Mere Stones/Reminders-7 Series

MERE STONES/Reminders-VII—Joshua 4:1-24

Reminder, Recall, Memorial, Symbol, Post-it notes, String on finger

Joshua had twelve stones removed from the Jordan River as a memorial to the crossing.

Memorials or Spiritual Reminders hold a great deal of significance to God’s people.

What are some things that are significant about spiritual reminders?

The potential of spiritual reminders.

We’ve seen that Mere Stones/Reminders can transport us to a Position of...

1. UNIQUE ACCOMPLISHMENT(:1-3a, 5b)

2. BLESSING(:3)

3. IMMINENT DANGER(:4-5)

4. RESPONSIBILITY(:5)

5. INFLUENCE(:6)

6. REFLECTION(:7-9)

7. COMPLETION/End(:10-11)

8. OPPORTUNITY(:10b)

9—Mere Stones/Reminders can transport us To a Position of...

COMMITMENT(:12-13)

Explanation:(:12-13)Follow-thru/Sacrifice

:12—“And the men of Reuben & the men of Gad & the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them.”

“Armed”—vmx khaw-moosh’—Adj.—1) In battle array, arrayed for battle by fives, armed. Strong—passive participle of the same as vmx-(from an unused root probably meaning, to be stout; the abdomen-as obese)-; Staunch, i.e. Able-bodied soldiers. Used 4X.

:13—“About 40,000, prepared for war crossed over before the LORD for battle, to the plains of Jericho.”

“40, 000” of their number(Reuben, Gad & the half-tribe of Manasseh) would NOT be in their tribe’s land to protect their own towns & wives, children & families.

They were maintained & protected by women, teenagers(under 20 yrs. old--cf.-Num. 1:2-3), & children living within fortified formerly Canaanite cities! They maintained this for some 7 yrs!

Background:

Num. 32:1-2, 5-6, 16-18—“Now the children of Reuben & the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; & when they saw the land of Jazer & the land of Gilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock, the children of Gad & the children of Reuben came & spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, & to the leaders of the congregation, saying,”.....“Therefore they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us over the Jordan.” And Moses said to the children of Gad & to the children of Reuben: “Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here?”.....“Then they came near to him & said: “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, & cities for our little ones, but we ourselves will be armed, ready to go before the children of Israel until we have brought them to their place; & our little ones will dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our homes until every one of the children of Israel has received his inheritance.”

You too must follow-thru with your commitment/vow!

“Prepared”—Ulx khaw-lats’—Qal Participle Passive—1) To remove, draw out, draw off, take off, withdraw, equip(for war), arm for war, rescue, be rescued—1a) (Qal)--Equipped(participle),. Strong—a primitive root; To pull off; hence intensively--To strip, reflexively--To depart; by implication--To deliver, equip(for fight); present, strengthen.

“For War”—abu tsaw-baw' OR (fem.--habu tseb-aw-aw’—Noun Masc.—1) That which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host—1a) Army, host—1a1) Host(of organized army), 1a2) Host (of angels), 1a3) Of sun, moon, & stars, 1a4) Of whole creation, 1b) War, warfare, service, go out to war, 1c) Service.

Argumentation:

Mat. 5:33-37—“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ “But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; “nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ & your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

Jas. 5:12—“But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes,” be “Yes,” & your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.”

Mat. 23:16-28—“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’ “Fools & blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? “And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’ “Fools & blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? “Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it & by all things on it. “He who swears by the temple, swears by it & by Him who dwells in it. “And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God & by Him who sits on it. “Woe to you, scribes & Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint & anise & cummin, & have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice & mercy & faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat & swallow a camel! Woe to you, scribes & Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup & dish, but inside they are full of extortion & self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup & dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe to you, scribes & Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones & all uncleanness. “Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy & lawlessness.”