‘WHAT MEAN THESE STONES?” Joshua 4:6-7
In April 1863, in Columbus, Mississippi after decorating graves of her two sons, an elderly woman walked to two mounds at the corner of the cemetery. "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.
Some time ago, President Carter was on a tour that took him to several nations. The men who went with him said that the most touching and moving part of the whole trip was when President Carter stopped at Normandy Beach. He stood there looking at those markers, those monuments, signifying that tremendous battle, that change of the tide of human affairs which switched the victory to our side. It said that he was moved to tears as he looked at that monument and thought of the great price that was paid for freedom.
Perhaps the most intriguing memorial was erected when Joshua led the people of Israel across the River Jordan. Remember, the water stopped flowing just as the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant stepped into the water at the river’s edge. They stood in the middle of the riverbed until the people had crossed safely into the Promised Land.
While they were crossing, Joshua told 12 men, one from each of the 12 tribes, to go into the middle of the riverbed & select 12 large stones. They brought those stones up onto the riverbank & made a monument out of them there.
Notice as they passed over the Jordan, according to verses 12 and 13, they were armed. The promise land was a place of blessing but it was also a place of battle. If you put Jesus Christ in your life, you can expect blessings too but also battles, conflicts.
Billy Sunday said, “I’m against sin, “I’ll kick it as long as I’ve got a foot, and I’ll fight it as long as I have a fist, I’ll butt it as long as I got a head, I’ll bite it as long as I got a tooth, and when I am old and toothless, I gum it till I go home to glory.”
I-NOTICE THE PROCUREMENT OF THESE STONES: (GATHERING)
A-NOTICE THE COMMAND THAT WAS INVOLVED:
Joshua 4:1-3-And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying,2 Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,3 And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.
Joshua commanded 12 men, one from each tribe to go back into the Jordan and each one get a stone. They must have been pretty good size, for in verse five, it says “take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder.”
So these men were not only spiritual men but they were strong men
But I tell you something else, these men were men of courage and boldness. For they were commanded to go back into the Jordan River. I am sure they must have wondered when the water would roll back into the dry riverbed.
When God commands us to something, we can be sure, He will supply the needs to carry out his command plus His presence is with us.
When William Carey began thinking of going to India as a pioneer missionary, his father pointed out to him that he possessed no academic qualifications that would fit him for such a task. But Carey answered, "I can plod." How true it is that God accomplishes mighty things for his kingdom through those who are willing to persevere, who are willing to plod faithfully through one difficulty after another in the power of the Spirit.
When a hurricane devastated the South Carolina coast one time a group of Christian huddled together in a small-frame church. In the midst of the violent storm, an old preacher prayed, “Most omnipotent, gracious, Heavenly Father, send us the spirit of the children of Moses. Send us the spirit of the children of Israel. Send us the spirit of the children of the Promised Land.” Just then the wind howled even louder and the preacher was interrupted by another old man who had less eloquence in his prayer. He prayed, “LORD, DON’T SEND NOBODY! COME YOURSELF! THIS AIN’T NO TIME FOR CHILDREN!”
B-NOTICE THE COMPLAINCE THAT WAS INVOLVED:
Joshua 4:8 - And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.
Boudreaux was out fishin’ when he came back in with a boatload of fish. The game warden was watchin’ and came and said, "Boudreaux, how you caught all dem fish?" And Boudreaux say, "Com’ see."
They both went out again and then Boudreaux said this is the spot.
So he pulled out a stick of dynamite and lit it. The warden he done started hollerin’, "Boudreaux, you can’t do dat! You can’t fish dat der dynamite! What you tink boy?"
Just then Boudreaux threw the dynamite to the warden who caught it and said to the warden, "You gonna sit there a hollerin’ or you gonna fish?"
Well these men did not aruge, they didn’t say let someone else do it, but they obeyed the command.
We ought to obey God for many reasons but one is because of His goodness. They had just been given a great blessing of God in the crossing of the river.
But some are not satisfied with the blessing they have, and they want more blessings.
Like the story I heard Bro Ron Dunn tell about taking his family to Six Flags over Texas. He said, he saved money for six month, then took a day off and went with his children even though he hated the rides. On the way back after the kids had ridden all the rides and ate all the food they could whole, one of his kids began crying and pitching a fit. He cried, I didn’t get a balloon. Bro. Dunn said, he pitched a fit with him.
We live in a day everybody want God’s blessing, but they are never satisfied the way He blessed them plus the fact, many don’t want to serve Him.
In the summer of 1986, two ships collided in the Black Sea off the coast of Russia. Hundreds of passengers died as they were hurled into the icy waters below. News of the disaster was further darkened when an investigation revealed the cause of the accident. It wasn’t a technology problem like radar malfunction-or even thick fog. The cause was human stubbornness. Each captain was aware of the other ship’s presence nearby. Both could have steered clear, but according to news reports, neither captain wanted to give way to the other. Each was too proud to yield first. By the time they came to their senses, it was too late.
As a Christian, are you yielded to Christ in obedience?
C-NOTICE THE CEREMONY INVOLVED:
Joshua 4:9 -And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.
It is interesting to notice that Joshua constructed 2 monuments. One on the bank and one in the river. These 2 memorials served 2 different purposes.
