Ps 106:7 - We read about how the Israelites lost entrance to the promised land.
- They tell us that they gave no thought to his miracles
- They did not remember his kindness
- After they crossed the Red Sea, they forgot that he delivered them from Egypt.
These three things are a state of mind, not amnesia. We can lose our promised destiny if we go the way of the Israelites.
They “gave no thought to his miracles.” They took his miracles for granted. They didn’t recognize how amazing the miracles had been. Imagine taking the parting of the Red Sea for granted, or mana from heaven as an expected occurrence? They were so engulfed in miracles that they could not see them nor appreciate them. He protected them with cloud by day and fire by night. He gave them water and mana in the desert. Their clothes did not wear out. Their shoes did not wear out. There was not one sick among them. Instead, they saw their situation as hardship and grumbled instead.
When the bible tells us that God “remembers not” our sins when we have repented and are forgiven, remember means to recall the pain of the time and/or the incident so that it seems like it just happened yesterday when in reality it was a long time ago. When we have been in traumatic situations, we “remember” it as if were happening again or just happened. The pain and terror of it all is relived. When God “remembers not” it means he removes the pain and terror even though the intellectual fact of it remains. The pain of divorce can linger on but after it is brought to the cross in repentance and forgiveness, the pain can be removed even though the fact of the divorce remains. The same happens when we have lost a loved one, or been in an accident.
We do not have amnesia about that event ever happening but we are set free from its pain.
The Israelites remembered not the impact of his kindness to them. When we remember, we bring back the impact of the memory. To say “I remember” when I gave birth to the baby, the smell of the flowers in the garden, the sight of my son coming home, we re-experience the impact of the moment both emotionally, and physically. Remember how He has provided for you, how he made a way when you were stuck, how He forgave you, how He brought home a wayward child, how He restored a relationship and how He died for you to be free.
To forget means not to recall an event, person, a promise, or a predicament. To say “I forgot” to pick up the laundry, to buy eggs, to meet Jane at the mall, or to pay the bill on time,” is a mental exercise. The Israelites wanted to turn back at the Red Sea because they looked back at the leeks and onions, their houses, and where they had place to be buried. They did not look forward to His promise to deliver them and give them the land of milk and honey. They were not only free from Egypt, they were free from disease, hunger, thirst, nakedness, hard labor, and oppression. They did not revel in how much better their life was going to be.
- Do not take God’s kindness for granted so that you do not see it at all. Recall it to yourself and others around you, especially to your children and grandchildren.
- Remember the times God forgave you, delivered you from harm, favored you, and healed you. Recall the impact of it.
- Finally do keep in mind his Word and promise to bring you to an expected destiny that is for good and not for evil.