Remember God’s Actions

This is week two of our Fall Quarter, titled “The Soul of a Nation.” Today’s lesson is called “Remember God’s Actions” and comes from Joshua 4.

Historical Background

Today’s lesson describes Joshua leading the people across the Jordan River and then setting up a memorial to God at Gilgal. So let’s look at what is known about both of these events.

Jericho is located at the northern end of the Great African Rift Valley, which stretches from East Africa to the Middle East. The city of Jericho is located in the deepest part of the rift, making it the lowest city in the world at 670 feet below sea level. The entire Jordan Valley is a downthrown block (graben) bounded on both sides by very active north-south trending faults. These faults are extremely active seismically today.

Major movements on these faults have caused the Jordan River to be periodically blocked by bank collapses upstream from Jericho. There are historical records of this happening in 1166, 1267, 1546, 1834, and 1927 A.D. The blockage typically lasts from only a few hours to as much as several days.

At Jericho, the Jordan River is relatively narrow and shallow—10–15 feet wide and 3 feet deep. However, in flood stage, the river can be as wide as 100 feet and up to 10 feet in depth. There is a ford there near the modern-day Allenby Bridge, which separates Israel from Jordan.

The exact location of Gilgal, where Joshua set up a memorial to God, is unknown. Gilgal is mentioned 39 times in the Book of Joshua. The meaning of the name is vague, either being a “circle of stones” or something having to do with removing the reproach of slavery in Egypt.

Biblical scholars generally place the location either adjacent to the west side of the Jordan River or farther inland, northeast of Jericho. There are a number of large stone features between Jericho and Shiloh that are generally shaped like a human foot. Pottery collected within these enclosures dates to the Late Bronze Age—the time of the Conquest of Canaan.

Some scholars say these structures may have been camp boundaries for individual Israelite tribes, while others say they may represent Gilgal. The structures, which can only be properly discerned from the air, are highly controversial, as is most of the early (ca. 1400 B.C.) evidence of an Israelite conquest.

Lesson: Joshua 4:1–24

OK, time to get your Bibles out and turn to Joshua 4. Key highlights of these verses are as follows:

1. Verses 1–9: God used a miracle to stop the flow of the Jordan River so the people could cross into Canaan. He did this by having the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant stand in the Jordan, which then dried up, allowing the people to cross. After this was completed, Joshua told each tribe to select one man to go back into the riverbed and choose one large stone. These would be used for a memorial to God. The place for this memorial is called Gilgal, meaning “to roll” or “roll away.” Why this memorial? God understands our tendency to become so preoccupied with the present that we forget matters of concern. So He gives us memorials: the rainbow to Noah to remember God’s love; circumcision to Abraham as a reminder of the Covenant; manna to remind us of His continuing provision; the Ark of the Covenant to remind us of His presence; Himself in human form to teach us and help us remember His words and grace; and sacraments such as baptism and communion to remember what Jesus did for our salvation.
2. Verses 10–18: The priests carrying the Ark now cross over, and as they reach dry land, the Jordan begins to flow again. But before the waters returned, Joshua set up a second ring of stones in the middle of the riverbed. The men from the three tribes whose land was on the eastern side of the Jordan also crossed over to keep their promise. Joshua was exalted by the Lord; he is now clearly seen as the leader of the Israelites and God’s chosen one for the Conquest of Canaan.
3. Verses 19–24: Joshua then completes the memorial at Gilgal. He tells the people that the memorial is a link to their past—the crossing of the Red Sea. He then tells them they also need to “fear,” or respect, the Lord always.

Conclusions

God realizes our human tendency to forget all He has done for us, especially when things are going well. As a result, God gives us “memorials.”

These memorials are designed to:

• Remember the wonderful works of God
• Remind us of our tendency to forget all that God has done
• Demonstrate the importance of thanksgiving
• Remind us of what God does for others, not just for us
• Remind us of God’s provisions—not just now, but for the future as well
• Show that He provides for all people because God is a universal God
• Show that memorials do not have to be elaborate or costly; they can be as simple as a ring of stones

Next week we continue our study of the book of Joshua with a lesson from Joshua 6 on “God’s Complicated Promises.” As our historical background, I will talk about the archaeology of Jericho.

Have a great week in the Lord, and I will see you next week.

Dub