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`THE MEMORIAL STONES

Joshua 4:1-24

Key Verse: 4:7 “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.”

  Last year we had our summer Bible camp at Black River, Missouri. At that time, I brought some rocks as a souvenir so that I may not forget the good time we had there. What do you remember from Black River? Definitely floating down through the river? In today’s passage, God told Joshua to set up twelve stones as a memorial so that they might not forget what God had done for them. They crossed the Jordan River as on dry ground when God cut off the flow. While we study this passage, I pray that we may remember what God has done for each of us and find our own memorial stones in our life.

First, to be a memorial (1-7). Look at verses 1-3. “When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.” Twelve men represent twelve tribes. God wanted to send the twelve men to bring twelve stones from right where the priests stood in the middle of the river. Why? Joshua called the twelve men he appointed and explained why? Look at verses 5-7. “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, to serve as a sign among you. 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.”  God wanted to set up the twelve stones as a sign for them and a memorial to their children forever.

  In the Bible there are similar stories of setting up stones as a sign and memorial. When Jacob was fleeing from his brother Esau, he spent the night all by himself in the desert. In his dream he saw the angels ascending and descending on the stairway and he heard God’s word, “I am the Lord the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.” (Ge 28:10-13) God promised Jacob to be with him and bless him. God made a covenant with Jacob and Jacob made his personal vow to God. Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. Then he called that place Bethel, which means ‘house of God.’ (Ge 28:19)  A long time later, after Jacob became rich with a big family, he was returning to his hometown Canaan. God told Jacob to return to Bethel where Jacob made a personal covenant relationship with God. When Jacob made a vow with God at Bethel, he was a single bachelor with no family, no children, and no money. But, when he was going back home, he had a big family with great wealth. Jacob remembered what God had done for his life and set up a stone pillar and put a drink offering and oil on it. (Ge 35:14) The stone pillar was the sign of God’s blessing and grace upon his life. Jacob remembered God’s grace and blessing upon his life. His life in Paddan Aram had been full of suspense and struggling. Now he was returning to his home with a big family and great wealth. He knew that all these blessings came from God. He did not forget what God had done for his life. So he set up a stone pillar and called it El Bethel, which means ‘God of Bethel’.

  In the same way God wanted Joshua and the Israelites to remember what God had done for them. God opened the Red Sea and let them cross the sea as on dry ground. For the last forty year, God fed them with manna and quail and led them with a pillar of fire during the night and with a pillar of cloud by day. Now, God had dried up the Jordan River and let them cross the river as on dry land. God did an amazing thing for his people. God wanted them to remember God’s grace and blessing upon their lives through these twelve stones. When they and their children saw the stones, they remembered what God has done for them.

  Our life pilgrimage is no more than remembering what God has done for us. God taught a good and painful lesson through the first generation Israelites who all died in the desert before they crossed the Jordan. With his mighty power and glory, God delivered them from the slavery of Egypt and led them to the promised land. But, on the way, they rebelled against God and Moses and provoked God to anger through their idol worship. Their real problem was that they did not remember what God had done for them while they were in Egypt. They suffered a lot as slaves under the cruel King Pharaoh. In God’s great mercy, they received freedom. Above all, they were called as the people of God and a chosen people. But, they forgot God’s grace. Their sin of rebellion and unbelief caused all of them die in the desert before they entered the promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Now, their children, the second generation, crossed over the Jordan by God’s grace and entered the Promised Land. They should not forget their parents’ mistake. They must remember God’s grace of salvation and obey him. That is why God ordered Joshua to set up the twelve stones as a memorial to the Israelites forever.

  What is your own memorial stone? When and where? Our memorial stone can be a dramatic event, a special place, influential person, or life testimony. When I asked Ben West, he answered, “My memorial stones are Leadership Development Workshop in Chicago and El Camino UBF Summer Bible Conference last year.”  I believe that God gave him a spiritual direction through the Leadership workshop and showed him a vision through the El Camino conference. Missionary Isaiah Lim said that his two stones are his two children, Victoria and Joshua. In fact, he experienced God’s victory when he was accepted as a Ph D student at Wash U. Msn Isaiah believes that his daughter brought God’s blessing, so he called her name Victoria. Ask him why he called his son “Joshua.” Definitely he needs to become strong and courageous like Joshua in order to cross the Jordan River of his Ph D study.

  Personally I cannot forget what God did for me during the UBF Summer Bible Conference at Chil Am Mount in 1985. I met Jesus Christ personally and was born again. I was dying in my sin of lust and selfishness. Above all, I was crying for my directionless and meaningless life. But, Jesus loved me and forgave all my sins and gave me a new life direction as a Bible teacher and shepherd on campus through John 21:15. God brought me from the slavery of sin and led me into the wonderful life of Jesus. After five years of campus shepherd life in Korea, God sent me to America as a missionary after establishing a house church with Msn. Mary Choi. Coming to the USA is like crossing the Jordan River. By God’s grace and help, my family served the Lord and his people for five years in LA, ten years in Chicago, and nine years here in St. Louis and counting.

