SundayAugust 29, 2017 Phone: 570.829.5216
Pastor David Miklas E-mail:
Message #54“The Book of Joshua” Text: Joshua 4:1-24
“What Means these Stones?”
INTRODUCTION: In our continued study of the book of Joshua, that gives us a picture illustration of VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN LIVING, we come to the 4th chapter.
In chapter three God worked another great miracle for Israel by parting the Jordan River so all of Israel could cross on dry ground. Miraculously when the Priests who were carrying the Ark stepped into the river the waters parted. Notice Joshua 3:13,
“And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.”
And just as miraculously, after all the people had crossed and the priests who were carrying the Ark came out of the water, the waters flowed together. Notice Joshua 4:18,
“And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before.”
What an inspiring sight this must have been for the children of Israel as they stood in the land of Canaan watching the completion of this great miracle, verse 14,“On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.”
On the other hand it must have been a terrifying day for the Canaanite people as they too watched this sight and realized judgment day was upon them, verse 24, “That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.”
Forty years earlier, a different generation had crossed the RED SEA leaving EGYPT, the LAND OF BONDAGE. Now this new generation has crossed the JORDAN RIVER to enter CANAAN, the LAND OF FREEDOM.
Now before we look at the message of Joshua chapter 4, I want to call your attention to two things from verse 20, “And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.” GILGAL became holy ground to the people of Israel. After his victories, and occasionally after his defeats, Joshua found himself going back again and again to GILGAL, where many lessons will be learned.
The FIRST major lesson to be learned: GILGAL was to be a PLACE OF REMEMBRANCE. It was a place where Joshua erected some memorial stones. Follow me as I read verses 1-24,
“And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, (2) Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, (3) And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. (4) Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: (5) And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: (6) That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? (7) Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. (8) And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. (9) And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day. (10) For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until everything was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over. (11) And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the LORD passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people. (12) And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them. (13) About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto battle, to the plains of Jericho. (14) On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life. (15) And the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, (16) Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan. (17) Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan. (18) And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before. (19) And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. (20) And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. (21) And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? (22) Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. (23) For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: (24) That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.”
Two heaps of STONES were set up as memorials to Israel's crossing of the Jordan River:
12 stones on land at GILGAL showed WHAT happened, verses 1-8.
12 stones in the RIVER showed WHERE it happened, verse 9.
Now these MEMORIAL STONES were not just a reminder to the generation of people who had crossed the JORDAN RIVER, but they were also meant to be a lesson taught to the children of future generations.
When Dad took little Sol for a walk around GILGAL, they might come to this pile of stones and little Sol would say, "Daddy, why are these stones piled here, what do they mean?"
There Dad would point to the JORDAN RIVER and say, "Son, there God worked a miracle for a generation of our people when He stopped the river so that some 2 million of them walked across that river on DRY GROUND."
Today, you sit in the House of God, and you are probably saying to yourself, "Pastor this is a nice piece of History, what on earth has this to do with me?" Well…I believe there is a spiritual and practical lesson to be applied to our current lives.
Let's learn the SPIRITUAL LESSON: Moving from the Old Testament story to the New Testament, I am brought face to face with the central theme of the entire Bible, The DEATH, BURIAL, and RESURRECTION of JESUS CHRIST our LORD.
At Calvary Jesus died.
At Calvary Jesus cried, “It is finished,” thus completing the perfect and final work of salvation for us.
At Calvary, man's sins, however GROSS or MILD they may have been; however FOUL or RESPECTABLE,once and for all were settled. Now there is no controversy between heaven and earth on the issue of sin, for the issue today relates to a REJECTED, CRUCIFIED, DESPISED, REDEEMER.
But there is something more. Not only did the priests go down into the bed of the river, you will observe, the people went down too. The deepest and most profound meaning of Calvary is that not only did Jesus die for my sins, but I died with Him and in Him. The fact that Christ went into DEATH for you and me is set before us in Joshua chapter 4.
TWELVE STONES were placed in the JORDAN RIVER to speak of the DEATH of Christ.
TWELVE STONES were taken out of the JORDAN RIVER and put on the west bank (Gilgal) to representthe RESURRECTION of Christ.
