Window Dedication Service
What do these stones mean?
As I was thinking about this dedication service this morning, and it’s significance in the life of our church, the passage of scripture that came to my mind was Joshua 3. This is where the people of Israel, after wandering in the desert for 40 years, are finally about to cross the Jordan River and enter the land that God had promised to them.
Joshua 3:14-4:7 NLT PP2
So the people left their camp to cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them. It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks.
PP3 But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge, the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam, which is near Zarethan.
PP4 And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was dry. Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho.
PP5 Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by. They waited there until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground.
PP6 When all the people had crossed the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, “Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe.
PP7 Tell them, ‘Take twelve stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan. Carry them out and pile them up at the place where you will camp tonight.”
PP8 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen–one from each of the tribes of Israel.
PP9 He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the LORD your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder–twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.
PP10 We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’
PP11 Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.” I think it would be safe to say that this story is one of the high points in the history of the nation of Israel. After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, Joshua is finally ready to lead the people of Israel into the land that God had promised to them.
PP12 But there is still one obstacle that remains: getting the people across the Jordan river. Normally it might not have been that big a problem, but we read here that the river was in it’s flood stage at this time of the year. This meant that the river had overflowed its banks, it was as wide as the length of a football field and the current was very strong, far too strong for them to try to cross. And so they had to camp on the bank and wait for 3 days. You can imagine the picture here- perhaps as many as 2 million Israelites are camped along the banks of the Jordan. As they waited, they must have wondered what was going to happen. How would they overcome this obstacle? Don’t forget that this is a new generation- those who had crossed the Red Sea 40 years earlier had all died in the wilderness. It was their children now who were camped here at the Jordan. They would have heard their parents speak of what happened when God parted the Red Sea, but they had not witnessed it first hand. And so God wants to reaffirm his power and greatness for this next generation of Israelites. He wants to show them what kind of God it is they are serving
PP13 And so God tells Joshua to instruct the priests to go ahead of the people, and to carry the Ark of the Covenant down to the edge of the river. And the moment their feet touched the water’s edge, an amazing thing started to happen! Gradually, the water level of the river began to subside. We are told that it was stopped from flowing downstream at a place called Adam. As far as we know, Adam was situated about 30 km north of where they were actually crossing. Eventually since no more water was coming down, the river bed emptied itself. And with a mighty roar of triumph the people began to cross in a great procession. This remarkable event would certainly have a dramatic effect on the nations west of the Jordan. I’m sure that many of them watched in utter amazement, but also in terror, as this amazing thing happened, as the vast nation of Israel crossed what only moments before had appeared to be an uncrossable barrier, just as they had crossed the Red Sea a generation earlier. And you can imagine how news of this invasion spread quickly through all of Canaan, of the miracle that had taken place But this event also had a very signficant impact on the people of Israel as well. In fact, it was to become a milestone in their nation’s history. And in order to commemorate their crossing, God told them to take 12 large stones from the riverbed (representing the 12 tribes of Israel) and place them in a big pile as a monument, a memorial to what had happened.
PP14 This was to be a reminder to future generations of God’s faithfulness in bringing their forefathers into the promised land. When their children asked them “What do these stones mean?” they were to tell them the story of how they had crossed the Jordan river, after God had stopped the flow of the water And I think it’s important for all of us to have “memorial stones” that mark signficant times in our lives. To remind us of those times when God has proved faithful to us, when he has worked on our behalf in a special way. The purpose of the stone monument was to bring the people back again and again to what God had done for them. In the years to come, people would pass by these stones, and it would immediately recall to their minds how the people had crossed over on dry ground. Earlier God had instituted the Passover ceremony for the same reason: so that the people of Israel would remember how he had brought them out of Egypt. That’s why we celebrate the Lord’s Supper each month, to continually be reminded of how God redeemed us through the death of his Son
PP15 So why is it so important for us to do things like this? Well, partly because it’s so easy for us to forget the past. Again and again in the scriptures, God warns the people not to forget, but to remember what happened to their ancestors. The verse we began our service with from Psalm 77:11: “I recall all you have done, O Lord; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.” Unfortunately the people of Israel did forget, and as a result very quickly turned away from the Lord. One of the most tragic verses in all of scripture is found later in the book of Judges (2:10, 12) There it says that after Joshua died,
PP16 ” Another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel… They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. “
PP17 So what are the memorial stones in your life? Are there any specific times that you can point back to and tell your children or your friends: “There God was faithful to us, There he answered our prayer.” In our family we have a number of memorial stones. One important memorial for us is a living one: our oldest daughter Nicole. When Diane was 3 months pregnant with Nicole, the amniotic sac surround the baby ruptured, and the doctors told Diane that there was almost no chance of this baby making it to full term. Diane spent 6 months in bed wondering whether the baby would make it, or if there would be something wrong with her when she was born. But God protected Nicole thruout that time, and she turned out to be a healthy baby girl. And as we look back on that incident, and many others like it, we are reminded how God worked in a miraculous way to answer our prayers, and show his power
PP18 And it seems to me that these beautiful stained glass windows here in this church are meant to be like those memorial stones. Every Sunday, they point us to the Good Shepherd, who invited us to “Come and follow Him”.
PP19 They also help us to recall how almost 200 years ago, a small group of believers established a church here in St Catharines, to be a place where people could come and hear the good news that Jesus is “the Light of the World.”
PP20 They also remind us of the many faithful men and women who have gone before us, who gave witness in their own lives to the One who is “the Resurrection and the Life” But you see, we don’t remember them just because we want to live in the past. We remember them so that we will be encouraged to follow in their footsteps, running the race that is now set before us.
PP21 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith… let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus” Hebrews 12:1 You see the people of Israel were never meant to stay in the wilderness forever. God had a plan for them, and they had to move forward into that future God had for them. In the same way, this church can’t live in the past, we have to move forward into the vision for ministry that God has called us to. But as we do so, it’s important that we not forget what God has done for us in previous generations. As we remember God’s faithfulness in the past, that gives us faith and confidence that his faithfulness will continue into the next generation as well So that future generations will see what God has done. And I would encourage you to take time to reflect back on your own life as well. Are there memorial stones marking the significant times in your life when God has answered prayer in a special way? Where you can say: “Yes, God did that! Yes, God really did make himself real to me” And then take the opportunity to share those stories and those remembrances with your family, your friends, with your children and even your grandchildren, so that that they too will see the faithfulness of God in your lives.
