Stones of Remembrance

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

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In Joshua 4, the LORD tells Joshua to take stones that would act as a remembrance to Israel.

1 And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: 2 “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’” (Joshua 4:1-3)

So, Joshua did what the LORD said to do as we see in Joshua 4:9. Interestingly enough, Joshua clearly explains to the Israelites why God wanted them to set up the stones as a memorial (Joshua 4:4-7).

4 Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; 5 and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”

Ultimately, these twelve stones (one representing each of the twelve tribes of Israel), were to be visible and constant reminders to the people of God’s provision and blessing and to teach each new generation of Israelites. Essentially, the stones were to be a sign or marker that recalled the deliverance and blessing of the LORD. This is a recurring theme throughout the Old Testament and we know just how easily most of Israel failed to remember God’s deliverance and blessing. People who fail to remember what God has done, will always be prone to the same failures.

I cannot overstate the importance of gaining a constant appreciation for what God’s answers to our prayers are actually designed to accomplish within us and this comes only through remembering specific instances where God responded and provided. To not understand this is to essentially become the Christian who is overwhelmed by situations all the time, resulting in fear, anxiety and serious doubt in God Himself. That type of Christian will not see God’s answers to prayer and benefit from them because they are too focused on the situations themselves. Instead of seeing them as opportunities to see God work, that type of Christian will cave to the presence of fear, immobilizing them. This is exactly where Satan wants us to be; impotent, lacking faith and controlled by fearful situations. I’ve been there too many times and maybe you have as well. In fact, I know myself well enough to know that if I do not with purpose force myself to do what I am not naturally geared to do, I will meet with failure each and every time. In order to rise above this so that I actually live in hope and expectation that God is providing and will continue to provide, my worldview and understanding of the actual purpose of prayer needs a complete overhaul.

I know specific Christians who are always afraid, always at wit’s end, always crying out to other Christians for help. If they are short on money, they will announce it on their social media. If they need help around the house, they will use sarcasm in an attempt to make other people step up. If they become ill, they will scream it out on social media (all caps), so that everyone knows to pray for them. It does not matter how many times God has provided for them either because they never seem to have a spiritual “overhaul” needed to grow in Christ. In one instance, we actually paid a person’s dental bill for them. They were overjoyed (even though they did not know who paid it), yet one week later, they were on the bottom again with a “woe is me” mentality. In all the years we’ve known them, they have never gotten to the point of learning to simply pray, trust and receive. As soon as something bad happens, they are overwhelmed and look to people to help them out. 

By the way, this needed mental and spiritual overhaul may appear differently from one Christian to the next. For instance, just as some Christians receive salvation and are washed over with a joy unspeakable that not only bubbles up from within and provides an immediate and permanent new outlook for that individual, other Christians (like me), there is a more gradual and even slow moving filling of greater understanding regarding what they have received. It tends to dawn on that person and can be lost if not focused on and forced to grow.

For this latter type of Christian, it takes more effort to ensure that the slow-growing knowledge becomes full-fledged and global within. This can take time, patience and must include a conscious deliberate effort on our part. Knowing this is who I am, I realize I have to put the time and effort in to fan this newfound realization into a constant flame, in order to grow to the point of it permanently overhauling and guiding my thinking.

How is this done? Obviously, we need to start with the reading/studying His Word because it is filled with so many examples of God’s provision. To not be aware of these gracious acts of God will literally stunt our spiritual growth.

We also need to be in constant communication with Him. As we see how often God reminded His people to remember His blessings and answers to prayer, we begin to understand the importance of doing those same things. We then start looking at our own answered prayers as “stones of remembrance” memorials that are there to instill within us the growth needed to become mature in Christ. Being mature means being consistent.

Let’s consider the parting of the Red Sea in Exodus 14. Here, as just one example, God forced the Israelites to look to Him for rescue or temporal salvation. The only other alternative was to give into the fear and become immobilized.

As the Israelites approached the Red Sea knowing that Pharaoh and his armies were chasing them down and gaining on them, the people panicked. Knowing me, I’d probably have done the same thing. They felt as though there was no escape at all, with Pharaoh and his armies behind them and the Red Sea in front of them, so where could they go to escape?

Exodus 14:10 tells us how the Israelites reacted to the approach of Pharaoh.

And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord.

Of course, faced with what they believed was certain death, they began to complain and offer sarcasm to Moses (Exodus 14:11-12). This was a complete failure to believe, a failure to remember what God had previously done with the ten plagues He sent on the Egyptians (Exodus 7-12). All this culminated in the Israelites’ failure to believe God had a plan to save them from Pharoah and his armies. Their fear turned to anger that was directed at Moses and it was completely illogical, but fear pushes logic away.

Moses’ response to the people was an attempt to calm and comfort. He did not react to them as they reacted to him (vv13-14).

13 Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.

Then God provides Moses with instructions and tells him to move forward. While the people were really angry with Moses, Moses kept his faith and obeyed the Lord. This resulted in the Israelites’ salvation though they were not at all expecting this work of God. Amazing though how many times after this that the Israelites continued to distrust God’s ability to save them. Are you like that? Am I?

The Red Sea is only one example. Because of how God works in answers to our prayers, there are obvious benefits to trusting Him and remembering the times God has previously blessed us through answered prayer. What are some of those benefits (and for a more detailed explanation, please read this linked article[1]?

