Joshua summoned the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one per tribe. Joshua told them, “Go in front of the ark of the Lord your God to the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to put a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the Israelite tribes. The stones will be a reminder to you. When your children ask someday, ‘Why are these stones important to you?’ tell them how the water of the Jordan stopped flowing before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the water of the Jordan stopped flowing. These stones will be a lasting memorial for the Israelites.” Joshua 4:4-7
New English Translation
In Joshua 4, we learn that the Israelites made a monument honoring the Lord for what He had done. However, it wasn’t for just that moment. Its purpose was to remind the people of who they served and what He had done for them. Then, when asked by future generations about the monument, they would be able to tell of the great God that they serve.
I think it’s easy for us to say “make reminders for yourself so you can remember what God has done.” However, I think we tend to let those reminders be base level, like a bigger picture of “God can do great things” and then forget about the very specific and special things He has done. What’s important to realize is that if we’re never spending time reading God’s word and thanking Him for the mighty works now, then we’re not remembering anything that we can share with future generations.
When people ask about why you serve God, if you can’t give them real examples and all you ever say is “because I’m a Christian,” then naturally people will question if you even know why you serve God. In this passage from Joshua 4, the people were instructed to tell the specific thing that God did, with detail. Not just a simple “well, God saved us.” He wants us to know who He is and the exact things He has done so we can share about Him in ways that show that we care and that there are very real reasons why we serve Him.
Biblical illiteracy is much more common than one might think. We no longer live in the generation where you couldn’t throw a stone without hitting someone who at least knew something about the Bible. The 1950s are long gone and we cannot pretend like society is unchanged. If we’re too busy ignoring this change, then we’re too busy in a fantasy world and are no longer able to help the people around us. We need to learn Scripture, we need to know God for ourselves, and we need to encourage Christians around us to do the same.
The Israelite people were immersed in knowing God when they were faithful… those times we read about them being judged for their unfaithfulness, those were the times when they weren’t spending time with God and knowing Him personally. The reason for that is because when the current generation is not connecting with God, then when the next generation starts asking about Him and searching for a deeper purpose, they see that the last generation doesn’t have a clue and they start looking elsewhere for something deeper and meaningful.
Rather than blaming the next generation for how the world looks today, ask yourself what you’ve done to help guide and lead the next generation. We cannot expect people to figure life out when we’re not even helping them find God and connect with Him. What God had the people do in Joshua 4 was help themselves learn how to seek God, remember Him, and be able to share about Him so that they and the next generations had a chance to live life with Him and know Him.
Here’s my question: How are you and Jesus doing? Are you calling yourself a Christian but not really interacting with God or having any understanding of why you serve Him? Or are you actively in relationship with Him and able to tell others why you serve the God you serve? If you’re not actively living with God, there is no time like the present to change that. He wants to spend time with you. He wants you to know Him on a deeper level. Do you want to know Him?