Memories

Joshua 4 Memories

I. INTRODUCTION

Years ago, as I visited with Gladys’ family on the night they erected their Christmas tree, they began to tell stories. As they would open boxes and pull out ornaments, they would explain, “This ornament is from the year we did this and so. This ornament is from the year we did this and so. Memories.

We had a similar tradition at Gladys and my house. Every year we add a new ornament, that relates to a major trip or a major event of the year. This is from the year we went to the Grand Canyon, or this is from the year we got married. This is from the year Drew was born. Remember when he madre this ornament at school? Then each year when we decorate our tree we relive those memories.

On our refrigerator, you will find magnets of state parks, and national parks, some states and countries we have visited. Folks will sometimes visit, mention a magnet and we get to share a memory.

Years ago, Gladys mentioned to Drew and I that she’d like to have a honey dipper. Funny thing, a day or so later, Drew and I stopped at an estate sale, where a lady had collected honey pots from each country she had visited so instead of one, Gladys now has a collection of honey pots and dippers.

Memory aids. Items to prompt our memories. We people are so quick to forget that the Lord has given us, and the Jewish nation, many aids to help us remember.

The Lord gave us the Sabbath, to remember how God rested on the 7th day and to remind us every week that life is not all about work and working.

There is a reason the Lord had all Jewish men circumcised. It was a memorial of God’s covenant with Abraham. God commanded that all Jewish men, and male slaves owned by the Jews, be circumcised when they were 8 days old. It was a marker, a reminder that they were God’s chosen people.

Jacob set up a memorial stone and poured out oil and wine on it at the place where he had his vision of the ladder rising to heaven. He wanted to remember His God, his vision, and his commitment to God.

God instituted the Passover, as a memorial meal to be celebrated by the Jews each year as a reminder of when the Lord’s death angel passed over the Israelite homes in Egypt and of when He brought them out of Egypt.

Do you remember when Jesus criticized the pharisees for wearing extremely long tassels when they were in public? He criticized them for wearing long ones because they were trying to gain attention by exceeding what God commanded.

In numbers 15, the Lord commanded the Israelites to wear tassels at the corners of their garments. These tassels, called zitzits, on each corner have 8 strings per tassel, each with 5 knots, totaling 613, the number of commands in the Torah, or Jewish law. These were to remind them to not intentionally sin. In each tassel was to be a blue thread, the color of royalty, to remind them that they were a holy nation, a nation of royal priests. They were reminders.

God had manna placed in the ark of the covenant as a reminder of how He fed the Israelites in the wilderness. He had Aaron’s flowering staff placed there as well, as a reminder to the people that Aaron and his family had been chosen to serve as priests.

He gave us communion, to remember the broken body and spilled blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and to remind us that the price has been paid and forgiveness is available.

The Christian church has added additional reminders to our calendars. Every year we celebrate the Christ mass, remembering the greatest gift that God has ever given us, the gift of His Son Jesus Christ.

Every year we celebrate Good Friday to remember the crucifixion of our Savior, and Easter, to remember the resurrection of our Savior.

We forget so quickly, we get our minds wrapped up in the daily and the routine so quickly, one day begins to run into another so quickly the Lord says, “Along the way I want ya’ll to stop and remember. This life is not about laundry and dishes. It’s not about another work week and trying to make it to the weekend. Stop and remember what life is all about. You only get one shot at this thing. You’re only going to live on this earth one time and this life is preparation for everything that comes for the remainder of eternity. Stop and remember what’s important.”

In Joshua chapters 3 and 4, we have recorded a major event in the life of the nation of Israel. It is the account of when the Israelites, after 40 years of wandering in the desert, are finally crossing the Jordan River, and are finally entering into their promised land. It is an event so significant in the peoples’ lives, that the Lord devotes more space to talking about the crossing of this river than He does to when Moses led the people to cross the Red Sea.