Remember: To keep in one's mind.
Hebrew: zakar = to imprint (something to be written, printed on the mind)
Though in possession of unlimited mental ability, the Most High, surprisingly, uses 'reminders' to prompt His and His subjects' memory. Briefly they are as follows:
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Malachi 3:16 |
"Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a Book of Remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord and that thought upon His name." |
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Revelation 20:12 |
"And I saw the dead small and great stand before God, and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." |
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Genesis 9:15 |
"And I will remember my covenant which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature that is upon the earth." |
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Exodus 2:23-25 |
"... And God heard their groanings and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Israel. And God looked upon the children of Israel and God had respect unto them." |
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Exodus 6:5 |
"And I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage and I have remembered my covenant ... and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will redeem you ..." |
Note: The great flood in Noah's day and Israel's deliverance from Egypt in Moses' time were types, shadows and illustrations to the entire universe of the deliverance of mankind under the everlasting covenant.
Here is a short list of things we should remember and print on our minds. You may add to this list quite easily.
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Psalm 119:55 |
"I have remembered Thy Name, O Yahweh, in the night and I have kept thy law." |
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Exodus 13:3 |
"... Remember this day, in which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage ..." |
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Deuteronomy 5:15 |
"And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt." |
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1 Chronicles 16:12 |
"Remember His marvellous works that He hath done, His wonders and the judgements of His mouth." |
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Psalm 77:11 |
"I will remember the works of the Lord." |
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Proverbs 3:1 |
"My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments." |
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Exodus 20:8 |
"Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy ..." |
Note: The Sabbath is a sign of sanctification (Ezekiel 20:12-20). It is a 'litmus-test' command which declares the true leanings of the soul - towards obedience or disobedience. Of all the subjects the Most High mentioned in His law, the Sabbath is the only one we are commanded to remember. "Make a special note of it" says Yahweh; "remember it - 'zakar it' - 'imprint it on your mind - and keep it holy." For in doing so there is great reward. Failure to bear in mind the things Yahweh has told us to remember results in great loss. Through the prophet Hosea Yahweh says this:
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Hosea 4:6 |
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shall be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children." |
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Psalm 143:5 |
"I remember the days of old." |
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Isaiah 46:9 |
"Remember the former things of old." |
People so quickly forget the happy times they had in days gone by; but dwell only on the tears, the pain and the bitterness of the present. This is not making good use of your memory. It is not doing justice to the diary of your life. Better by far is it to go back over those mental pages that remind you of the joys of days gone by. Because they will return, just as surely as day follows night.
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Galatians 2:10 |
"Only that they should remember the poor." |
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Hebrews 13:16 |
"But to do good and to communicate, forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." |
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Psalm 137:5-6 |
"If I forget Jerusalem (the city which epitomises the church of the Most High) let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy." |
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Psalm 137:1 |
"Yea we wept when we remembered Zion." |
Oh what a yearning for the welfare of the 'church' is witnessed here.
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Luke 24:8 |
"And they remembered his words." |
In times of darkness it is good to remember His words. They are like a light showing the way. Remember them.
Much as we should remember certain important things, there is one thing we should - yea must - forget.
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Philippians 3:13 |
"... But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." |
Treat each day as a fresh, clean page upon which you are called upon to write the history of your life. Forget the previous pages. They are gone and you cannot rewrite them. To be sure you should remember the lessons you learned from them; but forget the blotches, the smears, the stains and mistakes. They are past. You are now on a new page and it is every bit as clean as the first one was when you began the book. Strange as it may seem, the Most High does exactly the same thing for those who repent and seek to obey Him. He casts their sins behind His back and forgets them. His interest thereafter is in their faith, their sanctification and their love.
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Isaiah 38:17 |
"But thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption; for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back." |
July 1999
MatanYah Learning Centre, Duiwelskloof, South Africa
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