Remember

In Judges 16:28, Samson cries out in prayer to the Lord and asks God to remember him. A number of years ago, I was teaching a Sunday School class on the life of Joseph and had made a worksheet up for the teens to do as homework. (It was a small group of solid kids and 4 of the 5 of them did the homework.)

The homework was a word study of sorts on 'remember' because the verse we would be looking at the following week was Genesis 40-41: when the cupbearer remembers Joseph and tells Pharaoh about him... Here's the homework I gave them:

Remember

What does remember mean? (look it up in a dictionary or something.)

Some possible definitions from dictionary.com…

            …to keep continually in mind for attention or consideration

            …to be continually aware or thoughtful of

            …to bear (a person) in mind as deserving a gift, reward, or fee

Grab a Bible and check out these verses. From what you know about these passages; jot down what happened before and after each verse.

Genesis 8:1- ___________________________________________________________________

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Genesis 19:29- _________________________________________________________________

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Genesis 30:22- _________________________________________________________________

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Exodus 2:24- __________________________________________________________________

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1 Samuel 1:19- _________________________________________________________________

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Psalm 106:44-45- _______________________________________________________________

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There are many verses that God says, “I will remember my covenant…” or the people are told that they will “remember the days of their youth.” What do you think it means or what will happen when these things are remembered?

Any conclusions you can draw from these passages?

So for those of you who aren't going to look up the verse, I'll give you my answers.

• Genesis 8:1- Noah is in the ark, God remembers him and causes a wind to make the waters subside.
• Genesis 19:29- God remembers the promise He made to Abraham and saves Lot.
• Genesis 30:22- Rachel had no children. God remembers her and opens her womb so she conceives a child.
• Exodus 2:24- The Israelites are in slavery. God remembers the covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In the rest of the Old Testament, He is working to fulfill that covenant.
• 1 Samuel 1:19- God remembered He had closed Hannah's womb and He opens it.
• Psalm 106:44-45- God hears the cries, He remembers them, and He relents because He is merciful.
• “I will remember my covenant…” God will act on the promises He's made, whether good or bad thing (saving people, punishing people, etc). If He said it, He will do it at the right time.
• “remember the days of their youth” They often did not remember and acted sinfully because of not remembering.

The conclusion I drew from these passages? When it says God remembers, it's not that He had forgotten about the people and where they are. Instead, when God remembers, an action immediately follows.

The afternoon after I taught this lesson. I picked up my copy of Beth Moore's Believing God Bible Study and opened up to the day's homework and it was titled "How God Remembers." It said to look up Genesis 8:1 and then asked "Whom and what did God remember?"

And then it talked about how it's unsettling to think about God forgetting us. However God assures us in Isa. 49 that we never leave His mind (Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I WILL NOT FORGET YOU. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My Hands; your walls are continually before me. v15-16)

Beth goes on to say that the opposite of God remembering is not God forgetting. And has a page set up to have you study 3 of the exact passages we had on the Remember worksheet I gave the teens, as well as two other very closely related ones.

She then concludes the section with this paragraph: 

The vast majority of references to God remembering also record a subsequent action or promise of action. Beloved, God never forgets His people. When the Word of God says that God remembers, we can assume a subsequent action on His part, even if its not specified. Almost every time we see a reference to God remembering, He is about to stretch out His mighty arm and swing into action. And when He stands, His enemies scatter (see Ps. 68:1). Glory! As you discovered in the previous Scriptures, most of the action is included, if not implied, in the context of God's remembrance. Hear this carefully: God acts on what He remembers. (Moore, Beth. Believing God. LifeWay Press: Nashville, TN. 2004. p147-149.)

This is a lesson that I haven't forgotten. The pre-chorus of Chris Tomlin's song "Your Grace is Enough," sings "Remember Your people, Remember Your children, Remember Your promise, Oh God." Every time I hear it I get a expectant joy in my heart thinking, "Yes God, please remember us and immediately act on our behalf."

One last thing, there are also verses that state, "God will remember no more..." For instance, in Jeremiah 31:34 the Lord declares, "I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more." It doesn't say God just forgot about it. No He chooses not to remember, meaning He knows but chooses to show mercy and not act upon it.