What Do These Stones Mean?
In Joshua 4 the account is told of Israel’s memoria lcrossing of the Jordan River to take possession of the land of Canaan. The Lord instructed Joshua to take one man from each of the twelve tribes, and for them each to take up a stone from the middle of the Jordan. He said, “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…these stones shall be for a memorial…” (vv 6-7).
What Do These Stones Mean?
One thing this passage teaches is that God is mindful of the “next generation.” He wants our children and our children’s children to know why He did what He did among His people. Moses once said, “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children…” (Deut. 6:6-7).
Today, of course, we do not live under the old covenant of Moses but under the new covenant in Christ (Heb. 8); yet this concept is still true (God is mindful of the generations that follow). In Ephesians 6:4 Paul says, “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” (Also read 2 Timothy 1: 5 and 3:14-15). You see, we have an obligation toward our children; to diligently teach them and to remind them of God and His word. Consider this: here in the church age, the Lord’s Supper is a memorial feast (1 Cor. 11:24-25). If your children should ask you, “What does this mean?”…would you be able to tell them?