God is perfect in all He is and does: perfect in knowledge, power, holiness, faithfulness, AND remembering and forgetting. Let’s think about “remembering” and “forgetting.”
There are times when
it may seem to us that God has forgotten us.
Psalm 42 says that when Israel’s adversaries cry out, “where is your God”
(42:3,10) that Israel also cries out to God, “why have you forgotten me”
(v9)? We see the same fear in Isa.
40:27, Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel: ‘My way is hidden from
the LORD, and my just claim is passed over by my God?’
The wicked also claim that God forgets. He has said in his heart, ‘God has
forgotten; he hides His face; He will never see’ (Ps. 10:11). Read Psa. 77 (esp. v3,5-6,9); Asaph was
concerned that God no longer remembered him or Israel.
What assurances do
we have of God’s memory?
·
God’s memory is anchored in His covenants.
o
Gen. 9:15-16: The rainbow was God’s sign He
would always remember the covenant with Noah, never again to destroy the
earth in a flood.
o
Ex. 2:24; 6:5: After over 400 years, because of
His covenant with Abraham, God remembered the people of Israel in Egypt
and delivered them.
o
Ps. 106:45: Again, because of His covenant with
Abraham, after the captivity God again remembered His people and brought
them back. This is frequently stated:
Ps. 105:8,42; Jer. 31:20; Isa. 45:15-16; Dt. 4:11 (after sin); Lk. 1:72 (the
birth of John the Baptist, a sign God remembered His people).
o
Lev. 26:42,45: In the Mosaic Covenant God
promised to remember Israel, even after His sever chastening of the
nation (cf. Ezek. 16:60).
o 2 Chr. 6:42: Solomon’s prayer at the temple dedication was based in God remembering His covenant with David.
o Psalm 119:45: Thus the Psalmist could pray, Remember the word to Your servant, upon which You have caused me to hope.
·
God’s memory is prompted by prayer. In each of the following there was a concern
that someone was forgotten by God. And
yet …
o
Gen. 19:29: Abraham prayed that God would remember
Lot in Sodom.
o
Gen. 30:22: Rachel prayed for a child; God
listened and remembered.
o
Ex. 2:24; 6:5: Israel cried out for deliverance
from bondage; God remembered.
o
Judges 16:28: Samson cried out at the end of his
less than stellar life as a judge in Israel, and God remembered.
o 1 Sam. 1:11,19: Hannah prayed for a child and the Lord remembered.
o Ps. 9:12: The righteous cry out to the Lord in the face of their enemies, and God remembers (cf. also Ps. 74:18,22-23; 89:50; 109:14; 137:7; and Rev. 16:19; 18:5 where the enemy is Babylon the Great).
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