These twelve stones served as a sign among them when their children ask in time to come, “What do these stones mean to you?” (Jos. 4:6). Their children would then pass unto their children forever. Another set of twelve stone were set up in the midst of the Jordan in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood. “And They are there to this day” (vs.8). That to me speaks of those Israelites who died in the wilderness for their sin of unbelief. For the place where the priests stood were marked by twelve stones, representing the spiritual leaders of the nation. Those were a sign to the children of Israel, and also to the world, that the God of Israel is the only true, powerful God; besides Him there is no other. It could also represent the Egyptian army left on the bottom of the Red Sea forever, when in pursuit to destroy Israel. While Israel reached the Promised Land, the Egyptians remained buried on the bottom of the Red Sea. It is also a picture of those who will be left behind after the rapture.
After almost forty years of pilgrimage, Moses was denied the continuation of his leading the people to the Promised Land. Being frustrated with the rebellion of the people for lacking water, Moses struck the rock twice, when God told Him to struck once to get water from it. These were called the waters of Meribah (Deut. 3:23-28). By striking the rock twice, Moses failed to uphold the holiness of God in the sight of the people. Psalm 62:2 says, The Lord lives, blessed be my rock and exalted be the God of my salvation. He is the living water. “Now on the final and most important day of the Feast, YAHSHUA stood, and He cried in a loud voice, If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink! He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, from his innermost being shall flow springs and rivers of living water. But He was speaking here of the Spirit.” (John 7:37-38, 39a). By striking the rock twice, Moses was representing the nation’s rejection of YAHSHUA, as the Living Water. He came to that which belonged to Him, and they who were His own did not receive Him and did not welcome Him. But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in His name; YHASHUA answered, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God; what is born of the flesh is flesh; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 1:11-12; 2:5-6).
The past, when we are going through hard experiences, is good to consider in order to realize the faithfulness of our God, especially when our trials are lengthy and difficult. Our past will be like the twelve stones left out of the river as a testimony to the nation of Israel of the goodness and faithfulness of God. As He was then, He is today what He was in our past, when He rescued us from our troubles. By faith we should “strengthen our weak hands and make firm the feeble and tottering knees; say to those who are of a fearful and hasty heart, Be strong, fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance; with the recompense of God. He will come and save you” (Isa. 35:3-4); “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not faint or grow weary; there is no searching of His understanding; He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary and young men shall feebly stumble and fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired” (Isaiah28-31).
My friend, let’s make the Word of God our stone of remembrance, for He is and will always be good to us, even in evil times, as He was to Israel in their journey to the Promised Land and afterward. We are traveling through the wilderness to our heavenly home. Many stones of our past we can gather to hold us trusting our God in our troubled days.
Light from the Word 