Barbara: Hi everyone- welcome to 40 minutes of faith. My name is Barbara Cox and I host this weekly podcast to explore God's word and our relationship with God.
Today, I'm going to be giving several Bible verses, starting with a few in the book of Isaiah, which is just about near the middle of your Bible. And I'm also going to be asking some questions for personal reflection.
I took a class on Isaiah last semester, and I'm not going to give you a detailed historical presentation today, but there's lots of interesting information. Some of you may have Bibles that have an introductory page or paragraph about books, and some of you might have Bible commentaries that give further detail on a lot of verses.
So I obviously can't condense a four-month class into just 40 minutes together today, but I would recommend if you have the time to take a look at some of the interesting historical information about many of the prophets. I also really enjoyed a course on the minor prophets that I took two years ago. And was really pleasantly surprised. I referenced that in some previous episodes about my seminary classes. So I just encourage you to take a look at some additional information about these books of the Bible.
One example of context that I'd like to give you is from my Lutheran study Bible, which will be listed in the resources section of the transcript on the 40 minutes of faith.com website. There's an introduction to each book of the Bible. Just for your information, some history. And I'm just going to read a couple of sentences because the passages that I have selected for today come from the second major portion of the book of Isaiah, which is chapters 40 to 55.
And I had no idea before taking this class, that Isaiah is such a long book with so many chapters that it wasn't actually all written by the same person. It was written over the course of many years. And there's historical differences in details related to those authors. So during the second portion of Isaiah, where today's examples are from the people have been exiled in Babylon, and there are many other different areas of scripture also that talk about that time period. And there's all sorts of political Wars going on power struggles.
And then the people returned from exile. So you can read more about that in Daniel and in Jeremiah. So there's some really interesting stuff besides just the actual scripture verses themselves for you to be aware of.
Our first passage for today is from the 49th chapter of Isaiah. And the theme for today's episode is remembering and forgetting. We're going to have a few upcoming episodes about different aspects of this theme, forgetting and remembering. So even though each episode is usually completely standalone, this is an introduction into some aspects of our relationship with God and what are we remembering and what are we forgetting and what is God remembering? And what is God forgetting?
Isaiah 49:15, “can a woman forget her nursing child or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget yet, I will not forget you.”
So the first question for consideration is, do we humans forget God sometimes? And if so, when is it that we have forgotten God? And is it easy to forget God? Is it maybe not easy to forget God? But the first question for today is do we forget God? And I have two verses to support that question. And this Bible study is never meant to kind of hit people over the head or make accusatory or judgmental statements, but maybe an invitation to awareness or accountability. So that's the purpose for these because none of us are perfect.
I also want to include a comment that I want to be coming from a place of love. I have mentioned previously in podcast episodes that I'm aware that there are people who struggle with fertility issues or infertility issues and have had really heartbreaking experiences around having a child.
And so I want to just honor that the verse in Isaiah that I just read isn't intended to poke at a place of pain, perhaps for some people, but to show the word that's used in that verse is compassion. I understand it as a way of illustrating God's compassion for us, the way we would typically think of a loving parental relationship.
So Deuteronomy is at the very beginning of your Bible and I'm going to read Deuteronomy chapter eight, verse 14: “then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”
So we are called to remember the things that God has done for us historically over the centuries, as well as in our own lives now.
The second supporting verse is from the book of Judges also in the Hebrew scripture, the old Testament. So in the first part of your Bible. I'm going to read for you Judges chapter three, verse seven: “the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord forgetting the Lord, their God and worshiping the Baals and the Asheras.”
So those are examples of other gods, could be idols, say, statues or something like that, that people worshiped. And that was displeasing to God. The first commandment is you shall have no other gods before me. So I want to just point out that in addition to remembering and forgetting as a broad theme, we have some really specific examples.
So in the first verse that I read from Isaiah, God is remembering us. And maybe we sometimes feel forgotten in addition to maybe us sometimes forgetting God ourselves. The verse from Deuteronomy talks about remembering this heritage of salvation and care from God. And then also an example of what happens sometimes. Are we worshiping something else besides God? And there's whole separate Bible studies about that. In fact, probably many Bible studies talk about that theme, but just to think, am I putting my focus on something else besides God? And to the point where I'm elevating this, either other person or this thing could be materialism or objects or greed or whatever, just what I want that I'm almost to the point of worshiping it and forgetting God?
