We Must Not Forget!
As humans, we are prone to bouts of forgetfulness. As the age-old “joke” goes, three things leave us as we grow older: our memory, “…and I forget the other two things.” The word of God often repeats this necessary admonition. In the Old Testament, Moses provides keys to spiritual success and faithfulness to the second generation of Israelites who left Egypt (lessons their parents did not learn), and among them were his words to remember and never forget (cf. Deut. 9:7). In the New Testament, no passage exists better to emphasize this than the words of Paul in First Corinthians 11:23-26. Concerning some problems with reference to their memorial of the Lord’s Supper, Paul relayed what the Lord Jesus said as he instituted this important event: “… this do in remembrance of me .” Undoubtedly, this is among the reasons why the early church observed this faithful communion every first day of the week (cf. Acts 20:7). This principle carried over from the Old Testament into the New Testament—we need to remember often the significance of the death of our Savior, and Jesus knew this as He instituted this memorial.
With this emphasized principle in mind, let us learn some lessons with reference to an event in the life of the great man of God, Abraham. In Genesis 12, we have the significant statements of Jehovah to him: Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed . (Gen. 12:1-3).
Nevertheless, Abraham knew he and his wife, Sarai, were too old for a child, and time passed after this promise without any results. With a little doubt and evidently in great need of some assurance, Abraham asks God if he could have children through his servant, Eliezer (Gen. 15:2-3). Thus, God assures Abraham and reminds him of His great promise that He would be faithful to deliver. After Abraham successfully proves his faithfulness to God, God again reminds him of His promise: “ That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies ” (Gen. 22:17). Two wonderful illustrations He uses with reference to His promise would stay with Abraham the rest of his life.
If he looked down, he would remember the promise of God, for his eyes could behold the sand on the seashore. In his vain attempt to number each grain, he would understand what God has said in His great promise. If he looked up, he would remember the promise of God, for his eyes would behold the number of stars in the sky. One has tried to number the stars in the sky in any given night into the thousands, but as we understand the wonderful solar system God created, they are innumerable. Thus, during the day (sand), he could remember the promise of God, and during the night (stars), he could remember the promise of God. Therefore, these two illustrations show how Abraham could remember the wonderful promises of God, and how we ought never to forget what God has promised those of us who are His children!