"Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, and you possess it and live in it..." (Deuteronomy 26:1)Moses speaks of a future day, a day many years removed, when the people of Israel will have fully come into possession of all that God had promised them. As they stood on the east side of the Jordan, all the Promise Land, and their entire future, was before them. Moses knew that many years would pass as they labored to conquer and possess the land of the Canaanites, but one day they would have rest and would settle down to enjoy all that God had given them. For that day, Moses gave them instructions as to their remembrance of God. From these scriptures, we too can gain instruction for our lives today.
Remember God. In multiple places Moses exhorts the people of Israel to remember God; not only in the bad times, but also when flushed with the blessings of God.
"Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied, then watch yourself, that you do not forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." (Deuteronomy 6:10-12)When we are in times of trial our necessity presses us towards God, yet often in times of blessing we can forget the very God and provider of those blessings. How often, when it comes to pass that we receive the very thing that we had previously petitioned God for, in receiving we forget the God who answered our prayers. We are like nine of the ten Lepers Jesus healed.
"As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, saying, 'Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!' When He saw them, He said to them, 'Go and show yourselves to the priests.' And as they were going, they were cleansed. Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered and said, 'Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine — where are they? Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?'" (Luke 17:12-18)When they were in need, they had great interest in Jesus, but now, having received what they desired, they immediately forgot Him and went on about their own lives. Paul charges Timothy, "Remember Jesus Christ" (2 Timothy 2:8) and so should we, not only when we need something from Him but all the more when, having received in full, we are in possession of all our wants and desires.
David Robison
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