Stones of Remembrance

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. (Joshua 4:19-20)

The tenth day of the first month carries deep significance for Israel. It was the day God originally commanded the people to select a lamb for the Passover sacrifice, which was a moment that marked the beginning of their liberation from Egypt (Exodus 12:3). Now, on that same day, Israel entered the land and set up twelve stones as a memorial.

Those stones served as an Ebenezer, or a testimony of God’s help when there was no other way. The LORD had freed them from slavery, sustained them through forty years of wilderness refinement with supernatural provision, and now He made a way into their inheritance. God had been faithful every step of the journey.

These stones were not only meant to remind the people of what God had done; they were meant to provoke questions from future generations. God designed remembrance to be relational and conversational. Children would ask, and parents would tell.

But simply telling isn’t the goal. Our human brains remember answers to questions we ask far more than any lectures we’re given. That’s why remembrance must be active, not passive. And gratitude grows when we intentionally recall and recount God’s faithfulness.

Let me ask you these questions to consider:

• Do you create space to remember what God has done in your life?
• Do you share those stories with your children and/or those around you?
• How can questions be asked if we never set up stones of remembrance?

Joshua 4:24 tells us these memorials served as a testimony so that all the peoples of the earth might know the hand of the LORD. Our remembrance of God’s faithfulness is not just for us, it’s a witness.

Let’s not neglect our testimony. God has done great things. So, let’s remember them, speak of them, and pass them on.