GETTING STARTED
We’re a culture obsessed with saving moments. We don’t just eat, we photograph ourselves eating and send it to our friends. We don’t just go to the game, we fight to bring home a foul ball. We don’t just go see the band, we save our ticket stubs and put them in desk drawers to be kept for years. Why are we so intent on prolonging the memories of events that end up being very inconsequential to the development of our lives? Because tangible relics give credence to the idea that we were there. We experienced this first hand. Once upon a time, people made tangible memories of God’s glory.
- When is the last time you saw God do something momentous? How did you respond?
READ THE WORD: JOSHUA 4:1-10a (ESV)
4:1 When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.’” 4 Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. 5 And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”
8 And the people of Israel did just as Joshua commanded and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, just as the Lord told Joshua. And they carried them over with them to the place where they lodged and laid them down there. 9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day. 10 For the priests bearing the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to tell the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua.
English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
DIGGING DEEPER
- What is significant about the timing of this ceremony?
- In your own words, explain the sequence of events. What strikes you about how the people responded?
- Who are the different groups involved in this story and what are their roles?
- One day your children may ask, as the children did in verse 6, what your faith means to you. How will you answer? What stories will you tell?
RESPOND TO GOD
God parted the waters of the Jordan River for the people to pass into the Promised Land (sound familiar?). Rather than strolling through and moving on, the people took the time to create a physical reminder of what God had done among them. He separated the waters, again. He remained true to his promise. God still moves among us, forgiving us and bringing us to awareness of his grace, providing for our families in times of need, healing us emotionally and physically. What is our response? How do we commemorate the glory of God in our lives? Sometimes I fear that mere gratitude is too fleeting, because I sometimes find myself just as grateful for light traffic as I am for God’s mercy in my life. We need an appropriate response.
- Take some time to recount the ways God has watched over you and your family. Celebrate him and what he has done in prayer.