What do these stones mean?

The story of the crossing of the Jordan River is one of my favorite stories in the Old Testament. It is found in Joshua chapters 3 and 4. The Children of Israel have been wondering in the wilderness for 40 years. They have been waiting for this day all of that time! And it is finally here. They get to go in and possess the land that God promised to Abraham and his descendants many many years ago.

As they cross the river, Joshua asks that a representative from each of the 12 tribes take a rock from the middle of the river and carry it with them to the other side. When they finish crossing the Jordan, they take the stones and stack them together to make a monument or a memorial. God wanted to make sure that the Israelites always remember how God parted the waters so they could cross over into the land that God had promised to them. The Hebrew word used for remember here is "zakar." To "zakar" something means to remember with a purpose. It is a call to action. It is not to simply recall, but to recall and act. In this case, they were to pass on the story of God's faithfulness to God's people throughout history.

God is still at work in our lives today. God is still providing for God's people thousands of years after the Children of Israel crossed the Jordan River. And God wants us to remember. And when we remember, God wants us to pass on the story of God's faithfulness. I challenge you to create some sort of memorial system within your family. It could be a journal where you record prayer requests and how you see God answering those prayers. It could be a jar where you record stories about God at work in your family and collect those stories to read together from time to time. It could be a scrapbook of pictures and stories. They could be photographs or even drawings that you and your children make together about times when you have experienced the hand of God at work. The medium is not important. What is important is that we teach our children to recognize that God is at work in our lives. The story of God providing for God's people is a story that is still being written. And we need to do our part to share our part of the story.