Two Monuments

Joshua 4:8–9 NKJV

8 And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. 9 Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day.

The Monument of Deliverance

The twelve stones were carried out of the midst of the Jordan. This is to symbolize how the Lord had opened the waters to prepare the way. The priest had to be obedient and walk by faith to the waters edge. We too must walk by faith in order to get to the Way in order to cross over from death to life. In order for our hearts to be made new we must first be obedient to the call “Come”. There is no other day in our lives that we shall see the will of the flesh be put to death than the day we come obedient to Him. We can try and rationalize. The water is wet and the way is scary. What if the Jordan swallows us up in its might. Death is the same way in regards to the overwhelming power that it seems to have on us. Our carnal mind tells us that life is short so we must take the appropriate steps to endure here. The Word of God on the otherhand tells us that anyone who is willing to lose their life will find it. The Savior in His all commanding way says to “deny yourself and take up your cross to follow Him. We must trust Him and take a leap of faith in Him as the only son of Almighty God. Psalm 34:8 “8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”

We have to listen to the call of the mighty Holy Spirit of God and follow His voice. He will say here step out into the unknown and see if I don’t prepare a place for you.

The First Monument

Often times in the scriptures God’s judgement is issued through water. We see the Flood in Genesis 6, Amos 5:9, Exodus 14 and Exodus 15. This first monument rests in the middle of the crushing waters. Joshua placed twelve stones in the deep as a monument of the Israelites being spared from the judgement of God. We see the same in our baptisms Romans 6:3-4 “3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” We too have a monument at baptism to remind us that we have been spared from the wrath to come Romans 5:9

Romans 5:9 NKJV

9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

This monument is there only as a reminder not a place to go revisit. Paul says “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it”. Joshua didn’t place the monument for the Israelites to go back and revisit but to remind them that they had been spared from bondage and the Lord provided the way in which they escaped. We must sometimes remind ourselves of the former life that was crucified with Christ but we should never idolize it. It was a life that only brought about death and we have been given the freedom to “walk in newness of life” the promise that God Himself gave in Christ Jesus.

The Second Monument

Joshua 4:5–7 NKJV

5 and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”

The second monument is meant to be a testimony of the deliverance God has given you. We are told that this monument is our very lives. Romans 12:1

Romans 12:1 NKJV

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

We are instructed to let our lives be a living monument, a sacrifice before Almighty God in order that others may see the hope that lives within you. This monument is one that is set before of all those around us so when they see it they ask “what does it mean?”. We are to live a life that is free from the former bondage of the old man and display the new life we now have. Christians should be the hope to humanity. Although the powers of this world may war against us our lives should be one that points all who dare to look to the glorious splendor of the cross and God’s way of salvation through the death, burial and resurrection of His Son Jesus. We are commanded to show His infinite love though our lives in a way that presents Him as the life that we now live. This monument is one to boast about! Not what we have done but what He has done in us. We are tell all others of the joy we have found and help others to find the Way in which we must be saved.

Leaving Things Behind

With the crossing over and the building of the monuments God set them as a reminder of what was left in order to receive what was to lay in store. Paul says in Romans 8:18

Romans 8:18 NKJV

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Therefore we must look ahead and not look back for the glory that is to be revealed in us by Him. If we want to restore our homes, our marriages, our children, our lives then we must make a choice. The children of Israel soon forgot the monuments and tried to bring parts of their old lives across with them. Joshua tells them in Joshua 24:15

Joshua 24:15 NKJV

15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

We must choose and we have a choice “but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”. How about you? Where are the mighty men of valor that will stand in the gate declare to this world “you cannot have my family!”, “you cannot have dominion in my house!” “it belongs to the Lord and my life is a living monument to the whole world that “God is salvation”