Joshua 4:24 That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.
My dad is a great explainer. I can remember many times when we were driving or traveling somewhere, I would ask Dad a question. Dad would cock his head, look back at me, and say, “Do you really want to know?” What he meant by that was, “If you are just passing time and making conversation, let’s not waste our time, but if you really wanted to know, I will really let you know.”
Dad would go into detail about car engines, history, or the place to which we were driving. He would explain. That is so important! Oftentimes when we reached our destination, Dad would start a week of revival meetings and preach to other people. But, he was spending time teaching his own kids before he spent time teaching the kids of other people. There is a certain order that is appropriate in all that.
When Joshua brought Israel across the Jordan, God was very intent that Israel make a memorial of that occasion. God wanted them to aid their memory so that their children would also come to know Who God is and what God had done. God said, “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.” It was to be a memorial. Verse 7 says, “These stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.”
Notice that God talks about the children of Israel, both a nation and the family of Jacob, and then He talks about their individual children. A man might know things because was part of the nation of Israel, but he himself had children that needed to know about God’s dealings. Then, verses 21-22 say, “When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.”
The fathers were basically to say, “You passed over Jordan just as we passed over the Red Sea.” There is a “you were” and “we were.” These are two different generations. One generation remembered crossing the Red Sea, and the next generation was to remember crossing the Jordan. Their memory was to be aided in both of these.
Finally, in verse 24 it says, “That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD.” So, Israel was to set up a memorial to remind their own kids first and the heathen world second. That is true today. The people in town will know no more of God than you let your children know. It is great to witness to strangers, but what good is that if you are not doing that with your own children every day?
Think of all the things God has given us to aid our memory. We have baptism. Baptism doesn’t save a person, but it is a picture of the Lord Jesus Who does. It is to be remembered. How about the Lord’s Supper? I am not to eat the Lord’s Supper in order to satisfy my hunger. I am to eat the Lord’s Supper in order to satisfy my memory of Who God is and what He has done. Life is full of inquiry, and life should be full of answers for our children first of all, and then for strangers second, remembering Who God is and what God has done.