An Important Object Lesson - Joshua 4:19-14

Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup

The communion meditation today is based on a passage of Scripture from the Old Testament, Joshua 4:19-24 (NIV). In this passage of Scripture, we read about how God directed Joshua to retrieve 12 stones from the crossing of the Jordan River into the Promised Land to remind them of His power and provision. In like manner, Jesus directs us to set aside the unleavened bread and fruit of the vine in the cup to remember Him and what He did for us. All Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV) and are used with permission.

As you listen to the episode today, my hope is that you will be encouraged from the time spent meditating on what Jesus has done for you. You are a special person; the one Jesus died to save!

Transcript

Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of my communion meditation today is "An Important Object Lesson!" I read from Joshua 4:19-24 (NIV). All Scripture quotations are from the New International Version and are used with permission.

19 On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. 20 And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. 21 He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. 24 He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”

The tenth day of the first month is the day the Israelites crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land. There is no formal Jewish holiday to commemorate the event. Likewise, the location of the crossing of the Jordan River is not found on any map; however, it was briefly commemorated by an assemblage of 12 stones, perhaps in the form of a cairn, taken from the Jordan River at the spot where the priests stood with the Ark of the Covenant. I suspect these stones and crossing were revered by Joshua and his generation and the generation that followed as it was used as an object lesson to teach their descendants about the Lord and His provision for them. These stones likely remain but they are not together and we cannot visit them today; nevertheless, the important story remains because it is written in the Scriptures. All who read the Scriptures discover the purpose of the stones, "He [the Lord] did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God." The priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant were in front of the Israelites, like the tip of a spear, as they moved out to cross the Jordan River. As they walked across on the dry riverbed, they witnessed the priests with the Ark standing there. Literally, the Lord was leading them into the Promised Land. What a great source of confidence and reassurance that must have been to all! Jesus is so much like His Father. When He had the opportunity to leave behind a reminder of the great thing He was about to do, it was equally simple and effective—it was as easy to remember and teach as that cairn of rocks beside the Jordan River. Our twelve rocks were the unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine in the cup, which represent His body and shed blood on the cross—a perfect object lesson to remember what He has done for us and teach our children. We are also confident and reassured as our resurrected Lord now leads us to our Promised Land—heaven. As we partake of the unleavened bread and drink the fruit of the vine from the cup today, we remember our Lord Jesus. Let us pray.

Abba, Father. Today we bless and set aside this bread and the fruit of the vine in this cup to remember Your Son, Jesus. We know that the bread represents His body that was nailed to the cross, and the fruit of the vine represents His blood that He shed for us. As we pour out the wine from the cup, we are reminded of how Jesus poured out His own blood that our sins might be forgiven. Abba, Father, we are filled with praise and thankfulness as we remember the story of our Savior, Jesus. He could have asked us to do many things in order to remember His sacrifice, and we would have done them; yet He asks only for us to partake of unleavened bread and drink the fruit of the vine from the cup. And we do so just now together in this place. God be praised. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Today, Jesus invites you to partake of His supper. I read from Matthew 26:26-28 (NLT).

26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” Let us partake of the bread.

27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." Let us partake of the cup.

And the assembly of believers said, "Amen!"

Until next time, from Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV), “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

Artist's Note: If you have questions about the Lord's Supper, I invite you to visit my website, https://eatthisbreaddrinkthiscup.com, for a brief overview. The Eat This Bread Drink This Cup podcast is listed in most podcast directories, and I invite you to add my podcast to your favorites and be notified of new posts. There is a written transcript that accompanies each podcast, and you are free to use the transcript in accordance with US copyright law. My prayer is that you will benefit personally from this time with Jesus and encourage others to observe the Lord's Supper. In these trying times, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus!