… Stones of Remembrance[1]
…
1 And Joshua the son of Nun
sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even
Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and
lodged there. 2 And it was told the king of
Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of
Israel to search out the country. 3 And the king of Jericho sent
unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are
entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country. 4 And the woman took the two men,
and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they
were: 5 And it came to pass about the
time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither
the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. 6 But she had brought them up to
the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid
in order upon the roof. 7 And the men pursued after them
the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them
were gone out, they shut the gate. (Joshua
2:1-7)
We approach a most solemn event that has troubled some theologians and
Christian believers over the ages: Why would God require all inhabitants
(including women and children) of Jericho to be killed? This matter will arise
in Part III of our devotion, but we may make some explanation in prelude to it
at this point. You will remember that God is gracious to those who love Him and
obey His will. Recall the city of Sodom in which God could not find even two
who were righteous in the city. Even the daughters of Lot were less than
righteous, and were saved only as a favor to Lot. So God destroyed the whole
city - every man, woman, and child. Was this just? Of course it was just. Sodom
had become a den of iniquity and had turned to the most horrendous of sensual
sins. In His omniscience and Providence, God knew every last one of their
offspring would likewise reject righteousness and follow in the path of their
fathers. None who reject God are worthy of life and grace. That is just. They
deserve, as did we before we were accounted among the Elect, death!
So, out of Sodom, God saved the only righteous man of the whole lot - LOT! (no
pun intended) Jericho is likewise a city lying just to the west of Jordan Waters.
Its rulers and inhabitants knew all about the saving graces of God in bringing
the Children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage and the manner in which He
followed (and led) them in the wilderness with many miraculous interventions.
Yet, they rejected God and chose rebellion to Him. This is born out in the
testimony of Rahab. God knows His people wherever they be, and God had a
certain harlot in Jericho whom He would raise to righteousness and renown -
Rahab. Because of her, just as with Zaccheus, she and her whole family would be
saved from the ravages of war to come. Here her testimony of God: 8 And before they were laid
down, she came up unto them upon the roof; 9 And she said unto the men, I
know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon
us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. 10 For we have heard how the LORD
dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what
ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan,
Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. 11 And as soon as we had heard
these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in
any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and
in earth beneath.
(Josh 2:8-11)
It does not take an overly wise farmer to realize that a peach tree will bear
peaches just as a wicked generation will bear fruit of a nature like unto
itself. So God would rid the country of the poison of Jericho in one fateful
day! That is justice for all deserve death having fallen short of the
righteousness of God, but some are granted grace and forgiveness by being drawn
to the breast of God, and forsaking a sinful past. This did Rahab! Please do
not doubt that God may soon render such a judgment against the fair haven of
these United States for its abject rejection of Him and turning to the filth
and grit of the sensual gutter. Naturally, as long as planting and harvest time
endures, He is always alert to hear the combined prayers of his people as noted
in 2 Chron 7:14-15 - If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble
themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then
will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made
in this place. You will also note that God does not demand every citizen of
the land to pray in such a way - only those who are "called by my Name
(i.e. Christian). From what I see of the modern church, this may never happen
until the fires are falling.
Rahab extracts a vow from the spies who have come into Jericho to spy the city
out that they will spare her house and her family since she has helped the men
escape. They agree and ask that she tie a scarlet cord in her window piece as a
sign of her fidelity to Israel. This was much like the lamb's blood over the
doorpost in
Goshen. Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind
this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and
thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy
father's household, home unto thee. And it shall be, that whosoever shall go
out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his
head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house,
his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. (Josh
2:18-19) As
Christians, should we, too, not bring our " father, and thy mother, and
thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto" the
place of safety and salvation in Christ? For the sake of brevity, I am passing
over many inspiring details of the story that may be had by a personal reading
of the text by our readers of this devotion.
The two spies escape Jericho and return to report to Joshua. "Truly the
LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants
of the country do faint because of us." (Josh 2:24) Please note what
truth is revealed in the report of the two spies: the agnostics, atheists, and
pagans fear God, but choose to deny Him. See with what audacity and fervor
those who claim themselves to be atheists attempt to eradicate every memorial
and mention of God in our society. If they believed our faith in God to be
nonsense, why would they be so zealous to extinguish the mention of His Name?
