12 Stones, a memorial forever

Bill Henness

 

When Joshua and Israel crossed the Jordan river into the promised land, God supposedly commanded him to take 12 large stones from the rivers bed and build a mound with them on the west shore. "That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer 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. And these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel forever." (Josh. 4:6,7) Now, a memorial forever means just what it says; forever is forever. However, I can find nothing about this memorial of 12 stones in Israel today. Where were they located?
"And the people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, did Joshua set up in Gilgal." (Josh. 4:19,20)
If you take a map you can plainly see where they were supposed to be located. If it was to be a memorial forever, where is it today? The name Gilgal is now Jiljulieh which is 2 miles east of Jericho. There were two Gilgals; the other was near Bethel. I asked a pastor about this and he gave the standard fundamental answer; "The stones could be a memorial forever without still being there."
 

Suppose we consider the Lincoln Memorial. It stands today, but suppose it were torn down and the land used for a parking lot, or a farm field. 3,000 years from now would that building and statue still be a memorial having not been there for 3,000 years?

The verse says, "these stones (12) shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever." Could it be said of the Lincoln Memorial that it's stones and statue will be for a memorial to the people of the U.S.A. forever? Even though for thousands of years it was not there?

 

Bill Henness
 

Brian Worley     October 1, 2009    Ex-minister.org     All rights reserved!

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