What Do These Stones Mean?

My dear friends in Christ,

     A few years ago, I gave a confirmation student a copy of a sheet that they needed. A few minutes later, as I was preparing to begin class, the student came up and angrily asked for the sheet. I said, “I just gave it to you, remember?” The student sheepishly answered, “Oh yeah, I forgot!”

     Today we find ourselves standing on the banks of the Jordan River with the nation of Israel. It had been 40 long years since they left Egypt. During those 40 years, God had given them plenty of good things to remember. He had allowed them to cross the Red Sea on dry land and saved them from Pharaoh’s army. He had miraculously provided bread from heaven when they had nothing to eat in the desert. He gave them water from a rock—not from a deep well. He even made sure they wouldn’t get lost. He led them with a tall pillar of cloud during the day, and provided a night light for them with a blazing pillar of fire.

     God gave all these incredible gifts to Israel. Their response? They quickly forgot! They had forgotten almost immediately how bad life had been as slaves in Egypt. They complained bitterly to Moses about the food. After all, who would want to eat the same thing every day for 40 years? They complained when they didn’t have enough fresh water to drink. There had been plenty of wells and fresh water in Egypt! They complained about the accommodations. It was always sandy and dirty in the tents. There were too many snakes and scorpions. Israel struggled to remember what God had done because his miracles became almost everyday occurrences. They were so used to them happening that they took it all for granted.

     “I forgot!” Our memories are pretty poor, too, when it comes to the things God has said and done for us. We have a better excuse than the nation of Israel, don’t we? We forget because God doesn’t do all kinds of incredible miracles for us. After all, we have never seen a pillar of cloud lead to the next job or a new place to live. God hasn’t dropped 5 course meals on our tables every night. He hasn’t gotten rid of our water bills with a fountain bubbling from a rock in the back yard. He hasn’t given our pastors a miraculous staff that turns into a snake to get your attention during a sermon, or enabled them to divide the waters of the St. Croix so we can cross safely on dry land all summer long.

     “I forgot!” We don’t have time to remember. Our schedules are so full of other really important things: meetings, ball games, a round of golf, brunch with the family. What difference does it make if I miss a few weeks of services, or skip Bible study time, or miss Sunday school? We hear the same old stories in school every week, and we already know all of them. Why would we need to study it anymore?

     Even if we haven’t forgotten the things God has done, we take them for granted. We assume that we will always have a job because we deserve one and God owes it to us. We assume that the fridge and pantry will always overflow with our favorite foods because that’s the way it has been for the past 40 years or more. We assume that cool, clean water will always come out of the tap because it always has. After all, we are citizens of the United States. We have a right to all of these things.

     God is patient with our forgetfulness, but he won’t excuse the results. Here’s what he had to say about his treasured people Israel. "When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me. So I will come upon them like a lion, … Like a lion I will devour them" (Hosea 13:6-8). God warns us how dangerous it is to forget about him, to ignore him, or to take advantage of his generosity!

     “Don’t forget!” That’s what God wanted his people to do, so he performed a miracle that they would remember. He commanded Joshua to have the priests carry the ark of the covenant to the edge of the river. As soon as their feet touched the water, the river stopped flowing! "It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho" (Joshua 3:16). Instead of a difficult, dangerous crossing across a swollen river, the Israelites crossed into the land on a 23 mile long dry riverbed superhighway! With one miracle, God brought them safely into the land and confirmed Joshua as Moses’ replacement and a man they could trust.

     God knew that our sinful brains don’t always remember the important things, so he provided a visible reminder of the miracle. He told Joshua, “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight” (Joshua 4:2-3). These stones would serve as a constant reminder of the things God had done for them. When it was time for a family vacation and the family cart rumbled past this pile of stones, the children would see the pile and ask, “What do these stones mean?” (Joshua 4:6).

     Mom and dad, grandma and grandpa would be able to tell them the story of the march into the Promised Land. They could recount how God made the Jordan River stop flowing, and how they crossed on dry land just like their great-grandparents did at the Red Sea. They could tell all of the stories of their ancestors. They could remind them of the words the priests read from Moses’ Book of the Law. These 12 stones became a memorial, a place to go and be reminded that God would never forget them. He had saved them from their enemies and starvation, and finally brought them home just as he promised to Abraham centuries earlier.

     We need a reminder too. We don’t have a pile of 12 stones. We have so much more. We have the five books Moses wrote, along with the other 61 written by God’s prophets, apostles, and evangelists. We have a building of bricks and mortar dedicated to gathering around the Word that God has entrusted to us. We have pictures and reminders of God’s Word throughout this building. Our worship focuses our attention on God’s salvation as soon as we walk in. We see the cross and crown of thorns. We see the stained glass pictures of Jesus. We see all these things and we remember. We remember our sins—our forgetfulness, the times we take God’s gifts for granted, the lack of room for him in our schedules. We remember what God said about destroying those who forget. We remember what happened on that cross. We remember Jesus’ blood shed for our sins. We remember the simple truth of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” That’s what these stones mean. That’s what we need to remember!

     Just like Israel, God has provided one more way to help us remember. The psalmist wrote, “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old— what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done” (Psalm 78:2-4). We are the memorial. The way we share God’s wonderful words and actions help the younger generations remember.

     That responsibility belongs first to parents. The apostle Paul wrote, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). Parents, your leadership is absolutely vital! When you open up a Bible story book or a devotion book, and your family rolls their eyes and thinks to themselves, “How many times do we have to listen to these same old stories?” you are helping them see beyond the simple “stones” in front of their eyes. You are repeating God’s truths and giving them what they need to remember later in life, when trouble rocks their world and they look for help. They can turn to God’s promises and remember what they learned!

     God has also entrusted that responsibility to pastors, teachers, and Sunday School teachers. It’s our job to help each of our students remember, as we teach them the same simple truths over and over, that these stories are the bedrock and foundation of our lives.

     We all need to remember, whether we are in a position to teach someone else or not. One of our members recently talked to me about his personal Bible study. He started reading through the entire Bible a little over a year ago, and was amazed at the wealth he found every day he read. He was asking me questions, questions I had to think about and sometimes even study for myself. He read stories he remembered. He read new ones he had never heard before. Now has so much more he can remember and rely on. He told me, “Pastor, I wish I hadn’t waited so long to start!”

     Today is the day to start remembering. Join us in Sunday School. Those same old stories are waiting for you to learn and treasure. Join us for Bible study. Those same old stories are waiting for us to review and find new gems to admire. Join us for worship every Sunday, and remember the life God has given to you through Jesus. What do these stones mean? Remember, and live. Amen.