Remembrance Blog 3
In the previous 2 blogs, I explored how November is a month where traditionally in the church and in the wider society, we remember people from the past – those whose lives inspire us to be greater people and those whose lives warn us of consequences of rebellion or folly. We also traditionally remember our forbears who have gone before us and left their own legacy.
Throughout the history of the relationship between God and His people, God regularly ‘commands’ us to remember (call to mind) Him and His Covenant promises with His people.
Here are some examples from the Old Testament, where God exhorts US to remember His faithfulness to His Covenant –
Ex 23:14-17
“Three times a year you are to hold a festival for me. Hold the spring Festival of Unraised Bread… That was the month you came out of Egypt… Hold the summer Festival of Harvest when you bring in the first-fruits of all your work in the fields. Hold the autumn Festival of Ingathering at the end of the season when you bring in the year’s crops. Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Master, God.”
Deuteronomy 5:15
“You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.”
Deuteronomy 8:18
“But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
Psalm 77: 11-12
“I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will reflect on all You have done and ponder Your mighty deeds.”
Why does God command us to remember His ‘mighty deeds’? I think it is because we are so prone to forgetting and to focussing instead on our own immediate, day-to-day issues. Our tendency is to be overwhelmed by our present concerns and to take a microscopic focus on our circumstances or our own limited human capacity. Remembering that God is with us and for us inspires faith, hope and a greater capacity to love and to follow Him.
Remembering God’s mighty deeds of the past puts God in the focus of our mind and gives us a telescopic view of His care and faithfulness and reminds us of the bigger picture. Remembering that God hears our cries, answers our prayers and comes to the aid of His people, this builds our faith and our hope in Him who, if He has been faithful and mighty, He can be faithful and mighty again. Remembering His interventions in our stories also causes us to pause and to give Him the thanks He deserves and the peace to rest in His provision. This is why I do my monthly public thanksgiving for specific prayers answered. It reminds me to have faith in His faithfulness.
But sometimes it is God Himself who ‘remembers’ His Covenant, when His people call upon Him to act and to save –
Genesis 9:14-16
“It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
Exodus 2:23-25
Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God. So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them.
Psalm 105:8
He has remembered His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded to a thousand generations.
God’s word is there to remind us of His constant faithfulness to His Covenant with His people.
God desired a greater intimacy with us. He planned to restore the intimacy lost in the Garden of Eden. He spoke of His plan and fulfilled His plan in Jesus, when He extended His Covenant with all of humanity. We will look at that in the next post.
Let it inspire your faith – God will never forget you! He loves you with an everlasting love. His word always accomplishes what it says. Remind Him of His promises to you and build your trust on His faithfulness.
dawnfanshawe 