Joshua, Chapter 4 - Stones of Memory | Prophets of Israel

[music] >> Shalom and welcome to the Prophets of Israel Daily. This is the book of Joshua chapter 4. My name is Jeremy Gimpel. I'm here [music] with Ari Abramowitz and this series is brought to you by the Land of Israel Network at [music] the landofisrael.com. Miracles don't build a nation. Memory does. And Joshua chapter 4 begins right after Israel has crossed the Jordan River in one of the most memorable miracles in the book of Joshua. And now in this chapter we're told what Israel is commanded to do after the miracle ends and why. And this is how the nation begins its epic journey in the land of Israel with this first action. So let's dive in. Joshua chapter 4 verses 1 through 3. And it came to pass when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan and the Lord spoke to Joshua saying, "Take you 12 men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, and command them saying, 'Take for yourselves 12 stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan from the place where the priests' feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.'" So the miracle had happened, the Jordan had split, the people crossed safely, and now the prophet Joshua says, "What should happen after a salvation? After a miracle in your life, what should your response be?" So after experiencing a miniature splitting of the Red Sea at the Jordan River, God commands that 12 stones be taken from the exact place where the priests stood inside the Jordan. Each stone represents one tribe. They need to be carried into the land and placed as a memorial. And the purpose is explained immediately after in verses 6 and 7. "That this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?' Then you shall answer 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 Jordan were cut off, and these stones shall be a memorial unto the children of Israel forever." So those stones, they're not for the generation that crossed, they're for the generations that didn't cross. Redemption is deliberately framed as something that has to be taught. We're told that our mission is to take our history and turn it into our memory because our memory is what's going to build our identity. And one of the most powerful tools or weapons we have in our spiritual arsenal is our history. You know, sometimes you look at Israel and it's scary. We're surrounded by enemies, alone in the Middle East. Whenever fear creeps in, we need to remember every salvation throughout our generations. When our faith is clouded by doubt, we can always rely on our past to just as God has saved us for 4,000 years, he will save us in this generation, too. Israel's history is really like unlike any other people's history in the world. It's a fact. We should never take that for granted. In fact, Joshua is telling us that our history is something we can really rely on. And Joshua is now laying down the first monument in the land of Israel for generations to come. You know, it's amazing. Most parents spend half their lives trying to get their kids to ask fewer questions. Why this and why that? And are we there yet? And why can't I have ice cream for breakfast? And then and why why why? And and here at the literal foundation of Israel's national conquest of the promised land, Hashem says, "I want you to build a monument specifically designed to maximize questions from your children." It's like the entire military campaign of Israel begins with divine parenting advice. If your kids aren't asking questions, you're probably not telling the story well because redemption isn't sustained by the miracle itself. It's sustained by the conversations and the questions that the miracles sparks by the stories we tell our children. Yeah, that's just really true. You know, I think it really makes our culture different. Some people think that questions are an assault to their faith. And here Israel is being taught the more questions you confront, the stronger your faith becomes. And so then the chapter records something that's it's usually missed. Just they kind of gloss over it because Joshua commands something that God didn't explicitly say. In verse 9, "And Joshua set up 12 stones in the midst of the Jordan in the place where the feet of the priests which bear the ark of the covenant stood. And they they are until this day." So there is actually two memorials. One visible on land and one that's hidden beneath the waters. He takes stones from the water, brings them to the land, and then he takes stones from the land and piles them in the place of where the waters split. And so to me it teaches us that not all acts of redemption are meant to be seen. Some testimonies will always remain known only to those who stood in the water. You know, our grandchildren will know about the Beeper operation during the war against the Hezbollah. They'll hear about the 10,000 rockets shot onto Israel and the hundreds of drones, the 300-plus ballistic missiles fired onto Israel from Iran, but they'll never know what it was like living through the miracle itself. That will always remain underwater. You know, Ari, before we end, do you have anything you want to add or share? Yeah, I just want to sort of expound on that personally because that really demands like a a personal testimony because I really love that. I love what you're saying there because it means Jewish history has always had an official version and then the version you only hear if you were actually there. It's like the difference between reading about a war in a textbook and hearing your grandfather pause mid-story and stare off into the distance and say, "You can't understand what it felt like." You know, and I think that's what Joshua is teaching us here that some stones are meant to stand on the shore where everyone can see them and point to them and take selfies with them or you know, teach them in schools. But some stones remain under the water because some parts of redemption are too intimate or too raw or too holy to ever be fully explained. And maybe that's also comforting, you know, because it means that if you lived through moments where you saw Hashem's hand and you can't quite put it into words, you're in very good company. You know, apparently that's been part of the Jewish story since our very first step into the land. We've always had two archives. You know, the one written in books and the one written in the hearts of the people who stood in the water. You know, right in line with what you're saying, the chapter ends by explaining the ultimate goal of this entire event. Verse 24, "That the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever." So there's two audiences. Israel has to remember and fear the Lord and the nations, they're to recognize God's sovereignty as he fulfills his ancient and eternal promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is the first monument built in the land of Israel. Joshua chapter 4, it's a story about what happens after we cross the river and the waters close because eventually the waters are always going to close in our lives. Life moves on. Miracles experienced, they fade into our memory. You know, that rush, that urgency, it passes. The fear quiets down. We have to do something deliberate for a moment of salvation to become a legacy in our lives. Israel is being taught something foundational at the very birth of the nation in the land. If you don't preserve your memory, you will lose your identity. And if you lose your identity, you will forget why you're here. Our success and really the success of any country is built on a shared memory and a shared identity. And for Israel, what we have to remember is that we are a people of miracles. All right, my friends. That was Joshua chapter 4. If you're enjoying this series and you want more, take the next step on the journey and find out more at the Land of Israel Network at the landofisrael.com. We'll see you again tomorrow >> [music] >> for Joshua chapter 5. >> [music]