Memorial Stones

Last week, we read about Israel’s trust in God by following the priests into the once raging river and crossing on dry ground. For some of them, this was the second such experience. They had crossed the Red Sea whilst escaping the charging Egyptian army. They crossed, only to see God stop the wind and destroy the entire army.

Prone to Wander

What gets me is that not very long after, Israel grows impatient waiting for Moses to come down Mt. Sinai. After 39 days, they figure him to be dead. They’re unused to a different God, an invisible God who acts. So, they commanded Aaron to do something. He gathers their gold and jewels and fashions a golden calf from it. They proclaim, “Here is your God, Israel, who brought you out of Egypt.”

It is amazing how quickly the heart conjures up other things to worship, isn’t it? It amazes me how quickly Israel could turn from the obvious miracle performed by the one and only God, Yahweh, and turn to something handmade, man-made. But then, I need only examine my own heart to know how easy this is.

John Calvin, the well-known theologian from the 1500’s described the heart as an idol factory. It is prone to worship anything alongside of and instead of God. It is no wonder then, that the first commandment prohibits the practise of putting anything alongside of or instead of God. God is supreme; there can be no other.

Another Crossing

Now we have Israel crossing a body of water again, travelling on dry ground that which moments before was a raging river. Why? If the spies were able to ford the river elsewhere, why didn’t all Israel? Why not wait until later in the year, when the river was lower?

God chose this way because he wanted Israel to experience God’s faithfulness and trustworthiness in a miraculous way once again. This is about covenant renewal. Israel knew that they broke covenant with God and paid dearly for it. They wandered for 40 years living on Manna and quail, while the disobedient generation slowly died out.

Now, by crossing in faith, God demonstrates his faithfulness. He demonstrates his forgiveness. Just as he was with them in leaving Egypt, now they know he is with them in the Promised Land.

A Lesson from Peter

We see a parallel of this event in the New Testament. Peter, on the night Jesus was betrayed, denied Jesus three times. When the rooster crowed, he realised what he had done and he wept bitterly.

The once confident and courageous Peter was racked with guilt, shame and uncertainty. Would Jesus ever trust him again? Would God use him for his plan anymore? Should he just go back to fishing fish instead of men?

Then Jesus prepared a meal for his disciples. As they ate, Jesus turned to Peter and asked him three times, “Peter, do you love me?” Each time, Peter said yes. Jesus countered the three denials with three affirmations. Each time, Jesus told Peter, “Feed my sheep, feed my lambs, feed my sheep.”

Jesus reinstated Peter as one of his disciples. He renewed in him the task he’d prepared in advance for him to do. Likewise, the crossing of the Jordan was a reinstatement, a reaffirmation that God called Israel to accomplish the task he’d prepared in advance for them to do.

Witnesses

God also knows human frailty. He knows that even after amazing miracles, our eyes, our hearts are easily distracted. So, he commanded Joshua to appoint a man from each tribe to pick up a stone from the middle of the river, and carry it ashore. The pile of stones, unlike any other stones around, would serve as a reminder, a witness, a testimony to God’s faithfulness, his miracles done on Israel’s behalf.

Those stones served as a teaching tool. The Israelites were to teach their children about them, saying, “Our ancestors picked up these stones from the middle of the Jordan River. They were able to do so, because God stopped the river from flowing, even though it was in flood stage. Just as God dried up a path through the Red Sea, so he dried up a path through the Jordan. Never forget God’s power. With God, all things are possible.”

And so Israel remembered God. The stones served as reminders of God’s grace.

The New Testament church doesn’t have memorial stones. Instead, it has a Memorial Supper. We

God faithfully protected and preserved the original building despite the terrible flood that struck the marsh. He blessed our congregation with growth, life and vitality. He caused an increase so that a new building was necessary. God did all these things, for his own good pleasure.

These stones remind us that we’re still in God’s hands. They remind us of God’s promises, of his actions on our behalf. That he still does the impossible. We don’t face a large body of water before us, though some of us are missing the convenience of the bridge across the canal, we can hardly complain of the hospitality shown by the Verkaik’s and Gleesons. We face the flood of information, the daily distractions that all people have faced since Adam and Eve were tempted in the Garden.

Satan still uses the same methods today. He tries to misinform. “Did God really say? Is God really with Springdale?”

To which we respond with a resounding, “Yes, God is still with us. He is our foundation. These are our memorial stones, reminding us of God’s unshakable faithfulness.”

Like Israel, like Peter, we all are guilty of allowing our hearts to wander from God, to create idols alongside of God in one way or another. And yet, God’s faithfulness has never wavered, not one bit.

God moved the hearts of our people to place these stones to remind us of God’s faithfulness. “Great is Your Faithfulness” - Lamentations 3:23 from the original church building. and “All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the Glory of God” - 2 Corinthians 4:15, from the new building.

Both stones work together, not only anchoring each side of the main entrance, but reminding us first of God, then of God’s plan for us, for Springdale. Yes, perhaps over time, the plan was lost for a bit, for whatever reason. God is renewing his covenant with us, daily, that’s what we celebrate next week in Lord’s Supper, the new covenant we have in Christ.

God is also renewing our minds to focus on his plan for us. We are to tell others of God’s grace in Christ. This Gospel, this good news, says Paul, is for our benefit, so that we, and others, may overflow in thanksgiving to the glory of God.

Here’s how it works itself out: these stones remind us of God’s faithful action in the past—not only the acts on behalf of Israel, but the acts of Christ on the cross. They point us to a place in history, where we see God’s action, God’s promise fulfilled.

Then, they serve to give us hope, confidence and strength in every situation. King David’s maintained his faith in God even though Saul sought to kill him. He expressed this his prayer, Psalm 23, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.”

Beloved people of God, look beyond the immediate situations in your life. See what you have in God, in Christ. Next week, God prepares a table before us, yes, even in the present evil world, yes even before our enemies. Our cup, our blessings overflow to us, for in Christ, we’ve already received every spiritual blessing that is in heaven.

We are the Israel of God. In Christ, we are new creations. In Christ, we’ve crossed the river. We’ve entered the land. The stones are there to remind us of God’s presence, God’s going before us, God’s plan for us, yesterday, today and tomorrow.

All day long, the priests stood holding the ark. All day long, the people crossed over. God didn’t let one drop of water come near them nor harm them.

Our ark is Christ. He is our great high priest. He stands in the raging river of life and he protects us. He offers us a clear, dry path. All we do is trust him. Amen.