Session 3
Joshua 3:14-4:9
Memory Verse: Psalm 77:11-12
Memorials are important.
We erect buildings and monuments to pay tribute to great people and events that have shaped our history.
Memorials allow us to honor the past, share collective memories, and express grief.
Monuments may be elaborate, permanent structures like the Lincoln Memorial
or simple roadside memorials for a loved one who died in an automobile accident.
Such visual reminders stimulate our memories of the past and challenge us to live better lives in the present.
Archaeologists have discovered that ancient civilizations erected statues
and built monumental structures to celebrate and memorialize significant people and events.
These memorials helped following generations understand their identity
and recognize how they became who they are.
In the Bible, God often instructed His people to erect memorials.
It was so that they would never forget who God is,
never forget they belonged to Him,
and always remember they could trust Him in the present and for the future. (PSG, p. 28)
Summarize the miracle God provided for the people as they crossed the Jordan River (PSG, p. 29):
“At that time of year, the Jordan’s banks were overflowing.
Nevertheless, when the priests stepped into the water, the waters receded, making a dry path for all of Israel to cross (3:6-17; 4:23). When every Israelite had completed crossing the Jordan, the Lord commanded Joshua to choose twelve men, one from each tribe, to each take a stone from the riverbed.”
Highlight Gilgal on the map and
share that this is where the men took the stones from the river.
Point out that God commanded Joshua to use those stones to build a memorial at Gilgal.
We will dig deeper into these events in this session.