These dramatic chapters draw a line under and highlight one of the most fundamental promises in all the Bible. It is also one of the simplest and most commonly repeated of God’s promises to his people. And because of that, it can sound rather ordinary. It is a promise so familiar to us that it is easy to overlook and under-appreciate. It is the promise God made to Joshua as he led the people into the Land of Promise: “As I was Moses, so I will be with you” (3:7).

“I will be with you.” This could well be described as the organizing theme of the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch. It is the gracious response to mankind’s central dilemma. Namely, how can a holy God possibly be present and in fellowship with a sinful people? And yet, that is precisely God’s promise: “I will be with you.” It is the promise that Joshua reiterates to the people when he said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you” (3:10). It is the good news announced for all the world by the Apostle John, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). It is Jesus’ final promise to his disciples when he gave them and the church her central mission: “I will be with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). God made this promise to Joshua, to Israel, and to us, his church.

After God miraculously made a way for his people to walk through the rushing waters of the Jordan River, he called them to build a memorial made of twelve large stones. That memorial stood for generations as testimony to the Lord’s faithful presence with his people. Ultimately the two great memorials to the Lord’s gracious presence would be the water of baptism and the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. But there are many other moments and places that remind us of what the Lord has done for us, how he provided, how he led, and how he applied his grace to our lives in Christ Jesus. These times and places are worth remembering for the sake of God’s glory and our joy in Him.