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Day 35: Remember! (SoS 1:4e)

 "Draw me away! We will run after you. The king has brought me into his chambers. We will be glad and rejoice in you. We will remember your love more than wine. Rightly do they love you." Song of Songs 1:4

When a man is about to die, when he knows his time is short, he won't discuss the weather or make any other kind of small talk. Rather, he'll try to say all the most important things before he gives up the ghost.

The Book of Deuteronomy is mainly a recap of Israel's journey from Egypt to the edge of the promised land, intersperse with some stories about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give it context. Moses spoke and penned these words when it was time for him to die and I remember wondering one time as I read the book why he spent it telling stories that were not unknown to his listeners.

He spent many of its chapters talking about the acts of God to Israel and Israel's acts to God. Over 12 times in the book he used the word remember. For this reason, I like to call Deuteronomy The Remember Book. He was simply reminding them of their past. Not to shame them or condemn them but that they may learn from the past.

The most frequent incident he asked them to remember was how God led them out of Egypt. To Moses that was the greatest highlight of God's love for Israel. God held nothing back in delivering them from the first moment Moses appeared before Pharaoh, to Pharaoh's perishing in the red sea.

Unfortunately, Israel did not heed Moses' instruction. They forgot the Lord and all His acts of love from Egypt, to the wilderness and the promised land. Israel did not remember God's love more than wine: they exalted the blessings of God and the pleasures of sin above His love.

They forgot His faithfulness despite all their sins and transgressions and they paid the price for forgetting. Many times God gave them over to their enemies, not because His love ran out but because sin has to be paid for. No matter how much He loves, God can't overlook sin. Sin calls for justice and God is not unjust.

Many scriptures in the Bible bear witness to what I just said. One of them is Hosea 8:14:

 “For Israel has forgotten his Maker, And has built temples; Judah also has multiplied fortified cities; But I will send fire upon his cities, And it shall devour his palaces.” 
Despite all, God is always there when they finally remember and call on Him. His love compelled Him to rescue them from all troubles and even punish the nations that afflicted them. What love!
The motive and product of every encounter with God is love. Everything God does, even His faithfulness is not motivated by a need to maintain His reputation. It's always motivated by love and Jesus being the express image of God is the same. When we encounter Jesus, we encounter His love. We must however carry these memories of love every moment of our day.

When we forget His love, doubt creeps in and worry takes a seat in our hearts. We begin to see solutions contrary to God's ways. It's one of the ways temptations grab a hold of us and it seems like we can't resist them. 

We must always remember God's love both in good and troubled times. We must remember His acts from the Bible, the testimonies of other people, and our personal experiences. As we remind ourselves, we must celebrate that love. In that is victory over temptations, unshakeable faith, and unquenchable joy. 

PRAY WITH ME:
Lord, help me never forget your love. In every season and circumstance of life. In times of temptation, remind me that the pleasure of loving you is greater than the pleasure of sin. Amen.

REFLECT AND ACT:
- Do you intentionally remember God's love is better than all, especially in times of trouble?
- The primary way to start to do this is to put it on schedule each day to intentionally remember His acts of love and praise Him for them.
- Read Psalm 77. Note and compare the Psalmist's mood and attitude at the beginning and the end of this Psalm.

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