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Happy Thanksgiving Day! Giving thanks is so important in life that there is a Thanksgiving Day. How happy we are to see thankful children and thankful people! Where there are thankful people, there is paradise; where there are only unthankful people, that is hell-like. How can we become thankful and grateful people? To sinful mankind, thanksgiving is not natural at all. It must be learned. Today’s passage teaches us one secret of how to be thankful. That is to have a sense of history. Thanksgiving and a sense of history are closely related. In brief, when we remember certain kindness of a person shown to us, we can be thankful. However, as soon as we forget it, a thankful heart disappears. As we studied, Joshua 3 was about the Israelite’s crossing the Jordan on dry ground. One whole chapter was dedicated to record this amazing event. It was very factual. Then, another one whole chapter, Joshua 4, was assigned to describe the meaning of this event. It was to teach the Israelites a significant lesson, a sense of history: to pass on this historical event to their descendants and to let all peoples of the earth know the LORD who dried up the Jordan. To review and learn the meaning of a certain event is as important as the event itself. May God bless our study of Joshua chapter 4 on this Thanksgiving Sunday. First, historical twelve stones (1-9). Look at verses 1-3. “When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, ‘Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you, and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.” When the whole nation crossed the Jordan, it was a tremendous job. All worked hard the whole day. Now it was the time to eat and rest, finally letting the priests come up out of the Jordan quickly. But an unexpected and thunderous command came to Joshua from the LORD: “Choose twelve men…tell them to take up twelve stones from…the Jordan.” What! Go back to the Jordan! What kind of command this is! They probably questioned and complained, “Doesn’t God know our hard work and our tiredness?” Anyway, why such a command at the seemingly improper and difficult time? But to God it was the right command given at the right time. After completing the job of crossing the Jordan, another job had to be done: taking up twelve stones from the Jordan, carrying them over, and putting them down where they stay. The reason of giving this command was not explained. But General Joshua understood it in his obedient spirit to God. How did he carry out this command? Look at verses 4-5. “So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, ‘Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites.” This part of Joshua’s words is from God’s direct command. But he explained its meaning. Look at verses 6-7. “to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.” God’s command to take up twelve stones from the Jordan was for the sake of their children’s history education. The twelve stones would be the means of their history teaching, causing their children to question. God was looking ahead to the future generation. The children would ask, “Daddy, what do these stones mean? Are they not the same as many other stones? What are special about these stones?” Then their parents are to tell the children, “My children, these stones are really special picked up from the middle of the Jordan, not just any other place or the edge of the Jordan. These stones of the Jordan are the evidence that the flow of the Jordan was cut off. It was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. In fact God dried up the Jordan when the priests and all the people followed God’s instructions. These twelve stones are the clear evidence of this miracle, what God has done for us.” Then the children would say, “Daddy, that’s awesome. The twelve stones are the undeniable sign. I believe this miracle. I do believe the LORD our God, who is almighty and loving. I thank God. Thank you, Daddy” What effective education through the twelve stones displayed in the very eyes of the children! Furthermore, the twelve stones would be a memorial to the people of Israel forever. Look at verses 8-9. “So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the LORD had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot when the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.” Finally Joshua set up the twelve stones, Jordan stones, at their camp, as the sign of God cutting off the flow of the Jordan. He did this in obedience to God and with a strong sense of history. The twelve stones taken from the Jordan and set up at their camp testify that God cut the waters of the Jordan and he is almighty creator God. He began the history of his people Israelites and led them thus far for a clear purpose. Whenever there seemed to be no way in an impossible situation, he opened a way and continued the history of his people, that is, the history of God. With his power he guided the nation of his people, caring for each tribe, each family and each individual. The God who commanded them regarding twelve stones of the Jordan is the God of history. He will complete the history of God. He wants his people to have a sense of history through setting up twelve stones. To the Israelites, the twelve stones were not only the sign of God’s grace upon them but also the symbol of God’s victory in the upcoming battles in the promised land: God would continue to work among them. Once, Jesus fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. After that he helped his disciples to gather the leftover, which filled twelve baskets so that they might learn a history lesson. The twelve basketfuls of the bread were the visible manifestation that Jesus is God; he could feed all mankind. It is very important to remember the