Your 12 Stones? New blog by Bryan Craig

When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, and command them, saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests' feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.’” Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”  Joshua 4:1-7 ESV

I read this passage a week or so ago, and it really struck me.  God’s people had been wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.  Their leader Moses had died before he got to see this Promised Land that had always been the mission since leaving Egypt.  There had been so many tests of faith and ups and downs and doubts and fears.  But finally, they were crossing over the Jordan river, and as soon as the priests’ feet touched the water, there was a miraculous backflow, holding the flow of the water back, so the people could pass and walk across the Jordan River.  It was the first big sign for the people that God was with Joshua, as He had been with Moses.  And these 12 stones, one for each of the tribes of Israel, were to be a memorial of this momentous occasion when God kept His promise of delivering His people into the new land.

Then, on the same day I was reading about this account, God guided me to another passage of scripture, 1 Kings 18:16-39.  It is the big showdown between the prophet Elijah and the prophets of Baal.  The odds were 450 to 1. 450 men who worshipped Baal and 1 man, Elijah, who worshipped the One True God.  The prophets of Baal went first, building an altar to their god, placing a bull upon it, and trying to call fire down to burn the sacrifice.  They tried all morning until mid-day to no avail.  When it was Elijah’s turn, he rebuilt the altar of the Lord that had been destroyed, and he, too, took 12 stones to represent the 12 tribes of Israel and built his altar.  You probably know this story but Elijah demonstrated amazing faith as he even had the servants douse his sacrifice with water, soaking it.  But God…came through and fire fell in response to Elijah’s prayer.  When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.”

These two passages came to me at a time when I was preparing to give my testimony to a group of men.  I couldn’t stop thinking about the 12 Stones.  Soon, I was prompted to ask God to show me My 12 Stones.  I considered these to be the big 12 faith markers in my life, things that are evidence of God’s work in my life or even difficult things that forged my faith and even sent it on a different path than I expected.  It was a holy time for me, as the Holy Spirit took me back in time and helped me build my altar spiritually. 

And it came at a time, here at the beginning of a new year with many new opportunities and challenges on the horizon.  It helped me to look back and realize that all of the major faith markers in my life were His doing and not mine.  It was the work of the Holy Spirit!

I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to show you YOUR 12 STONES…these are 12 events, people, miracles, breakthroughs that have shaped your faith.  WRITE THEM DOWN or if you are a literal person, get 12 stones and write them on the back of each stone.  Whatever the case, it is important to worship God with our remembrance of the special things He has done in our life.  He may not have held a river back so you could cross or sent down fire from Heaven, but He may have brought a person into your life to share the Gospel, used a hardship to soften your heart, made His presence known in some special way, or guided you to a new promised land that you can now see in retrospect.

If you can’t come up with 12, it’s okay.  Your altar is still being built but write down what you can and look forward with great anticipation to the new stones he will provide in your life.  “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.”