APRIL 24, 2016
A SACRED MEMORIAL
INTRODUCTION:
1. Once the people had gathered themselves to the swollen banks of the River Jordan, only then did Joshua reveal to them the Lord’s amazing plan for getting them across to the other side. (Ch. 3:9-13) As for exactly when the Lord revealed His plan to Joshua himself, we are not told. He did know that by this event the Lord would begin to magnify him, essentially elevating him to the place of honor that Moses had in the eyes of the people. (Ch. 3:7)
2. We see in the word which the Lord gave to Joshua for the people, their assurance that God was with them, and would drive out the heathen from before them, was the fact that the Ark went before them. (Ch. 3:10-11) He then described the mighty miracle that would take place the very instant that the feet of the priests bearing the Ark should touch the water, thus allowing all the people to safely pass over. (Ch. 3:13)
3. Notice, mixed in with those words of assurance and encouragement is a word of instruction that seems somewhat out of place. In Verse 12 he to them to choose out twelve men, but did not give a reason why. Although the verse begins with “Now therefore,” we were left, at that point, to wonder what the purpose was for choosing them.
4. The Holy Spirit gave us in the closing verses of Chapter 3 the record of that mighty act of God by which He delivered His people, and it happened exactly as Joshua had before predicted. So now, after the people are all safely passed over we are going to learn why those twelve men had been previously selected. Care had to be taken to perpetuate for future generations the memory of the supernatural act of God that affected the deliverance of His people. Thus, prior arrangements were made for the erecting of a sacred memorial to that end.
I. THE MEMORIAL WOULD BE CONSTRUCTED ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF THE LORD. (VERSES 1-7)
A. IT WAS IMPERATIVE THAT THIS GREAT MIRACLE SO WONDROUSLY AND GRACIOUSLY PERFORMED BY THEIR COVENANT GOD BE MEMORIALIZED.
1. It was not left up to the people, or even Joshua, to suggest or see to this matter. We might expect that Joshua would have wished to do this without being specifically instructed, but would he have thought of it as being a priority at this time?
a) What we might wish to do may not, due to circumstances, be the wise thing to do at a given time. Joshua, and others too, had to think about the march, the enemy, the camp, getting families settles, etc.
b) The Lord took the decision out of their hands. Everything was being done in haste (Verse 10), but they were not to become so preoccupied with these urgent matters as to neglect setting up a memorial to God’s glory.
c) Honoring God must always be our first priority. This we must remember, especially when obedience does not seem expedient or practical. The Lord will again emphasize this point in the days just ahead. (Chapter 5)
2. It was not taken for granted that all of the beneficiaries of this great miracle were as moved as they should have been. Too many times professing Christians fail to reflect a grateful heart.
3. Perhaps some of the people were so affected by what God had done that they would have thought no memorial to be necessary. But God, knowing the human frame, ordered this expedient for their remembrance.
4. This memorial was necessary for sake of future generations. It would stimulate inquiry, and the rehearsal would be beneficial for teachers and students alike.
a) It is terribly sad when the great truths about our own nation’s birth and development are lost; when its children do not even care to inquire; when they grow up either not having been taught, or worse, having been taught a distorted version of our history.
b) Far, far worse, however, is when the great truths of the Christian faith are being lost for the same reasons. The victims are not merely being cheated out of learning about their proud heritage; they are being deprived of the soul saving Gospel, and of knowing the way of eternal life.
B. ONCE ALL OF THE PEOPLE HAD PASSED OVER, JOSHUA RECEIVED FROM THE LORD HIS ORDERS FOR THE ERECTING OF THIS MEMORIAL. (VERSES 1-7)
1. Exactly how the Lord conveyed these instructions to Joshua we are not told. It may be that the Lord came to him as he was praying; or perhaps He sent word by Eleazar the priest, who was appointed to ask counsel for Joshua. (Num. 27:18-21) Whether the word came to him directly or through a mediator, the orders were as follows.
