JOSHUA 4 - REMEMBERING GOD’S FAITHFULNESS
Joshua 4
God was, and is, and is to come and his eternal perspective is set into the hearts and minds of mankind (Rev. 1:8, Ecc. 3:11). The human mind is powerful and can hold immeasurable amounts of information. We gather and store information in the banks of our memory. Our minds, however, can also be forgetful and so taking active steps to retain memories is a good thing to do. We take pictures, we write in journals, and we buy souvenirs often for the purpose of capturing a memory.
When the people of Israel were led through the Jordan, God wanted them to remember that moment. God is faithful to his people and the story of the Bible shows this again and again. The Bible also tells the repeated story of man’s forgetfulness of God’s faithfulness. God would do something special to help his people remember his faithfulness for their past, present and future.
The children of Israel were entering into new promise. An entire nation of people passed through the Jordan River by miraculous intervention (v. 1). This wasn’t the first time the people had passed through miraculously parted of water, but what followed the Red Sea crossing was idolatry, longing for the slavish past, and rejection of God plan and appointed leadership.
God wants us to remember for the sake of our past - to not go back to the things that he has saved us from.
God had still been faithful to the twelve tribes of Israel, and the people needed to remember this fact. Twelve priests gathered twelve stones representative of the twelve tribes. The priests brought the stones up out of the Jordan riverbed, carrying them upon their shoulders (v. 2-5) This was a sign to the people (v. 6)
God wants us to remember for the sake of our present – to know that he carries his people through difficulties.
The people did as Joshua commanded and also took twelve stones and carried them to the place where they lodged and set them down there (v. 8) A memorial was set in the midst of the river and also in the camp at Gilgal (v. 9, 20). The memorials of stones would be seen and would raise questions of their meaning (v. 21). The stones were intended to be a way for parents to tell their children about all the amazing things God had done for his people (v. 22-24).
God wants us to remember for the sake of our future – to tell coming generations about God’s faithfulness.
Remembering God’s faithfulness is key to all the peoples of the earth knowing that the hand of the Lord is mighty. With memories of the things that God has done we can honor him forever.