Joshua 4:24 –
He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the LORD’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the LORD your God forever.
This chapter talks about building a memorial on the banks of the River Jordan to memorialize the crossing. A member of each tribe went to the riverbed where they priests and the arc were and picked up a stone and carried them to the bank. So here you have a pile of 12 stones to make sure future generations understand the power of God. This pile serves as a reminder to many generations of God’s greatness. One can see this stack of 12 stones from the riverbed and know God’s might.
This may have been great for a generation or two, but I wonder if it still exists today? I am sure it would be hard to prove a pile of 12 stones by the Jordan near Gilgal was 4000 to 5000 years old. Also, even if it was found would people still believe the story this pile memorialized? When you start reading stories like this you must read them with faith they are fact. Science today believes they have proven the Red Sea crossing and how God may have “pulled it off” and I am sure this could be explained away as some “blockage” God placed in the river.
We as humans try to explain away God by science, heck we of faith try to prove God through the natural using science. We read stories of Jesus walking on water and I have heard many try to explain that as reeds just below the surface. On and on we try to explain something that God really doesn’t want us to understand. How can a river stop or a sea part and they walk on dry ground, we may never be able to explain that by science. Sometimes we must understand God transcends the limits we know of this earth. Funny how I have accepted God’s ability to manipulate physical aspects but still am have a rough time with “time” and His ability to transcend it. But that’s another “thread”, the point is would a memorial do it or would you need to see it to believe it? This is where Thomas was also, we are more blessed to believe by faith than to know by fact.