The book of Joshua tells the story where Israel comes up against the Jordan River and God parts the water for them to cross through. God then instructs them to build a monument of twelve stones as a reminder of his kindness to them. While other nations were constructing graven images to glorify their gods, the God of Israel asked them to construct a memorial not only for glory but to remind the people of God’s unending parental care and to signal to the other nations that Israel had a God who watched over them.38
