“to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?”
– Joshua 4:6
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you know what memorials are? Have you ever seen a memorial? Why do you think that memorials are made? A memorial is something that has been explicitly made to be an ongoing memory of an esteemed individual or of a momentous incident. A memorial may be a plain plaque, an elaborate edifice or just a simple stack of stones. God – as God the Father – the Lord, told Joshua to do a stone stack memorial. As Joshua and his fellow Israelite people group guys and gals were completing their hasty crossing through an unexpectedly waterless Jordan River riverbed, Joshua was given a stone stacking memorial order from God – as God the Father. Joshua had been given very specific instructions earlier by God – as God the Father, on how He expected the Israelite people group guys and gals – who were His specially chosen guys and gals, to cross from the Jordan River’s east side bank over to the Jordan River’s west side bank. Instead of telling God that His marching orders would lead to His specially chosen guys and gals drowning – as the Jordon River was at flood stage, Joshua did exactly what God told him to do. After each one of the twelve Israelite people group tribal clans of guys and gals were lined up as God – as God the Father, had mandated them to be in preparation to cross through the Jordon River to go into the land area of Canaan – which is the land area that God – as God the Father, was giving them to always to have to live in as their very own land, God – as God the Father, told Joshua to have the Levi tribal clan guys – who had been assigned that day to carry the ark of the covenant, walk into the Jordan River’s fast moving waters. At the very moment that the feet of the first two Levi tribal clan dudes – who were carrying the ark of the covenant, stepped into the fast moving Jordan River flood waters, the Jordan River immediately stopped flowing. God had dammed the Jordan River upstream so that His specially chosen guys and gals could cross a dried up Jordon River. Joshua 4 is Joshua – in his Joshua Book, recounting what he was told by God to do next. Verse 6 says, “to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’” God – as God the Father, wanted His specially chosen guys, gals and kids to always remember what He did when He dammed up of the Jordan River.
When your grandpaa last summer climbed Pacaya – which is an active volcano in Guatemala, your grandpaa carried down a small chunk of igneous rock from near the top of Pacaya. Your grandpaa has this jagged piece of volcanic rock – which is a little larger than a misshaped golf ball that he took to the United States from Guatemala, on the top of a bookshelf near where he is sitting right now. Your grandpaa over the years has collected a number of things – such as this black pyrogenic lump, that your grandpaa keeps in places where he can see them. When your grandpaa looks at the small chunk of volcanic rock that he took back last year to the United States from Guatemala , he is reminded of the long, arduous climb that he had to make to get to where there was about a three or four foot wide flow of super hot orange/red lava streaming out of a place near the top of Pacaya. The climb up the side of Pacaya is very steep. Volcanic rock is very sharp. Your grandpaa is glad that he made the hike up Pacaya to get to within a few yards of a lava flow. Even though your grandpaa is going to be in Guatemala this summer with another Ambassador team, your grandpaa is not going to climb Pacaya. Pacaya had a massive eruption last week. A grimy layer of volcanic ash – which is made up of minute, grainy particles which finds ways to get into everything, from Pacaya’s unexpected eruption covered Guatemala City and the surrounding areas – making for a terrible mess.
The stone stack that God – as God the Father, told Joshua to build in the campsite where the Israelite people group guys and gals camped after they crossed over the dried up Jordan River riverbed into the land area of Canaan that God – as God the Father, was giving to His specially chosen guys and gals to always to have to live as their very own land was made up of 12 boulders or stones. The 12 boulders were taken from the Jordan River riverbed where the ark of covenant was still being held in the middle of the dried up river by the designated Levi clan dudes. After His specially chosen guys and gals had crossed over the dried up Jordan River riverbed into the land area of Canaan, God – as God the Father, told Joshua to choose 12 guys – one guy from each one of the 12 Israelite people group tribal clans of guys and gals, to go to where the ark of the covenant was being held by the assigned Levi clan dudes for each guy to find a boulder to carry back on his shoulder to their campsite where they were to pile the boulders or stones on top of each other to form a stone stack memorial to help the Israelite people group guys and gals to always remember what took place there at the Jordan River. There were around 2,000,000 Israelite guys, gals and kids in the campsite area where the Jordan River West Side Bank Stone Stack Memorial was dedicated. There may not yet be 1,000,000 guys, gals and kids who call Delaware home. Your grandpaa believes that serious celebrating took place at the dedication of the Jordan River West Side Bank Stone Stack Memorial. Your grandpaa believes that God’s specially chosen guys and gals completely credited God for getting them through the Jordan River at flood stage. Do you always credit God for everything that happens in your lives? What personal memorials do you have?
Joshua 4 (1072)