Have you ever heard the statement, “He’s forgotten more things than I’ve ever known.”? It’s intended as a complement, implying that the individual had vast knowledge and understanding. But forgetting is forgetting, and it usually does very little good for anyone.
Today’s reading has a lot of forgetting going on, and the things forgotten do a lot of harm.
The book begins with a summary of who came to Egypt with Jacob and lists his twelve sons, stating that they were seventy in all. Over the years they had taken God’s command to, “be fruitful and multiply” seriously. They were no longer a large family, now they were a great nation. But before Jacob died he had reminded his sons that Egypt was not their home. Canaan was the land God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and to them. Yet we find the Israelites still in Egypt generations after Jacob had died. They had become comfortable in Egypt and they “forgot” to go home. More importantly, they forgot the Lord’s promise to give them a land of their own. They had become servants in Egypt and life was good. Why be concerned with a land of their own?
Egypt also forgot. The text says, “Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.” The terrible famine that had been the catalyst for Joseph’s rise to power was long gone. Life was good, except for this growing population of foreigners who lived in the North. And the thought struck this new king, “if war breaks out, they [might] join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” He knew that the Israelites were important to the economy of Egypt, and that they were a potential danger to Egypt. So he made them slaves. He mistreated them to the point where he even ordered that their sons be thrown into the Nile. That act seems cruel enough, in and of itself, but knowing that the Egyptians also worshiped the Nile as a source of life adds an important theological dimension to this act that highlights the conflict between the God of Israel and the gods of the Egyptians.
What about us? Do we ever forget?
Of course we do. In fact we have a strange way of forgetting the things that we should remember and remembering the things we should forget! We forget the hope we have when we have troubles. We forget to pray in all circumstances. We forget that this world is not our home and we are called to watch and live for the Day that Jesus will return. Yet we remember our guilt and the hurts that others bring into our lives, and we cling to these things.
There is good in forgetting; not in our forgetting God’s love and faithfulness, but in God choosing to not remember our sin and our guilt. God speaks of it this way through His prophet Jeremiah: "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." (Jer 31:34b NIV) When Jesus died on the cross, God remembered our sins, and He attributed them to Jesus. Now when He looks at us, he remembers our sins no more. Why? Because the debt is paid. Justice has been done.
This leaves us in a place to remember, and to constantly be reminded, God is good and his mercy endures forever in Christ. We have a home to look forward to and to live for even now.
Father, help me to remember your mercy and share it with others for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Today’s reading has a lot of forgetting going on, and the things forgotten do a lot of harm.
The book begins with a summary of who came to Egypt with Jacob and lists his twelve sons, stating that they were seventy in all. Over the years they had taken God’s command to, “be fruitful and multiply” seriously. They were no longer a large family, now they were a great nation. But before Jacob died he had reminded his sons that Egypt was not their home. Canaan was the land God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and to them. Yet we find the Israelites still in Egypt generations after Jacob had died. They had become comfortable in Egypt and they “forgot” to go home. More importantly, they forgot the Lord’s promise to give them a land of their own. They had become servants in Egypt and life was good. Why be concerned with a land of their own?
Egypt also forgot. The text says, “Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.” The terrible famine that had been the catalyst for Joseph’s rise to power was long gone. Life was good, except for this growing population of foreigners who lived in the North. And the thought struck this new king, “if war breaks out, they [might] join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” He knew that the Israelites were important to the economy of Egypt, and that they were a potential danger to Egypt. So he made them slaves. He mistreated them to the point where he even ordered that their sons be thrown into the Nile. That act seems cruel enough, in and of itself, but knowing that the Egyptians also worshiped the Nile as a source of life adds an important theological dimension to this act that highlights the conflict between the God of Israel and the gods of the Egyptians.
What about us? Do we ever forget?
Of course we do. In fact we have a strange way of forgetting the things that we should remember and remembering the things we should forget! We forget the hope we have when we have troubles. We forget to pray in all circumstances. We forget that this world is not our home and we are called to watch and live for the Day that Jesus will return. Yet we remember our guilt and the hurts that others bring into our lives, and we cling to these things.
There is good in forgetting; not in our forgetting God’s love and faithfulness, but in God choosing to not remember our sin and our guilt. God speaks of it this way through His prophet Jeremiah: "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." (Jer 31:34b NIV) When Jesus died on the cross, God remembered our sins, and He attributed them to Jesus. Now when He looks at us, he remembers our sins no more. Why? Because the debt is paid. Justice has been done.
This leaves us in a place to remember, and to constantly be reminded, God is good and his mercy endures forever in Christ. We have a home to look forward to and to live for even now.
Father, help me to remember your mercy and share it with others for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
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