Everywhere you turn in the book of Joshua, there are rocks. Sometimes they are single stones, sometimes they are stacked with a particular number, sometimes they are just a massive pile of rocks.
Twelve stones are brought from the bed of the Jordan to serve as a memorial of the crossing of the twelve tribes (Josh 4). Knives are made from stone to make the people holy and one (Josh 5.2-8). This caused the reproach of Egypt to be rolled away like a stone (Josh 5.9). Jericho (Josh 6) fell into a heap of stones [except the stones of Rahab's house remained standing, the original witness protection plan]. When Achan erred, he was stoned and buried under a pile of stones (Josh 7) so that his error would not quickly be forgotten. When Ai fell (Josh 8), not only was it left as a heap of burnt rocks, its king was buried under a pile of rocks (Josh 8.29). Then, on top of Mount Ebal, an altar of uncut stones is built to worship God, and Joshua copies the Book of the Law onto stones (Josh 8.30-35). When the five kings of the Amorites come against Israel, God makes even water into rocks, and more Amorites die from hailstones than from the sword (Josh 10.5-11). When those kings hide in a cave, they are trapped inside with rocks, and after their deaths, that same cave is made into a tomb sealed with those rocks (Josh 10.16-27). A stone memorializing Bohan, son of Reuben, is made into a boundary marker (Josh 15.6; 18.17) and a silent reminder of a promise fulfilled.
Surely this has the least curious of us asking, "Why all of these rocks?" It might just be that the promised land has lots of rocks, and although that is true, it does not explain why the writer of this story bothered to tell us about them. Why all of these rocks?
The answer comes at the end of the book and the end of the life of Joshua. Joshua sets up a large stone near an oak near the holy place of the Lord (Josh 24.26). He then says, "See . . . this stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God." You have all heard the expressions: "If these walls could talk . . ." or "If these rocks could speak . . . ." For the people of God, all of nature stands as a witness to the acts of God through his people, and their own acts of wilfulness.
Not far from Hollis stands a rock, a stone not likely to be moved by the hands of men. It stands as a witness to the lives of a father and his son and their God, and their relationship with one another: Ron, Ben, YHWH. Its testimony would help you understand how close these three have become because of the events that happened in its presence some time ago. Triumph. Disaster. Pain. Hope. Fear. Courage. Power. Exhaustion. Salvation. And every time that this father and son return with their God, that stone's testimony is heard again in all three hearts.
What testimony will the rocks and trees in Harmon County give about our time there? God only knows now, but if we are truly passionate about our children and our God, now is the time for us to think and plan and prepare for those moments so that we can have some assurance that God will be glorified by that testimony.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Heb 12.1,2
