Memorial Day - Remember

Title: Memorial Day – Remember Script: Joshua 4:1-8

Type: Special Occasion Where: GNBC 5-24-09/RW 5-26-24

Intro: Most of you know that I love history. My grandfather instilled a love of history into me when I was a little boy. Although I enjoy going to the well known and important touristy sites in America and abroad, I really love stopping to learn about the “lesser” sites as well. Last week visited family in Texas. Texas is covered in road side markers that record hundreds of events in that state’s rich history. One such marker is about 3.5 mi. from my daughter’s family’s ranch.

Prop: In Josh. 4:1-8 we see God commanded Israel to lay stones of remembrance to His grace in their lives.

BG: 1. Book of Josh. Is a historically significant book. 2 reasons – a. narratives are grounded in history, b. 2nd it reveals how God revealed Himself through mighty acts in history.

2. Book of Joshua covers the entrance into the promised land. Starts with miracle, and the miracle of Israel’s crossing the Jordan River. On heels of that miracle nation est. 1st memorial.

Prop: Josh.4 reminds us of 3 reasons why memorials are important in our lives.

I. The Need for Memorials vv. 1-5

A. God Commanded Israel to Create a Memorial: Memorials record and remember the works of God.

1. Why Did God Command Israel to Create a Memorial in the Jordan and on its banks?

a. vv.1-5 we see that God commanded Joshua to take 1 man from each tribe (12 in total). As God had stacked the waters of the Red Sea in the Exodus under Moses, He was now about to do something wonderful for Joseph and this generation as they entered into the Promised Land. But what is life in the Promised Land like? Would it one glorious vacation? No; for Israel it was a place of battle, but most of all, it was a place of trust - Israel knew they had to trust God with every thing they had, because the challenges only got bigger in the Promised Land - but so did the blessings. God knew Israel needed to trust Him and these memorial stones would serve as a reminder to His power and faithfulness.

b. “Remember” is probably the most important word in the OT and Jewish religion and culture. Over the centuries until the recreation of the homeland in Palestine in 1949. During the period of the Diaspora, Jews wandered from nation to nation. . Their culture and their religion, not their national identity, was for most Jews more important.

2. Memorials, be they big or small are a means of remembering events, activities, lives or sacrifice.

a. Back in Josh. 3:5 (Read) Joshua told the people to consecrate themselves because the following day the Lord was going to do wonders among them. “Wonders” – Hebrew – “pala”- something extraordinary, miraculous, wonderful. IN the NT we sometimes read of :signs and wonders”. It relates the the miraculous or beautiful work of God in our lives. So, in future generations people would come to the banks of the Jordan and the story would be told of how God had stacked the waters of the Jordan River so that His people went thru on dry land. The very stones they viewed were the stone the tribal leaders had picked up out of the dry river bed. What was the point? The same God that had been with Moses was now with Joshua. The task might be different, the location certainly was, but the same God was going with them.

b. Illust – In the UK, Remembrance Day (Nov. 11th) is roughly equivalent to our Memorial Day. It was started as a result of the horrific casualties the victories allies suffered in WWI. Years ago, I preached at West Kirk Presbyterian Church on the Shankill Rd. in West Belfast. There on a wall inside the church was a memorial plaque to the young men from that congregation who lost their lives in the 36th Ulster Regiment’s famous participation in the Battle of the Somme (1916). That plaque contained the names of about 100 young men (from that church and mostly that street) who died in that battle. As a pastor I shuddered to think what it must have been to be the pastor of that church on that horrific day. (All told, British would lose 58,000 men in that Battle, with some estimates of 1/3 in the first hour of the attack!)

B. The Need for Memorials today.

1. There is a need for Memorials in our Nation’s Life.

a. We need to be reminded of the great sacrifices men and women have made for our nation. Not too long ago I was teaching on the American experience in the Argonne Forest in WWI. The US suffered 100,000 casualties in roughly 50 days of battle that would become known as the Grand Offensive which ultimately pushed the Germans to the breaking point. Did you hear me? 2,000 men lost per day for 50 days! Sacrifice! Didn’t do it just so we could simply live sullen, self-indulgent lives. We need to be reminded that as Americans we are a noble people that God has sovereignly raised, and we will continue to be a noble people only as long as we honor the God Who raised up.