So this is one question- and I have a whole bunch of more questions, but I want to just kind of give you a heads up that in some upcoming episodes, we're going to be talking very specifically about ways that we can either at times, forget God or the way we might feel forgotten by God.
And I typically say that no feeling is wrong. You can have whatever feeling you have, but there are times when we might feel like God has forgotten us and we need some reminders. So that's part of the purpose of this time that we're taking a look at Isaiah and some supporting verses.
I also have another verse about remembering and forgetting in the book of Isaiah and that's in chapter 43, verse 25: “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”
So this is something that is very real in many people's lives that we remember our own sins. And one of the things that we're going to be talking about in one particular episode is the concept of forgiveness. And again, those are whole other studies, but just as it relates to forgetting, this verse says that God will not remember our sins. And so we're going to be getting into a little bit more detail with that in the future, but to consider, are we holding onto stuff that God has already let go? Are we dragging around baggage about others as well as our own wrongdoings? How difficult or easy is it to forget our own sins, or do we kind of hold onto them and beat ourselves up even more than, you know, God has already forgiven us?
So we are considering sin, and remembering and forgetting. And I again have two supporting verses for that concept. Here is Psalm one Oh three verses eight through 12: “God is sheer mercy and grace not easily angered. He's rich in love. He doesn't endlessly nag and scold nor hold grudges forever. He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve nor pay us back in full for our wrongs. As high as heaven is over the earth, so strong as his love to those who fear him. And as far as sunrise is from sunset, he has separated us from our sins.”
And I just want to say wow, after that! Some traditions might say amen at the end of that, or Hallelujah.
Now we do have examples of God's anger. So I just want to acknowledge that nobody would say, well, the Bible doesn't have any examples of God being angry. God does get angry, but we have, what's known in the Lutheran tradition of law and gospel. So we do have God's law. We know what it is that we are aiming to be doing what we should be doing.
And we also have the gospel message, which is that we can't earn our salvation. Salvation is a free gift and that we then turn towards doing what God wants, knowing that we can't earn it, knowing that it's free. And the terms for that are justification and sanctification, just in case you're wondering. This verse is so powerful to me that God doesn't endlessly, nag and scold.
God doesn't hold grudges forever. He doesn't treat us as our sin deserves nor pay us back in full for our wrongs. And there was a previous episode with one of my professors, Martin Lohrmann. If you want to take a look at that, that goes into way more detail about what I just referenced about law and gospel and our behavior and God's behavior towards us.
So if you want some more information and you missed that episode, there is a video version on YouTube with the little chart that the professor made up and there's the audio only version where hopefully you can follow along with the information just verbally without taking a look at the chart.
And I have another verse from Hebrews, which is in the new Testament. So almost at the end of your Bible, chapter eight, verse 12: “for I will be merciful toward their iniquities. And I will remember their sins no more.”
And again, to me, that's very powerful because as forgetful as I am, sometimes I find it easy to remember both my sins as well as the sins of others. So this section is calling us to admit or to realize, or to really internalize that God does not remember our sins. So my question around that is how do we go about modeling god's love for us by not remembering our sins? And so again, we'll be talking a little bit about forgiveness in an upcoming episode.
For a lot of people that's a very hard thing to do. And again, I'm not telling you, you should forgive everyone immediately for all the wrong that has been done to you. And we've talked about this actually in the past as well, but can we forgive someone and still say, this situation is wrong, we need to change it? We need to protect other people we need to do what's right.
And I also invite each of you as you have time and access to check out different translations. I often list exactly which translation I use, usually at the beginning of an episode, when we just have one passage or one verse. And today there's a few different translations that I'm not specifically referencing, but I want to encourage you either with physical Bibles that you have, there's online apps that you can just tap which translation do you want to see, and sort of compare the different types of language. There's also websites where you can do the same. I typically read from the new revised standard version or the new international version.
One of my favorites is the message version. And my most recent purchased Bible is called the inclusive version, where God is only ever referred to as God, not as he, and there's other examples instead of mankind, it consistently says humankind. So wanting to just invite you to spend as much time as you have, or as you wish to create, to take a look at different translations.
One question that I'd also like to invite you to consider is how is it that we remember God in our day-to-day lives? I asked, do we sometimes forget about God, and then the inverse of that is at what point do we really remember God? Do we remember God right when we first wake up in the morning, do we remember God, especially in the beauty of creation or animals, do we thank God or talk to God or pray as we sort of go through our day, just in the ordinary three things or in a beautiful sunset?
