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.
b. Illust – We value memorials in our nation today. There are 99 National Monuments in America, 86 National Historic Sites, 25 National Military Parks and Battlefields, 44 National Memorials, 45 National Historic Parks.
2. There is a need for Memorials in our Spiritual Life.
a. You may not think so, but we celebrate memorials in our Christian life. When someone places his/her trust in Jesus I encourage that individual to write the date down because it is their birthdate. That becomes a memorial of God’s work in that individual’s life. When someone is baptized we always give them a certificate with the date. Several times a year we have families dedicate their infants to the Lord. When this takes place, they are participating in a memorial event in his life, a marking of spiritual importance. In the believer’s life that becomes another memorial “stone” of God’s faithfulness. The first Sunday of every month, we celebrate a memorial in the Christian life as we partake of Holy Communion. It again, is a remembering of the sacrifice Christ made on our behalf. Memorials are testaments to God’s faithfulness in our lives. In some ways, even when we tithe, it is a periodic memorial to the faithfulness of God and His ability to provide for your and my needs.
b. Memorials in the Christian’s life remind them and their families of the ways in which God has been active and involved in the lives of His people.
C. Applic: God knew the importance of memorials and commanded them in the life of Israel
II. The Use of Memorials v. 6
A. God Commanded Joshua to lay these memorials as a testimony and Sign of His interaction in the lives of His people. (Here the nation of Israel.)
1. God’s Interaction in our Lives Gives us Confidence and Hope for the Future.
a. Don’t forget about the timing of this event. Israel has been wandering in the desert for the past 40 yrs since the Exodus and deliverance from Egypt. Moses has been the spiritual and political leader of the nation. God had spoken directly to Moses. God had given the law through Moses. God had worked powerful miracles and plagues through Moses. And now, Moses was dead. Certainly, this would have a been a national crisis. A crisis of leadership. And yet, God has His hand on a new leader, Joshua. And just as He had proven Himself strong to deliver in opening the Red Sea for Israel to be delivered from the bondage of Egypt under Moses, now God was going to stop up the Jordan under Joshua’s leadership. Please notice, it wasn’t the leader, but the God of the leader that was consistent. .
b. v. 6 – (Read) God is always forward looking! God is looking to the next generation and wants to instill and encourage faith in Himself in those coming generations. It reminds me of that section in the Passover Seder where the youngest reading child present asks: “Why is this night different from all other nights?” Passover was to be celebrated indefinitely. It was to teach about God’s involvement in the life of the nation. The supper was to then become a memorial testifying to each generation about God’s greatness.
2. Memorials are a testimony to God’s faithfulness in past generations.
a. How many people were there in Israel who had been of fighting age when the nation left Israel? Exactly two – Joshua and Caleb. Two spies who gave a positive report. All the rest of that generation had died out. God knew this generation of Hebrews needed the confidence and assurance of seeing Him at work.
b. Illust – I realize about 1/3rd of congregation gone today for holiday, but many people have come since moved into this building. Don’t know they way in which God provided, you just see a building, you don’t see testimony to the activity of God. Illust – Let me just remind you of a few ways God worked in GNBC getting this building - $50,000 below asking. Paid cash for the building. Different piece of land was originally a gift God laid on someone’s heart to give us. Someone bought our land for full asking amount 1st day on market! That land increased significantly in value. The beams and joists in this building had been built to double what was necessary for a retail building, but perfect for code for a public use building, ie. Church. Fireplace donated. Cross donated. Grant for nursery and equipment.
B. Memorials can be a basis for sharing our Faith with our Children.
1. God Specifically intended that this Memorial of stones be a basis for sharing faith with the next generation.
a. v.6 – (And also read 4:21-23) Isn’t it wonderful, God knows the natural curiosity of children and calls Israel to build a lasting monument that will generation after generation call the nation to ask about the greatness of their God.
b. Illust - It should be normal for our children to ask about the great moments in our spiritual lives. God saw these two pillars of stones as an object lesson that generations of His people would see and ask their parents about. Illust – About 15 yrs ago, in Maine, church my in laws were going to, Carol’s grandfather pastored in 1930’s when returned from Sri Lanka. Walking to car after the service on a brutally cold day, my mother in law paused and pointed to a 2nd floor window of the house next door to the church building. “That room is where I gave my heart to Jesus.” It was a memorial stone, not only in my mother-in-law’s life, but also in the lives of our children.
2. Memorials Give us time and cause to remember and reflect.
a. If we had been in Israel at the time of the crossing, I imagine most of us would have wanted to rush on through and take care of Jericho - why not take advantage of the time when they are all afraid of you? But God is never in a hurry; and He knows that beyond us doing something, we must be something for Him - so He takes time out to conquer Israel spiritually before they can conquer Jericho under His guidance. They reflect and they remember and in their rest they are prepared for battle.
b. Illust – This Memorial Day I hope that during the busyness of everything else you will be doing with family or friends, that you and I will take time to reflect upon the nearly 1.3 million war dead from the 30+ or so wars or major operations our nation has been involved in since her independence. (http://www.militaryfactory.com/american_war_deaths.asp) Yet. More importantly, I hope you will reflect upon the memorials of God’s faithfulness in you and your family’s lives.
