By Rony Kozman, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies, Samford University
Don’t Forget to Remember
Joshua 4:1–7, 20–24
God calls us to remember what He’s done. (1–3)
When the Israelites arrived at the waters of the Jordan, Joshua commanded the priests to carry the Ark of the Covenant and to walk into the waters.
The people would then follow them until they reached the other side of the Jordan (3:5–17). When the priests with the Ark put their feet in the water, “the waters flowing from above stood still … while those flowing toward the Dead Sea were wholly cut off” (3:15–16) so that “all Israel were crossing over on dry ground” (3:17). What was the purpose of this sign?
God tells Joshua that the reason the waters of the Jordan would be parted is so that God would “exalt [Joshua] in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses” (3:7)
And after the people crossed the waters we read that “all Israel … stood in awe of him, as they stood in awe of Moses” (4:14). And just as Moses took the people to Sinai where he received the Law and delivered its commandments to the people, so also Joshua relays Moses’ commandments to the people (4:10)
Memorials help us remember ways God has worked on our behalf. (4–7)
After they had crossed the Jordan, Joshua instructs Israel to choose 12 men each of whom are to take a stone from the Jordan and to carry it to their camp (4:1–3).
These 12 stones representing the Twelve Tribes of Israel serve as a memorial for the people and for the subsequent generation so that the Israelites may tell their children the story of how God cut off the flow of the water that Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground (4:6–7).
By retelling and recounting how God brought the people across the Jordan through Joshua, the people simultaneously recount how God rescued them out of Egypt through the sea via Moses.
We are to remember God’s faithfulness and power. (20–24)
This is a reminder for that present generation. A number of them were armed for war and ready for battle against Jericho (4:12–13).
They themselves can remember God’s power and faithfulness to their forefathers when God brought them out of Egypt through the sea and defeated Egypt’s army and chariots.
So now, since God brought them through the waters of the Jordan, they can trust God will also give them victory at Jericho.
The 12 stones are also a memorial to future generations to remember and trust God’s faithfulness to his people and to fear the Lord forever (4:24).
And they are a memorial for us today who are in the Kingdom of the Son of David. We remember that God rescued us from the spiritual forces of darkness and from this present evil age through our baptism into Christ (1 Pet. 3:21). And we now present our body parts to God as weapons of righteousness in his Kingdom as we ourselves battle against “the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul” (1 Pet. 2:11).
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