A Rock for the Ages

Admittedly, this looks like just a rock. Let me assure you it is not. It is a special rock and I’d like to tell you why.

(from the Book of Joshua, chapter 24) Joshua was a great commander. Through him, the Lord won many battles against the enemies of Israel. Joshua brought Israel together and talked to them about what all God had done for them. It was not the strength of the Israelite armies which had won these battles, Joshua told them, instead, God won them.

Joshua warned the people to put away all false gods or the Lord would punish them. He told them to make up their minds, whether they would serve false gods as other nations did or whether they would serve the one true God, the god who had been with them and defeated the enemy armies.

“But as for me and my house,” Joshua told them, “we will serve the Lord.”

The people answered that they would serve God too. Then Joshua made a covenant with the people. He took a huge stone and set it under an oak. This was a marker, a reminder to all who saw it that the people had a covenant with the Lord and must never break it. I imagine travelers and future generations looked at that stone and asked why it was there. Then, someone would answer that it was because of the solemn promise the Israelites made that they would never serve or worship anyone except the one true God.

Today, we may not set up actual stones as reminders of promises or as markers of certain milestones, but then again, why not? Maybe our “reminder rock” is notes made in the margins of a  Bible. Maybe it’s a journal, maybe it’s a tree that we or an ancestor planted.

On one of my door facings, I’ve marked the height of my grandchildren through the years. They can look back now and see how much they’ve grown. Spiritually, we need markers to remind us of battles won or how much we’ve grown in the Christian life.

Perhaps you have an actual rock like the one in this post. This rock came from my grandfather’s farm at Etta Bend, from his barn yard, in fact, under the burr oak tree. It reminds me of my grandparents and my mom. It stands for people who had a firm belief in God and that good will ultimately win. The rock reminds me of their unwavering strength and faith.

What is your rock that serves as a reminder of your spiritual journey and God’s faithfulness? Or, perhaps you have many reminders, tangible things that bring to mind the intangible.

We are surrounded by false gods in a permissive society. Sometimes we need a rock to help us remember that God is our ever present help and we have promised to serve Him.

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