This is just a little ironic. As we enter the Memorial Day weekend, we are looking at God’s command for Israel to build a memorial for their crossing over the Jordan to claim their inheritance. God knew that this event would be burned into the memories of all that were a part–but, he also knew that as generations passed; the people would soon forget the importance of crossing the Jordan, and claiming the land.The tribes set up a nice memorial at the place that they camped the first night in “Israel”.
In generations to come, when asked what the memorial represented, people would recount the stories of Egypt, manna, marching in the Desert and the taking of the land. They would explain that this memorial represented the day the children of Israel truly gained their covenanted lands. It was critical that each tribe picked a stone. that stone was probably unique, and was probably adorned in a way that made clear the tribe it represented. As the people thrived and as generations passed, one could probably point out his tribes ancesteral stone and know the story of crossing the Jordan on dry land.
In our lives, we too must have memorials to remind us of God’s love for us, and of the gifts that He provided. We are one nation under God. We must never forget the reason for this nation’s beginnings. We must never forget the sacrifices made for our freedom. On our currency, in our founding documents, and across the world are memorials of the freedom we enjoy as one nation under God. Like Israel, We must never forget that all that we are and all that we have–we have received as a gift from God.
This Memorial Day weekend, let’s remember all that have sacrificed to keep our nation free and safe. However, as we remember, let us also remember that the freedom we enjoy is truly a gift from God, and we must also be grateful that His hand has guided and protected this nation.
God Bless You
When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.”
4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 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.”
8 So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. 9 Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been[a] in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.
