Remembering God

Judges 2:10-11 (NRSV)

¹⁰ Moreover, that whole generation was gathered to their ancestors, and another generation grew up after them, who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. ¹¹ Then the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and worshiped the Baals;

Observation:

            When Israel crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land, God told them to pick up stones out of the dried river bed and place them on the shore as a reminder of God’s holding back the waters for them to cross. He instructed them to tell the generations how God held back the waters of the Jordan and gave them the land (Joshua 4:1-7).

            Now Joshua has died and somehow the story was not told. Is it possible that the people began to think of the tale as a nice bedtime story for children? We are not told specifically how they forgot God, but they did. It seems incomprehensible that folks would not know the stories of God’s deliverance. Nevertheless, we see that when the people forget they turn to false teachings and gods of the other nations.

Application:

            In a previous journal entry, I mentioned the fact that the church I grew up in prayed for the rain to hold off until the roof could be finished on the new building. The rain came to the centerline of the two-lane highway and stayed until the roof was finished. It was a story I heard at least a 100 times. God had answered the prayers of a fledgling church trying to complete their new building. Growing up there, I had many spiritual heroes, not the least of which was my father.

            I witnessed many a miracles, and many struggles in that church. I watched as they dreamed, planned, and learned how to pray through adversity. One day many years later, a person from the church, today, told me how the previous people never had a vision and never had a dream. I did not get upset with them; I did not even try to correct them. I knew that the previous church generation was all gone now, and the stories were never told, or at the least, they were not listened to.

            In the story of the church, no one turned away from God. However, what if the church is so focused on the future and what is happening now that we forget to tell this generation of the great miracles of God through out our history. What if we simply make God about today’s issues and fail to declare his holiness, and his expectation, that we are to be obedient to him and not the other way around.

            Could it be that we best understand the relevance of God in our present, by remembering his commands, his expectation, and his activity on behalf of humanity in the past; rather than our wishes and demands of him in the now. Perhaps it is time for the Body of Christ to begin declaring the mighty works of God in our homes, Sunday school classes, bible studies, discipleship gatherings, and even our worship services.

Prayer:

            Father, you have done mighty works that deserve our gratitude of praise and thanksgiving. Forgive me if I have taken these stories of the past for granted. You have done many things in my life, in the churches life, and in the world. May I remember to declare them to the next generation so that they would know the goodness of you, O God. –Amen.