Humans are forgetful. At the end of each day, we can remember most of what happened that day. However, a week or a month later, many of those memories have faded.
Today, we will read about a miracle that Yahweh performed for Israel. After the miracle, He instructed Israel to erect a reminder of the event, so that they would not forget what He did for them.
We have something similar in Christianity. The Lord’s Supper is a prominent feature of being a Christian. The purpose of that ordinance is to remind us of the past.
At the end of yesterday’s Scripture reading, Yahweh promised to magnify Joshua and gave instructions for the priests carrying the ark to stand in the waters of the Jordan River. Then Joshua informed the people they were about to see something that would prove the living God was among them.
Joshua 3:13 And it will be that when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of Yahweh, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, and the waters which are flowing down from above will stand in one heap.”
The sign that Yahweh was among Israel was that the waters of the Jordan would stop flowing so that the people of Israel could walk into the Promised Land.
Joshua 3:14 ¶ So it happened that when the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant before the people,
Joshua 3:15 and when those who carried the ark came into the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest),
Notice the expression in parentheses. This doesn’t happen today, but back then, the Jordan River flooded during harvest. The flood made it even more difficult, if not impossible, to cross the river. Yahweh used the crossing to prove His power; thus, He did not have them cross when the river was low. Instead, He had them cross when it was at flood stage.
Joshua 3:16 the waters which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap, a great distance away at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those which were flowing down toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. So the people crossed opposite Jericho.
Adam was roughly 15 miles / 25 km away.
Joshua 3:17 And the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed on dry ground until all the nation had completed crossing the Jordan.
Notice the word “dry”. The miracle was not just that the waters stopped flowing. It was also that the ground was suddenly, miraculously dry.
Joshua 4:1 ¶ Now it happened when all the nation had completed crossing the Jordan, that Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying,
Joshua 4:2 “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe,
Joshua 4:3 and command them, saying, ‘Carry for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firm, and carry them over with you and lay them down in the lodging place where you will lodge tonight.’”
Joshua 4:4 So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe;
Joshua 4:5 and Joshua said to them, “Cross again before the ark of Yahweh your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you carry a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel,
Joshua 4:6 in order that this would be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’
Take note of the word “sign”. The purpose of the stones was to erect something that in the future would remind Israel about the miracle Yahweh performed at the Jordan River. This was necessary because humans are forgetful. Over time, we tend to forget both what is dangerous and what is good.
Today, we build monuments so that we don’t forget. In Washington, D.C., there are memorials for Vietnam Veterans, Korean War Veterans, and World War II. Other prominent features of the city are the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial. Each of these structures is designed to remind us about our past.
Reminders are also built into Christianity. The purpose of the Lord’s Supper is to constantly remind us that Jesus died on the cross for us. The reason men are to uncover their heads when they pray, while women are to cover their heads when they pray, is to remind us of God’s ordained order: Christ is the head of every man and each husband is the head of his wife. The mode of baptism constantly reminds us that Christ died, was buried, and then rose again.
Having said all of that, there is a danger that reminders can become so familiar they lose their effectiveness. People who see the Lincoln Memorial every day are no longer awed by it. Those who work around the Vietnam Veterans Memorial do not daily mourn those who died in that conflict. Some churches observe the Lord’s Supper every Sunday. That frequency can cause the supper to become too commonplace, causing people to forget its significance.
Joshua 4:7 then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”
Joshua 4:8 ¶ Thus the sons of Israel did as Joshua commanded and carried twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as Yahweh spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the lodging place and laid them down there.
Joshua 4:9 But Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing, and they are there to this day.
Look at the words “middle of the Jordan”. Joshua erected 12 stones in the middle of the river, which were distinct from the 12 stones which were carried to their lodging place.
Joshua 4:10 Now the priests who carried the ark were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that Yahweh had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hurried and crossed.
After Israel crossed the Jordan River, Yahweh instructed Joshua to have a man from each tribe carry a stone out of the river so that they could serve as a reminder of the miracle Yahweh performed that day. That was necessary because humans forget. Likewise, in the first century AD, Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper as a reminder that His body was broken and His blood was shed for us.
While reminders are helpful, they can also become commonplace. It is easy to partake in the Lord’s Supper without contemplating the meaning of it. It is incumbent upon us Christians to intentionally focus on the meaning of the Lord’s Supper every time we partake, so that we are effectively reminded of what Jesus did for us.
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”