A helper stepped up next and said that she had found two locations in Washington DC with God-Connections. These locations are not normal National Parks, but they are controlled and maintained by the National Park Service.
The first location is the Washington Monument. This tall, white monument is made out of stone and shaped like an Egyptian obelisk.
It was built in two phases; the first phase (1848-1854) was funded by private donations and the second phase (1876-1884) was funded with public money and completed by the Army Corps of Engineers.
In between the two phases there was great unrest in the country during the build-up to the civil war, the war years, and the reconstruction period following the war. When the monument was finished, it was 555 feet, 5 1/8 inches tall! It was the tallest building in the world until the Eifel Tower was finished a few years later. It is still the tallest building in Washing DC and the tallest obelisk in the world! The view from the observation area at the top of the monument is the best view of our nation’s capital.
The monument is dedicated to the memory of George Washington who has been called the ‘Father of our country’. He led our army in our war for independence and he was the first president of this country. He was elected unanimously to two terms of office (April 30, 1789 to March 4, 1797). People said he was, “First in War, First in Peace, and First in the hearts of his countrymen.” George Washington died 2 ½ years after his terms of being President were finished, on December 14, 1799, he was 67 years old.
Application for you and me:
The helper said that George Washington was a great leader in the revolutionary war and at the beginning of this country, and most people think that the monument is all about him, but what would he think about having a monument in his honor?
George Washington gave us a clue in his first inaugural address when he was elected President. In the second paragraph he says:
“…it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official Act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the Universe, who presides in the Councils of Nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect… No People can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the Affairs of men more than the People of the United States. Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.
The language that George Washington used was from the late 1700’s and can be difficult for us to understand, but he was giving God all the credit for guiding him and for establishing this nation!
Those who built the Washington Monument also understood that it is only with God’s help that this country won the revolutionary war and went on to become the greatest country in the world. On the very top of the monument they placed a 8.9-inch aluminum tip on top of the capstone. On the aluminum cap they inscribed the notable names and dates in the monument’s construction. Also inscribed are the Latin words ‘Laus Deo’, which means: “Praise be to God.”
In the Bible there are also some monuments that are mentioned. In Joshua chapter 4, the nation of Israel was crossing the Jordan River to start to take possession of their promised land. God did a miracle and opened a path of dry ground through the river so that they could cross. God told Joshua to have 12 men each pick up a large stone from middle of the river. After they had crossed, God had them pile up the 12 stones as a monument.
In Joshua 4:6-7 Joshua says:
We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.
Another Bible story about a monument is found in the book of 1st Samuel. In this Bible story the judge Samuel was leading the army of Israel against the Philistine army. Israel was greatly outnumbered, but God helped them.
In I Samuel 7:10-12 it says:
But the Lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven that day, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them. The men of Israel chased them from Mizpah to a place below Beth-car, slaughtering them all along the way. Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer (which means ‘the stone of help’), for he said, “Up to this point the Lord has helped us!”
The Washington Monument and the two monuments that we found in the Bible all have the same message; good things have happened because God has been helping. We need to always remember to give God credit for every good thing that we accomplish because without His help and guidance we could not do any good thing!