“Remember the Lord”
[Deuteronomy 8:7-18]
November 19, 2017, Second Reformed
Church
This week, we intend to celebrate
the national holiday of Thanksgiving.
The first Thanksgiving celebrated in
the United States is dated in October of 1621 when the Pilgrims and the Native
Americans shared the harvest feast.
In 1789, George Washington suggested
a national day of thanksgiving, which he recommended in a proclamation that begins:
“Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to
acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful
for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor—and whereas
both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me ‘to
recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and
prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal
favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to
establish a form of government for their safety and happiness’” (https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-04-02-0091).
It was Abraham Lincoln who established the
national day of Thanksgiving in 1863 – during the Civil War – in a proclamation
that begins:
“The year that is drawing towar
d its close has been filled with the
blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are
so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they
come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they
cannot fail to penetrate and soften the heart which is habitually insensible to
the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God” (https://www.thoughtco.com/abraham-lincolns-thanksgiving-proclamation-1773571).
Both presidents also say that this is to
be a national day that we repent of our sins against God and our neighbors, and
seek obedience in doing good.
They understood that all that we have is
not of our own doing. They understood
that there is a God Who providentially causes all things to pass. And the House of Representatives and the
Senate agree.
Although we have a particular Thanksgiving
day that we celebrate as a nation, throughout history, peoples and nations and
families have celebrated days of remembrance and thanksgiving, as well as day
of corporate repentance and renewal. We
have a time when we may lift up thanksgivings each worship service.
In this morning’s text, Moses urges the
people of Israel to remember the Lord – as they enter the Promised Land with
all its beauty and bounty – they are to remember the Lord – to be obedient and thankful.
“Deuteronomy” means “the second giving of
the Law.”
After four hundred years of slavery in
Egypt, God delivers Israel. God frees
them and brings them through the Red Sea and into the wilderness of Sinai,
where, due to their sin, they wander for forty years – until all of the adults
– except for Joshua and Caleb – die – and then, with Moses’ death, Joshua and
Caleb lead the children into the Promised Land.
But first, Moses recounts the history of
Israel and gives a second reading of the Law of God to make sure that all of
these young people born in the wilderness of Sinai know what God expects of
them.
And Moses tells them, first, God is to be
obeyed in thanks for His blessings.
“For the LORD your God is bringing you
into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing
out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig
trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you
will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose
stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat
and be full, and you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land he has
given you.”
Moses tells these young men and
women that they are entering the Promised Land that God is giving them, so they
should thank God and obey Him.
They are entering a land where they
will not have to go without water or strive to find it – it is a land full of
brooks and fountains and springs.
It is not a wilderness, but a land of
valleys and hills.
It is a land filled with wheat and
barley and vines and fig trees and pomegranates and olive trees and honey and
bread without end, not a wilderness of scarcity.
It is a land filled with minerals –
iron and copper – that they can build and create with, rather than being
without resources.
“You will not hunger! Your bellies will be filled every day. Therefore, you shall obey and thank the Lord
for what He has done in giving you all of this.”
Why do we need to be reminded to
obey and be thankful? We don’t have to
be reminded to disobey and not give thanks – we don’t need to be reminded to
complain, do we?
We have a standard – even before God
– of what we think we deserve. And we
won’t be satisfied until God and everyone else fulfills what we believe we
should have.
When I worked at a bookstore, the
owner would thank us for our work at the end of each day – and, initially, I
didn’t understand why she was doing that – I was doing my work, she paid me,
why did she thank me?
We ought to thank other people for
their service in appreciation of their doing their job well. We are more than just “consumers;” we are human
beings who are to love one another – who are to consider each other better than
ourselves – to do everything we can to better each other’s lives.
And then there is God. What has God done for us?
God has caused us to live in the
United States. God has given us this
church building and each other. God has
allowed us to have housing, food, and enjoyments, as well. God has given us His Only Son to live and die
that we would be made right with God and be received into His Kingdom.
Do we have any reason to obey
God? Do we have any reason to thank Him?
