The Israelites were a forgetful people, often failing to remember God’s provision and intervention on their behalf. The book of Judges contains just one example of their falling to recall God’s involvement, love, care and pursuit of them?

“And the people of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side.” (Judges 8:34)

As a result, God commanded the Israelites to erect Stones of Remembrance throughout the land, to trigger memories of God’s involvement in saving the nation that He loved so much.

Last Monday, as a result of God’s provision through McLean Bible Church’s New Years Aid event, Emanuel House was able to add 25 new students to its pre-school program. After visiting the students in their class, meeting the new teacher and watching Mirqueya greet each student’s parents at pickup, we “built our own Stones of Remembrance,” gathering the staff, and stopping to remember God’s provision and intervention over the years, to enable the Emanuel House ministry to have grown to 135 children daily, in a building that Mirqueya and her team could not have envisioned in their wildest dreams.

As we move forward, we echo the thoughts of Joshua that “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord” in light of His most gracious provision, but instead “we will serve the Lord, for He is our God!”

“Then the people answered, ‘Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.’” (Joshua 24:16-18)