2. The twelve men previously selected (Ch. 3:12) were now to be employed to take each of them a stone from the midst of the river, and carry it to the place where they were to lodge on the other side. (Verse 2-4)
a) All twelve tribes, including those who would have their inheritance on the east side of Jordan, were to participate. (Num. 32:1-7; 16-23)
b) Each of the twelve men was to take up a large stone, shoulder it, and carry it over to the camp.
3. These men, after they had passed over before the Ark of the Lord to the other side, were sent back to where the feet of the priests stood firm, and from there they were to take up their stones. The stones were not to be gotten conveniently, but rather from the place where the priests stood; for it was there that the presence of God had held back the waters of Jordan. (Verse 5)
4. The stones were to be formed into a commemorative monument, and a memorial. (Verses 6, 7)
a) The monument would serve to remind the people of what the Lord had done.
b) It would give occasion for future generations to ask their parents, “How came these stones hither?”
c) Significant events in the lives of the covenant people were memorialized so as not to be forgotten, and so that future generations would know the goodness of God to His people.
d) The church too has its sacred memorials.
(1) The Lord’s Supper was instituted for the purpose of remembering the Lord’s death till He come.
(2) We commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ each Lord’s Day as we assemble together on the first day of the week.
(3) Every baptism is itself a reminder of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
(4) May our children be inspired to ask, “What meant these things?”
C. ACCORDING TO THE DIVINE INSTRUCTION JOSHUA SAW THAT THE THING WAS DONE. (VERSE 8)
1. Through their chosen representatives all of the people in all twelve tribes had a part. “And the children of Israel did so.”
2. In this we have an allusion to how our Lord Jesus Christ (our Joshua) came up out of the waters of Jordan at His baptism, having received the witness of the Father, to call twelve apostles according to the number of the tribes of Israel. Through them He would proclaim the knowledge of God to all by the Gospel.
II. TWELVE OTHER STONES WERE SET UP TO FORM A CORRESPONDING MONUMENT IN THE MIDST OF THE JORDAN EXACTLY WHERE THE FEET OF THE PRIESTS STOOD. (VERSE 9)
A. THESE TWO MEMORIALS BEAR WITNESS THAT FROM BEGINNING TO END, SALVATION IS OF THE LORD. (JONAH 3:9)
1. The one marks their departure from the wilderness, while the other marks their entrance into the Land of Promise.
2. With us who are saved, He which hath begun a good work in us, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Phil. 1:6)
3. He Who has delivered us from the wilderness of sin shall also bring us safely to our heavenly Canaan.
B. THE VISIBLE MEMORIAL AT GILGAL CORRESPONDS WITH THE INVISIBLE MEMORIAL BENEATH THE WATERS OF THE JORDAN.
1. Future generations would be able to see the stones at Gilgal; however they would have to be told about those that were buried in the Jordan.
2. When God saves a sinner there is an unseen work within the soul to which the outward life should correspond.
3. Our outward testimony and witness ought to cause inquiry as to the hope that lies in us.
4. Our children shall hopefully see the outward evidence of our Christian faith, but we must tell them about the inward work.
C. IN THESE TWO MEMORIALS WE HAVE A PICTURE OF BELIEVER’S BAPTISM.
1. Since baptism is itself a picture, we then have a picture of a picture.
2. In baptism we confess that we have died to the old life of sin, thus the stones buried in the river picture the believer as he is buried in the waters of baptism. As the believer is then brought up out of that watery grave he confesses his spiritual resurrection to walk in newness of life, thus the stones at Gilgal were a memorial to their new life in a new land.
3. When their children would ask what the memorial meant, they heard not about anything that the stones had done, but rather, that they were there as a reminder of what God had done. When we are asked about the meaning of baptism we attribute no power to the ordinance, but rather, to what it pictures, namely, our union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. (I Cor. 15:3, 4; Rom. 6:3-6) The same is true respecting the Lord’s Supper. We attribute no efficacy to the remembrance, only to what is being remembered in it, that is, the death of Christ, which alone can atone for sin.
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