Passing Down Memories

GETTING STARTED

My father is a Vietnam veteran who came home from war with two Purple Heart Medals and memories that will never leave him. He can tell stories that would make you cry from sadness and others from laughter. As I have matured, it has been the stories he has shared of survival and hope through the complexities, difficulties, and pains of life that have been most impactful to me. I have learned that what God has for us, he also has for others if we are willing to share our stories. Today, we are going to look at a passage of Scripture in which a group of people encounter God during a tough time, and they make sure the divine story gets passed down to impact their future generations.

  • What kinds of stories do you pass down in your family?

READ THE WORD: JOSHUA 4:19-5:1 (ESV)

4:19 The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. 20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. 21 And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, 24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”

5:1 As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel.

English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

DIGGING DEEPER

  1. What do the Jordan River and Red Sea have in common in this passage?
  2. What is the significance of Joshua putting the stones in a circle before the people?
  3. Beyond safety for the Israelites, what other function did the parting of the water serve?
  4. When was the last time you saw the power of God on full display?
  5. What is one story you can creatively pass down to the younger generation about one of your God encounters?

RESPOND TO GOD

For the second time, God dried up the waters for Israel’s safety and pursuit of new opportunity. Israel saw that the Lord was mighty, and it was that power which caused some to run toward God in reverent fear and others to run away from him in fright. Joshua wanted to make sure his people would remember that awe-inspiring day, and also tell their descendants about it. Stories aren’t just meant for us, but they are meant for our whole community. So much can get lost in translation as generations grow up and don’t have the context of the lives that their elders experienced. May we be like Joshua, encountering God’s power and passing those divine stories down for our future generations.    

  • Thank God for his displays of power in your life. Ask him to help you never forget them.
  • Pray for an opportunity to share those stories of God at work with someone else this week.