After crossing the Jordan, one man from each of the twelve tribes of Israel, was commanded to take a stone from the other side of the Jordan and to pile the stones together. The stones became a reminder to the Israelites of their history, so that they could share it with the generations to come.
"And Joshua said to them, "Cross again to the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?' then you shall say to them, 'Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off,' So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever." (Joshua 4:4-7)
The stone pile was also a reminder to the Israelites of what the Lord had done.
"He said to the sons of Israel, "When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, 'What are these stones?' then you shall inform your children, saying, "Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground. For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as the LORD your God had done to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed; that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, so that you may fear the LORD your God forever." (Joshua 4:21-24)
My prayer is that, to some extent, this blog can serve as a pile of stones for my family. Not only can it be used to stay up to date with family and friends, but also it can serve as a reminder to us of where we've been and what we've done. Most importantly, I pray that it will remind us of His presence, and the work He has done, in each step of our journey.
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