The document summarizes 5 stone memorials that Joshua erected according to God's command after specific events during the Israelites' conquest of Canaan, as recounted in the Book of Joshua. Each memorial served to remind future generations of God's faithfulness. The first was erected at Gilgal after Israel crossed the Jordan River. The second was over Achan after his disobedience led to defeat. The third was in Ai after Joshua defeated its king. The fourth was at Mount Ebal where Joshua engraved God's law on stones. The fifth was for the Gibeonites' defeat of surrounding kings who attacked them.

1. A Summary of the Book of Joshua
“Stone Memorials as Reminders for Israel”
What are your visual reminders of God’s faithfulness?
January 8, 2017
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA
What’s the number one thing?
https://www.allenschool.edu/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/number-1.jpg
The Glory of God!
http://christianitymalaysia.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/glory-to-god.jpg
1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
January Memory Verse
1 Corinthians 13:7 ESV
7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

2. Happy New Year!!
Welcome New Members
• David and Lea Duncan
• (DJ & Billy Ray Adams Care Group)
• Edie Sigrest
• (Julie & Ed Phillips Care Group)
References
• MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Nelson
Publishing, 1997).
• The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008).
• Reagan, Matt. Ten Big, Daily Reminders (desiringgod.org) March 20, 2013.
Introduction to the Book of Joshua
• Moses died and Joshua was chosen to lead the Israelites into the
“Promised Land”.
• To claim the land, they had to physically drive the current occupants out
of the land.
• God promised to be with them if they followed His commandments.
• The possession of the land (Holy War) took about 10 years.
The 7 Stone Memorials in Joshua
• God commanded stone memorials to be built after 7 specific events as
the Israelites conquered the land.
• These monuments were to be physical reminders of God’s faithfulness to
Israel and all others.
• They were intended to last for future generations to see.

3. Other Types of Memorials in the Bible
• Lord’s Supper – Luke 22
• Rainbow – Genesis 9
• Passover – Exodus 12
• Feast of Tabernacles – Leviticus 23
• The Sabbath Day – Deuteronomy 5
Lesson Application
• Identify visual “memorials” in your surroundings that will help you
remember God.
• What should you be remembering about God?
• The answers are in scripture.
Stone Memorials in Joshua
• These stone memorials were geographically specific and made of natural
rocks.
• Some stones were engraved with scriptures.
• These stones were not intended for worship but a physical reminder or the
witness of an event.
Stone Memorial Example

4. Stone Memorial #1 in Joshua 4
• The Israelites had crossed the Jordan River as God held back the flood
waters.
• The priests held the Ark of the Covenant in the middle of the river bed as
the people passed to the other side.
• Twelve stones were picked up from the river bed and brought to the
campsite.
Joshua 4:19-24 ESV
19 The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and
they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. 20 And those twelve
stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. 21 And he said
to the people of Israel, "When your children ask their fathers in times to come,
'What do these stones mean?' 22 then you shall let your children know, 'Israel
passed over this Jordan on dry ground.' 23 For the Lord your God dried up the
waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to
the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, 24 so that all the
peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may
fear the Lord your God forever."
Purpose of Stone Monument at Gilgal
• A reminder of God’s faithfulness in bringing Israel safely across the Jordan
into the Promised Land.
• God is always faithful to His promises.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:24 ESV
24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

5. Stone Memorial #2 in Joshua 7
• Israelites had destroyed the City of Jericho.
• Israelites suffered defeat at next battle at Ai, where 36 Israelites were killed
in battle.
• God tells Joshua that the defeat was because someone had stolen
devoted things at Jericho.
• Achan of the Tribe of Judah is identified as the transgressor.
Joshua 7:22-26 ESV
22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was
hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. 23 And they took them out of the tent
and brought them to Joshua and to all the people of Israel. And they laid them
down before the Lord. 24 And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son
of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and
daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he
had. And they brought them up to the Valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, "Why
did you bring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today." And all Israel
stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones.
26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then
the Lord turned from his burning anger. Therefore, to this day the name of that
place is called the Valley of Achor.
Purpose of Stone Monument over Achan
• A reminder of Israel’s potential for unfaithfulness and of the dire
consequences that result from disobedience.
• Deuteronomy 10:12 NIV
12 And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the
Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Stone Memorial #3 in Joshua 8
• Joshua leads another battle against Ai with God’s blessing.
• Joshua tricks the soldiers of Ai to pursue some of the Israelites leaving their
city unprotected.
• The city is burned and all inhabitants are killed as the soldiers are
ambushed.

