Remembering How He Brought Us Through
Each year, the NFL Hall of Fame inducts those who have demonstrated greatness throughout their NFL careers. The inductions include the unveiling of a bust that will forever sit in the Hall as a testament of that individual’s transcendent achievement. In Joshua 4:14–24, God has Israel to set up stones taken from the middle of the Jordan river bed, And set them up as a memorial reminder of his power to stop the flow of the Jordan and bring them into the Promised Land. I pray that we will always remember what God has done for us to bring us through. And that we will leave a legacy to future generations to know his power and his faithfulness. Amen,
That day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they stood in awe of him all the days of his life, just as they had stood in awe of Moses. (Joshua 4:14)
God insured that Joshua was viewed by all of Israel as the leader that He had anointed to succeed Moses. They immediately held the same awe and respect for Joshua that they had held for Moses and his leadership. That respect resulted directly from Joshua’s relationship with God.
Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant law to come up out of the Jordan.”
So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.”
And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD. No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before. (Joshua 4:15–18)
The priests went into the Jordan ahead of the people, carrying the Ark of the covenant. They stood in the middle of the Jordan representing God while all of Israel crossed over to the other side. As long as the priests stood in the middle of the Jordan, God cut off the flow of the waters just as He had done at the Red Sea. Therefore, everyone was able to cross the river on dry ground. When all of Israel was on the other side of the Jordan, God had Joshua command the priests to come up out of the Jordan. As soon as the priests came out of the riverbed, the waters rushed back together and they overflowed the banks just as they had before the crossing.
On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the LORD your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The LORD your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God. ” (Joshua 4:19–24)
While the waters were stopped, Joshua commanded a man from each tribe to go into the river bed and take a stone to be set up on the other side as a memorial. The stones were set upon each other at Gilgal as a memorial witness forever to what God had done in parting the waters at the Jordan River and allowing Israel to cross over to possess the Promised Land. The memorial served both as a reminder to generations of Israelites and a witness of God’s power to all the peoples of the earth. The memorial was intended for all people to know God’s power and reverence Him.
Conclusion
What Joshua and Israel learned in the crossing of the Jordan River, is that God will do miraculous things on our behalf, in His faithfulness to fulfill His promises. But after He has delivered us into what He has promised us, He wants us to remember who He is and what He has done for us. So, He had Joshua command 12 men to go back into the river bed and get 12 stones from in front of the priests. They would then set the stones up as a memorial to remind future generations and all people of God’s power, and by knowing what God did there, have reverence for Him. What have you set as reminders of God‘s greatness, His power and His faithfulness to His promises in your life? Have you made sure that your children and your grandchildren know the greatness of God and how He has brought you through? Let us forever praise and worship the God who brought us through!
Blessings, Rev. Glenn
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. ~ Psalm 145:3-4
