God's Word Reminds

Because I want to avoid forgetting things, I will often make a list before I go to the shops.  I spend a bit of time jotting down notes on paper or type a note into my phone.  Even with a list there have been many occasions when I forgot to look for or buy something written on my list!  If forgetting wasn't a problem, Sticky Notes would likely never have been invented.

As always, God thought of everything when He decided to provide His word in the Bible--in written form.  God has His word written down so we could study, learn and be reminded of all we have forgotten.  The LORD God commanded His people in Deuteronomy 6:6-9:  "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."  God's intent was for His word to be treasured in the hearts of His people, a common topic of family conversation, like a sign on the hand and an adornment between the eyes.  God's word was even to be written on the doorpost and gates, privately and publicly displayed for all to observe and remember.

Why did God desire His people have many reminders of Him and His word?  Because left to their own devices they would forget!  God said in Deuteronomy 6:10-12:  "So it shall be, when the LORD your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, ¹¹ houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant--when you have eaten and are full--¹² then beware, lest you forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage."  When the children of Israel groaned under burdens in Egypt, their suffering prompted them to cry out to God for deliverance.  After God delivered them and provided abundantly for all their needs in Canaan, without God's word they would forget God and how much they needed Him.

I have never questioned an Orthodox Jew who binds tefillin if he has ever forgotten God, but I suggest the answer would be "yes" because we are all humans who forget.  Knowing something or someone does not always mean we remember.  The Jews were given the Law of Moses, but history shows they did not always keep it.  Since God graciously inspired men to write it down accurately for us, we can be continually reminded of God and His righteous ways by reading it and taking note of it.  God's warning for the Jewish nation through Moses is relevant for Christians too, for not all who read God's word are faithful to do it.  That's one reason why God had His word written down and even set in stone, for God's word is true and never changes.