6. Joshua 8:24-29 ESV
24 When Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the open wilderness
where they pursued them, and all of them to the very last had fallen by the edge
of the sword, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it down with the edge of the
sword. 25 And all who fell that day, both men and women, were 12,000, all the
people of Ai. 26 But Joshua did not draw back his hand with which he stretched
out the javelin until he had devoted all the inhabitants of Ai to destruction. 27
Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as their plunder,
according to the word of the Lord that he commanded Joshua. 28 So Joshua
burned Ai and made it forever a heap of ruins, as it is to this day. 29 And he
hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening. And at sunset Joshua
commanded, and they took his body down from the tree and threw it at the
entrance of the gate of the city and raised over it a great heap of stones, which
stands there to this day.
Stones from the City of Ai (El-tell)
Purpose of Stone Monument Over The King of Ai
• A reminder that God forgives sin and gives 2nd chances for victory
• Hebrews 8:12 ESV
12 “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their
sins no more.”
Stone Memorial #4 in Joshua 8
• Joshua builds an altar to the Lord on Mount Ebal.
• Joshua wrote a copy of the law of Moses on the stones.
• Israel stood on opposite sides of the ark, half of them in front of Mount
Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal.
• Joshua read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse.

7. Joshua 8:30-33 ESV
30 At that time Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal,
31 just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the people of Israel, as
it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, "an altar of uncut stones, upon which
no man has wielded an iron tool." And they offered on it burnt offerings to the
Lord and sacrificed peace offerings. 32 And there, in the presence of the people
of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had
written. 33 And all Israel, sojourner as well as native born, with their elders and
officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark before the Levitical
priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, half of them in front of
Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant
of the Lord had commanded at the first, to bless the people of Israel.
Joshua 8:34-35 ESV
34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse,
according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of
all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of
Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived among
them.
Purpose of Stone Monument Where Joshua Engraved A Copy Of The Law
• A reminder of Israel’s duty to live in obedience to the divine “Torah”, or
“Law of God”
• Psalm 119:11 ESV
11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

8. Stone Memorial #5 in Joshua 10
• The Gibeonites (6 miles NW of Jerusalem) trick the Israelites into a peace
covenant with them.
• The Israelites honor their peace covenant even when they discover the
deceit.
• The Gibeonites become the servants to the Israelites as wood cutters and
drawers of water for the Temple.
• The adjacent cities unite against the Gibeonites.
Joshua 10:5-15 ESV
5 Then the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron,
the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered their
forces and went up with all their armies and encamped against Gibeon and
made war against it.
6 And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, saying, "Do not
relax your hand from your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us and help
us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country are gathered
against us." 7 So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with
him, and all the mighty men of valor. 8 And the Lord said to Joshua, "Do not fear
them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand
before you." 9 So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all
night from Gilgal. 10 And the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who
struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of the
ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 And
as they fled before Israel, while they were going down the ascent of Beth-horon,
the Lord threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and
they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of
Israel killed with the sword. 12 At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day
when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the
sight of Israel,
"Sun, stand still at Gibeon,
and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon."
13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.
Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven
and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. 14 There has been no day like it
before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for the Lord fought
for Israel.
15 So Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

9. Summary of Joshua 10:16-26
• The 5 kings hid in a cave at Makkedah.
• The Israelites roll stones over the entrance to trap them.
• The Israelites pursue and kill their soldiers.
• The 5 kings are removed from the cave and killed and hung from trees.
Joshua 10:27 ESV
27 But at the time of the going down of the sun, Joshua commanded, and they
took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had
hidden themselves, and they set large stones against the mouth of the cave,
which remain to this very day.
Purpose of Stone Monument Over Amorite Kings at Gibeon
• A reminder of God’s gracious action in defending Israel’s covenant with a
Canaanite city.
• Deuteronomy 33:27 ESV
27 The eternal God is your dwelling place,
and underneath are the everlasting arms.
And he thrust out the enemy before you
and said, 'Destroy.'
Stone Monument #6 in Joshua 22
• The Rubenites, Gadites and half-tribe of Manasseh are released to return
to their inherited land on the east side of the Jordan.
• They decide to erect a stone monument at the west side of the Jordan
River as a reminder that they are also part of the Israelites on the west of
the Jordan.
• Those on the west side see it as a rebellion and think it is a place of
worship and for sacrifices.
Joshua 22:26-29 ESV
26 Therefore we said, 'Let us now build an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for
sacrifice, 27 but to be a witness between us and you, and between our
generations after us, that we do perform the service of the Lord in his presence
with our burnt offerings and sacrifices and peace offerings, so your children will
not say to our children in time to come, "You have no portion in the Lord."' 28 And
we thought, 'If this should be said to us or to our descendants in time to come,
we should say, "Behold, the copy of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers
made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us
and you."' 29 Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord and turn
away this day from following the Lord by building an altar for burnt offering, grain
offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of the Lord our God that stands before
his tabernacle!"

