It takes a special person to be a soldier – they leave everything behind to fight for others…they risk their very lives for the cause of freedom, hope and ultimately peace. Memorial Day commemorates those who fought and fell paying the greatest price for freedom that anyone will ever pay – on this day we remember the sacrifice, we remember the blood. We remember the faces and the lives of people who were not only prepared to give all for their country but who also did give all.
You know, when I think about it, those who paid the ultimate price for the freedom we enjoy as Americans are in certain ways much like Christ. They left their homes like Jesus did, for a strange place. They traded their normal attire for a uniform – Jesus traded heavenly perfection for a human body. They gave their lives for a just cause: the deliverance of those in bondage – our troops delivered men from the bondage of men; Jesus delivered men from the bondage of sin; both paid the price of freedom with their lives.
Y’all forgive me but Memorial Day commemorates the death of those who died to obtain and preserve the life, liberty and happiness of others. It is honestly hard for me to say “Happy Memorial Day” because the joy that we now experience came at such a great price and it is the price that we must remember today. Look at what is emphasized on Memorial Day weekend: great deals on new cars, building supplies, barbeque pits – great deals on all the makings of a great family picnic; we focus on summer vacation, graduation, some even focus on inebriation but in our celebration we forgot to remember who we have to thank for our liberation both as Americans and as Christians – fields of uniform monuments in our national cemeteries mark one group the other is marked by a single cross on a high hill just outside of Jerusalem called Golgotha and a single tomb no longer shut but wide open to reveal that it is empty; the hero that it contained lives again and forevermore.
Having said that, I’d like to spend some time considering the importance of milestones in our lives.
“And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’ ” Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever. ” (Joshua 4:1-7)
[v.6] “What do these Stones Mean to You…?”
Forty years of wandering; forty years from the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea; forty years from their deliverance from the strong hand of bondage that they had been held by in Egypt by an even stronger hand; forty years of wandering until all those who were of a generation of doubt concerning God and His goodness had died; forty years to get to this moment in time. And now, the people of God, a new generation, and a generation that had not doubted Him stood on the banks of the Jordan River standing for the first time in the land of promise. The people had crossed over; [v.1] says “And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua” – the people did not cross over in boats, they did not cross over on a bridge; and they did not wade across the river as it was well out of its banks [see Josh.3:15-17] – the Bible says that they crossed on the river bottom:
“Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.” (Joshua 3:17)
The moment the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant touched the flood swollen river it stopped flowing, piling up in a heap – God miraculously lead Israel into the land of promise on dry ground. To commemorate the occasion God commanded that a representative of each of the twelve tribes of Israel return to the place where the priests stood, each was to take a stone from there which would be used to memorialize the event. The memorial was to be a lasting reminder to future generations of their crossing of the Jordan into the Promised Land on dry ground.
What did those stones mean?
- The stones were a reminder that God is faithful. The stones memorialized the faithfulness of God to keep His promises. [Num. 14:28-31] “Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised.
- The stones were a reminder that God had been and would be present.
- The stones were a reminder that God is mighty [see Josh. 4:24].
- The stones would be a source of encouragement to all people. Set up in the next camp in which the people stayed; the camp at Gilgal [Josh. 4:20], the stones would serve as a source of hope during the difficult days ahead. How? Biblical history bears out that the Israelites faced many challenges during their journey – even in the context of topography, until now the people had wandered largely in the valleys of wilderness and in the desert, but now, after having crossed the flood swollen Jordan all that they could see past the plains of Jericho were the mountains of Canaan. Their journey would be difficult but the memorial and others like erected throughout the land would serve to remind them during times of doubt and fear that, as David later wrote in [psl.60:12], “Through God we shall do valiantly.” The monument would serve to remind them that [Rom.8:31] “If God is for us, who can be (who can stand) against us.”
