua gathers an additional twelve stones and piles them in the midst of the Jordan. Now why did he do this? God did not tell him anything about a second memorial and why put it in the middle of the river where it would be swallowed when God released the river again?

Well, Scripture doesn’t say. But we know from Joshua’s personality that he was careful to be obedient to God’s every word…but he also loved the Lord and was completely devoted to his Master. Well what I would propose is that Joshua chose to go the extra mile. God commanded one memorial on land and Joshua did it. But then, Joshua personally went down into the Jordan and gathered twelve stones by himself and made a memorial that only God would remember. Joshua did not make a big deal about it, or draw attention to himself. From what I can see, he did it quietly and with nothing but love in his heart. He wanted to present the Lord with a surprise gift. He wanted to go out of his way to erect a memorial in a place that no man could ever disturb it. It was for God alone.

And check out verse the end of verse 9 “…and they are there to this day.” God saw Joshua’s heart and blessed his gift. According to God’s Word, that memorial was still beneath the waters of the Jordan River when the Book of Joshua was being written. How cool is that?

Continuing on: “So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua; and the people hurried and crossed over. Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over, that the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people. And the men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them. About forty thousand prepared for war crossed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho. On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life. Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, “Command the priests who bear the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.” Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.” And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before.” (v. 10-18)

So keep in mind that the priests who are carrying the Ark around are still standing in the Jordan. It is already taking the people hours to cross completely and Joshua stacking stones isn’t speeding things. The priests led the charge. They were the leaders who required faith to step into the river. And they were the last ones to step into Canaan. I am reminded of the movie “We Were Soldiers”. A veteran soldier, Lt. Col. Hal Moore, is addressing his unit of recruits…fresh soldiers who have never seen battle before. They are soon to depart overseas to fight in North Vietnam. In his speech, Moore makes a promise to his men. Here is the quote:

“So let us understand the situation. We are going into battle…against a tough and determined enemy. I can’t promise you…that I will bring you all home alive. But this I swear- before you and before Almighty God- That when we go into battle…I will be the first to set foot on the field…and I will be the last to step off. And I will leave no one behind. Dead or alive…we will all come home together. So help me God.”

This sounds like what the priests did in some ways. They were the first to step into the river, and the last to leave it. They were the faithful that led the way. Are you being faithful in leading those around you? If you aren’t stepping out for Christ, why not? No Jordan River will part for you until you make a step of faith.

And why take a step of faith? For yourself? Maybe. But also for the people around you. That they might see the Jordan River part by God’s hand and He may be glorified.

“…that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.” (v. 24)