(vs21-24), "When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ "then you shall let your children know, saying, ‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land’; "for the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, "that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever."
First,remember the goodness of the Lord (vs1-7). Remember that God in Christ has done everything for you by His grace,and you are SAFE because of Him. We read, “When your children ask in time to come, saying, What do these stones mean to you? Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever” (vs7). Don't credit men or yourself, and don't turn away from Who saved you. A problem is that we think it was the preacher, or the feeling, or the deed, and trusting these things, in any measure, is wrong. We need reminding because this walk of faith has a single message of Christ and Him crucified, and we're to remember and focus on Him. Don't be distracted. Don't put your hope anywhere else. Remember you're saved by the grace of God through the blood payment of Christ and by the power of the Spirit. This is a fact, not a story. The bible is the record of truth, and we meet God with this hope before us.
Secondly, obedience elevates us (vs8-14). If we obey God, then God will show Himself faithful to the obedient, and people will fear, knowing that God is with us. We read, “On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life” (vs14). If we LIVE godly, then conviction will come to others (2 Cor 4:2). There is a power beyond human reason; it is the power of obedience manifesting itself to every man's conscience in the sight of God. Concern yourself only with obedience to God's will, and God WILL exalt you in due time as promised. He will give a reward, even as He highly exalted His Son who laid down His life obediently as the remission of sins.
Thirdly, if we want salvation, then we must believe on Christ (vs15-18). We read, “And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before” (vs18). It isn't enough to want to be saved or even want to do good. God's wrath is only appeased by the Lord Jesus, the ark of the covenant, the place where God meets sinners in peace (Ex 25:22).
I spoke to a friend that I've known for some time on this matter, again. She wants to serve God, and she wants atonement for sins, but she is slow to learn that the only atonement for what I've done to my fellow man is to die in hell eternally or have it paid by Jesus Christ. I cannot be “nice” the next time around. I can't lock myself into a torture chamber and exact punishment from me suitable to cleanse the conscience before God. Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, the Perfect One who died and rose again, is the One who put away sin. Believe on Him, that He reconciled you to God, paid for your sins, and has earned you the power to sin no more, or you won't be accepted. There is PEACE for all believers, and there is WRATH for all who don't implicitly believe Christ, casting the whole relationship with God upon Him, dealing with God by Him, and believing that honoring Him is the right course of the forgiven.
Finally, God's hand is mighty to save so that He might be feared and reverenced for wrath-removing forgiveness (vs22-24). The fact that He saves sinners and gives us life makes Him the object of all worship. He is NEEDFUL.
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