Anyway, not to sort of limit your list to those things, but that's just a question for our consideration, separate from, do we forget God is really specifically when do we remember God? How do we remember God?
I'd also like to invite you to consider, in what ways is it tempting to worship things or people other than God? And how does that feel? How's that working out for us? We keep talking about keeping up with the Joneses and comparing ourselves to the Joneses who probably have a lot of money. Apparently, these particular Joneses that we're talking about, but is it fulfilling? Does it feel good? Sometimes we self-medicate with shopping or looking at other people's lives, maybe on social media and things like that. So in contemporary times we might not be worshiping the idols referenced in this Bible passage Baal and Asherah, but what other ways can we turn away from God and towards something else?
Our final passage from Isaiah today is from chapter 43, verse 18. “Do not remember the former things or consider the things of old.”
And to my understanding, this is talking about our sentiment of the good old days or nostalgia, wishing that things weren't the way they are now and wishing that they were the way they were in the past. And I also want to acknowledge that we are at the end now of a very difficult year for many people, a year of pandemic and great sorrow, death and loss, and lots and lots of changes in our day to day living. So I actually want to just honor that I wish that things are back to the way they were before COVID too, but I'm referring to a persistent sense of even before COVID.
You know, maybe some people thought, Oh, you know, the world's no good. I wish it was the way things were in the olden days. Just this always looking backwards to the past and not being in the present. How is that helping us? And yeah, maybe there's some things about the past that were good. Of course.
I'm not saying that it wasn't. But are we being called to move forward into God's future? Instead of always looking back to the past. Now we have also been called, though, which I had read earlier, to remember God's promises and to remember how God has delivered us in the past, both individually and as a faith body.
So in that sense, I don't want to be talking out of both sides of my mouth. I'm just taking different verses from the Bible and kind of exploring this topic of remembering and forgetting. So are there some things that are helpful to remember? Are there some things that might not be helpful if we're spending so much time remembering how things used to be and lamenting that they're not this way and doing everything in our power to try to get things, to be the way they used to be again, instead of just facing what we have now, and you know, maybe it's okay to try to want to have things be in the past? But if it's not going to be that way, if it can't be that way anymore, then how can we be at peace in our souls with what is, and perhaps what is to come?
So I have two more verses around this theme of what to remember and what to forget in Philippians. This is in the new Testament. So towards the end of your Bible, chapter three, verse 13. “Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but this one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.”
So that's one example of letting the past be the past. And for some people they're just as happy to have the past be the past. Not everybody is dwelling in a sense of nostalgia of wishing that things could be the way they used to be. But this is an example of living into God's calling for the present as well as for the future.
And in the book of Acts, which is also in the new Testament right after the four gospels. Acts chapter 20 verse 35 says: “in all this, I have given you an example that by such work, we must support the weak remembering the words of the Lord Jesus. For he himself said it is more blessed to give than to receive.”
So we are remembering the words of Jesus and also remembering the poor, the weak, the downtrodden, the oppressed. That Jesus spoke for them, that it's all too easy to forget, or sort of ignore or gloss over other people who we may not come into regular contact with.
And we're called to care for those who are in need very clearly. So we have so many invitations here in all of this material. We have all kinds of invitations to remember and all kinds of invitations to forget. And I would love to have your comments and your questions about these matters. I know that we can't have just a group chat all at the same time. Like if we were sitting around a table having a Bible study, but I really enjoy conversation. And so you're welcome on the 40 minutes of faith Facebook page to leave a comment about this study. Each week, I post the new study on the Facebook page, just so that people can have quick access depending on if you're subscribing already or not. There's also a comment section on the 40 minutes of faith.com website.
And also just to invite your personal journaling in any way that is comfortable for you. Some people just love to write in a notebook or a paper journal on these questions. Some people just ponder them in their hearts, like it says that Mary did at the annunciation, just, you're washing dishes or vacuuming or something like that. And it's an invitation also to think creatively. It's much easier for me to remember God and to be in a worshipful mindset when I'm listening to music. That is for me, faith-based Christian, that's praise music, and sometimes it's fine and I'm happy if it's peppy. And sometimes it's very consoling to me also, if it's not particularly peppy, if it's maybe more solemn or just quieter. Sometimes I listen on YouTube for a while, and then it just kind of scrolls through a whole bunch of different songs or artists.
