The Twelve Stones

Text: Joshua 4:1-24

Thesis: Remember and share the stories of grace.

Application: We must be thoughtful people who understand the meaning and purpose of stories and symbols for our own sanctification, and the discipleship and evangelism of others.

Explain the Context

Tell the story leading up to Joshua 4.

Reading of the Word

1 Now when the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firmly, and carry them over with you and lay them down in the encampment where you will spend the night.’ ” 4 So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; 5 and Joshua said to them, “Cross again to the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. 6 This shall be a sign among you; when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall say to them, ‘That the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; 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.” 8 So the sons of Israel did exactly as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the LORD spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the encampment and put them down there. 9 Then 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. 10 For the priests who carried the ark were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that the LORD had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hurried and crossed; 11 and when all the people had finished crossing, then the ark of the LORD and the priests crossed in front of the people. 12 The sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over in battle formation before the sons of Israel, just as Moses had spoken to them; 13 about forty thousand equipped for war, crossed for battle before the LORD to the desert plains of Jericho. 14 On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, so that they revered him, just as they had revered Moses all the days of his life. 15 Now the LORD said to Joshua, 16 “Command the priests who carry the ark of the testimony that they come up from the Jordan.” 17 So Joshua commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.” 18 It came about when the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD had come up from the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up to the dry ground, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks as before. 19 Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth of the first month and camped at Gilgal, on the eastern edge of Jericho. 20 As for athose twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set them up at Gilgal. 21 And he said to the sons of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ 22 then you shall inform your children, saying, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as the LORD your God had done to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed; 24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, so that you may cfear the LORD your God forever.”

The Role of Symbols and Signs

“Today, we are looking at how symbols and signs play a role in our remembrance.”

What are symbols and signs?

Symbols are images, objects, or actions which represent something far greater and complex.

Signs, likewise, are images, objects, or actions which point to a greater or deeper truth.

For example…

Baptism, communion, and the cross as Christian symbols and signs.

The American flag as a symbol.

The golden arches as a symbol.

The Amazon arrow as a symbol.

The Power of Symbols and Signs

The power of symbols and signs lies in their ability to foster unity by taking complex ideas and emotions and compressing them into a simple, easily digestible package. They communicate a lot in a little, so much so that much of our understanding of signs and symbols occurs subconsciously.

God calls the Hebrew people to build a sign so that they may be united under the story of His rescue and provision. A simple object represents the larger story of the Hebrew people’s rescue from slavery, provision in the wilderness, inheritance of the Promised Land and so much more.

But God’s command to His people is more than an instruction to build a sign or symbol. There is a deeper command laid under the first…

The Need for Narrative

Signs and Stories Only Function if the Stories They Represent are Remembered

The deeper command for the Hebrew people is that they would become storytellers. The rock memorial only serves as a vehicle to provoke the telling of the story. Two times the situation is described: “when your children ask later, ‘what do these stones mean to you?’ then you shall answer, ‘that the waters of the Jordan were cut off…’”

If the Hebrew people fail to explain the story behind the stones, or worse yet, if they were to forget the story entirely, the stones would be utterly meaningless!

Will the Golden Arches Mean Anything 4,000 Years From Now?

McDonalds archaeology example / football team example

The Stones Serve as a Memorial Forever, Because the Story Continues to be Shared

There is a reason why the majority of the Bible is written in narrative form, not systematic theology. We were designed to think narratively. Before the written word existed, and before symbols existed, stories existed. Just as we are surrounded by symbols, there are multitudes of stories behind the symbols shaping what we think and believe.

Just as the Hebrew people were called to be story tellers, passing down the story from generation to generation, we are called to be story tellers. We have the responsibility of sharing the story of Jesus.

Three Dangers and Three Callings for the Christian Storyteller

Erasure / Preservation

Farenheit 451

Our own story as a church

Overabundance / Clarity

Digital style

Revisionism & Drift / Refocus

“ad fontes”

Outro

Take the Call to be a Storyteller Seriously

Tell the Story through your symbols

Tell the Story with your words

Tell the Story in your actions

May the story of the good news of Jesus be proclaimed through you.

14 How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? 15 But how are they to preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written: “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO bBRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!” 16 However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Romans 10:14-17