Joshua 4: Stones to Remember What God Has Done

Introduction

How do you mark the important moments of your life? Beccy Oliver, one of the site pastors at Kerith Community Church in Bracknell, opens the fourth message in the church's series on the book of Joshua with a short quiz: the Angel of the North, the Statue of Liberty, the 9/11 memorial in New York, a Christmas tree, the golden arches of McDonald's. Every landmark brings back a memory.

In Joshua 4, God asks his people to take up a deliberate practice of remembering: to set up a monument so they would not forget a turning point on their journey of faith. Beccy Oliver draws three reasons from it, then leads the congregation to the greatest memorial Jesus left us: communion.

Message Outline

1. Monuments That Speak

• The Angel of the North recalls, according to its sculptor, the industrial heritage of the north of England. The Statue of Liberty, officially named "Liberty Enlightening the World," has become a worldwide symbol of hope and welcome.
• The 9/11 memorial is called "Reflecting Absence": its pools sit exactly where the two towers stood, to make the absence visible.
• A Christmas tree stirs very different things in different people, and the golden arches bring to the preacher's mind an "emergency" stop on the motorway, especially when she was stuck in traffic on the M1.
• At the entrance of the Kerith Centre, a foundation stone laid in 1988 carries these words: "Righteousness exalts a nation" (Proverbs 14:34). The church chose them because it believed this building would have a prophetic impact on the nation and on the nations.

2. Twelve Stones Taken from the Jordan

• When the whole people had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD told Joshua to choose twelve men, one from each tribe, to take twelve stones from the middle of the river, where the priests had stood (Joshua 4:1-7). Joshua then set them up at Gilgal (Joshua 4:19-24).
• A generation earlier, the people had left slavery in Egypt by crossing the Red Sea. Crossing the Red Sea marked the beginning of the road to the promise. Crossing the Jordan, forty years later, marks its fulfillment. "In Exodus, God says: I am bringing you out. Here, in Joshua, God shows: I am bringing you in."
• This time, God does not ask for a sacrifice on an altar, but for a memorial. The stones were carried on the shoulder, so they were probably a good size.
• Each stone represents a tribe, descended from the twelve sons of Jacob, Joseph and his brothers. These tribes would soon scatter on either side of the Jordan and would not always stay on good terms. The twelve stones bear witness to the moment when God brought them all together to cross: one nation, under one covenant.

3. First Reason: We Forget

• Not long afterward, God's people forget, go their own ways, and the nation divides. "God knows that we forget." Hence his command: take stones now, in this place, in the middle of this moment.
• While preparing this message, Beccy Oliver pulled out her old notebooks. In them she found her notes from a 1993 sermon on the altars Moses built to remember what God had done in certain places.
• Ever since, whenever God speaks to her or she receives an important word, she writes the word "altar," underlines it, and notes what God told her. Years later, she can read it again: "It was that moment. God told me this. And look what happened next." Not all of those moments were happy, and some were very hard, "but they were moments when God stepped in."
• Where do you keep a record of your moments with God? A verse in front of you, a passage highlighted in your Bible, a piece of paper in your wallet, a notebook or a voice note. If you are new to the faith, you can start this practice today and come back to it throughout the year.

4. Second Reason: The Hand of the LORD Is Mighty

• Verse 24 gives the purpose of the memorial: "that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of Yahweh, that it is mighty; that you may fear Yahweh your God forever." This monument does not celebrate Israel's success but God's faithfulness.
• For the church, the Kerith Centre is a memorial of God's faithfulness. Beccy Oliver reads a text written a few years ago by Simon Benham, one of the church's pastors, about the opening of the building in 1989: a congregation of 400 people built this centre in the middle of a recession. Giving doubled for years, there were early morning prayer meetings and whole nights of prayer, sales to raise funds, and sacrificed holidays.
• A bank loan was needed to get started, but in November 1993, four years later, it was fully repaid. The church was free of all debt. In total, 3.1 million pounds were raised, with, according to those who were there, "miracle after miracle."
• At the time, building a brand new church was unusual in the United Kingdom: people thought large churches should split into small congregations meeting in schools. Ben Davies, senior pastor from 1964 to 2007, came back from a visit to large churches in the United States convinced he had heard from God, and he had the courage and the faith to lead the project. In the first weeks, the BBC, ITV and Sky came to film the services.
• "Remembering God's power in the past helps us have faith for the future."
• As an aside, the preacher cites research on gratitude: what we think about before going to sleep changes the chemistry of the brain, and a systematic review of 64 randomized controlled trials showed that gratitude interventions increase feelings of thankfulness, improve mental health and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. "God deserves our worship, but it is worship that transforms us."