Mere superstition does not evoke such animated opposition, does it?
Joshua now issues his Operations Order through his subordinates: And Joshua
rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan,
he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. (this
position constituted Joshua's Line of Departure) And it came to pass after three
days, that the officers went through the host; And they commanded the people,
saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the
priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go
after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand
cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye
must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore. And Joshua said unto the
people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you.
And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and
pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went
before the people.
(Josh 3:1-6)
I doubt any land force in the then civilized world observed such detailed and
organized structure as this host about to cross the Jordan. Unquestioned
discipline is imperative during great ventures and occasions.
And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the
sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be
with thee. (Josh 3:7) God will always magnify a good
Christian leader who is obedient to His Word, but He is truly magnifying His
own glory since all glory belongs to God. The Lord, too, will forever precede
His people in dark, as well as light, paths. Behold, the ark of the covenant
of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan. (Josh
3:11)
Here, the hosts of our fathers, and our father's God, encamp
by Jordan Banks. The occasion has great and deep meaning on our spiritual
lives. It represents the crossing from the wilderness of the sinful world of
the righteous people of God into His Kingdom at last. The name of the river, Jordan,
means "descender." This is representative of the Lord Jesus Christ
who is the only One to descend from Heaven and live among us. I have written
another devotion regarding the nature and comparison of this river with the
life of our Lord.
The season of this crossing is Spring - most surely March, when the melting
snows of Mt. Hermon fill the river bed to overflowing. God chooses the most
difficult times and obstacles for us to cross to show forth His great power and
glory.
10 And
Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he
will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites,
and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and
the Jebusites. 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant
of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan. (Josh 3:10-11) Jesus passed over Jordan Banks
before us that we may be also privileged to pass into that Paradise of God that
awaits His people. Such an historical event is worthy of memorials, and God
provides that consideration just as surely as the cross at Calvary stands in
for a memorial. And it came to pass, when the
people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing
the ark of the covenant before the people; And as they that bare the ark were
come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in
the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of
harvest,) That the waters which came down from above (from Galilee) stood and rose
up upon an heap very far from the city Adam. (Josh 3:14-16) Adam was about 30
miles to the north of the encampment and site of crossing. God expects us to
remember His Providential intercessions in the lives of nations and
individuals. and all the
Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean
over Jordan. (Josh 3:17) So what memorial have we to
erect of our passing over Jordan, or in our establishment as a God-fearing
nation?
And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that
the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, Take you twelve men out of the people, out
of every tribe a man, And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the
midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve
stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging
place, where ye shall lodge this night. (Josh 4:1-3) For what purpose was the
strange command given by God to Joshua? And Joshua said unto them, Pass over
before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up
every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the
tribes of the children of Israel: That this may be a sign among you, that when
your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these
stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off
before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the
waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto
the children of Israel for ever. (Josh 4:5-7) Stones of remembrance are
important, for if we know not how far the Lord has saved us out of bondage, how
shall we know the value of that salvation?
I am troubled to believe that America has forgotten her Stones of Remembrance;
and what are these stones? They are the way markers of our freedoms, and of the
God whose Providence led our way in the days of our ancient founding as a
nation - the Bridge at Concord, the Liberty Bell, the Declaration of
Independence, Valley Forge, the bombardment of Ft. McHenry and the Star
Spangled Banner aloft - these are only some of our Stones of Remembrance. The
courageous men and women, living and dead, who fought and bled for our freedoms
are also stones of remembrance. Do you remember them, or has Israel forgotten
her stones: And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God,
who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side.
(Judges 8:34)
Have we forgotten Yorktown, Vera Cruz, Gettysburg, San Juan Hill, Flanders
Field, Normandy, Bastogne, Iwo Jima, Bataan, Chosin Reservoir, or Hue Phubai?
Perhaps our memories have faded, but the memory of the Lord
has not faded.
He remembers, and we had best remember!
