by Zeke Flores<\/p>\n
“So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever<\/em>” (Joshua 4:7).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Joshua 4 focuses on memory. After crossing the Jordan, Yahweh instructs Joshua to have twelve men take stones from the riverbed and set them up as a memorial. The point wasn’t decoration; it was preservation. Israel needed physical reminders of God’s work because people forget quickly.<\/p>\n
The memorial stones weren’t for the generation that crossed; they already knew what happened. They were for the children who would ask later, “What do these stones mean?” The stones created a built-in opportunity for teaching. Yahweh wanted future generations to understand that their history wasn’t random; His involvement shaped it.<\/p>\n
Practically, this pushes us to consider what markers we’re leaving behind. Not sentimental trinkets, but clear reminders of God’s work in our lives: stories, habits, decisions, and priorities that communicate something real. People around us learn from what we highlight.<\/p>\n
Joshua 4 reminds us that faith isn’t just personal; it’s generational. When God acts, we’re responsible for remembering it and communicating it. Forgetting leads to drift. Remembering leads to stability.<\/p>\n
Memorials aren’t about nostalgia; they’re about clarity.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Zeke Flores “So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever” (Joshua 4:7). Joshua 4 focuses on memory. After crossing the Jordan, Yahweh instructs Joshua to have twelve men take stones from the riverbed and set them up as a memorial. The point wasn’t decoration; it was preservation. Israel needed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1458],"class_list":["post-98265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-remembering"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2601,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-many-monuments-were-raised-in-joshua-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":98265,"position":0},"title":"How many monuments were raised in Joshua 4?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 27, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm a bit confused. How many monuments were raised in Joshua 4? I thought there were two, but my husband says there was only one. Answer: Perhaps outlining the events in chapter 4 will make things clearer: The people of Israel finished crossing the Jordan (Joshua 4:1) Joshua picked\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18701,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-the-twelve-jordan-crossing-stones-still-visible-today-at-gigal\/","url_meta":{"origin":98265,"position":1},"title":"Are the twelve Jordan crossing stones still visible today at Gigal?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 20, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Are the twelve Jordan crossing stones still visible today at Gigal? Answer: \"And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the LORD had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":97897,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/written-reminders\/","url_meta":{"origin":98265,"position":2},"title":"Written Reminders","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 11, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores \"You shall write on the stones all the words of this law very distinctly\" (Deuteronomy 27:8). Israel was to set up stones with the law written clearly. The point was visibility and clarity. God's instruction wasn't meant to be hidden or vague to serve as clear instruction.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37153,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-achans-family-destroyed-along-with-him\/","url_meta":{"origin":98265,"position":3},"title":"Was Achan\u2019s family destroyed along with him?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Was Achan's family destroyed along with him? I have found through other commentaries, Henry; Clarke; Jamison, Faucett, and Brown, etc. both yes and no answers. I'd like to know before this Sunday morning's Bible class. Thank you in advance. Answer: \"Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":98245,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/being-prepared\/","url_meta":{"origin":98265,"position":4},"title":"Being Prepared","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 26, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores \"Then Joshua said to the people, 'Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow Yahweh will do wonders among you'\" (Joshua 3:5). Joshua 3 is about preparation. Israel is finally approaching the Jordan, and crossing it will mark the beginning of life in the land Yahweh promised. Before anything miraculous happens,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":98409,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/failure-doesnt-disqualify\/","url_meta":{"origin":98265,"position":5},"title":"Failure Doesn’t Disqualify","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 2, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores \"Do not fear or be dismayed. Take all the people of war with you ...\" (Joshua 8:1). After the failure at Ai, Yahweh tells Joshua not to fear. This isn't empty reassurance; it's a reset. Yahweh is giving Israel another chance, but this time with clear instructions\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98265\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}