5. Third Reason: Tell the Next Generation

• When your children ask their fathers one day what these stones mean, you are to tell them that Israel crossed this Jordan on dry land (Joshua 4:21-22).
• "Testimonies are meant to be passed on." When was the last time you told a story in which God stood by your side?
• The Alpha course has just started at the church. Each week, a member of the team tells their story. The day before, a young woman shared what God had done in her life.
• These moments often happen in small groups: people share what God has done and what he is doing, pray for one another and see miracles. If you are not in a small group, you are missing out.
• If you are getting older, tell these stories to your friends and your family. Otherwise, the church is a place where all generations meet: joining the youth team or the children's ministry is an opportunity to pass on what God has done for you.

6. The Greatest Memorial: The Cross and the Empty Tomb

• The crossing of the Jordan prepares for a far greater journey, unfolded in the New Testament: the salvation of all humanity, from death to life, not through the waters of a river but through the cross and three days in death.
• The cross and the empty tomb are now our stones of remembrance. Jesus asks us what God asked of Israel: to remember this moment through a meal shared regularly, communion.
• Before taking the bread and the cup, Beccy Oliver reads Philippians 2:5-11 and invites everyone to ask: "Lord, what do you want me to hold on to today?" At Kerith, a time of lectio divina followed by communion takes place every Thursday at noon: "it is our memorial in the middle of the week."
• Her closing prayer: that this week you would know a God who has fought for you. He brought you across the Jordan, and on the other side there is freedom and eternal life. "The way you remember it will make an enormous difference in your spiritual life."

Key Takeaways

• God knows we forget quickly. He invites us to set up concrete markers to remember what he has done.
• A memorial does not celebrate our successes, it celebrates God's faithfulness and the power of his hand.
• Remembering what God has done in the past feeds faith for the future, even when those moments were difficult.
• Testimonies are meant to be passed on, in the family, in a small group and from one generation to the next.
• The cross and the empty tomb are our stones of remembrance, and communion is the meal Jesus gave us to remember them.

Personal Application

1. What are the moments when God stepped into your life, and where do you keep a record of them today?
2. What simple practice can you start this week to remember: a notebook, a highlighted verse, a voice note?
3. What memory of God's faithfulness can help you keep your faith in what you are going through right now?
4. Who could you tell this week a story in which God stood by your side?
5. How do you experience communion: as a habit, or as a real moment of remembering the cross?

Verses Cited

• Joshua 4:1-7
• Joshua 4:19-24
• Proverbs 14:34
• Exodus 14
• Luke 22:19-20
• Philippians 2:5-11

Frequently Asked Questions

What do the twelve stones of Joshua 4 mean?

After the crossing of the Jordan, God asks twelve men, one from each tribe, to take a stone from the middle of the river. Joshua sets them up at Gilgal. For Beccy Oliver, these stones recall the moment when God gathered all the tribes to cross together: one people, under one covenant.

Why did God ask Israel to build a memorial?

Beccy Oliver gives three reasons: we tend to forget what God has done, the memorial shows that the hand of the LORD is mighty (Joshua 4:24), and it opens the conversation with the next generation when children ask what these stones mean.

What is the connection between Joshua 4 and communion?

The crossing of the Jordan points to a greater passage: the salvation of humanity, from death to life, through the cross and the empty tomb. Just as God asked Israel to remember, Jesus asks his disciples to remember his death and resurrection through a meal shared regularly, communion.