Remember. . .


 I was reading the Bible, and ran across a familiar passage:

Luke 1:5 (NKJV) There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division o
f Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

I love looking at the original languages, especially names.  Names in the Bible often have significant meanings.  

The name Zacharias, being in the New Testament is a Greek word, Strong's g2197, which is derived from a Hebrew word Strong's H2148, which means:

From H2142 and H3050; Jah has remembered; Zecarjah, the name of twenty nine Israelites: - Zachariah, Zechariah.

Jehovah has remembered.  What a lovely thought. . . God has remembered.  This brings back memories of some favorite passages:

Hannah was barren, and deeply sorrowful.  She desperately wanted a child.  She went to the house of God and prayed.  The priest heard her prayer, and also prayed for God to answer her prayer.

1 Samuel 1:19-20 (NKJV) Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the LORD REMEMBERED HER. 20 So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, "Because I have asked for him from the LORD."

And again the flood. . .

Genesis 7:23-24 (NKJV) So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. 24 And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.

Genesis 8:1 (NKJV) THEN GOD REMEMBERED NOAH, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided.

Remembering is very important to God.  Again and again He instructs the Hebrew people to remember their deliverance from bondage in Egypt:

Exodus 13:3 (NKJV) And Moses said to the people: "REMEMBER this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.

Deuteronomy 5:15 (NKJV) And REMEMBER that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

Deuteronomy 7:18 (NKJV) you shall not be afraid of them, but you shall REMEMBER well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt:

Deuteronomy 8:2 (NKJV) And you shall REMEMBER that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.

Deuteronomy 15:15 (NKJV) You shall REMEMBER that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today.

Deuteronomy 16:3 (NKJV) You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may REMEMBER the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.

Deuteronomy 16:12 (NKJV) And you shall REMEMBER that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.

Deuteronomy 24:18 (NKJV) But you shall REMEMBER that you were a slave in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this thing.

Deuteronomy 24:22 (NKJV) And you shall REMEMBER that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this thing.

He was so adamant on their remembering where they came from and how they were delivered.  He set up festivals  which they were to celebrate every year to further memorialize those memories.

Sukkot - Feast of Tabernacles - Commemorates the shelter in their 40 years of wandering in the desert on their way to the promised land.

Purim - Festival of Lots - Recalls the rescue of the Persian Jews from being annihilated by Haman as told in the book of Esther

Pesach - Passover - Memorializes their deliverance from Egypt. 

In Exodus chapter 12, very specific instructions are given as to how the meal is to be prepared, and eaten, to closely duplicate the original Passover meal.

All this effort to make sure the Jewish people did not forget any aspect of their deliverance. . . 

How important is it for us, to remember the dark land and bondage that we came from before being saved by God.  I have no desire to live in my past, but I cannot afford to forget the pain and shame that I was immersed in, while there.

The Jewish people tired of the day after day manna in the wilderness, and fondly remembered the cucumbers, fish, melons, etc. that they had while in Egypt, but they completely forgot the taskmasters, the Pharaoh who wanted to kill all their baby boys. . .their slavery and subjection.

I never want to take a single step back towards my Egypt. . . this life that I have found is far too precious to me.  

Thank You my God. . .

Thank You for delivering me from Egypt. . .

Help me to always remember. . .

<3

Dave

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