These Stones: Deuteronomy 27.1-8

When my daughter was about 18 months old, she took me for a walk. She led me to a gravel parking lot and picked up one stone. There was nothing special about that stone, but to her it was the greatest thing ever. She studied it. She stared at it. She carried it like it was made of gold. For whatever reason, that stone was important to her, and because of that it was important to me.

That stone still sits on my desk. It serves as a reminder of all the good memories that Molly and I have shared. It also serves as a hope for many memories yet to be made. I love my daughter and that stone reminds me on a regular basis of what a wonderful person she was (and is).

The passage at hand encourages the Israelites to use stones to remember the deliverance that God had accomplished for them. They were to set up stones and write upon them the work of God and the law of God. I think that we should also use stones to do some other things as well.

• The Promises of God. The stones that we set up should remind us of all the promises that God has made to us and the fact that he will keep his promises. He promises to never leave us and he never will. He promises to work everything for our God, and he will. Remember the promises of God.
• The Love of God. God loves you no matter what. He loves you in every circumstance. The Bible teaches that God is love (1 John 4.8); That God loved us while we were living in sin (Romans 5.6); and that God loved us so much that he gave his son for us (John 3.16). Remember the love of God.
• The Peace of God. God offers to us a peace that is beyond understanding (John 14.27). In every storm, difficulty, conflict and tragedy, God wants to give us his peace. Remember the peace of God.

A tendency could be to put too much emphasis on our "stones" however. Let me conclude with this simple, but significant reminder:

"Don't worship the stones, let the stones help you worship God."