Sarah's Essay

Sarah's essay reveals her serious nature . . . she contemplates principles and how God intends them to apply to life. God will use this gift to bless her family for generations to come.

“What Mean These Stones?”
By Sarah Elisabeth

It was the heat of summer, August 1864, and thousands of men crowded, with little shelter, food or clean water, inside the Confederate prison in Andersonville. Georgia. Many died every day, crying out for water. In the corner, a small group of men were seen praying, beseeching the Lord to intervene and deliver them. They would continue to pray for clean, fresh water until they died of thirst, or God answered their prayers. After some time, a storm appeared on the horizon. Bolts of lightning ripped the sky, and rain poured down. Suddenly, there came a blinding flash, and a tremendous roar shook the ground. Looking quickly toward the sound, what a sight met the eyes of the weary men! Flowing from the ground was a spring of fresh water!
Almost from the time the stream came forth, the men christened it “Providence Spring,” for it was truly the providence of God that was bestowed that day. In 1901, a stone house was erected on the site, bearing this inscription. "The prisoner's cry of thirst rang up to heaven. God heard, and with his thunder cleft the earth and poured his sweetest waters gushing here.” On another side of the building, it reads, “God smote the hillside and gave them drink, August 16, 1864.”
Throughout history, there is seen a pattern of God’s people erecting monuments to His faithfulness. This act is essential to the preservation of history and the advance of Christian civilization down through the generations.
The Old Testament gives us the biblical basis for the raising up of “Ebenezer” stones. In Genesis 22, the Lord tested Abraham’s faith, by asking him to sacrifice his son. When the Lord saw that Abraham was a faithful and willing servant, he provided a lamb to take the place of Isaac on the altar. Abraham called the place “Jehovah-jireh”, or “The Lord Provided”, in remembrance of what the Lord had done there. That became a proverbial phrase, passed down through the generations of Abraham’s descendants, as they remembered what God had done.
In Genesis 32, as Jacob was running from his brother Esau, an angel came from heaven and wrestled with Jacob. The Lord crippled Jacob, and the angel won the match. Jacob was humbled and was given the courage to turn and meet his brother. As a memorial, Jacob named the place “Peniel”, “The Face of God.”
Again, in Joshua 4, the Lord parted the Jordan River and allowed His people to cross over on dry land. Joshua instructed one man from every tribe of Israel to take up a stone from the midst of the Jordan and carry it over to the other side. When all had crossed, Joshua set the stones in a place of remembrance. He built a memorial where the priests, which bore the Ark of the Covenant, had stood. “That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.” (Joshua 4:6,7)
This custom is not only seen in biblical days; examples can be found in more recent history as well. For example, the laying of the Magna Carta stone at Runnymede in 1957 commemorated the signing of the Magna Carta by King John of England. Also, in 1965, an oak tree was planted on Jamestown Island in Virginia to commemorate the 750th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta.
On December 21, 1620, a boatload of weary travelers rowed from the Mayflower to the shore of Massachusetts. Once on dry ground, William Bradford led them in a prayer of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. They knelt only a few feet from the Plymouth Rock. This huge slab of stone stands as a reminder of God’s providential care in bringing the Pilgrims safely to the Massachusetts shore.
The year 2007 is the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, Virginia, the birthplace of the American republic. For the last 200 years, Americans have acknowledged God’s providential goodness with celebrations and laying of monuments for the generations to come. In 1807, Revolutionary war hero, John Tyler, and his 17-year-old son John Jr. stood by the James River remembering what God had done for their ancestors at Jamestown 200 years before. President John Tyler, no longer known as John Jr., was a keynote speaker for the 250th jubilee celebration in 1857. In 1907, the Tercentenary observance saw one in every twenty-nine Americans travel to Virginia to honor the settlers of Jamestown and their faith in God. Notables such as President Theodore Roosevelt himself, Booker T. Washington, Mark Twain, William Jennings Bryan and John Tyler’s own son, Lyon Gardiner Tyler attended with over three million other Americans. The 350th commemoration was graced by the presence of Queen Elizabeth II of England. Many memorials, inscribed with Holy Scriptures, were established during these celebrations to insure that the mighty acts of God would never be forgotten.
Is God’s hand in America’s history still remembered today? In this era of political correctness, the culture appears to be more concerned with tearing down the ancient landmarks that proclaim God’s faithfulness. It is ignoring and re-interpreting what God has done for His people to bring them to where they are today. During Jamestown’s official 400th government-sponsored commemoration, the word “celebration” was banned. "You can't celebrate an invasion," Mary Wade, an influential Jamestown 2007 Commemoration planner and Indian activist, stated.
In spite of this discouraging outlook, however, there is hope. A new generation of young believers is being raised up today, and they understand the importance of passing on their godly heritage to their own descendants by erecting memorials, as illustrated in Psalm 78:6,7, “That the generation to come might know them (God’s wonderful works), even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and forget not the works of God, but keep his commandments.”
For months, multitudes of grateful American children saved their pennies for a monument to commemorate the founding of America in Jamestown and God’s providence through the years. On June 15, thousands of these children and their families gathered beside the James River to see the memorial unveiled on the grounds of President John Tyler’s estate. Carrying on the Tyler legacy, Harrison Tyler, grandson of President Tyler, served as Grand Marshal for the event. Beneath the granite stone was buried a time capsule containing the names of every child who made the occasion possible. Also inside were placed letters from faithful fathers, written to their grandchildren. In 2107, on the 500th anniversary of Jamestown, that capsule will be opened.
Just as Psalms 145:4 states, “One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts,” the children and grandchildren of those who gathered on the banks of the James for the 400th anniversary will listen to the stories of God’s faithfulness that were passed down from their fathers and grandfathers.
God’s people are admonished in Proverbs 22:28, “Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.” Looking back at the memorials throughout the past, God’s hand is evident throughout all of history. It is impossible to deny that the Lord has been with His people wherever they have been. If the truth is destroyed, there is room for revisionist history. If God’s people neglect to acknowledge and document God’s providence in their lives, past and present, accurate history will be forgotten, and the truth will no longer be told.
All Christians must remember those old landmarks. As a grateful people, they must reclaim them by celebrating and raising stones of remembrance to proclaim for generations the greatness of God in the founding of a Christian nation! It is a necessity that God’s people recognize the importance and significance of erecting memorials in remembrance of what God has done. It is imperative that history not be tainted and God’s faithfulness not be forgotten. "

Sarah Elisabeth