God Saves and Keeps His Promises.
Promises are frequently mentioned in the Bible. Mark shares the story of the people of Israel who remembered God’s promises.
Remembered
How would you like to be remembered by future generations?
In many different cultures and religions, the custom of placing a stone marker at the head of a grave has been followed for thousands of years. Its purpose is to be a memorial to commemorate and respect those who have passed away; a tribute to the life they lived so they will be remembered.
What would you want written or scribed on your grave marker? That’s a very sobering thought. One that you might hesitate to consider, but I think it’s important that everyone ponders how they would like to be remembered by others. Perhaps a short phrase or saying that means something to you personally that you want to go down through the ages? Would they be words that are noble and have lasting value to those who read it?
Memorable Tombstone Phrases
For example, a couple common memorable phrases used on tombstones are, “She Asked For So Little but Gave So Very Much,” and “The World Is Diminished Because He Is Gone… But It Is Still A Better Place Because He Was Here.”
These are very short sayings, but for those who remember, they reflect the essence of the life they lived.
Stone Markers in the Bible
God has recorded events in the Bible that He wants us to be aware of and keep in mind. In some instances, stones were erected as landmarks at locations where God had shown Himself or performed a miracle for His people. Why? As a result, “what do these stones mean?” would be a question posed by future generations. God intended to make sure that these events would not be forgotten because they were significant.
Israel About to Enter the Promised Land
The book of Joshua begins with God preparing the Children of Israel to move into the land that He promised to their ancestor Abraham. Forty years prior to this, God directed Israel, under the leadership of Moses, to take possession of the Promised Land but they refused. Although they found there was an abundance of food available to them, they were afraid of the size of the many people living there. Their faith in God’s promise was weakened by intimidation. They failed to remember that God had promised to go ahead of them and drive the people from the land.
They failed to remember the saving might of their God. It was just several months before this that the Lord delivered them from slavery in Egypt, followed by the experience of the parting of the Red Sea, where they witnessed the death of the whole Egyptian army. Because of their lack of faith, God caused them to wander for forty years until that generation died. It would be their children who would enter the Promised Land and possess it.
Joshua’s Leadership
Forty years had passed, and now, under Joshua‘s leadership, a new crop of Israelites were ready to enter. After Moses had brought them to the border of the Promised Land, Joshua was to lead them into it. It was a very special day. This was God fulfilling His pledge that they would receive this land, and He wanted to make sure it would be commemorated.
The first thing they had to do was cross the Jordan River, but what God planned would make it a crossing they would never forget. It happened to be the time of year when the river was much deeper, overflowing onto its banks (Joshua 3:15), but that was no challenge for God. The priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant lead the way and when they stepped into the edge of the water, the river immediately stopped flowing. It all accumulated upstream, like God had created an invisible dam. By His mighty hand He did the impossible.
Experiencing God
Imagine if you were there to see this? It would cause an overwhelming awe. To experience God do such an amazing thing would awaken you to how great He truly is. That nothing is beyond His ability. It would generate a feeling of deep reverence toward His greatness, holiness and power.
As God held back the water, all the Israelites crossed over to the other side. This was much like a mini reenactment of what their parents experienced when God parted the Red Sea enabling the whole nation to pass through, saving them from death by the Egyptian army. Again, this was God showing the wonder of His power to deliver, provide, and fulfill the promises He makes to His people.
Twelve Marker Stones
To commemorate the event, God commanded that twelve stones, representing the twelve tribes of Israel, be taken out of the Jordan River and be set up where they camped that night. Joshua also set up twelve stones in the river where the feet of the priests stood who held the Ark as everyone crossed over.
Joshua 4:21-24 Joshua said to the Israelites,
“In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the LORD your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea when he dried it up until we had all crossed over. He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the LORD’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the LORD your God forever.” Joshua 4:21-24
God intended for the world to never forget these demonstrations of His power and unwavering promises, when the Red Sea parted, and the Jordan River’s abundant flow was stopped. The stones would trigger generation after generation to praise God for his faithfulness and power to deliver.
Are You Curious?
Are you ever curious? Do you ask questions seeking explanations for things you don’t understand? It’s important for us to contemplate and look for answers to things we do not know and broaden our understanding. When it comes to certain topics, of a philosophical nature, the world shy’s away from providing answers.
