We Can’t Afford To Forget

Over the last week and a half, many of us have been absorbed in the annual obsession of the NCAA basketball tournament, commonly referred to as March Madness. The compelling attraction of March Madness is that teams go all out to win and avoid elimination from the tournament. All of the teams enter the tournament excited, with hopes and dreams of being successful. But the difference between success and loss often comes down to whether a team remembers or forgets to do the things that they have been instructed to do. In Deuteronomy 8:1-11, Moses instructs Israel on the importance of remembering and obeying God in order to be successful when they go over to live in the Promised Land. I pray that you will remember that abundant life is found in obedience to God and following the instruction of His word. Amen.

Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the LORD promised on oath to your ancestors. (Deut. 8:1-2) Moses opens this passage by instructing Israel to be careful as they are about to enter into the Promised Land. The fullness of their lives and their ability to thrive in the Promised Land are dependent on their being careful to follow God and keep His commands. Adherence to God's word honors Him and directs our path so we may live triumphantly!

Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.

Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you. (Deut. 8:3-5) As Israel prepared to enter into the Promised Land, Moses told them to remember how God kept them the whole time (40 years) they were in the wilderness. From clothing them to feeding them, God wanted them to understand that He alone was the one who provided for them. They did not do it for themselves. In fact, Moses pointed out, God’s divine provision was obvious in their everyday lives over those 40 years. It was God who fed them and sustained them with manna, a food they had never known before. It was God who had kept their clothing from wearing out, clearly a supernatural phenomena they had never seen before. God’s purpose for sustaining them in these ways was so they could see that it was He who had kept them, and erase any pride of self-reliance among them. Their lives in the wilderness depended not just on the bread they ate, but on obediently following God to sustain their lives and avoid potential destruction. Over their 40 years of wandering, God tested them and disciplined them so they would develop the habit of seeking His direction for their lives, reverencing Him, and following His commands. Moses let Israel know that just like their time in the wilderness, following God was also essential to their longevity and their prosperity in the Promised Land. The God who delivered you, will keep you if you remember to trust Him and follow His direction.

Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land —a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.

When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. (Deut. 8:6-11) Moses warned Israel to remember the lessons that God had taught them in the wilderness and not forget them when the went into the Promised Land. When Israel experienced the abundance and goodness of the Promised Land, it would be easy to forget who it was that provided all that they had. It would be easy to start believing that they alone were the reason they had good land that produced in abundance. That attitude would lead them to lean on self-reliance and draw them away from relying on the God who had blessed them. We need God to guide us in our wilderness experiences. But we need Him just as much to keep us in the places of His promise!

We are fearfully and wonderfully made by God. One of the things that God has blessed us with is the ability to forget the pain of our experiences over time. For example, cuts and bruises that we sustain often heal and, if not for the scar that is left, we would completely forget that the incident ever happened to us. Moses was determined for Israel to be successful in the Promised Land. He remembered what it was like for his people to live under the pain of bondage and oppression. He remembered what it took for Israel to survive in the wilderness and who it was that kept them for those 40 years. But he also knew human nature. He knew that Israel would grow accustomed to living in the freedom and prosperity of the Promised Land so that over time, if they were not careful, they would forget where they had come from and who had brought them through. And straying away from God would lead them back into places of despair and pain. Moses' warning to Israel is still a clarion call to us today. We, like them, have to be careful to remember the God that we cried out to in the midst of our trials and tribulations. The God who delivered us from the places of our pain and regret is the same God who can keep us in the joy of His promises. But we must be careful to remember what He has done for us, to remember that His word is life to us, and to remember that we can do nothing without Him.

It is God from whom all our blessings flow.... and we can't afford to forget it!

Blessings,

Rev. Glenn