Forget-me-not

Significant stones
There is some doubt as to just how many piles of stones the people set up. Maybe it was just one, at Gilgal (see v 20). Or maybe there was a second in the river bed itself (see v 9). It is a little confusing, but we shouldn’t let that blind us to the significance of what is happening.

The stones are set up to remember, to recognise and to rejoice in what God has done. People of faith, like everyone else, tend to be forgetful, and we need these significant things to remind us of what our good God has done for us.

Never forget
Jesus told his disciples, on the night he was betrayed, to ‘Eat this and remember me’ (1 Corinthians 11:24). We need to remember because we tend to forget.

It’s interesting to note the apparently throwaway comment that the stones ‘still there’ (v 9). These stones were an enduring memorial, and remind us that God’s perspective too is long. He doesn’t forget and he remains faithful.

Looking back to the past reminds us of God’s goodness and gives us hope for the future. Next time you come to the Lord’s table, look back with thanks – and look forward with faith as well. 

Like Moses’ Song of the Sea (Exodus 15:1–18), the stone memorial declares God’s faithfulness. In times of doubt and difficulty, Israel will need to remind herself of what God has done for them. Joshua’s leadership and authority are similarly emphasised – he is now well in charge, hears directly from God, and commands the people. How do you remind yourself of the times when God steps into your life?

In Jewish life it is traditional to leave a pebble or small stone when visiting the grave of a loved one. Our duty is to honour their memory by adding a small reminder to the larger memorial stone that is put up one year after a funeral. Similarly, the stones put up at the Jordan are not commemorating death but transition into the new life promised in the land of Canaan. An Israeli folk song says, ‘There are men with hearts of stone, and stones with the hearts of men’. Such stones speak from the heart of God’s love and power, his protection and guidance. We too need such reminders in our life journeys.

For Joshua, the priests, and all of Israel there is no going back. Just as the crossing of the Red Sea sealed the fate of the Egyptians and opened a new era in the history of the people of God, now the conquest and settlement of the Promised Land has begun. For Christians, baptism is the sign by which we declare our faith in the risen Messiah and commit ourselves to following him as disciples. It is a sign that strengthens our faith. Whenever Martin Luther felt his energy flagging, his doubt growing, or his fear strengthening, he would cry out, ‘I am baptised!’ In that cry would be the renewal of strength to go forward on whatever journey he faced.