Tuesday: Take Heed. . . Lest You Forget
Read Deuteronomy 4:9, Deuteronomy 4:23. What is the Lord telling them to do here, and why is this admonition so important for the nation?
Two verbs dominate the opening of both these verses: “take heed” and “forget.” What the Lord is saying to them is: take heed so that you don’t forget. That is, don’t you forget what the Lord has done for you nor the covenant that He had made with you.
Image © Mary Rumford at Goodsalt.com
The verb “take heed,” smr (which is also used in a different form in Deuteronomy 4:9, translated “keep yourself”), occurs all through the Old Testament, and it means to “keep,” “to watch,” “to preserve,” or “to guard.” Interestingly enough, the first time it appears in Scripture is even before sin, when the Lord told Adam to “keep” the garden that He had given to him (Genesis 2:15).
Now, though, the Lord tells the people, each one individually (the verb is in the singular), to guard themselves, lest they forget. This is not “forget” so much in the sense of memory loss (though over time and in new generations that could come) but more in the sense of being lax about their covenant obligations. That is, they were to be mindful about who they were and what that meant in terms of how they were to live before God, before other Hebrews, before the strangers among them, and before the nations around them.
Read again Deuteronomy 4:9 (see also Deuteronomy 6:7 and Deuteronomy 11:19), but focus on the last part, about teaching them to their children and grandchildren. What would that have to do with helping them not to forget?
It’s not a coincidence that right after Moses tells them not to forget, not to let these things “depart from your heart,” he tells them to teach these things to the next generation and to the generation after. Not only did their children need to hear about these things, but perhaps even more important, by telling and retelling the stories of what God had done for them, the people would not forget what those things were. Hence, what better way to preserve knowledge of what the Lord had done for His chosen people?
| How has telling others of your experience with the Lord benefited not just others, but yourself, as well? How has the recounting of God’s leading helped you not to forget His leadings? |
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My youngest grandson had a maths test a couple of days ago and he bombed out seriously. The problem was that I had tutored him the day before. I reminded him that he needed to know some formulas, not just the numbers and letters, but where and why they were used. "Yes, Grandad!" Lenny would reply. "I don't need to know them all that well because the teacher gives us formula sheet"! And he would give a sheepish grin which I took to mean that he had a new computer game that was much more important to him than any boring maths. The problem with young Lenny is that he is actually pretty smart and he thinks that his smartness will get him though. But smartness does not help much when there is a hole in your memory.
Interestingly Grandad has been though the same experience. I think I told you how when I came to Australia, I thought I was pretty smart and knew it all too. It took a couple of failed attempts to pass the London University entrance examinations to teach me that my smartness was not good enough. I actually had to learn and experience what was in the syllabus in order to pass examinations. That was a tough learning experience for me.
Lenny is young and I think he will come good. His voice is breaking at the moment and he is a typical illogical teenager. Give him a few months and I know he will mature and he will start to learn properly and pass maths tests among other things.
The children of Israel were going through a similar experience. They had failed their test to enter the promised land. They had to experience the humiliation of failure in the process of maturing as a nation. They thought they were smart and that their successes were their own. And it took a bit of tough time to teach them to rely on the Lord. It wasn't a lesson they had to learn only once either.
The problem we face too is that we can think we are spiritually smart and that we know it all. We easily fall into the trap of thinking we are spiritually mature.
Deuteronomy is the book that continually reminds of or our penchant for forgetting. The words, "Take heed!" are used over and over again to remind the Children of Israel to remember. Listen to this one:
And Paul has the right advice:
Deal real...Our God is not a graven image He is real...God hears and response, He feels and gets involved, He sees and initiates so keep a live connection with our Creator and Savior today
The LORD knew what scientist have now discovered - that repetition creates new neural pathways in the brain and thus changes habits and automatic behaviours.
This is why Moses kept saying - remember, don't forget - or as Paul said "be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God." Rom 12:2. This why the LORD instituted the feast days to help them remember.
Deut 6:4-9
4“Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. 5 And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8 Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
That is really interesting Shirley, thanks for sharing it. Tammy
Thanks Shirly, interesting and well explained. People don't take heed and that is why we are in a lot of mess, Lord of mercy!
Thank you Shirley, I learned a lot from you today.
However, in my opinion, I fear that some of our popular politicians have learned about this "myelin" concept as well, and they are either consciously or subconsciously using this (repetition) to brainwash other people. They have learned if you keep repeating an idea, or an important concept, over and over again to their audience, then the brain will make a "neural pathway" for that idea, and thus it becomes strengthened and cemented into the mind of their audience. Afterwards, when their audience is triggered to remember that particular idea or concept, the mind has a strong "neural pathway" to recall it (and sometimes act on it, scary). (I remember certain phrases that some of my Pastors from 35 years ago would say, because they would say the same phrase every week).
