Struggling to remember the date of an important event, Eric apologised, saying, “My memory is not too good these days,… but I do have an excellent forgettery!” Many of us, I’m sure, could closely identify with Eric!
Ps 78 says that the Ephraimites (the northern tribes of Israel – kind of like a denomination of the Christian Church) “forgot what [God] had done.” (v11). It is referring to God’s great, miraculous acts of grace and mercy toward them, forgiving their sins, making them His dearly loved children, and blessing them in so many ways.
The result was that they “refused to walk according to [God’s] law” (v10). They forgot that they owed God everything, and so, they went their own way rather than His. The consequence of this was that they died spiritually (which is worse than mere physical death!).
They did this in spite of the fact that they were members of God’s people. As a denomination, a congregation, or as individual believers, we can do the same thing. In fact we are all prone to it. We need the Gospel to constantly speak to us God’s miraculous grace and mercy in Jesus Christ, so that we remember, and are called and commanded again to faith, obedience and joy in Him.
Grace and cheers, Jonathan