Do you know the name of the flowers in the picture above?
Yep, Forget-Me-Nots.
I found some interesting German lore stories on farmersalmanc.com. These stories about knights, maidens, and forget-me-nots are both sweet and bitter.
Farmersalmanc.com also stated that these flowers are prolific bloomers between May and October in my region. Traditionally, these flowers symbolize true love, respect, fidelity, and faithfulness based on those German lore stories mentioned above.
But forget-me-not flower lore and symbolism aside, today we will consider the value of remembering not to forget the LORD as we study Deuteronomy 8:1-20.
Remember Not to Forget | Deuteronomy 8:1-20 | Setting the Scene
At the start of the book of Deuteronomy, the Israelites are just about to enter the land the Lord promised them through his covenant with Abraham.
Here is a quick review of the subtitles covered before we get to the verses we will study today:
- 1:19-46/Review of Rebellion
- 4:1-14/Obedience Commanded
- 5:1-33/Ten Commandments
- 6:1-25/Great Commandment
Using just the subtitles above, what is the focal point in chapters 1-6 of Deuteronomy?
Remember Not to Forget | Deuteronomy 8:1-20 | Study Questions
“The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. (Dt 8:1)
Why should the Israelites do what the LORD commands?
And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. (Dt 8:2)
Describe the purpose behind the forty years of wandering in the wilderness the Israelites experienced.
And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. (Dt 8:3)
Why did the Lord humble the Israelites in the wilderness wanderings?
Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. (Dt 8:4)
Besides miraculous food, how else did the LORD provide for the Israelites? Why is this significant?
Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. 6 So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. (Dt 8:5-6)
Consider this group of Israelites had not experienced the Egyptian slavery that their parents did. Instead, they grew up wandering the desert while their parents died off. (See Deuteronomy 1:26-40)
How then, is the statement regarding discipline and keeping the LORD’s commandments a good thing to remember?
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, 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, 9 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. (Dt 8:7-9)
How does the land the LORD is bringing the Israelites into compare to the land they have wandered in the last forty years?
And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. (Dt 8:10)
What is the Israelite’s responsibility in the new land of abundance?
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, (Dt 8:11)
What are the Israelites to remember?
How are the Israelites to show they remember?
lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God. (Dt 8:12-14)
The LORD promised to give the Israelites all these wonderful things, but here warns them these blessings might cause them to forget.
the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15 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, 16 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. (Dt 8:14-16)
The LORD reminds the Israelites of everything He has done for them.
Why did the LORD do these things?
Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18 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. (Dt 8:17-18)
What does the LORD say is the root of the Israelite’s forgetfulness?
Why does the LORD want to give the Israelites the power to get wealth?
And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. 20 Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God. (Dt 8:19-20)
What consequences was Israel warned about if they forgot the LORD?
Remember Not to Forget | Deuteronomy 8:1-20 | Application Questions
Based on these verses, what kind of relationship does the LORD want with you?
Which is harder for you, maintaining a proper relationship with the LORD in times of prosperity or hardship? Why?
What activities help you remember the LORD in all that you do?
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
Blessings,
Barbara Lynn