10. Joshua 22:30, 34 ESV
30 When Phinehas the priest and the chiefs of the congregation, the heads of the
families of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the people of Reuben
and the people of Gad and the people of Manasseh spoke, it was good in their
eyes.
34 The people of Reuben and the people of Gad called the altar Witness, "For,"
they said, "it is a witness between us that the Lord is God."
Purpose of Stone Monument With Peace in the Land of Gilead
• A witness to the unity of the Transjordan Tribes with Israel west of the
Jordan.
• Psalm 133:1
1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity!
Stone Monument #7 in Joshua 24
• 20 years have passed as Israel settles into the Promised Land.
• Joshua is now 110 years old.
• Joshua gathers all the leaders to Shechem for a renewal of their covenant
with God.
Joshua 24:14-18 ESV
14 "Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put
away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve
the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom
you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the
River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my
house, we will serve the Lord." 16 Then the people answered, "Far be it from us
that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, 17 for it is the Lord our God
who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of
slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the
way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. 18 And
the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land.
Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God."
Joshua 24:25-26 ESV
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place
statutes and rules for them at Shechem. 26 And Joshua wrote these words in the
Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the
terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.
• (Terebinth is a large oak tree. Abraham in Genesis 12:6 and Jacob in
Genesis 35:4 at this same tree?)

11. Terebinth Tree
Joshua 24:27-28 ESV
27 And Joshua said to all the people, "Behold, this stone shall be a witness
against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us. Therefore
it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God." 28 So
Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.
Purpose of the Stone Monument at the Covenant Renewal at Shechem
• A reminder of Israel’s duty to serve the Lord, who fulfilled every promise in
bringing them into the land.
• Micah 6:8 ESV
8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
Lesson Application
• Identify visual “memorials” in your surroundings that can help you
remember God.
• Look for God in everything!
• What should you be remembering about God?

12. Ten Big, Daily Reminders for Christians
by Matt Reagan
1. God exists. (Exodus 3:14; John 8:58)
2. God loves you. (Romans 5:8; John 16:27; Jeremiah 32:40-41)
3. Jesus died for you, and the Father has now bound himself to give you only
good things. (All things work together for good) (Romans 8:28; Romans
8:32)
4. God sees you as perfect. (The righteousness of Jesus) (Hebrews 10:14;
2 Corinthians 5:21)
5. That is because of Jesus’ perfection, not yours. You deserve hell. (Romans
3:10; 1 Timothy 1:15)
6. You will die. (Unless raptured) (James 4:14; Hebrews 9:27)
7. You will live forever in the new heavens and new earth. (Romans 8:18;
Hebrews 10:34)
8. For now, you are an exile on earth. (Hebrews 11:13-16)
9. Nothing on earth is truly worth putting your hope in. (Jeremiah 2:13;
Galatians 6:14)
10.You have no right to be unhappy. (Philippians 4:4; 1 Peter 1:8-9)
1. God exists.
Exodus 3:14 ESV
14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am." And he said, "Say this to the people
of Israel, 'I am has sent me to you.'"
John 8:58 ESV
58 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."
2. God loves you.
Romans 5:8 ESV
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died
for us.
John 16:27 ESV
27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have
believed that I came from God.
Jeremiah 32:40 ESV
40 I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away
from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that
they may not turn from me.

13. 3. Jesus died for you, and the Father has bound himself to give you good
things.
Romans 8:28 ESV
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for
good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:32 ESV
32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he
not also with him graciously give us all things?
4. God sees you as perfect.
Hebrews 10:14 ESV
14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being
sanctified.
2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we
might become the righteousness of God.
5. That is because of Jesus’ perfection, not yours. You deserve hell.
Romans 3:10 ESV
10 as it is written:
"None is righteous, no, not one;
1 Timothy 1:15 ESV
15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
6. You will die.
James 4:14 ESV
14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you
are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
Hebrews 9:27 ESV
27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes
judgment,

14. 7. You will live forever in the new heavens and new earth.
Romans 8:18-19 ESV
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth
comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation
waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
Hebrews 10:34 ESV
34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted
the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a
better possession and an abiding one.
8. For now, you are an exile on earth.
Hebrews 11:13-16 ESV
13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but
having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having
acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For
people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.
15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out,
they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a
better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to
be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
9. Nothing on earth is truly worth putting your hope in.
Jeremiah 2:13 ESV
13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the
fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken
cisterns that can hold no water.
Galatians 6:14 ESV
14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
10.You have no right to be unhappy.
Philippians 4:4 ESV
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
1 Peter 1:8-9 ESV
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now
see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and
filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your
souls.

15. The Plan of Hope & Salvation
John 3:16 ESV
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 14:6 ESV
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through me.”
Romans 3:23 ESV
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23a ESV
23a For the wages of sin is death,
 Death in this life (the first death) is 100%.
 Even Jesus, the one who doesn’t deserve death, died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins.
 The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the second death explained in
Revelation 21:8.
Revelation 21:8 ESV
8 “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the
sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Romans 5:8 ESV
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for
us.
Romans 6:23b ESV
23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Revelation 21:7 ESV
7 "The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will
be my son.”
 Romans 10:9-10 explains to us how to be conquerors.
Romans 10:9-10 ESV
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

16. Romans 10:13 ESV
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
If you have questions or would like to know more, please, contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/