twelve stones that are memorial stones in our lives. The twelve memorial stones help us to have a sense of history. A sense of God’s history makes us thankful for what God has done for us; it makes us sure of God’s power and caring love, and it helps us to have hope and vision for our future and the future of our descendants in God’s history. As for me, this year my memorial stones are John’s gospel notes, our new Bible house and M. Moses Jung. These are the sign and reminder of God’s sovereign love, his being with me and with our Toronto UBF, and his steadfast hope for U of T campus disciple-raising work. This past year we had a historical 2008 UBF ISBC with the title “God so loved the world”. One good father and pastor took his son to a graveyard where the missionaries to the country were buried and their tombstones were erected. On the tombstones were written truly beautiful words: “Man of Vision”, “Friend of Korea,” “I would rather be buried in Korea than in Westminster Abbey,” etc. Those who have a sense of history can think of “what can be written in my tombstone in the future?” May God help us to be men and women with a sense of history through remembering and setting up memorial stones in our life journey in this world. Second, historic people. Look at verses 10-11. “Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the LORD had commanded Joshua was done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried over, and as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the LORD and the priests came to the other side while the people watched.” The priests remained standing in the middle of the Jordan to the end until everything was done (until the twelve stones were picked up and carried and moved to their camp). Most probably they had to remain standing the whole day with faith and great endurance. They were the first ones who set their feet in the Jordan and the last ones who crossed the Jordan while the people watched. They were men of mission completed, and co-worked very well with Joshua. They were indeed blessing to the people. Look at verses 12-13. “The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, armed, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed them. About forty thousand armed for battle crossed over before the LORD to the plains of Jericho for war.” The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, forty thousand armed for battle, were good influence and encouragement to their fellow Israelites with their willingness and eagerness to follow the given directions. These armed men and the priests were all historic and heroic people to be remembered in the history of Israel. Look at verse 14. “That day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they revered him all the days of his life, just as they had revered Moses.” When General Joshua obeyed God absolutely, God exalted him in the sight of all people. He remains forever in God’s history. Now there is one more interest thing recorded in verses 15-17: “Then the LORD said to Joshua, ‘Command the priests carrying the ark of the Testimony to come up out of the Jordan.’ So Joshua commanded the priests, ‘Come up out of the Jordan.’” And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD. No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before.” The time when the priests had to come up out of the water was very important. For it was the very time the Jordan would return to its normal flow. Their feet moving and setting according to God’s command would change the stage of the Jordan River (really cool), and even more the course of history. We believe that in such a way God wants us to be history-makers. Look at verses 19-24. “On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. He said to the Israelites, ‘In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, ‘What do these stone mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the LORD your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The LORD your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God.” In this passage Joshua’s setting up twelve stones was written two times, thus putting an emphasis on this stone-up-setting. And how to teach their descendants regarding the twelve stones was also written twice, before setting up the stones and after setting up. Their children and descendants had to learn the meaning of the historical event. The Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground. This was an act of God on behalf of the Israelites. He dried up the Jordan before their eyes until they had crossed over. This was as great as God’s drying up the Red Sea. God did this for two purposes. One is so that all peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is powerful. In the next chapter because of this event the enemies of the Israelites, their hearts melted in fear. They came to know the powerful hand of God and feared greatly. Even now all people of all nations should know that the hand of the LORD is powerful. The second reason is that God’s people may always fear the LORD their God. In this case “fear” is the healthy fear. God wants us to always fear him. It is having deep respect and love for him. Undoubtedly the basis of this relationship is a thankful heart. Without a thankful heart all relationships are fragile, ready to be broken. The relationship rooted in thanks and deep gratitude can be firm and forever. Can you imagine living in the kingdom of God without a thankful heart? That would be like hell again. Thank God for teaching us the significance of having a sense of history through the event of setting up the twelve stones of Jordan. May God bless us to be people who have a sense of history and thus deep gratitude in relationship with the LORD our God.

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