C. Applic: Memorials are useful in both our national and spiritual lives.
III. The Nature of Memorials vv.7-8
A. Memorials are to be Enduring
1. God Desired for this Memorial of stones to be an enduring memorial.
a. Josh. 4:8 – You see, the 12 stones were to represent each tribe. They were to be a reminder that deliverance was for all the people, not just a special class of people. The same is true today. The Bible says: “God desires that all men be saved (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9).” Deliverance is for whosoever will look upon Christ, turning from his/her sins, and ask Christ to come into his/her life.
b. Illust: Following is written behind Lincoln at his memorial in DC: “IN THIS TEMPLE AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN IS ENSHRINED FOREVER.” Grateful Americans will or at least should always look upon that monument and remember, as long as God allows our Republic to stand the tireless sacrifice that one man made to save this nation and free an enslaved people. Yet friend, can I tell you that Lincoln’s great work pales in eternity to the work of Christ in freeing individuals from every tribe and tongue, we who were enslaved captives to sin and death.
2. The Memorials of Israel were to be a perpetual declaration of the Power of God to Deliver.
a. Many have written about the symbolism of Israel crossing over into the Promised Land. Just as God had made the way for Israel out of certain death and destruction by parting the waters of the Red Sea, now He was, at flood stage time of the year, parting the waters of the Jordan so could not exit out of slavery, but enter into new life and hope, life of faith and promise. Friends, the cross of Calvary is a memorial that is still able to save and delivered. Jesus Christ broke the chains of sin and death that kept us enslaved to the devil and opened a new and living way. Heb. 10:20 tells us: “by the new and living way that he inaugurated for us 1 through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,”
b. Have you ever wondered why God had Joshua command the twelve to put up to piles of remembrance stones? One memorial on the bank and one pile of memorial stones in the very bed of the river Jordan? I think He commanded this so that when the river was lowered in a season of drought, those stones could be seen and would testify of the time that God had completely stopped or dried up the Jordan. Especially in a time of spiritual drought, we need to remember the great things God has done. Amen? We need to be reminded of those mountain top experiences we have had. We need to remember that the same God Who was faithful on those numerous occasions is still mighty to save and deliver today.
B. Memorials are to Be Unmistakable.
1. God wanted to make sure there was no confusion about these monuments of Israel’s past.
a. Josh. 4:8 – (READ) Memorials of God’s faithfulness remind me He is alive today. Many Christians and not a few non-Christians wear a cross around their neck as an expression of their faith. That cross is a reminder of that terrible cross on Mt. Calvary, where 2000 years ago the Savior, Jesus Chirst, died to set us free from the grip and grasp of sin and death.
b. If there is a God, as I believe there is, and if He rules the world in His sovereignty, as the Bible says He does, and if He will bring human history to a close according to His plan and appoint to every person his eternal destiny, as Jesus taught that He will, then two of the most important questions for any human being to answer are these: 1) What is God's goal in creating and governing the world? 2) How can I bring my life into alignment with that goal? For if we don't know His goal and our lives are not in alignment with it, then we will find ourselves at cross purposes with God and excluded from His Kingdom in the age to come. It is a fearful thing to be at cross purposes with your maker! But on the other hand, nothing inspires courage and endurance and pluck for daily living like knowing the purpose of God and feeling yourself wholeheartedly in harmony with it. Nothing has nourished the strength of my Christian faith like knowing God's ultimate goal for creation and discovering how to bring my heart and my behavior into alignment with that goal. (John Piper, Created for His Glory, 7-27-1980)
2.
- Illust - In April 1863, in Columbus, Mississippi after decorating graves of her two sons who served during the Civil War as Confederate soldiers, an elderly woman also decorated two mounds at the corner of the cemetery. An observer asked, "What are you doing? Those are the graves of two Union soldiers." The reply, "I know. I also know that somewhere in the North, a mother or a young wife mourns for them as we do for ours." That little band of ladies set in motion what became Memorial Day. Memorial Day is set aside each year to remember those who gave their lives in the armed forces. We remember those who died on far away battle fields to bring freedom and democracy to oppressed peoples. We commemorate their actions by honoring them in ceremonies across the land. We sometimes call it Decoration Day because we decorate the graves of fallen heroes with flags and flowers. When Israel crossed the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land for the first time, God commanded Joshua to pile up a mound of stones at the place. These stones were to become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever. They were memorial stones of God’s great grace.
C. Applic: Families, this weekend, maybe you could share the stories of the activities of God in the lives of your relatives/ancestors. Keep those memories alive as you remember and reflect on those “stones of remembrance” of the faithfulness of God in your lives.
