A Life in Exile

As we focus on the word remember this Friday, I want us to begin to see how this relates to specific people and requests. We’ll stay primarily in the Torah or Books of Moses but also dip into the book of Judges as well before we finish up this point next week.

A verse came to mind as I thought about this concept of God remembering his people when they cry out to him. I’m sure most of you know it. The Lord God is speaking to King Solomon in response to his prayer concerning the temple.

I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple of sacrifice. If I shut the sky so there is no rain, or if I command the grasshopper to consume the land, or if I send pestilence on my people, and my people, who bear my name, humble themselves, pray and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:12b-14 CSB)

Though written after the period of those we will discuss today, this verse is indicative of who God is. He is the God who hears his people—those who bear his name—when they humble themselves and seek his face in prayer. This is the God who hears from heaven, remembers them, and responds.

God remembered Noah in the ark.

This is the first time we see this phrase in Scripture, and it’s just eight chapters into the book.

God remembered Noah, as well as all the wildlife and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water began to subside. (Genesis 8:1, emphasis added)

Noah had been faithful to the call of God to build an ark, not only on dry land but in the midst of a sinful and rebellious people. He followed God’s blueprint for the vessel, took in the animals God sent his way, and allowed only his wife, sons and their wives to enter before the door shut. Not that anyone else was begging to join him on this crazy adventure, but I’m sure there were some screams and banging once the rain began. Still, Noah was faithful and remained on the ark, taking care of a lot of smelly creatures for a long time.

What God began with Noah, he saw through to completion. What triggered the final stage of the story? God remembers Noah and all who were with him on the ark, both man and beast alike.

Do you feel forgotten at times, though you’ve been faithful to the Lord in all he’s asked of you? Don’t worry. He remembers you and will see you through till the end.

God remembered Rachel in her barrenness.

Barrenness was seen as a curse for women in many cultures throughout history, and when reading Rachel’s story, our hearts go out to her. It was a love-at-first-sight story between her and Jacob, but not a happily-ever-after one. Not only was Jacob tricked by his future father-in-law into marrying Leah first, but Rachel’s situation led to the first real-life Sister-Wives episode in history with tricks and fighting and the addition of two other women into the mix.

Still, Jacob stayed true to Rachel and did not send her away. It’s hard to imagine the hurt she bore. When all seemed lost, God stepped in and did what only God could do.

Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb. She conceived and bore a son, and she said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” (Genesis 30:22-23, emphasis added)

God’s plan can only be accomplished in God’s way. Rachel would never know that the son she waited so long to bear would be the one God used to save his people and set them up for taking possession of the Promised Land after the exodus.

Waiting for our heart’s desires to be fulfilled is hard. Be reminded that God’s plan is always for our good, for our benefit, though it might look different from what we want and imagine. He remembers you.

God remembers his people in their slavery.

The stage had been set, though the Hebrews enslaved in Egypt had no clue. All they knew was that for four hundred years they were still working and dying for a king not of their choosing. They’d been crying out to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for centuries now, but it seemed he had forgotten them. They didn’t realize that God needed forty more years for a man named Moses to develop the skills and attitude needed to fulfill God’s plan. Then Moses, in writing the narrative of Israel’s history, shares this:

After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor, they cried out, and their cry for help because of the difficult labor ascended to God. God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the Israelites, and God knew. (Exodus 2:23-24, emphasis added)

We talked earlier about how God remembers his covenant, and he does that here as well, but he also remembers because he’s hearing the cries of the Israelites. Their cries reached his ears in heaven. Their cries trigger his memory, and he knows it’s time to act. The rest is history, also known as the Exodus. He reiterates this in his call to Moses in Exodus 6:5.

Not only do we have the covenant, but we have the promises of God throughout the Bible to remind us that God is faithful to remember us, even when we feel trapped in our circumstances, bad job, or financial troubles. God remembers that he has only good for us and not evil. Though we may be in a dark place, this path of righteousness is to the glory of his name. In Christ, we have confidence he’s walking with us, just as he walked with the Israelites through the Red Sea. Like them, he will bring you through.

God remembers us even when we fail.

I’m thankful God had prepared Moses well for what lay ahead for him because leading thousands of people who had only known the life of slavery was a challenge. They knew little of the God of their ancestors, but again, God gave Moses another forty years with them in the wilderness to write down the history of the world and to tell them about the God who called Abraham, setting the stage for their entrance into this unknown land.

Because their rebellious ways were evident, Moses found himself praying more than once that God would not destroy them before seeing his plan to completion.

Lord God, do not annihilate your people, your inheritance, whom you redeemed through your greatness and brought out of Egypt with a strong hand. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Disregard this people’s stubbornness, and their wickedness and sin. (Deuteronomy 9:26-27, emphasis added)

While looking at this ragtag group of people, Moses implored the Lord to remember their forefathers. Hadn’t he called them, given his covenant to them, and promised to be with them and their descendants? Though these people were weak and far from perfect, by remembering his plan and the faithfulness of those before them, God would find the motivation to see them through.

We know, on this side of grace, that all the failures of the Israelites and the Law pointed to the need for a Savior—a perfect Son of God, who fulfilled the Law and paid the price for the sins of mankind. Still, it was due to God being able to remember the beginning from the end that he would keep his favor on his people and see them into the Land.

To emphasize this point, Scripture reveals to us the life of an imperfect prophet. His name is Samson. Provided through a woman who had been unable to conceive, God made it clear from the beginning that this child should be raised as a Nazarite, as he had a special mission from God to save Israel from the Philistines. Samson’s life is not a pretty picture, and, if you look at it, you might question God’s plan. By the end, after falling prey to the wicked ways of Delilah, losing his precious hair and thus his strength, Samson is blind and imprisoned by those he was born to defeat.

Just before his enemies were going to have fun abusing him at the temple of their god, Samson prays in the darkness:

He called out to the Lord, “Lord God, please remember me. Strengthen me, God, just once more. With one act of vengeance, let me pay back the Philistines for my two eyes.” (Judges 16:28, emphasis added)

God did remember, and Samson was able to find the supernatural strength to bring down the entire temple of the Philistines on their heads, defeating his enemies and the enemies of God. Not a perfect person, but a person who knew the Lord and desired to be used to the glory of his name.

This is grace. God remembers us, not because of who we are or what we can do, but because we are his. He remembers you.

Grace and Peace

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