Joshua 4:6,7
“This shall be a sign among you; when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 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.”
There are times in our life of faith that we are to remember. I believe this was the first miracle for this generation. The prior generation that came out of Egypt died off. This was no small miracle that could be explained away. Rivers don’t stop and pile up. They could see it. I would assume as time went by that the heap of water grew larger. The priests stood in the middle carrying the ark as the people went past.
Israel made several memorials through out the Old Testament. Jacob set up a stone pillar in Bethel (Genesis 28) as a reminder of the dream demonstrating that God was with him. Prior to that Abram built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord.
Jesus set up communion as a ceremony which would allow His children to remember His great sacrifice. The Passover feast was established for Israel to remember God’s great deliverance in Egypt.
We are to remember the things the Lord has done for us. Worship is to be part of our corporate and private worship. We are praising Him as we remember what He’s done in the small and large things as well as the recent and things long past. We ask for forgiveness, partially because we need to, but also because it also is an act of remembrance. He has forgiven us past, present and future. To go to Him and confess a sin is important to do. We are saying sorry and acknowledging His great sacrifice. It’s an act of remembrance, bathed in gratitude.
While I don’t have physical pillars of remembrance, there are practices put in place that have the same effect. They are such a blessing. Thank You, God, for them. I pray that they are vibrant and sincere as I practice them.