But there is something else to which these stones point not so much contextually, but rather by application; the Bible says that not only did the twelve men of Israel take up stones for the camp, but Joshua also returned to the place where the priests stood and there he erected a memorial [Josh. 4:9] which upon the final steps of the priests from the river would again be covered by the waters leaving them only evident to God; this he did before all of the people.
What do those stones point to?
- Those stones marked the end of one journey…The stones in the river point to and mark not only the place where God met them and provided for the people; but it also marked the place where their old way of life ended – their life of wilderness wandering ended with that river crossing.
- …and the beginning of another journey. The stones on the west side of the river, in the land of Promise, erected in Gilgal pointed to new life – a resurrection of sorts.
- Together these memorials point to what happens in a person’s life when they come to faith in Jesus, as illustrated by believers baptism: [Rom.6:3-8]. By the working of God through the blood of His Son and the power of His Spirit, the old sinful, carnal man dies and the new man in Christ lives.
A greater than these…What does the cross of Christ mean to you?
There is a greater memorial than the twelve stones in the Jordan and at Gilgal, and that memorial is the cross of Jesus Christ. When a believer looks at the cross they should remember the place from which they were taken and the destiny they were bound to because of their sinful ways before they believed. When a believer looks upon the cross he or she should remember all of the miracles of God that went into their redemption – the virgin birth of Christ, the terrible suffering of Christ, and again, the blood of Jesus. Remember what God said in [Exod. 12:13], “When I see the blood…” today as then, the blood of Jesus reminds God of His promise to forgive. The empty cross, not an occupied crucifix, but the plain, empty cross along with a totally vacant tomb remind us that Jesus is not dead – we serve a risen Savior!
To me, the two strongest and most striking memorial icons on earth are the tomb stone and the cross of Jesus Christ… – one points to the expected end of every human ever born and the other to the only hope of eternal life with God:
- The tomb stone reminds each one of us that every one of us will eventually taste death [Heb. 9:27]; it reminds us of the brevity of life [James 4:14].
- The cross reminds us that death doesn’t have to have the last laugh.
- It reminds us of the life given so that we might have everlasting life [John 3:16].
- It reminds us that our freedom and forgiveness came at a great cost [1 Cor. 6:20].
- It reminds us that even when times are their worst – the one who believes in the risen Savior is never without hope [John 16:33].
- [v.7] And like the stones at Gilgal, the cross stands as “a memorial to the children of Israel (and to the world) forever” – a testimony to the love of God, to the mercy of God, to the forgiveness of God, to the hope found in Jesus Christ, to God’s great grace; to the seriousness of sin and the price paid to redeem us from it.
The stones of memorial in our lives point to what God has done.
Finally, the stones of memorial in our lives point to what God has done. God had led Israel through the wilderness and across both sea and river on dry ground; He had looked after their every need to get them where they were, and He has done the same for us – the cross being the greatest reminder of that fact in our lives and in our world today. But not all stones of remembrance are made of rock:
- They may take the form of the Bible of a loved one, now gone on to be with the Lord – the lasting reminder of their love and faith toward God; holding it brings you added peace.
- It may take the form of a picture of your kids or spouse as they were or as they are.
- Your stone of remembrance might be the very child you hold in your arms.
Whatever your stone, it should remind you of the goodness of God, the grace of God, the mercy of God and of the faithfulness of God . It should remind you of the love of God and the extreme lengths that He went to in order to make redemption, forgiveness and eternal life possible for sinners like you and me.
The memorial stones of Joshua’s day were to remind the people of certain qualities of God, memorializing a great day of deliverance in their nations history; likewise the memorials to our fallen heroes are to remind us of the sacrifice of people who gave their lives, over a million strong from the beginning of our nation’s history till now, memorializing their commitment to God, country and family – remembering their sacrifice for the freedoms we hold dear. Above all, the most common memorial to Christ: His cross, reminds us that we are loved and that Christ went to great lengths to prove it, that there is hope for tomorrow, and life everlasting for all who will trust in His name.
What do these stones mean to you?
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