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Set in Stone

Words of Faith Final

Set in Stone

Words of Faith 10-21-2020

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2020

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

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Joshua 24

    [25] On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he drew up for them decrees and laws. [26] And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the Lord.

    [27] "See!" he said to all the people. "This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God."

    [28] Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.

 

         Written reminders are a good thing for most of us.  I write things on sticky notes.  I leave them in my car, on the mirror, and on the refrigerator.  When there gets to be too many, I scoop them away.  I also have written down more important things, turning points and commitments.  Writing things down can help me to remember the big things as well as the small.

        As we near the end of the book of Joshua, we find the great leader of the conquest frustrated by the knowledge that the Israelites would eventually fail in their commitment to the Lord.  But any further words at this point would have been fruitless. 

       Today, we might say it was time to "fish or cut bait."  It was time to renew the covenant with God even if Joshua had concerns about the people's sincerity and their ability to fulfill the commitment they were making.  Joshua solemnly renewed the covenant and wrote down their agreement in the Book of the Law of God, which was probably placed beside the Ark of the Covenant (Deut. 31:24-27).

         As a final reminder to the people, Joshua also inscribed the statutes of the covenant on a large stone slab which was set up beneath the oak at this sacred location.  This was one HUGE sticky note set in stone! Archeologists excavating the site in Shechem have uncovered a great limestone pillar, which may be referred to here. 

         As was the case in several other renewal events, Joshua said this stone was a "witness," as if it had personally heard all the transactions of the covenant and could give testimony. This covenant renewal by which they pledged to fear and follow the Lord God was Joshua's last public act. With the memories of this solemn occasion indelibly impressed on their minds, the Israelites returned to their homes and inheritance.

         Joshua saw the stone monument as a lasting witness against the Israelites in the years ahead. But writing down a commitment can be a very positive and helpful witness as well.  Writing down a commitment to the Lord can be a powerful reminder of that moment. 

        In our church, we have a set of altar rails covered with the names of those who have committed their lives to Christ over the last ten years.  Folks can come and see the place where their commitment began.  Sometimes we write a commitment of renewal in our Bible or in a journal.  These are ways of marking a new beginning.

         Ultimately, there is no power in an engraved tablet or a marked altar or an inscribed Bible.  These are the reminders.  The power is only in the Lord Himself as He uses such a tool to call us near to Him.  The written marker can be used by the Spirit to turn our heads when we begin to stray.  The monument at Shechem was at a crossroad in the lives of the Israelites and surely did that job well for many years. 

         Is there a commitment that the Lord is calling you to nail down once and for all?  Is there a renewal that He is doing in your life that you need to mark with words somewhere?  Is there a marker buried deep in your heart that the Lord is wanting to unearth for your contemplation?

 

         Father God, I give thanks for the way You have reached out to me again and again with Your grace.  You are the source and very strength of my life.  Write upon my heart the renewal You desire in me.  In Jesus' Name.

 

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2005, 2020

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)       

2820 Business Center Blvd.

Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.