In order to understand this, listen to the language of the Apostle Paul in Romans 6:1-5,
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? (2) God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (3) Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? (4) Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (5) For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:”
The Apostle Paul makes it very clear that even though Christ died 1900 years ago, we are to be IDENTIFIED with Him in His death. The word BAPTIZE speaks of IDENTIFICATION. We are identified with Christ in His death and His resurrection.
When He died, my friends, He died FOR US. His death was our death.
When He arose from the dead, then we arose from the dead. Today, we are joined to a LIVING CHRIST.
When by faith we TRUST the crucified, buried and risen Saviour not only have we become identified with Him, but we have also become joined to the living God. To understand this is to begin to understand the basis of VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN LIVING.
This monument at GILGAL reminded the Jews they had made a break with the PAST and were NEVER to think of going back. The monument in the river bed reminded them their OLD LIFE was buried and they were on new ground. Notice again Romans 6:4,
“Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
The SECOND major lesson is that GILGAL is also a place of RESURRECTION to a new life. It's a reminder that I, as a believer, have risen with Christ to a new life. In Romans 6:11-13 we read,
“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (12) Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. (13) Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”
I cannot go back to the old life I lived in sin and in the world.
Now these STONES were placed there as a MEMORIAL. God wanted the future generations to come to know He had performed a MIRACLE. Even so, God has given believers TWO MEMORIALS to emphasize the DEATH, BURIAL, and RESURRECTION of Christ.
NUMBER 1:There is the memorial of BAPTISM. Water baptism is an ordinance we take part in only ONCE after we have put our faith in Christ. By BAPTISM I am giving testimony I stand on new ground in Christ. It's a reminder to me that the OLD LIFE is buried.
Through BAPTISM, I am saying "there was a day in which I died with Christ. As I go down into the water and as I come up out of the water I am Identifying with Christ in the resurrection of the new life."
NUMBER 2:There is the memorial of the LORD'S SUPPER. On the first Sunday of each month, when we partake of the wafer representing the Lord's body and the cup representing the Lord's blood, we are remembering Christ died for us and He is coming again for us.
It reminds me of CALVARY and the salvation I have in Christ.
It is a reminder to me that I now stand on resurrected ground waiting for the Lord's return.
Now that is the Spiritual side to the Joshua 4 story, but there is also another side to the MEMORIAL STONE.
Let's learn the PRACTICAL LESSON: How wonderful it would have been if we could report that the Canaanites, upon seeing this great demonstration of God's power and loving concern for Israel would have repented and followed the one true God. Instead, they hardened their hearts against God. How TRAGIC!
But even more TRAGIC, God's own people, Israel, failed to remind their children of what God had done. No sooner had they settled into the land, than their MEMORIES began to fade. Even the MEMORIAL STONES were forgotten by the majority in Israel.
Turning to Judges 2 we find many years have passed since Israel crossed over the Jordan River and set up the MEMORIAL STONES in GILGAL. They have settled in the land and are now enjoying a place of PEACE and PLENTY. However, something happened to Israel, the end result of which was unbelievable and heartbreaking. For in Judges 2:8-10 we read,
“And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. (9) And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. (10) And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.”
How could a people who had witnessed the miracles of God ever forget them? Yet they did. The parents in Israel FAILED to tell their children what God had done for them at Jordan and how every VICTORY and every MIRACLE was from the hand of God. Consequently, their children turned away from God and in verses 11-15 we read,
“And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: (12) And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. (13) And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. (14) And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. (15) Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.”
In two generations all of Israel had forgotten and forsaken the God who was responsible for EVERYTHING they had.
Stop and think about this, "Unless we teach the next generation the truth about the Lord and walk the talk of that truth in our lives, they will turn away and start following the world."
Now the lesson of Joshua 4 is not completed in Judges 2, as we must leap ahead 800 years to the days of the Prophets. Both Hosea and Amos echoed words of warnings and condemnation to the people for their worship here at GILGAL. According to the Prophets, GILGAL had become synonymous with idolatry in the worst form.
GILGAL had become the center of Molech worship. Molech was the national god of the Ammonites, and devotion to him involved some of the most horrible forms of human sacrifices the world has seen. One of the most notable was the placing of live infants in Molech's fiery arms, where they writhed and screamed in agony until they finally rolled into the fiery pit of the image.
The memorial at GILGAL was to evoke the FEAR of God from generation to generation. So, how was it possible they turned to other gods? The answer is simple: "They forgot to tell their children about the mighty works of Jehovah."