Courage to Remember
Notes
Transcript
Courage to Remember
INTRODUCTION
The way we remember special events.
pictures- wedding pictures, baby pictures, birthdays, first steps- today- every breath is taped.
Wedding rings and cross-- example of symbols to help us remember.
1 When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua,
2 “Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man,
3 and command them, saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.’ ”
4 Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe.
5 And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel,
6 that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’
7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”
8 And the people of Israel did just as Joshua commanded and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, just as the Lord told Joshua. And they carried them over with them to the place where they lodged and laid them down there.
9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day.
10 For the priests bearing the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to tell the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people passed over in haste.
11 And when all the people had finished passing over, the ark of the Lord and the priests passed over before the people.
12 The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh passed over armed before the people of Israel, as Moses had told them.
13 About 40,000 ready for war passed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho.
14 On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life.
15 And the Lord said to Joshua,
16 “Command the priests bearing the ark of the testimony to come up out of the Jordan.”
17 So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.”
18 And when the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord came up from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up on dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks, as before.
19 The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.
20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal.
21 And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’
22 then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’
23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over,
24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”
3 Aspects We Learn About the Monument
The reason for the monument (3 Reasons)
The reason for the monument (3 Reasons)
To Encourage - reminder of what God can do.
To Encourage - reminder of what God can do.
"count your blessings"
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
"with thanksgiving"= remembering. - takes away anxiety.
To Teach
To Teach
6 that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’
7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”
21 And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’
22 then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’
23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over,
a way to teach children about God (4:6-7, 21-23)
God told them to teach children as they go.
Deuteronomy 6:7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
To Proclaim-- to proclaim God to the nations (4:24)
To Proclaim-- to proclaim God to the nations (4:24)
18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,
5 because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”
8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
The place of the monument
The place of the monument
We are just going to look at one of the monuments
debate- NIV reads just one monument- KJV reads 2 monuments.
Gilgal- 8 miles from Jordan- 2 miles north of Jericho.
Gilgal is home base during the conquest of the Promise Land.
It means- "circle of stones"
Significant place for generations- Saul renews the Kingdom at Gilgal and becomes king.
12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.”
13 But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has worked salvation in Israel.”
14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.”
15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
This simple monument will serve as an anchor for Israel for 1000's of years.
By time of Minor Prophets it became a place of sacrifice to foreign gods.
Equated with Bethel by the prophets.
The place lost its significance.
They stopped teaching the importance of the monument.
The place that was to bless the nations became a curse.
We have power to turn that which should be a blessing into a curse.
James illustrated this in connection to the tongue.
8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.
10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
The God of the monument
The God of the monument
This was not something they were doing to get to God.
This whole story is about obedience and doing it God's way.
Carrying large stones 8 miles is not fun. Not rational.
3 Truths We learn About God
3 Truths We learn About God
God's Way is Clear
God's Way is Clear
17 So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.”
God gave clear commands (17)
preparation for the strange commands to walk around Jericho.
Clear for the next step, but not always clear on the destination
God's Leader is Proven
God's Leader is Proven
14 On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life.
God exalted Joshua (14)
Joshua's obedience gave confidence to Israel that he was God's man to lead.
God's Way is True
God's Way is True
God's way is the only way -
He makes up the rules.
He sent Jesus to be the only way to salvation.
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.