When all the nation had
finished passing over the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, “Take twelve men
from the people, from each tribe a man, and command them, saying, ‘Take twelve
stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the
priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in
the place where you lodge tonight’”…“…This may be a sign among you. When you
children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ then you
shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of
the covenant of the LORD. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the
Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial
forever”…“For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until
you passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea…so that all the
peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may
fear the LORD your God forever.” (Joshua 4:1-7, 23-24)
Earlier this month I got
to join a tour group for 9 days in Israel. We started out in the north based on
the coast of the Sea of Galilee and then traveled and based in Jerusalem for 5
nights. We went to over 25 locations that have biblical significance in
addition to touring multiple days around the city of Jerusalem. Maybe you’re
thinking we must have seen everything there is to see, but there were plenty of
biblical sites that were not on the itinerary and which we didn’t have time to
go to. It truly was an amazing, eye-opening, and enriching trip, and one that
I’d heartily recommend especially for seminary students and pastors!
One of the things our
great tour guide repeatedly said was, “Holy sites stay holy.” What’s that about?
If you ever look at Israel, you will see lots of places claiming that a certain
site is where this or that biblical event happened. Up north, we went to sites
claiming to be where Elijah faced the prophets of Baal, where Jesus spoke the
Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus fed the 5,000. In Jerusalem,
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre claims to be built on top of the sites where
Jesus was crucified, prepared for burial, and entombed. Some of the claims are
based on geographic details in the biblical text, but another part giving
credibility to these sites being what they claim is throughout history churches
have held or built repeatedly on these sites. I’m not 100% convinced that every
site claimed is historically accurate, but I’m less skeptical or at least more
understanding when I see such claims than I was before the trip.
This concept of holy
sites staying holy isn’t just a 2,000 year-old practice certain Christian
traditions are keeping up for the sake of pilgrims and tourists. It goes back
to ancient Israel and God’s faithfulness among his people. The passage above is
part of the larger narrative in Joshua 1-5 where God’s people finally enter the
Promised Land by crossing the Jordan River. We’re told the Jordan was at flood stage—it
would have been wide, deep, fast moving, and the way through; it was a
dangerous river to cross! Yet God miraculously held the river back, likely
16-20 miles upstream, so the Israelites could go through. This was not an event
to forget!
In order for future
generations to remember God’s faithfulness in the miracle here, and “…that
all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that
you may fear the LORD your God forever,” they built a stone memorial.
Elsewhere in the Old Testament, we see similar stone memorials, sometimes as an
altar. Apparently these would look so out of the ordinary in a rocky landscape
that the ancient people would have known something significant must have
happened there. It was the task of parents and elders in the community to tell
their children and carry on the truths of the faith.
When I write to you that
“holy sites stay holy,” I’m not saying there’s some type of magic or
supernatural, divine power that one is able to find or take away from these
sites. No, but such places remind us of what God has done and how he has
revealed himself. He is truly holy and sovereign and so much greater and beyond
us. Yet he has determined to remain among those he loves and chooses. We do
well to remember his works, to continue to see where he is at work today, and
share with those who come after us that they may know the LORD is God and fear
him.
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