Examples of such questions are “Is there a God? What is the meaning of life and what happens to us when we die?” These days, it’s discouraged for people to decide on answers to questions like these. The common mindset is that “truth cannot be absolute, especially when it comes to highly subjective topics like spirituality and God; your beliefs may differ from mine.” Our post-modern era produces an uncertain world and makes it more difficult for us to find a meaningful purpose in life.
He Wants Us to Know
This is not how the God of the Bible wants us to live our lives. He wants us to KNOW; know a relationship with Him, know purpose for your life, know the salvation He gives… The first step to knowing answers to these things means going to God for the Truth, with a heart of determination, having faith that He will provide you the answers to your questions.
In Matthew 7:7 Jesus encourages those who really want to know the truth to;
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
Matthew 7:7
What Do These Stones Mean
The way the children of those who crossed the Jordan River would find out what important event occurred there is very similar to this. They would first become curious about the stones when seeing them and wonder what they meant. They would then turn to ask their parents, “What do these stones mean?” The parents would then tell of the miraculous story of God’s might. Then God’s glorious power would be continuously recognized, remembered, and taught. This pattern was to be followed generation after generation.
See, ask and know.
The Passover
The Passover celebrated by the Jews is a prominent example found in the scripture of a practice God established, which is still customary today, where at a point in the ritual, the children in the home are to ask their parents, “what does all this mean?”
In Exodus 13 we see it explained that the purpose of the feast is to be a continual memorial of what God has done, delivering His people from slavery, recalling the story, so that every generation will know and give God the glory.
“…You must explain to your children, ‘I am celebrating what the LORD did for me when I left Egypt.’ This annual festival will be a visible sign to you, like a mark branded on your hand or your forehead. Let it remind you always to recite this teaching of the LORD: ‘With a strong hand, the LORD rescued you from Egypt.’ So observe the decree of this festival at the appointed time each year.
And in the future, your children will ask you, ‘What does all this mean?’ Then you will tell them, ‘With the power of his mighty hand, the LORD brought us out of Egypt, the place of our slavery.
Exodus 13:8-10, 14
The Significance Today
You might be asking; “what is the significance of these things today?”
“That was then, this is now, we don’t see God parting lakes and miraculously damming rivers; how is God showing His mighty hand presently?”
The Bible describes the wonderful redemption and deliverance from sin that God promised the world. In knowing the magnitude of this miracle, you would realize that God’s ability to control massive amounts of water pales in comparison to the seemingly impossible task of dealing with humanity’s sin and separation from Him. It is a salvation available to everyone, not just for a specific nation or people, and it is still applicable today… to your life.
John 3:16 states,
“God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.”
This verse is an expression of how He wants all the world to know that the power of His mighty hand to save is motivated by His love for us.
Ask God Questions
To sum up, I hope this episode has shown you how God has always encouraged people to ask questions, to learn and understand more about Him. Unfortunately, though, there are a number of reasons why people choose not to ask questions.
Some are too shy or uncomfortable, afraid of appearing stupid, or afraid that the answer they get will cause them to change. Many people find it difficult to accept the truths about human nature found in the Bible. To not ask or refuse to face life’s deepest questions will result in eternal consequences. Asking questions and accepting potentially unsettling answers requires courage.
Some Questions
May I pose some questions to you now that God begs you to courageously consider?
Are you right with God?
Are you in good standing with Him and you know you are going to heaven to be eternally with Him? If you feel that you are, by what means are you sure?
Is there a way to be absolutely sure?
Have you ever asked the question, “who is Jesus, and what does His life, death and resurrection really mean? Why is it so important to many people? Should it be important to me?”
The Bible says that salvation is found in no-one other than Jesus. God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved – Acts 4:12. This is a pretty clear, and absolute statement that demands a reaction, and response.
Jesus is a stone of remembrance, that God Himself has set before the whole world for everyone to see, ask and know.
Which of God’s promises do you enjoy the most? We would love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.
Mark Hillis
Mark lives in the small rural village of Fenwick, Ontario with his wife Michelle and three boys.
He joined the FBH International team in February 2022, coming from the business world with a design and art background.
Mark is particularly interested in seeing people come to Christ and grow in their faith. He recently produced the series entitled: Sow to Grow.
Mark serves as an elder at Brockview Bible Chapel in St.Catharines , Ontario.
Visit Mark’s contributor’s page here.
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Images Courtesy of:
Marker Stones – jplumb
Moses & Joshua – Tissot
Questions – Sophieja23
Passover Horn – RebekahGarvin
Men – 江南上-Jiangnanshang
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