Creating a Memorial

Creating a Memorial Commentary by Mark Scarlata Cite Share Show Bible Passage Read by Ben Quash Upon crossing the Jordan, the final act of the Levitical priests and the Israelites is to erect a memorial. Joshua calls men from the twelve tribes of Israel to descend back into the Jordan to retrieve a stone. The twelve stones are then arranged by Joshua as a memorial to the Lord at Gilgal (Joshua 4:1–9, 19–24). The stones are for future generations, to remind them that it was the Lord who led them across the Jordan and the Reed Sea, ‘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’ (v.24). The erecting of a memorial (matsevah in Hebrew) at important religious sites is found throughout the Old Testament. Jacob set up a stone pillar at Bethel (Genesis 28:18), Moses created twelve pillars at the base of Sinai (Exodus 24:4), and the Israelites were frequently commanded to tear down the cultic pillars of the Canaanites in the land (Deuteronomy 7:5). The significant feature of the stones in Joshua, however, is that they are to remind all generations of YHWH’s mighty acts to save Israel. The creation of stone monuments was part of human artistic expression long before the Israelites. The Calanais Standing Stones on the Outer Hebrides of Scotland are an extraordinary collection of stones that were erected around 2900 BCE. The circular setting presents a cruciform-shaped monument on a dramatic landscape elevated above sea level. The Lewisian gneiss stone is a foliated metamorphic rock that contains bands of varying mineral composition. These bands offer a polished, interlocking texture that appear like stripes in the stone. The massive central monolith stands around 4.8m and is estimated to weigh 4.5 tonnes. Archaeologists do not know what the site was used for, but some speculate that it was an astronomical site while others argue that it was a ritual site where the dead were buried (Burl 2005). Whatever the reason for its creation, it still stands nearly 5,000 years later as a memorial to a people who once lived there. Unlike the Israelite monument, no story is attached to the Calanais Stones, at least none that is remembered. Yet, they are a reminder of how powerful and enduring a stone monument can be in re-telling a story from one generation to another. Maybe this is why God commanded the Israelites to do the same so that thousands of years later they would still remember his mighty works of deliverance through the Jordan. References Burl, Aubrey. 2005. A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland, and Brittany (New Haven: Yale University Press)