Moses looks back at the history of
Israel and tells them that God overflows blessings upon them – as seen in His
Providence and Grace – and the right response is to joyfully serve and trust
Him.
As we look back over our history –
as a church – as individuals – do we have reasons to be thankful and obey? Are we surprised that we’re here – as a
church – and as individuals? Can any of
us look back and say, “I never thought I would be here. I never thought things would be this
good. I never thought this church would
still be open. I never thought God would
do so much to get me to this point”?
Second, God is to be obeyed and not
forgotten.
“Take care lest you forget the LORD your
God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I
command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good
houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your
silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your
heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of
the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great
and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty
ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock,
who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that
he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. “
Moses tells them that he knows how it is –
humans forget. We remember when she
slights us or he insults us. But once we
have lived awhile and things are good, we tend to forget the difficult past,
once we get to the blessings of the day – we are pleased with where we are and
we forget – we forget what happened, we forget to be thankful, we forget to
obey God.
Moses tells them to be careful once they
enter the land, Moses tells them to make
sure they keep the Word of God before them and give thanks for all that God
does.
Moses tells them in the present day of
their bounty in the land, they must remember all that came before it: slavery, an expansive, terrifying wilderness,
snakes, scorpions, and the lack of water.
Moses tells them not to forget God, but to
remember that God chose to give the gifts of water out of the rock, of manna
every night – and this preservation was given so that they would be humbled and
do what is good – that they would obey everything God says in His Word and
thank Him.
Do we remember where we were compared to
where we are now? Aren’t we all in a
pretty good place, in a pretty good land?
Yes, things could be better, but couldn’t they also be so much worse. Would any of us prefer to live in Iran or
Iraq or Afghanistan or North Korea or before modern medicine?
Luke records for us nine people who forgot
God almost immediately after receiving their blessing:
“On the way to Jerusalem [Jesus] was
passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was
met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, ‘Jesus,
Master, have mercy on us.’ When he saw them he said to them, ‘Go and show
yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of
them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud
voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a
Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, ‘Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was
no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ And he
said to him, ‘Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well’” (Luke
17:11-19, ESV).
Don’t forget God after He has blessed
you. Don’t stop obeying God when He has
blessed you.
Third, Remember the Lord and give Him
thanks.
“Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My
power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember
the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may
confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
Moses looks towards the future and tells
them not to lose sight of Who has blessed them.
“Remember it is God Who has blessed you and enabled you to get to this
point. God gave your parents who
followed God and brought you out of Egypt before you were conceived and went
through the suffering in the wilderness, and they shared with you so you would
live until the day that the Promised Land was opened to you.”
I’ve mentioned a former friend of mine who
became more and more bitter, and one day I tried to encourage her by showing
her how thankful she should be for all she has, and she angrily responded, “No
one has ever helped me. Everything I
have I earned myself. I have no one to
be thankful to but myself.”
You gave birth to yourself? You gave yourself your body and caused it to
function well? You raised yourself? You gave yourself an education? You made yourself right with God?
Jesus tells a parable:
“And he told them a parable, saying, ‘The
land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, “What shall
I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?” And he said, “I will do this: I
will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my
grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid
up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’” But God said to him, “Fool!
This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared,
whose will they be?” So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not
rich toward God’” (Luke 12:16-21,ESV).
Remember the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord. Obey the Lord. Show your love of the Lord.
Peter puts it this way:
“[Jesus’] divine power has granted to us
all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who
called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his
precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers
of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world
because of sinful desire” (2 Peter 1:3-4, ESV).
Let us pray:
Almighty God, all things are Yours –
created by You and for You – and You chose to give us life and living and salvation
through Your Son. We are quick to forget
where You have brought us from and quick to forget You altogether. Help us to regularly consider where we have
been and where we are now and what You have given us out of Your Amazing
Grace. Humble us. Help us to remember You at all times and in
all things. Keep any prosperity from
making us forgetful. Send the Holy
Spirit to keep us alert and knowledgeable of all You have done and continue to
do out of love, and cause us to respond in obedience and thanks. Lord, make us thankful. May we be thankful to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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