Memorial Stones

When the people of Israel crossed the Jordan river into the promise land (Joshua iv.) God instructed them to take twelve stones from the river bed and set them up on the other side. Those stones were to be a memorial — a reminder of what God had done on their behalf.

Joshua said to the people of Israel, “In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.” (Joshua iv. 6-7, NIV) 

It was important for the people of Israel to remember what God had done. So important that He had them set up a physical memorial so their children would ask them about it.

The story wasn’t just meant to entertain, it was supposed to teach the generations to come about the God they served – who He was and what He had done. It was meant to remind them that, if they would obey the Lord, He would be faithful to make a way for them.

 We Also Need Reminders

Unfortunately, we don’t have many memorial stones around nowadays. We do, however, have stories.

The bible is a collection of stories recorded to teach us who God is and what He has done on our behalf. As Christians, I hope each one of us is remembering and living in light of these accounts.

In addition, a great deal of history has taken place since the bible was written. People have lived and died, God has continued to work, and many more stories have been recorded for us to learn from — in history.

His Story

My mom once told me that history is His Story. The story of God working in the lives of men and women. These accounts don’t hold the same authority as those contained in the canonized Word of God (the bible), but they still hold valuable lessons.

There are stories of people who stood for God at great cost, stories of God’s power and of answered prayers, stories of those who refused to submit to God – living for their own pleasure instead. History shows us the results of those choices, good or bad. It holds lessons of what to and what not to do. 

These are lessons we need to learn.

Are you ready to get started?

In Christ

Quiana