Memorial Stones: God's Graciousness

The progression of the memorial stones in Joshua is amazing to me. The first reminds us of God's faithfulness, that God keeps His promises. But the second reminds us of our own unfaithfulness. The third is about second chances after we're unfaithful. While the fourth reminds us to be obedient to God's Word. When we are then we shouldn't have too many of the the second and third memorial stones behind us. (Wouldn't that be lovely?) The fifth is all about God's graciousness - particularly when we get in situations we shouldn't be in.

See Joshua and Israel had been tricked. They were told to wipe out all the people in the land of Canaan. The Gibeonites knew that was coming, and so they sent a delegation who acted as if they had been on a long journey. They met up with Joshua and the Israelites and told them that they weren't part of the land of Canaan and that they wanted to make a peace treaty with Israel. And Israel fell for it. Maybe they were tired of fighting. Maybe they just didn't think that anyone would lie to them. Maybe they felt like they were too busy to stop and ask God first. Whatever the reason, they made the covenant.

When the other kings in the area heard of the covenant between Gibeon and Israel they gathered forces together and attacked Gibeon. The men of Gibeon immediately sent for Joshua, and with the new treaty between them in place, Israel went up to defend Gibeon. During the battle, God caused the sun to stand still at the plea of Joshua. Joshua 10:14 says, "There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel." After their victory, they put the bodies of the dead kings in a cave where they had hidden and Joshua stacked stones at the entrance of the cave.

"[T]he Lord fought for Israel." I just love that phrase. I love knowing that the Lord fights for His people. He fights for His Church. He fights for His Bride. That just gives me shivers! But the thing I love most about that, is that God fought for Israel to protect a covenant that they should have never made in the first place. He could have sat back and watched them try to do it on their own - after all, they were in that position because they rushed ahead of Him anyway. But He fought for them in His graciousness. They didn't deserve it, yet He was there.

I don't know about you, but I can be like the Israelites. I can rush ahead of God, make decisions without consulting Him, and end up fighting a battle that never should have been mine to face. I'm so glad that when I do, He graciously fights for me - not with me - for me! I wouldn't want to do it on my own.

Maybe you rushed into a relationship that has turned out to be a battle. God can fight for you. Maybe you dug yourself a little too deep in your enthusiasm to serve. God can fight for you. Maybe you made a financial decision that has become a nightmare. God can fight for you. Whatever situation you're in that you know good and well is your own fault, God can fight for you.

I want to point out one thing though. God fought for Israel, but they were still in the midst of the battle. He did miracles for them, but they still picked up their swords. God may do miracles, He may fight, but we shouldn't just sit back and do nothing. If your finances are a mess, God may provide in ways you never expected, but you should learn how to make better decisions in the future. God can change a heart in a marriage, but you better make sure that your own heart is willing to change. God may give you the wisdom and energy you need to power through the busyness you're drowning in, but that doesn't mean you should continue to overwhelm yourself.

God helps us and fights for us because He is gracious. Yet He uses those times as opportunities for us to learn and grow.

Memorial Stones: Obedience to God's Word

When Joshua placed the fourth set of memorial stones, Ai had just been defeated. Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal, and they offered sacrifices to the Lord. On this altar (made of uncut stones), Joshua wrote a copy of the law. It was at this point that Israel gathered on two mountains (Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal) and exchanged the blessings and curses that Moses had commanded them to do before they entered the promised land. In Deuteronomy 27:26 this ceremony ends with these words, "'Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'"

We can have Scripture cross-stitched in beautiful designs all over our house. We can post beautifully scripted verses on the internet. We can put verses on our clothing, our purses, our jackets, our coffee mugs. We can have ten Bibles, Bible apps, devotion books, commentaries, and reference books all over our house. But if we don't actually follow the commands of God, it's worthless. Jesus said it Himself in John 14:15, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." We can't claim we love Jesus if we don't live by His words. It doesn't work. Instead we show Him contempt when we refuse to obey Him.

In a later letter, John goes a little further. We don't only show love for God by obeying His commandments, but we show love for others. 1 John 5:2-3 says,  "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome." When asked which of the commandments was the greatest, Jesus responded that it was to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love others as yourself. Obedience shows love.

While not everyone in the world has access to a Bible, there are more options than there have ever been before. In America, most Christian families each own their own Bible - most likely several. We have a Bible app on every device we own. There are websites that we can go to and read the Word in multiple versions with commentary. We have so many ways to read God's Word. That makes it even more sad when we don't obey. It's right there, all around us, but we act like we don't care.

I think because we have so much access to the Word, we don't internalize as we should. Psalm 119:11 says, "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." It's important to have God's Word in our hearts, in our minds, because it helps us to avoid sin. I know that when I face temptation it's a lot easier to combat it when a verse comes to mind. We can post Scriptures everywhere, but unless they're in our minds and written on our hearts (Heb. 8:10) it's so easy to ignore them.

The progression of these memorial stones is amazing. First God is faithful - always. Second, we are not faithful. We will sin. Third, God gives us second chances. Fourth, we keep God's Word in our hearts so that we can be obedient to Him. When we manage to obey His commands, then we don't have to suffer through the memorial stones of unfaithfulness or be given a second chance.

I challenge you to add verse memorization to your quiet time. It can be a verse that stood out to you that day during your Bible reading. You can look up verses on a topic (maybe something that you're struggling with right now) and memorize those. You can try to memorize a psalm or a chapter that means something to you. You can even attempt to memorize an entire book of the Bible. Whatever you attempt, I know that God will bless it and use it in amazing ways.