Scripture Joshua 4:1-9
RETELL CROSSING THE JORDAN (Joshua 3)
Early Spring 1406 (flood waters) 2 spies sent out – protected by Rahab the prostitute.
Josh 3:11-14 MSG Look at what's before you: the Chest of the Covenant. Think of it — the Master of the entire earth is crossing the Jordan as you watch. 12 Now take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from each tribe. 13 When the soles of the feet of the priests carrying the Chest of God, Master of all the earth, touch the Jordan's water, the flow of water will be stopped — the water coming from upstream will pile up in a heap."
14 And that's what happened. The people left their tents to cross the Jordan, led by the priests carrying the Chest of the Covenant.
How many crossed the Jordan?
Num 1:45-46
All Israelites 20 years old or more who were able to serve in Israel's army were 603,550.
Num 26:51
The total number of the men of Israel was 601,730. Plus, women and Children.
TOTAL 1-2½ million people
ALL HAVE NOW CROSSED THE JORDAN
Josh 4:1-9 MSG
When the whole nation was finally across, God spoke to Joshua: 2 "Select twelve men from the people, a man from each tribe, 3 and tell them, 'From right here, the middle of the Jordan where the feet of the priests are standing firm, take twelve stones. Carry them across with you and set them down in the place where you camp tonight.'"
4 Joshua called out the twelve men whom he selected from the People of Israel, one man from each tribe. 5 Joshua directed them, "Cross to the middle of the Jordan and take your place in front of the Chest of God, your God. Each of you heft a stone to your shoulder, a stone for each of the tribes of the People of Israel, so you'll have something later to mark the occasion. When your children ask you, 'What are these stones to you?' you'll say, 'The flow of the Jordan was stopped in front of the Chest of the Covenant of God as it crossed the Jordan — stopped in its tracks. These stones are a permanent memorial for the People of Israel.'"
8 The People of Israel did exactly as Joshua commanded: They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan — a stone for each of the twelve tribes, just as God had instructed Joshua — carried them across with them to the camp, and set them down there. 9 Joshua set up the twelve stones taken from the middle of the Jordan that had marked the place where the priests who carried the Chest of the Covenant had stood. They are still there today.
In the later years of his life, the great 19th century American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson suffered from an increasingly faulty memory. When things would slip his mind, he complained of his “naughty memory,” as he called it. Sometimes Emerson would forget the names of different objects. In order to speak of them, he would refer to them in a round-about way. For instance, when he could not think of the word “plow,” he would call it “the implement that cultivates the soil.” More important was the fact that he could not remember the names of people who were quite familiar to him. At the funeral of his friend, the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Emerson commented to another person, “That gentleman has a sweet, beautiful soul, but I have entirely forgotten his name.”
The loss of memory is a sad thing. It cuts us off from days gone by. It strips away the treasured residue of past experience. It erases our personal history and leaves us with blank pages. A gentleman commented: I was visiting in the home of a delightful older woman. Periodically in the course of our conversation she would stop and — after a moment’s silence — would remark, “I’ve forgotten what I was going to say.” After this happened several times she confessed, “It’s so humiliating to have your memory go bad.” Certainly it is unfortunate, inconvenient and at times embarrassing not to remember. Yet without a doubt, for some people the failure of memory is largely unavoidable…
…that is not always the case. Sometimes we are forgetful because we neglect that which has gone before us and become inattentive to those who have preceded us. We center all of our attention only on our own time and place. We act as though the present is all that matters and the past is some shabby thing that can be safely cast off and left behind like a worn-out pair of shoes.
Memorial Day has largely become an extra day off work. This holiday is not expressly religious. It is secular. However, it can serve to promote a value that is elevated throughout the Scriptures, that value being the importance of remembrance. A failure of memory is not just something which leads to personal inconvenience or social embarrassment. It is a spiritual danger. A failure of memory in those things which are most significant results in a failure of faith. Forgetfulness erodes the foundation of our relationship with God.
On several occasions, the bible uses Memorial Stones or something similar to help the people remember – like: Precious Stones in Arron’s breastplate, Lampstand of gold with continual fire, incense that always burns, Crown in the days of Zechariah, Blood on the door post from the Exodus, the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple. All for the purpose of remembering ------- Oh, and the bread and the cup – take these; what? In remembrance of me.
IMPORTANT MEMORIAL STONES
SLIDES - PIB BRICKS - WEDDING RING - Rock - NOV. 4, 1974
What Memorial Stones have you built to remember what God has done for you? How often do you view them? Let me suggest one Memorial Stone you ought to visit often – it is a Stone that points to the Living Stone – the Bible – visit it often and it will remind you of the Living Stone…
1 Peter 2:4-5 As you come to him, the living Stone — rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
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