And some people have visual reminders around their space- could be something hanging on the wall or something in their vehicle or on their phones. So what are different ways that can help us to remember, to keep our focus? If that's something that will help to further our walk with God, our faith journey, our relationship with spiritual matters? Because it seems to me that the loudest voices and maybe not actual human voices, but just everything that is being brought into our lives, whether it's on screen or just the thoughts in our mind, keeping busy, I need to do this. I need to do that. I need to do the other thing.
How are we carving out time? And that's going to be another subject that we're going to be talking about in an upcoming episode is how can we integrate God into every minute of every day? And then how can we set aside time? Because some folks do go to church on Sunday mornings or participate in different types of faith events throughout the week could be Bible study or whatever. There's different opportunities now, especially online. And then for some folks that's not part of their regular practice. So we're going to be talking about setting aside time for God, very intentionally. And that really wasn't a direct question as part of the Isaiah study, but it's related. Because I find that when I'm doing a Bible study and there's a homework assignment and I have every day, a few pages that I need to be looking up Bible verses and answering questions that really helps me to focus. And then when I'm not in a Bible study, I'm struggling a little bit more on how to carve out that intentional time when I need to go to the grocery store and I need to, Oh, I just remembered. I need to call the eye doctor again. Do you know what I mean? So you're not alone if this is something that you are still working on, carving out that time.
And if you already have that time, you're welcome to drop that in the comments, if you could share what has been effective for you. I know that many people get up early in the morning and they have that quiet time with their Bibles or with any other kind of faith development tool, their journals, their prayer journals, just times of prayer. And then some folks I know are just busy running around, taking care of what needs to be taken care of.
I'm just going to summarize. God does not forget us. And that is just so very, very important. So if you want to remember times when you felt forgotten, was there ever a time after that when you didn't feel forgotten anymore or do you still feel forgotten now? In other words, how did you come back to a sense of God's love in your life? And that might not be yet, but that's really the message that I am praying that people will hear not to always wear, you know, Rose tinted glasses. I know that for some folks, just this whole looking back can be painful, looking back at some of the experiences that you've had. But is there a way to sometimes look back and see any good that came out of a situation that may have seemed really awful at the time, or it may really have been very awful.
So, God does not forget us. Do we forget God? And how do we remember God?
God does not remember our sins, and the possibility that we hold onto our sins or the sins of others, even more tightly than we need to, or even at all. And we've got Bible verses and there's way more too, I could spend the whole 40 minutes just reading Bible verses about all of these topics. So if you have a Bible with a topical index, maybe in the back that would talk about forgetting or remembering, of course, there's so many other places where this concept is referenced or even forgiveness.
Then we have a question about what is it that we are to remember and what is it that we are to forget? We have remembering God's faithfulness to us as well as forgetting the good old days in terms of not spending all our time and emotional energy yearning for those times. And then we also have the concept of God loves us like a loving parent.
And finally, I have one study to recommend to you that was previously recommended in another podcast episode. For some of us, during church services, we routinely hear three or four different Bible passages every Sunday, depending on what sort of tradition you've been attending. So some churches hear a passage from the old Testament, from the Hebrew scripture every week, and some churches don't do that.
And so I want to recommend the study “Seamless” to you by Angie Smith, because that particular study really makes it so clear the history of God's people and God's faithfulness despite many different, I don't know what you want to call them? Detours, Priscilla Shirer calls them, speed bumps or, you know, bumps in the road on your way of life, and you go in a different direction. So I'm sure there are many other studies to recommend, but that's just the one that I have firsthand experience with on talking about the history of God's faithfulness, not only among our biblical ancestors, but also how can we apply that to our own everyday lives?
Thank you for your time today. I pray for your faith journeys for all of our faith journeys as we encounter the spiritual growth opportunities that are before us, as well as the day-to-day necessities of life that keep us busy. And finding ways of remembering God during busy seasons of life, as well as during quiet times.
And how can we encourage each other in our faith journeys? Looking forward to your comments and questions, and also stay tuned for some upcoming episodes about the topic of remembering, forgetting, and forgiveness.
Resources:
Lutheran Study Bible (Augsburg Fortress)
Isaiah 49:15
Deuteronomy 8:14
Judges 3:7
Isaiah 43:25
Psalm 103:8-12
Hebrews 8:12
Isaiah 43:18
Philippians 3:13
Acts 20:35
Seamless by Angie Smith