When the whole nation was finally across, God spoke to Joshua: “Select twelve men from the people, a man from each tribe, and tell them, ‘From right here, the middle of the Jordan where the feet of the priests are standing firm, take twelve stones. Carry them across with you and set them down in the place where you camp tonight.’”Joshua called out the twelve men whom he selected from the People of Israel, one man from each tribe. Joshua directed them, “Cross to the middle of the Jordan and take your place in front of the Chest of God, your God. Each of you heft a stone to your shoulder, a stone for each of the tribes of the People of Israel, so you’ll have something later to mark the occasion. When your children ask you, ‘What are these stones to you?’ you’ll say, ‘The flow of the Jordan was stopped in front of the Chest of the Covenant of God as it crossed the Jordan—stopped in its tracks. These stones are a permanent memorial for the People of Israel.’”
The People of Israel did exactly as Joshua commanded: They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan—a stone for each of the twelve tribes, just as God had instructed Joshua—carried them across with them to the camp, and set them down there. Joshua set up the twelve stones taken from the middle of the Jordan that had marked the place where the priests who carried the Chest of the Covenant had stood. They are still there today.
“When the whole nation was finally across, GOD spoke to Joshua:”
I was really struck by this statement in the opening verse of this passage. Joshua had to persuade the whole nation that it was in God’s plan to cross the Jordan and embrace the changes that lie ahead.
But it wasn’t until the whole nation had crossed the River…every single person…that God spoke to Joshua. Were there any dissenters I wonder, were there any who needed any serious cajoling or persuasion, or did they all trust Joshua and his leadership ability to the extent that they sensed God’s anointing upon him and were willing to eagerly embark on this amazing journey?
I then relate it to the church I am part of and help lead. I am one of several people who sense that we really need to radically change the way we do church 24/7, both in midweek and on Sundays, or we are in deep trouble. Trying to persuade people that it may be God’s will that he wants us to go on a journey which may be risky but which may be essential (not merely for growth but actually for survival) in a way which takes people with us without sounding too prescriptive is really difficult and at times seems impossible.
I long for the day when every person, every woman, man, young person and child has embarked on the journey. Maybe only then, after we have taken the risk of starting o the journey in the first place, will God reveal more of himself and his plans for us to us. We often expect the rewards without being willing to take the risks. I would even maybe go as far as to see we often want results/blessings/revelations blessings which we simply don’t deserve, given our sometimes very static approach to faith and our unwillingness to venture out of our comfort zone. When we take the decision to leave our comfort zone, God can sometimes do sombe very exciting things and we begin to hear him more clearly, both individually and collectively as a family.
Interesting that they were a pilgrim nomadic people and yet God told them to set up a permanent merker for future generations of what God had done.
We live in a fast changing world and need to be always moving, yet it seems we also need ancient markers to look back on and also be building our own for future generations (not just next week/month)
guess that is just so exciting Richard to think about us leaving permanent markers for future generations – so often we tend to poohpooh stuff that we have done in the past and some of the gaffs we think we have made but if we claim God’spromise that His Word does not return empty then that encourages me to seek God’s guidance as to how he wants to use me each day of this transitory life!