A Life in Exile

Our God has a good memory. Not only does he reveal to us how he remembers through visual reminders like rainbows, the covenant, trumpet blasts, and names, but Scripture also tells us how he holds on to memories of past events for a variety of reasons.

For a person who has a hard time remembering what they did yesterday, God’s memory can hold things that have happened over millennia past. As we’ll see in our Scripture passages today, that can be a good thing for his people but also sometimes bad. What shall we start with? The good news or bad? We’ll go with the good.

God remembers and helps us remember his great works.

With the written Word, we are blessed far beyond generations past, as we can easily read about all God has done throughout the course of history. However, before this easy access, the verbal message of the Psalms and prophets was passed down through oral teaching and memorization.

Remembering God’s works leads to worship.

Hallelujah! I will praise the Lord with all my heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. The Lord’s works are great, studied by all who delight in them. All that he does is splendid and majestic; his righteousness endures forever. He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered. The Lord is gracious and compassionate. He has provided food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. (Psalm 111:1-5 CSB, emphasis added)

So, not only does God remember, but he causes us to remember. Mary speaks of memory in her beautiful song that flowed following the revelation that she would bear God’s Son. It is a beautiful thing when God remembers his mercy.

He has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering his mercy to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he spoke to our ancestors. (Luke 1:53-55, emphasis added)

The introduction of his Son into humanity was the result of an act of remembering on the part of God the Father. The incarnation was an act of mercy on our behalf. This echoed the foreshadowing of God’s mercy toward his people in bringing them out of Egypt as well as out of exile.

But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he became their enemy and fought against them. Then he remembered the days of the past, the days of Moses and his people. Where is he who brought them out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put his Holy Spirit among the flock? He made his glorious strength available at the right hand of Moses, divided the water before them to make an eternal name for himself, and led them through the depths like a horse in the wilderness, so that they did not stumble. (Isaiah 63:10-13, emphasis added)

God remembers our past unrighteous acts.

When the prophet Jeremiah was speaking against the rebellious ways of God’s people, God had something to say on the matter:

This is what the Lord says concerning these people: “Truly they love to wander; they never rest their feet. So the Lord does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins. (Jeremiah 14:10, emphasis added)

Just as smells trigger memories, the incense burned to idols was remembered by God.

“As for the incense you burned in Judah’s cities and in Jerusalem’s streets—you, your ancestors, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land—did the Lord not remember them? He brought this to mind. The Lord can no longer bear your evil deeds and the detestable acts you have committed, so your land has become a waste, a desolation, and an example for cursing, without inhabitant, as you see today. Because you burned incense and sinned against the Lord and didn’t obey the Lord and didn’t follow his instruction, his statutes, and his testimonies, this disaster has come to you, as you see today.” (Jeremiah 44:21-23, emphasis added)

The exile of God’s people had been long-foretold, and as Hosea prophesied, God’s memory was long when looking at the sin of his people. This would be the cause of their expulsion from the land.

They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah. He will remember their iniquity; he will punish their sins. (Hosea 9:9)

Amos reveals a similar refrain:

The Lord has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: I will never forget all their deeds. Because of this, won’t the land quake and all who dwell in it mourn? All of it will rise like the Nile; it will surge and then subside like the Nile in Egypt. And in that day—this is the declaration of the Lord God—I will make the sun go down at noon; I will darken the land in the daytime. I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation; I will cause everyone to wear sackcloth and every head to be shaved. I will make that grief like mourning for an only son and its outcome like a bitter day. (Amos 8:7-10, emphasis added)

Recorded Deeds

The God who remembered the deeds of his people from long ago is the same who remembers ours today. A day is coming when we will be judged for our deeds. For those in Christ, we can be thankful that our unrighteous deeds will not affect our final destination, but our works will still be remembered. What will God have to say about us on that day?

Lord, remember the good we do and throw the rest away:

Who is a God like you, forgiving iniquity and passing over rebellion for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not hold on to his anger forever because he delights in faithful love. He will again have compassion on us; he will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:18-20)

Help us, O Lord, to be found faithful, that you will find pleasure in all remembrances of us.

Grace and Peace

If you missed the last Friday Focus post, click HERE, or start from the Beginning.