The one on the bank of Jordan stood as a testimony to the faithfulness of God.
Now, what about the rock pile in the river? No one could see it but God! It stood as a monument to the faith of the people! Even though Israel couldn’t see it, they knew the monument was there! They remembered that they had believed God then and it had worked. This was a monument in their hearts.
There is no record they were commanded them to do this, it seems, it was a spontaneous act of worship.
I was coming back from the hospital the other day listening to a radio sermon. The preacher was taking about the rich young ruler walking away from Jesus but yet it says oh how Jesus loved him. The thought hit me if Jesus loved him walking away, how much does He loved them who walk toward Him. I had a “glory fit” riding down the road.
“What can I do for you, Madaam?” Abraham Lincoln asked an elderly lady who had been ushered into his office. Placing a covered basket on the table, she said, “Mr. President, I have come here today not to ask any favor for myself or for anyone. I heard that you were very fond of cookies, and I came here to bring you this basket of cookies.”
Tears trickled down the gaunt face of Lincoln. He said nothing for a moment, then he said, “My good woman, your thoughtful and unselfish deed greatly moves me. Thousands have come into this office since I became President, but you are the first one to come, asking no favor for yourself or somebody else.”
DID YOU HEAR THOSE WORDS? Lincoln said, “Your thoughtful and unselfish deed greatly moves me.”
Do you suppose that if we were to come into the Lord’s presence to bring Him something, namely praise, that it might greatly move Him? It could be.
Someone put it this way, “A coffee break is good. A prayer break is better. BUT A PRAISE BREAK IS BEST!”
When God reaches down and touches your life, when He cleanses you, when He touches you, when He sets you free from the bondages of sin, when He delivers you from the desire for alcohol or drugs, you just can’t help but to praise Him!
II-NOTICE THE PLACING OF THESE STONES:
Joshua 4:20-And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.
A-THESE STONES WERE TO BE A SIGN TO THEIR FORGETFULNESS:
These verses tell us that the purpose of the memorial was to remind successive generations of the power and faithfulness of God on behalf of His people. That memorial would be an important landmark to those who would come after.
A certain Persian king was elevated from a poverty-stricken home to the glory of a royal throne. After he became king he sent his servants to the old shack where he was reared, with orders to gather every relic of those days. They brought fragments of his home: many broken toys, his patched shirt, a crude wooden bowl from which he ate, and numerous worthless mementos of his childhood. All these he arranged in a special room of his palace, and each day he spent one whole hour sitting among the memories of his humble past. On the wall hung a prayer: “Lest I Forget.”
B-THESE STONES WERE TO BE A SIGN TO THEIR FAMILY:
Joshua 4:6, 21-22- That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
21 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?
Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.
These stones were to be a teaching tool so when the children of the future asked about them, they could tell them and teach them about the power of God.
British poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge once had a discussion with a man who firmly believed that children should not be given formal religious instruction, but should be free to choose their own religious faith when they reached maturity. Coleridge did not disagree, but later invited the man into his somewhat neglected garden. "Do you call this a garden?" the visitor exclaimed. "There are nothing but weeds here!" "Well, you see," Coleridge replied, "I did not wish to infringe upon the liberty of the garden in any way. I was just giving the garden a chance to express itself."
C-THESE STONES WERE TO A SIGN TO THEIR FOES:
Joshua 4:24, 5:1- That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.
5:1 And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.
We are not hide our light or testimony to the world but let them know our God is a miracle working God and He can work the miracle of salvation in there life.
One day as a woman was crossing a street at London station, an old man stopped her. He said to her, "Excuse me, ma’am, but I want to thank you."
She looked up and exclaimed, "Thank me?"
He replied, "Yes’m, I used to be a ticket collector, and whenever you went by you always gave me a cheerful smile and a good morning. I knew that smile must come from inside somewhere. Then one morning I saw a little Bible in your hand. So I bought one, too, and I found Jesus.
Remember studying about the Minutemen? During the American Revolution, ordinary citizens banded together to form an effective army. They were farmers and merchants and bankers and blacksmiths. When they heard of trouble, they would drop their work, grab their muskets, and head into battle.
No rummaging through the attic looking for that powderhorn. No searching the shed for wadding and shot. No stopping to clean their guns. They were ready in a minute.
We need to be God’s minutemen. We should be prepared for action. It may be an opportunity to witness or to encourage a fellow believer facing fierce temptation. Someone in the workplace may be attacking the cause of Christ. Are we ready? We shouldn’t have to revive our prayer-life or take care of unresolved issues with God. No hunting for dusty Bibles. No forgiveness to seek or offer. No last-minute confession of sin.
Conclusion-Memorial Day is an important day to our Nation, but every Christian should have a “memorial stone” to go back to that reminds them of a certain time and place they experienced the power of God.
I read the story of a man who got saved years ago in South Georgia. But as he grew up and moved away, he got away from the Lord. Later on in his life, he went back to his home and visited the old county Church that he used to attend. As he went into the Church alone, memories flowed his mind and soul about the time he was saved in the Church during a Revival. He reminded good times he had experienced in the Church. He the, began, to cry out, “Rekindle my fire Lord, Rekindle my fire, Lord, do it again.”
This ought to be the cry of every Christian today, rekindle our fire, Lord, do it again.
