These stones are to be a memorial
to the people of Israel forever.
—Joshua 4:7
Finally, after forty years in the wilderness, the Israelites were on the verge of entering the Promised Land.
But between their camp and Canaan, the Jordan River roared at flood stage. Joshua ordered the priests to carry the Ark of the Covenant and stand in the river. When their feet touched Jordan’s edge, the water stopped flowing, and all the people crossed on dry ground.
Joshua charged twelve men to each bring a stone from the Jordan, with which he built a monument. “These stones,” he said, “will be a reminder to you . . . a memorial to the people of Israel forever” (Jo 4:6–7).
God wanted them to remember for their lifetime—and for generations to come—what he had done for them that day.
Remembrance of God’s care in the past should cause us
to trust him in the present and rely on him for the future.