What to do with a Miracle

Read Joshua 4.

Imagine standing in the middle of a river at flood stage, with the hand of God holding back the water and millions of people crossing on dry ground.  

Why did God lead them to this spot and then perform this powerful miracle?  Why did He not instead lead them north on the west side of the Dead Sea and avoid this?  I believe there were at least three reasons:

1. Generational.

The previous generation, after crossing the Red Sea on dry ground and witnessing God's power to take care of them, rejected God's leading the nation north into the land of Canaan.  They feared the inhabitants, they feared the fight ahead, and they feared the high walled cities of the land.  Indeed, they embraced their fears instead of acting on their faith in God to take care of them.  Now, 40 years later, God gave the 2nd generation a similar water-crossing miracle and led them straight to one of those high walled cities.

2. Theological.

God's miracles are never performed for show.  They are not intended merely to wow the people.  Rather, the miracles always were used to validate God's message.  In 3:10, Joshua explained in advance why God was going to do this miracle.  "Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the (the inhabitants of the land)."

3. Memorial.

The LORD instructed that a representative of each of the twelve tribes go back into the middle of the river bed and for each of them to shoulder a stone out to the west bank.  There they were to stack them as a monument.  To this day, monuments are built, usually by governments, for reasons of honor, memory, and teaching about people and events.  This is exactly the case here.

"When your children ask in time to come, 'What do those stones mean to you?'  Then you shall tell them..." (4:6)

"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." (4:24)

When God answers a prayer, when we see His hand move in circumstances, it is an opportunity to honor Him by telling others what this means to us and how mighty the LORD is.