Forgetting God: Dt 8:10-14

"When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you. Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." (Deuteronomy 8:10-14)

With all that the Israelites saw and experienced, all the miracles and provisions from the Lord, Moses felt it necessary to warn them not to forget God. How is it that, with all they had been through, they could forget God? Most of us who are believers cannot fathom forgetting God, yet many do. What Moses reminds the people is that, forgetting God is not about divorcing God from our thoughts but rather straying from His ways. Moses warned them not to forget God by "not keeping His commandments." When we depart from God's ways, we are in essence, forgetting God.

Jesus taught this same idea when He asked the people, "Why do you call Me, 'Lord , Lord,' and do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46) Jesus clearly linked knowing God with obeying God. If we confess we know God but fail to obey Him then we are, at best, deceived. Jeremiah also taught the same when He prophesied, "'Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; then it was well. Is not that what it means to know Me?' Declares the Lord." (Jeremiah 22:15-16) When the children of Israel walked in God's ways, it went well with them and they were blessed. When they knew God it was expressed though their lives as they walked in His ways.

Today, let us not forget God by pursuing our own ways; seeking after our own interests and living by our own rules and morals. Let us purpose in our heart to live a life that is consistent with the one we know. Let us determine to be Christ-like, to live a life patterned after Him. In so doing, we will ensure that God is remembered in our hearts, soul, mind, and body. Let us today, remember Him.

David Robison