Humility
One of the purposes of remembering answers to prayer is to humble us, to help us understand practically that while we, in and of ourselves, are incapable of resolving many of our situations, God is always capable. This should instill within us the growing desire to lean more heavily on Him. When we can look back in our life to see specific instances where God has provided responses to our prayers, we should then begin to realize that it is God, not ourselves that has provided. Our attitude should be a heavy reliance on God by knowing that He showers us with many blessings. Do we take them for granted? Do we treasure and ponder them in our hearts or do we forget about them as soon as He responds to us?

Expecting God
We learn and develop, through answered prayers, a reliance on and expectation from God. This becomes our pattern, to look to Him and expect from Him instead of caving into fear as we only focus on the situation itself and not God’s ability to save and provide.

Increased Faith
The more we learn to expect God to respond to us, the more our faith in Him will grow. This is one thing that the Israelites as a nation continually failed to learn (and have not learned even today). While there was always a remnant of faithful believers in Israel, it seems much of the nation continually forgot God and paid the consequences for that failure to remember. The coming Millennial Kingdom after the Tribulation will be in sharp contrast for Israel in the way that nation has always failed to believe God. In the future, they will innately trust God consistently and implicitly.

Stable Walk
As we learn to expect responses from God, not only is our faith increased, but our walk with Him becomes far more stable. We are no longer tossed around by the way we feel, but by a strong faith that guides our thinking and our lives.

Glorifying God
All of this leads to a life that glorifies God. We see this, for the most part, in people like King David and many of the prophets and even a few of the priests of Ancient Israel. On the contrary, those who failed to do all these things lived lives of failure, never understanding that remembering what God had done in their lives, was to be capitalized on for greater humility, expectance and faith in God. We learn not to fear difficulties we face as these simply become further opportunities to learn God’s provision for us, which in turn creates greater faith in Him, which brings Him greater glory.

Today, at every juncture we face increasing difficulties and problems in this world because of the times. We seem to be fast-approaching the Tribulation. Will Ezekiel 38-39 (Northern Invasion) occur? It certainly could as the Middle East seems on the verge of total upheaval and major war as Israel continues to eliminate top officials in Hamas and Hezbollah. Iran will not sit back and continue to take it. What will happen? God knows.

Some predict the war of Psalm 83. Others constantly remind us of the coming global financial crisis which seems imminent. Yet others warn of a new pandemic coming down the pike, which will further create chaos in society. There are a ton of things we can spend time worrying about and being afraid of, but for what purpose?

All of these things may well be legitimate concerns. But as I’ve said previously, there is little to nothing I can do to mitigate any of those situations. I have no control over any of them. What I can and should do is focus my attention on the Lord and His provision. Yes, I can stock up on food and supplies and I should endeavor to have as little debt as possible. But I cannot possibly cover all the bases. I don’t have enough money for that or space in my home. I simply cannot be the consummate “prepper” so I have to rely on God’s provision and I believe He will provide for me and my family during the upcoming difficult times. It’s also too exhausting trying to rely solely on myself to cover every possible scenario. I cannot do it.

If we look to Scripture, there are so many examples of God’s provision and supply when all was humanly impossible. God provided in spectacular ways above and beyond what people hoped or thought. It’s one thing to not care about anything or even do the smallest thing to help ourselves. It’s quite another to rely solely on our own intellect and wherewithal to try to shore up every possibility. I cannot do that. Can you?

The Red Sea crossing is just one example of God’s miraculous provision and certainly the Israelites did not deserve God’s provision. Another example is the death of 185,000 Assyrian militia quite unexpectedly during Hezekiah’s reign.

These and many other examples point to God’s care and provision when His children come to Him in faith, believing that He does care, is concerned for our welfare and will provide a way.

Just as Hezekiah had no clue how God planned to thwart the Assyrians, he only believed (based on Isaiah’s message from God), that God would somehow stand against Assyria. I’m sure God surpassed Hezekiah’s thinking in a very powerful way that it was unmistakably God’s work and left the king in absolute awe. Do you think he forgot that instance any time soon afterwards?

Do you have past answers to prayer that provide examples of God working in your life that can only be described as supernatural or miraculous? I have numerous examples and I’ll list some of them in future articles. I’m realizing that with at least some of God’s responses to my prayers, nothing can take the importance of them away with one exception: forgetting.

If I forget to remember and see those answers to prayers as important as they are, if I do not take the time to write them down as stones of remembrance, then I will not recall them and be overcome with fear when I face the next situation that will require God’s intervention. That fear will guide me toward the negative as certainly as it guided the Israelites at the Red Sea.

I’ll be back with this subject and I’ll provide some examples from my own life that absolutely prove beyond doubt that God and God alone provided what seemed like an impossible response to my prayers. These are my “stones of remembrance” that God purposefully granted for my growth and His glory.

Start a journal. Call it “Stones of Remembrance Journal” and add to it daily the number of instances in which God clearly provided a response to your prayers. Share them with your friends, children and/or grandchildren to help them engage their faith.

[1] https://cedarministry.org/ten-benefits-of-not-forgetting-the-benefits-of-the-lord/

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective