Jacob and Joshua erected stone memorials for remembrance of the Lord’s work. Do we actively create memorials in our hearts for Him?
My father passed away in November. It seems surreal to think that I am living a part of my life without him in my background. In a quiet moment, I might remember that he is no longer with us. Memories flood me. Remembrance of him, for those of us closest to him, is easy. Still, my mother, sister, and I made plans with other family members to erect a tangible reminder of his life.
Stones
There will be no headstone, as he was cremated rather than buried. Instead, we will purchase a bench or a sitting stone with a memorial plaque to place near one of his favorite places in the mountains in Colorado. This is a common practice for memorializing someone in our culture. There is usually a stone, brick, or plaque somewhere to remind those who come after us that our loved ones were here and made an impact.
The people of the Old Testament were no different. They used stones quite frequently to serve as reminders to those who came after them of significant events. Unlike the headstones of today, though, these stones of remembrance were to point towards God’s presence and actions, rather than memorializing men.
Inspiration
Jacob had encounters with God that commanded and inspired him to move forward in the Lord’s work. In response, he built a pillar to God…
And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.” Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him. And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.
Genesis 35:11-19, ESV
Generational Remembrance
Joshua had men take twelve stones from the Jordan once they had crossed it. They then erected a memorial to remind their children and their children’s children that God had cut off the waters of the usually overflowing Jordan so that they might cross over it easily. Joshua commanded that one man of each tribe carry a stone.
This action was not merely symbolic or a literary contrivance that looks nice on paper. “Look, there are 12 tribes of Israel, 12 stones, and 12 disciples!” No, Joshua commanded each tribe’s participation, ensuring everyone’s investment. Not one person would forget to hand down the tale because they merely stood on the sidelines watching it happen. No, their hands carried and laid the stones. It was a moment of significance for each tribe individually and collectively.
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. And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ 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, 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.”
Joshua 4:19-24, ESV
Eradication of Sin
Joshua also renewed the covenant the Lord had made with Moses after God had given Ai into their hands. God had dealt swiftly with the sin that was rampant in Ai, just like he did in Jericho.
At that time Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the people of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, ‘an altar of uncut stones, upon which no man has wielded an iron tool.’ And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings. And there, in the presence of the people of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written.
Joshua 8:30-32, ESV
Bear Witness Against Men
More stones were erected when Joshua told the Israelites to choose who they would serve. These stones memorialized that choice accordingly, bearing witness to their feeble promise to God.
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place statutes and rules for them at Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. Joshua said to all the people, ‘Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.’
Joshua 24:25-27, ESV
Christian Life Today
In today’s world, we don’t need stones to remind us of God’s mighty works. We have the evidence of His goodness, His greatness, His wrath, and His correction in our Bibles. In other words, the Bible is a nice, portable collection of stones for us to sift through and reminisce about.
I don’t need to go sit on the bench or stone we will purchase to remember my father. I have placed pillars in my heart that will remain forever. But, do I do that for the Lord? Have I learned enough about Him? Do I love Him with the love of someone who knows her Father intimately enough that stones are unnecessary? Do I recognize the great and miraculous works He performs in my life, and subsequently love Him more for them?
We don't need stones today to remind us of God's mighty works. We have the evidence of His goodness, His greatness, His wrath, and His correction in our Bibles. Click To TweetBuilding My Own Pillars of Remembrance
I vow to read and actively study my Bible more. I promise that I will learn more about God so that I might love him more fiercely every day. And I commit myself to recognize His work in my everyday moments. Therefore, let the stones of remembrance I place in my heart act as memorials and as witnesses to my personal promises to God.
