FAITHFULNESS AND FORGETFULNESS

Psalm 106:7-13 (NLT)

     7  Our ancestors in Egypt  were not impressed by the LORD’s miraculous deeds. They soon forgot his many acts of kindness to them.  Instead, they rebelled against him at the Red Sea. 8  Even so, he saved them —   to defend the honor of his name  and to demonstrate his mighty power. 9  He commanded the Red Sea to dry up.  He led Israel across the sea as if it were a desert. 10  So he rescued them from their enemies  and redeemed them from their foes. 11  Then the water returned and covered their enemies;  not one of them survived. 12  Then his people believed his promises.  Then they sang his praise.  13 Yet how quickly they forgot what he had done!  They wouldn’t wait for his counsel!

          This passage presents us with an interesting contrast between the faithfulness of God and the forgetfulness of His people.  When the people were in Egypt they forgot that God had put them there to save them from starvation in the days of Joseph.  And later He miraculously delivered them from the Pharoah's oppression by bringing plagues upon the Egyptian people, but they soon forgot that as well.  The Psalmist goes on to say that, even after God powerfully rescued them from Pharoah's army when they were trapped by the Red Sea, the people quickly forgot. God didn't forget His people or His promises but, for some reason, the people couldn't seem to remember God.  Look at vv. 12 and 13.  Oh, they praised him for a little while, but it didn’t take them long to forget what He had done.  Vs. 7, soon!  Vs. 13, quickly!

          Surely the problem can't be that what God did wasn't spectacular enough.  Parting the Red Sea in the nick of time and wiping out the oppressor's army was a pretty spectacular save!  The problem had to be with the people.  But how does that happen?  How do saved and blessed people forget about God?

          Perhaps "our ancestors" didn't recognize God's grace because they thought they were deserving of what they were receiving.  You see, to the natural man God's mercy can seem like good fortune or luck or even the results of his own effort or wise choices; God's kindness can be mistaken for good planning.

          May God, give us eyes to see His hand at work in our lives.  May he give us ears to hear his Word and know that it is truth.  May his Spirit so enlighten our hearts and minds that we will never mistake his kindness for our worthiness or his miraculous interventions for our own efforts.  May he always remind us to take the time to seek his face and to remember that HE is GOD!

Pastor Keith Andrews