This is the same thing that Moses was doing with the children of Israel, repeating God's commandments and statures to them over and over again; not necessarily brainwashing them, but teaching them to form new habits or "neural pathways". (Unfortunately, these neural pathways can be used for good and evil, "guard the avenues of your mind").
Moses know that he would be laid to rest (would die) very soon, because they were nearing the Jordan River that separated them from the Promised Land. He knew that God told him twice that he (Moses) could not cross over into the Promised Land; therefore, it was important to Moses to teach the children of Israel, with repetition, what they needed to teach to their children and grandchildren. Moses repeated the ten commandments to them twice, in Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5; this is the repetitive part. They were to then repeat God's commandments over and over again to their children and grandchildren-"You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up", Deuteronomy 6:7.
According to your article, the "myelinated pathways" at strengthen with each repetition until we form new automatic behaviors; this is a scientific proven fact. Repetition is a good form of brainwashing (if you want to call it that), in order to form good habits, habits that will benefit the whole community, instead of using it to condition, or to control the mind.
This is why I love the Lord, because He give us what we need to form good habits, but He doesn't force (or brainwash) our minds, or try to control our minds to do them. We always had and always will be given the "choice" to do the right thing, to form good habits. This is my opinion only, the thoughts that are in my mind.
God's blessings to you all! Happy Holidays!
Because we are a forgetful people and need to be reminded continually.When we voice what great things God has done for us, it is a testimony that reveals the character of God. It reminds us of His great love and power.
Hi Tauheed,
Here's one of my short testimonies:
About 27 years ago, I was in a car accident. I made a quick left turn in front of a car, that was going at a very high speed; but I still thought that I could make the left turn before he got to me. I was in a very old 1975 Oldsmobile (a boat of a car), he was in a smaller Toyota Camry. His car hit the back passenger seat door of my car (no one was in the car with me), and my car hit the edge of the sidewalk, and immediately flipped over on top of me. I was now upside down in my car, the engine still running, and for a few seconds I didn't know what to do. After a couple more seconds, my brain started thinking again, and I tried to get out of the car. I tried the door handle, it would not open; so, then I tried the window, no luck. I even tried to knock the window pane out, because it was cracked by this time. Meanwhile, the engine is still running. So, my mind told me, "You're trapped in this car, the engine is still running". Then I remembered what Pastors use to say in their sermons, "If you are in trouble, call on the name of the Lord". So, that's what I did, I say quietly, "Jesus, help me please". Immediately, the engine stopped. Then I read several people outside my car, talking and yelling something; one person said, "Oh, no, she's blooding." That put my brain back into shock, and I thought to myself, "What? I'm blooding!". Luckily, I was blessed, that the next voices I heard was the Firemen, and the loud sound of the Jaw-of-Life equipment used to take the car door off, and to get me out of the car. Afterwards, my sister asked me, why didn't you just reach up, and turn the key in the ignition to turn off the car. I sheepishly said, "I didn't think about that at the time", or my brain did not tell me to do that at the time.
Anyway, I could have died that day, or I could suffered a broken my neck or had a head injury, as a result of the car flipping on top of me. I walked away from the hospital with only a small cut on my left elbow, the same arm I used when I tried to knock out the window, and the same elbow where I was blooding from. I had a little soreness in my neck for a few days, but I went back to school (college) two days later. I was in my early 30s back then. I know that God was with me that day (and every day), and He did let me die that day because He was not finished with me yet. And I had only just began to fulfill His purpose for my life.
Over the years, I've had some stops and re-starts in God's plan for my life; but now I'm striving every day to chose to do His will in my life. These are the things that God wants us to remember, and not forget the other things, like keeping His commands and statures, and His covenant that He made with us.
This is awesome..Shirley...you made it plain...now we can run with it...fire to wire and wired to fire
A covenant is what we today call a contract. Contracts require the signatures of the parties involved to show that all parties to the contract agree with the contents of the contract.
The rainbow in the sky is a reminder that God made a contract (covenant) with the flood survivors and their future generations to not ever again destroy the earth and its inhabitants by a global flood.
I consider the rainbow as God’s
signature, in plain site, so we as humans, can see it and also remember the requirements of the contract. The other side of the contract was for worship of God only and not man made idols, creatures, stars, or anything God has made.
Because we are generational descendants of the flood survivors, we have to remember the terms of the contract God made with our fore-bearers. We can’t remember the terms if we don’t even know they exist, or haven’t stuffed them in our minds. Repetition is a form of learning and memory activation. So, the more you repeat the information by thought, reading, or by verbal expression, the more the information is enhanced in the memory center of your brain.
Matthew Chapter 4....WHAT DOES IT MEANS THAT.....4 But Jesus replied, "The Scriptures say: 'Life doesn't operate upon the principle of self-preservation, but by abiding in harmony with every word proceeding from the mouth of God.'"?