Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Thirteen
Learning to Remember—Remembering to Learn
(Review of Deuteronomy)
My memory is nearly gone,” wrote John Newton at age eighty-two, “but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior.”
That’s the purpose Moses had in mind when he delivered the addresses we call the book of Deuteronomy: He wanted the people to remember the things that were really important. If they would remember who they were—sinners saved by God’s grace and power—and what God had done for them, they would be able to enter the new land triumphantly, defeat their enemies, avoid the dangerous temptations all around them, and enjoy the inheritance God prepared for them.
We can review the major lessons of Deuteronomy by noting what Moses tells us to remember.
“REMEMBER THE LORD” (8:18)
The Word of God was given so that we might better know the God of the Word. Everything that Moses declared to the people was a revelation of the mind and heart of God. Each law, each ceremony, each prohibition, and each memory of past events pointed to Jehovah, the God of the Israelites. In mighty deeds of power and gracious words of truth, the Lord had revealed Himself to Israel as He did to no other nation, and Moses recorded these words and deeds for us to read today. The knowledge of God is life’s most important knowledge.
Israel was to remember that the Lord was one Lord (6:4). They lived in a world of superstitious idolatry in which each nation had its own gods and goddesses, and when you moved from nation to nation, you changed your gods! But the people of Israel believed that there was one supreme God, the true and living God, whose name was Jehovah—“I am that I am.” The first commandment said, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3), and the second commandment prohibited the Jews from making an image of their God or of any other thing in the universe that they might worship as a god.
This one Lord is the Creator of all things and possesses unlimited power. He demonstrated that power in sending the plagues to Egypt and then opening the Red Sea so that Israel could depart. He revealed His glory at Mount Sinai, but He also revealed His grace and mercy as He entered into a covenant with Israel (Deut. 4:32, 37). The Lord is the faithful God who keeps His word and will not be false to His people. The God of Israel loves His people and wants them to love Him. He is jealous over His people (v. 24; 5:9), the way a husband is jealous over his wife.
The God of Israel is the God who chastens His people if they disobey Him. His covenant makes it clear that He will bless when His people obey Him and send chastening when they disobey Him, and both activities are evidences of His love and faithfulness. In His mercy, He will forgive if the people repent and return to Him, but He will not tolerate rebellion.
God declares His Word through chosen servants like Moses, and He expects His people to listen to the Word, remember it, and obey it. Just as Israel is a people of the Word, so the church today is a people of the Word. Our faith isn’t something that we manufactured ourselves, because it was graciously given to us in the Word of the Lord. God’s Word is our life, and apart from that Word, we cannot know God, know the will of God, or worship and serve God acceptably. God’s commandments are God’s enablements. We’re privileged to have the written Word in our own language and to enjoy the freedom to read it and share it with others. Like Israel, the church must be a “people of the Word,” for everything we need for life and godliness is found in the inspired Word of God (2 Peter 1:3; 2 Tim. 3:16–17).
“REMEMBER THAT YOU WERE SLAVES” (5:15)
The admonition is also found in Deuteronomy 15:15; 16:3 and 12; and 24:18–22. Each time the Jews celebrated Passover, they were reminded of the trials the nation experienced in Egypt, and this should have led them to love the Lord all the more for what He did for them. When the journey became difficult, the Jews frequently wanted to return to the security and slavery of Egypt instead of trusting the Lord and enjoying the freedom He gave them. While we don’t want to repeat the sins of the past, it does us good to remember what the Lord saved us from when we trusted Christ. The Jews were to remember the day that the Lord brought them out of their slavery (16:3). There’s nothing wrong with setting aside special “remembrance days” when we review the goodness of the Lord toward us.
The fact that the Jews were once strangers in a foreign land should have motivated them to be especially kind to the strangers in their land (10:19). It should also have encouraged them to be kind to their own servants (24:14). “Love one another” simply means that we treat others the way the Lord treats us.
“REMEMBER HOW GOD LED YOU” (8:2)
“And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way” (NKJV). God didn’t desert Israel when they came out of Egypt, but led them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. The Jews didn’t always understand the route that the Lord took, but He never led them astray. We can be sure that the will of God will never lead us where the grace of God cannot keep us or the power of God cannot enable us to glorify the Lord.
One of the hardest lessons God’s people must learn is to accept God’s will and obey Him without protest or complaint. If the Jews had taken time to look back and recall their journey from Egypt to Canaan, they would have seen that each stage in the journey taught them more about themselves and about the Lord. They would see themselves as living in the past and afraid of the future, doubting God’s love and His ability to see them through. Their frequent complaining revealed their lack of love for the Lord, and their rebellion showed their lack of submission to His will.
Wherever he lived, missionary J. Hudson Taylor put up a plaque that read: “Ebenezer—Jehovah-Jireh.” These Hebrew words mean, “Hitherto the LORD has helped us—the LORD will see to it” (1 Sam. 7:12; Gen. 22:14). As God’s people look back, we see that the Lord has been faithful, and as we look ahead, we know He will provide; so, why worry and fret?
“REMEMBER MOUNT SINAI” (4:9–13)
The Lord didn’t lead Israel directly from Egypt to Canaan because they weren’t ready to enter the land and confront the Enemy. Liberty isn’t the same as maturity; in fact, without maturity, liberty is a dangerous thing. God didn’t give His law to Israel as a means of salvation because He had already redeemed them by the blood of the Passover lamb. He gave them His law to mature them, for they were like little children who needed a babysitter (Gal. 4:1–7).
