Will Remember

Today's Bible Reading: EZEKIEL 14:1-16:63

Ezekiel 16:60

yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant.

We are a forgetful people. Time erodes embedded memories. They often slip away and unless recalled they retreat into the recesses of our mind. The children of Israel had forgotten from where they came. They didn’t remember their redemption. They let the memory of the moment of God’s mercy fade away. They didn’t remember their ruin and no longer recalled their rescue. They had forgotten where they have been and what was done for them. They forgot and their forgetfulness led to their fall. They became a rebellious people. A people who received mercy, yet ran toward mischief. They were those who were rescued, yet rebelled.

The text compares Israel to an abandoned child. Like the child, they were neglected, rejected and left to die in a field. No one cared for or had compassion for them. They were discarded to die. But in the midst of their pain the Lord passed by. He saw them wallowing in their own blood, deserted, and dying. He didn’t leave them in their misery, but rather had mercy on them. He rescued them. In their despair, He delivered them. In their ruin, He rescued them.

He picked them up and provided for them. He bathed them. He clothed them in fine linen. He feed them with the choicest foods. He adorned them with expensive jewels. He made them thrive. They experienced the full measure of his unmerited favor. His mercy and grace were poured out abundantly upon them.

But in all of this they forgot. They slid into sin that led them to tumble into terrible transgressions. The wooing of the world looked to them more wonderful than the one they worshiped. Their desires drew them away from delighting in Him. They relished in their rebellion which led them to reject their redeemer. They didn’t remember: the uncut cord, the unwashed body, the abandonment, the rejection and the field where they were left to die. They forgot. They took all that they were given and used it for their gain rather than for His glory.

Although they abandoned Him, He did not abandon them. His love for them was not affected by their conduct, but by his covenant. Their behavior didn’t break His covenant. Their rebellion didn’t ruin their redemption. His covenant love remained eternal, steadfast and ever present. Our text declares that in spite of our sin the Savior stays. He says, “Yet I WILL remember My covenant.” Our memories may lapse, His does not. We may waver in our commitment to Him, but He never wavers in His covenant with us. As believers, we are secure in the everlasting “new” covenant that we have through the blood of Jesus, who loved us and gave himself for us. Our commitment to Christ is covered by His covenant with us. We are consistently covenant breakers; He is continually a Covenant keeper.

Today think about the fact that like the Israelites, we easily forget from where we came. Remember and rejoice that like the child in the story, the Lord did not pass you by, but picked you up and made you His own. He had compassion for you and cared for you. He did not leave you abandoned, but adopted you. Don’t lose sight of how He has given you life and led you to flourish. Consider that it’s not how you came to faith, but how you continue in your faith. Remember not just your testimony, but your transformation. Don’t be the rescued abandoned one that abandons your rescuer.