  To my family, having children was like another crossing the Jordan. After two of my wife’s miscarriages, hope for children from my own body became weak. But, God answered Msn. Mary Choi’s prayer and faith that he sent not one but two children at one time 15 years ago. So, people in Chicago UBF called my two kids ‘miracle babies’ because we got them after 9 years marriage. Likewise, in each event, each place, and each person I find God’s footprint in my life. Indeed, the Lord is my shepherd and he has led me to the promised land thus far.

  In the future we may face some Jordan Rivers which we must cross over by faith. We will greatly celebrate when shepherd Ben West establishes a house church. We’ll set up a stone pillar and engrave his name. We will give thank to God when Msn Luke Yang crosses the Jordan River of full time job, when Msn. Park’s family raises an Abraham of faith from SLU, when Msn. James’ family’s three children graduate high school and go to colleges as honor students, and when Msn. Isaiah finishes his Ph D successfully and becomes a professor shepherd and missionary. We have hope for Vynn to have a deeper relationship with Jesus and finish her Ph D program, for Andrew to grow as a spiritual leader like Andrew in the Bible, and for Pangaa and Zaya to mature as prayer mothers and student shepherds in each mission field.

  In UBF history we have several memorable events which we must remember. One of them is pioneering Russia in 1990. At that time, Russia was still a communist country under the iron curtain. It looked impossible for us to send a missionary to Russia. But, God’s servant Dr. Samuel Lee gave us a prayer topic for Russian in 1985. Since then, we began to pray earnestly for sending missionaries to Russia and evangelization in Russia. Then, at the end of 1980, God sent several Korean workers to Russia. They met Russian students and began to study the Bible one to one. In 1991, God moved the heart of Mikhail Gorbachev, the president of Russia, to lift the iron curtain of communism and we had the first UBF Bible Conference in Moscow Russia with several Russian students. Through this event, God taught us that nothing is impossible with God and with those who trust in him and pray. We also learned how God is pleased to carry out his world mission through his chosen servants. We must not forget what God has done for us.

  In US history, we have many memorable events and days which we must remember, especially what God has done for this nation. This nation sacrificed many people’s life in order to be independent from England. Through the Revolutionary War, they established an independent country. We call this ‘the city on a hill.’ The other is the emancipation of slavery. More than six hundred thousands of young people were killed during the Civil War. This nation paid a high price for freedom. Now, we pray for America to become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Many young people are slaves to sin and dying in darkness of sin. Our battle is a spiritual battle against the power of darkness and evil. What we can do is to go out and preach the good news of Jesus through one to one and prayer. We look small and insignificant to the eyes of the perishing, but we are chosen people, royal priesthood and holy nation. We are history makers and kingdom builders in this generation. I pray that this coming ISBC may become a memorable spiritual revival for each person, for this nation and for the world. We pray that all attendants may remember what God has done for them through this conference and set up a memorial stone at Indiana University in Pennsylvania. Amen.

 Second, the people and the priests obeyed Joshua. (8-18) What was the response of the people to Joshua? Look at verse 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.” They obeyed exactly what Joshua told them to do. Now Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been 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.  How did the priests respond to Joshua? Look at verse 10. “Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the Lord had commanded Joshua was done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua.” The priests also obeyed what Joshua had said. They remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until all people crossed over the Jordan. The priests must have prayed very earnestly for their quick and safe crossing. It took a long time for all the people to cross over the river. Still, the priests stood there. We are like the priests who pray for this coming ISBC. We must pray until all things may go well as God has planned. This is why we pray day and night for messengers, all the workers, and successful conference.

  The people hurried over, and as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the Lord and the priests came to the other side while the people watched. (11) The Lord said to Joshua, “Command the priests carrying the ark of the Testimony to come out of the Jordan.” So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.” And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord. No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before. (17,18)

  Here we learn that the work of God is done through absolute obedience toward God’s word. Joshua obeyed God’s word. The priests and the people obeyed Joshua. When they obeyed God and his servant, they could cross the Jordan River as on dry ground. When they trusted and obeyed, they experienced a miracle. They crossed the Jordan River as on dry ground by faith.

Look at verse 19. “On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho.” The tenth day of the first month is the same day forty years after the Israelites came out of Egypt. As he had promised forty years before, God brought his people to enter the promised land. How great and faithful our God is! In his a memorial ceremony speech, Joshua repeated the purpose and the meaning of the twelve stones. Look at verses 21-24. “He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.” What are your memorial stones? Remember what God has done in your life. Teach God’s power and love to your children and students. May we all carry twelve, at least one memorial stone, on our shoulder to the other side of the Jordan, which the Kingdom of heaven. Amen.

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• THE MEMORIAL STONES-message_edited.doc

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