What did the people of Israel learn at Mount Sinai? Of first importance, they learned that God is a holy God who must be feared and honored. God demonstrated His great power and glory at Sinai and the people shook with fear. But unless that fear becomes reverence in the heart, it can never transform the life. Israel also learned that God was a gracious and merciful God who provided forgiveness and a means to worship and serve Him.
However, it was also at Mount Sinai that the people discovered their impatience and unbelief when Moses stayed on the mount so long. In their hearts they had a craving for idols, and they worshipped the golden calf. They saw how swiftly God judged their terrible sin, but they also learned that Jehovah would forgive them and give them a new beginning.
Every believer must learn to submit to the will of God as it is expressed in the Word of God. One test of our submission is a willingness to wait on the Lord and not run after substitutes. Even though the golden calf was approved by the high priest, it was wicked and contrary to the will of God.
“REMEMBER HOW YOU PROVOKED GOD” (9:7)
“Remember! Do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness” (NKJV). On at least two occasions, the Lord threatened to destroy all the people and make a new nation from Moses. And yet, what did the Jews have to be provoked about? The Lord who graciously delivered them from Egypt also gave them everything they needed on their journey, defeated their enemies, and gave them a land flowing with milk and honey.
Their basic problem was unbelief (Heb. 3—4); they simply didn’t trust God. They didn’t believe His promises or obey His commands but tried to go their own way, and this led to rebellion and chastening. And they never seemed to learn their lesson! Like stubborn and rebellious children, the Jews took their spankings and went right back to their sins!
As God’s children, we need to confess that apart from God’s grace, nothing good dwells in us (Rom. 7:18), and that our fallen nature can’t be changed. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh” (John 3:6)—and it always will be flesh! The ability to sin is still with us, but we should have less of an appetite to sin. Through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and the Word (John 17:17; 2 Cor. 3:18), our inner person should conform more and more to Christ, desiring and delighting in the things of God.
“REMEMBER YOUR ENEMIES” (25:17)
This isn’t a command to carry grudges but to recognize the true enemies that oppose the Lord and us. The Amalekites attacked Israel after the exodus, and Joshua and the Jewish army defeated them (Ex. 17:8–16). It was then that God declared war on every generation of the Amalekites until the memory of the nation would be wiped off the face of the earth. The Israelites weren’t attacked in Egypt but after the Lord had set them free from bondage. This reminds us that the world, the flesh, and the Devil don’t assault dead sinners because they already have them under their control (Eph. 2:1–3). However, once the Lord has set us free, these enemies come after us, and the war will go on until we see Jesus Christ.
A young Scottish minister attended a “victorious Christian life” conference and came to believe that he had “gotten the victory” over the enemies of the spiritual life. He shared this good news with Alexander Whyte, noted minister in Edinburgh, who said, “Aye, it’s a sore battle up to the very last!” It’s a solemn thought that some of the men in Scripture who sinned greatly against the Lord didn’t do so when they were young men: Abraham fleeing to Egypt and lying about his wife, Moses losing his temper, Aaron making a golden idol, David committing adultery and murder, and Peter denying his Lord. We never outgrow temptations and battles.
“REMEMBER WHAT THE LORD DID TO MIRIAM” (24:9)
The story of Miriam’s rebellion is found in Numbers 12. While Aaron was implicated with her, it seems that she was the ringleader in the matter because she was the one who was punished. Miriam was envious of Moses’ wife and critical of her brother because of his marriage. God saw her heart and heard her words and punished her sin by giving her leprosy. Displaying his usual meekness and love, Moses interceded for her and God healed her. However, the leprosy had made her unclean, and she had to leave the camp for a week until the priest could verify that the leprosy was gone. Her sin held up the march of Israel, for sin always hinders the progress of God’s people.
Sins of the spirit are as destructive as sins of the flesh, and sometimes they are worse. Miriam was guilty of pride, envy, evil speaking, and lack of love. But even more, sins within families are especially painful, as are sins among the leaders of God’s people. If God gave leprosy to every leader who envied other leaders and criticized them, there wouldn’t be many healthy people left!
These special reminders apply to us today. Bad memories can lead to bad attitudes and actions and often to unfaithfulness to the Lord. While the book of Deuteronomy is a long book, filled with a variety of material, the spiritual lesson that stands out is that we must be equipped by the Lord to face the challenges and opportunities of the future. That equipping comes from hearing His Word, cherishing it, and obeying it. While there are some things we must forget, there are also some things that we must remember if we’re to please and glorify the Lord and accomplish the work He’s given us to do.
QUESTIONS FOR PERSONAL REFLECTION OR GROUP DISCUSSION
1. What seven important truths did Moses want the Israelites to remember? Explain each in your own words.
2. What truths about God do you feel are most crucial to remember?
3. If we didn’t have God’s Word, what else wouldn’t we have?
4. Which, if any, special remembrance days help you to remember how the Lord saved you?
5. Wiersbe says one of the hardest lessons God’s people must learn is to accept God’s will and obey Him without complaint. Why is this hard to learn? Has this been true for you? If so, in what way?
6. What is the relationship between liberty and maturity? Where have you witnessed the danger of having the first without the second?
7. What truths and lessons did the Israelites learn on Mt. Sinai?
8. Unbelief was the underlying sin that led to the Israelites’ provoking God time and again. What do you think they didn’t believe?
9. Who or what are our enemies? Why should we remember our enemies?
10. What are the main things you will take away from your study of Deuteronomy?