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Daily Devotion: Joshua 4:4-7


Joshua 4:4-7    "Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:  (5)  And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:  (6)  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?  (7)  Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever."

The people had passed over the river and are now standing on the side of Jordan where God had promised the land to them. The Word of God says that the people were "clean passed over". That is every one of them walked across into the promised land. We already know that some of them had wanted to be given the land back on the other side. Once the battles had been fought and the land dispersed, they returned back to that side of Jordan.

Before the priests, who are carrying the ark of the covenant, come out of the river, Joshua sends one man from every tribe back into the river bed to bring out twelve stones. He tells them to use those stones to build a memorial unto the Lord. It was to serve as a constant reminder of the manner in which the Lord brought the people into the land. To this day, the national history of Israel is very important. The people carry a constant reminder of where they came from and the manner in which the Lord brought them to the place where they now live. When your children ask, tell them the miraculous manner in which the Lord brought you here.

I must say this without being political. It is a sad state that for whatever reason, there are those who are trying to reduce our nation to a society who cares nothing about the blessings given to us by our Lord. Just as Israel was blessed of the Lord to have a land in which to live, we also have been blessed beyond measure. We are thankful first of all to our Lord for the blessings of the United States. But through the history of our nation, there have been courageous men and women who have stood strong in faith. We have received many blessings as a result of them. If we forget where we came from and where we have been, we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over.

When your children ask, you "shall answer them, that the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD." Though we do not dwell in the past, it is important that we never forget where we have come from. Our forefathers endured much suffering to ensure our nation to be free. Many have given their lives for the assurance of freedom. We dare not forget the blessings of our Lord that have been given through those. We must be that generation that is faithful in telling our children and grandchildren of our great God and our wonderful heritage.

God bless America. Land that I love. Stand beside her. And guide her. Through the night with the Light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam. God bless America, my home sweet home.
God bless America, my home sweet home.

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