Have you ever tied a string around your finger to help you remember something? Or, maybe you use a Post-it note to remember? You stick it on your dashboard or refrigerator, so you won’t forget. I know my son just speaks into his phone to set a reminder. For me, it’s Google tasks on my calendar, and I must say I was thrilled the day they made them able to repeat!
We all need help remembering things.
Our brains can only handle so much. My husband was very proud of having a wife who could remember lots of things, but then I got pregnant with my first child and my memory went out the window! My father, as he aged, could remember sermons from the 1950s but not what he did with his car keys today.
Memory is a fickled thing for humans, but what about God? Does he need help remembering? As I began working through the concept of memory for this year’s Friday Focus, I came across some interesting passages in how this relates to God. Let me know what you think, as I share a few with you today.
The rainbow.
The original meaning of the rainbow has been lost in modern culture and even usurped and distorted for nefarious purposes. I think for many of us who have grown up knowing the story of Noah and the flood, we too forget its true purpose.
After bringing Noah and his family out of the ark, God renewed his covenant with them, telling them, as he did Adam and Eve, to be fruitful and multiply and spread out over the earth. Then he adds something new:
“Understand that I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you—birds, livestock, and all wildlife of the earth that are with you—all the animals of the earth that came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you that never again will every creature be wiped out by floodwaters; there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.” (Genesis 9:9-11 CSB)
What was the sign of this covenant? The bow in the clouds—the rainbow. Much like circumcision would be a sign of God’s covenant with the Israelites, this rainbow was a sign of God’s promise to never again allow a flood to destroy the earth. Here, God tells us something else:
“The bow will be in the clouds, and I will look at it and remember the permanent covenant between God and all the living creatures on earth.” (Genesis 9:16)
Not only would the bow bring comfort to God’s people of his promise, but it would serve as a reminder to God himself. Why? Because I think sometimes God might need a reminder to hold his wrath at bay. He has every reason to wipe us off the face of the earth. As the days grow darker and evil expands, I don’t know how he shows such restraint. Well, apparently, the rainbow helps him to let things play out as planned.
The covenant.
God’s word is his bond. We can’t say that about ourselves sometimes, but it is always true with God. He established his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and with Moses and his people. It was repeated over and over again, and he is determined to be true to his word. Israel wasn’t so good about keeping the covenant. No, they broke it early on in their occupation of the Promised Land. In Christ, there is a new covenant, but they all work together for God’s purposes for his people. This is another reminder for God.
The Lord God speaks about this through Moses, and tells the people that even when he must punish them for their sins, sending them into exile and letting the Land lie fallow, he knows they will eventually repent and return to him. Upon their repentance, he will remember. Remember what? The covenant.
Then I will remember my covenant with Jacob. I will also remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.
For their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God; I am the Lord. (Leviticus 26:42, 45)
He has said it. He will remember it.
The trumpet blasts.
Though the covenant is a word from God, the sound of a trumpet is a very physical reminder for the Lord. We could do an entire study on trumpet blasts in the Bible, but I’ll hold back today in looking at one passage from the book of Numbers. They’d been in the desert for a long time, and I’m sure many were worried about how they would survive as they prepared to enter unknown territory. That’s when God told Moses to make two silver trumpets.
These trumpets had very practical purposes. With such a huge group of people, how do you get messages to them all? There were no bell towers or cell phones. These trumpets would do. They had certain ways to call for just the leaders of the tribes and also for the entire assembly. However, if it was time to face an enemy, then short blasts would ring out. Why?
“When you enter into battle in your land against an adversary who is attacking you, sound short blasts on the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God and be saved from your enemies.” (Numbers 10:9)
Not only did the people hear the blasts and prepare for battle, but the Lord God himself would hear, remembering that this specific kind of trumpet blast would lead him to save his people. Do we ever hear the hurricane or ambulance siren and think that God hears it too? He’s by our side in times of trial? He’s near to save?
The names of the tribes.
The Lord God was very specific in his instructions to Moses about the uniform of the priests. I found this passage in Exodus interesting in thinking about what God uses as reminders.
“Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of Israel’s sons: six of their names on the first stone and the remaining six names on the second stone, in the order of their birth. Engrave the two stones with the names of Israel’s sons as a gem cutter engraves a seal. Mount them, surrounded with gold filigree settings. Fasten both stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the Israelites. Aaron will carry their names on his two shoulders before the Lord as a reminder. (Exodus 28:9-12)
“Whenever he enters the sanctuary, Aaron is to carry the names of Israel’s sons over his heart on the breastpiece for decisions, as a continual reminder before the Lord.” (Exodus 28:29)
These names, engraved in stone, are reminders to God and to Aaron of whom he represents. Aaron is not there for his own benefit, but for the tribes of Israel. He is the mediator at that time for God’s people. He must remember it, and God must remember it.
Does God forget his people or his covenant? No, and he does not forget us. Still, he chose to put these things in place that we might remember that he remembers. He chooses to remember to hold back his wrath. He chooses to keep his covenant, despite the failings of his people. He chooses to save us from our enemies. He remembers our names.
Grace and Peace
If you missed the last Friday Focus post, click HERE, or start from the Beginning.
