Deuteronomy 6:10-12; Mark 5:35-43
10 “And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, 12 then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. (Deut 6:10-12)
In Deuteronomy 6, Moses emphasises to the Israelites how important remembering is going to be when they enter the promised land; remembering who God is, what he has done for them, and how they are to live in response to his grace. Verses 6-9 show the lengths they are to take to remember God’s works and law (teaching them to their children, talking about them all the time, literally inscribing them on or attaching them to their bodies, and writing them on their door frames and gates).
Then comes the warning in verses 10-12. Notice the striking repetition here:
10 “And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, 12 then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. (Deut 6:10-12 – Emphasis added)
“That you did not…” – makes it so clear that Israel had nothing to do with earning or working for the bounty they would inherit in the promised land. It was all purely a gift from God. They couldn’t even claim to have arrived at the land on their own, for it was God who had brought them there (v. 10, 12).
But in the moment they are enjoying this incredible gift from God, the warning is that it will be easy to forget God and his provision for them. And this doesn’t just refer to a memory problem either – look at Deut 8:1
“Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today”
In other words, forgetfulness manifests in disobedience, while remembering is demonstrated by obedience.
I think we face the same challenge of remembering in prosperous, 21st Century Australia. The reason “APathetic Christianity” (to quote the book Ian referred to at Fuse) is so prevalent in our country, even in our own church family, is arguably because of our forgetfulness. How can we be inspired by God’s commands to Israel to remember (see Deut 6:6-9), so that we will not forget the glorious gospel of the crucified and risen Christ? What are some ways that you can meditate on the gospel today, or teach it to your children so that they remember and obey wholeheartedly too?
Daniel Budd
FaithfulDailyRead 
Sometimes with all our day to day problems we forget that God has put us in a land of milk and honey. Eighty percent of the world lives in poverty and yet God chose to set us here in this country, at this time. Is it because we have so much materially and live in a safe democratic country that we just get complacent and forget about God when he has given us so much? Is life just too comfortable? All trappings of our life mean nothing compared to the great gift that Jesus gave us of eternal life.
Thank you Daniel, welcome back. I enjoyed your writing this morning, I am always amazed at people who walk away from God completely, when all around us are the works of His hand. I can understand nomadic church goers drifting in and out of different churches and that sort of thing, it’s when they give up altogether because of this one and that one, I find it a difficult thing to understand. I have been through some very tough times in my life, since the age of nine, and through some easy, very good times too and broken God’s commands when things were good, (there, I’ve confessed)! BUT FORGET GOD and what He has done for me. Not when I see the sunrise in the morning and the amazing creation of the skies through the day and then in the evening when the sunset glows and He says goodnight. HOW CAN ONE FORGET?
The key to remembering all that God has done for us is obedience. God is looking for hearts that are wholeheartedly devoted to Him. When we are instructed to love the Lord with all our heart, mind ,soul and strength the Greek work for love here is AGAPEO it is a verb. Agape is the noun this is Gods unconditional love for us but we are told to AGAPEO God. On a whole i don’t think that we are taught very well how to do this – although we really have no excuse, with all the resources we have in the world today. God said that we would find Him when we search for Him with all our heart.
Agapeo is what we give our affections to, the things that we find ourselves thinking about most or pursuing the most. Money, pleasure, the world, self etc. The Bible talks that man gave themselves over to (agapeo) lots of thing apart from God. But once again God wants His children to be totally devoted to Him. He wants to be first in our affections. That our minds be focused upon Him more than anything else. To give Him the rightful place of honour in our heart.
The body of Christ needs to repent because of their apathy in putting God in His rightful place. He is patient with His Church but He will not put up with idols that we put before Him for much longer. A day is coming when He will come to judge the house of God.
“For the time has come for judgement to begin with Gods household, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?” 1 Peter 4:17