Remember The Past

“Remember the former things of old: for I [am] God, and [there is] none else; [I am] God, and [there is] none like me,” (Isa 46:9 AV)

Sometimes, the evidence or answers are in the past.  Judah had made a choice to leave the God who delivered them.  They choose to go after false gods.  Both Judah and Israel allowed time and familiarity to rob them of the memories of what God had done in the past.  They allowed the troubles and duties of life to become more of an influence than the God who founded them.  Because God became more and more irrelevant, they forget who and what God was.  This resulted in backsliding.  This is why the LORD encourages His people to look to the past.  This is why remembering what God did yesterday will get you through today.  Reading of the works of God from years and ages gone by should result in increased faith.  As we remember what God did, and why He did what He did, we can look at the present in light of the future.  As God was in the past, He will be in the future.  We lose faith when we live only in the present.  When our eyes are cast downward, it is hard to see where we have been and where we are going.  Remembering where we have been and knowing where we will be, our present makes sense and becomes something we can endure.  In context, our passage teaches the more we remember God in the past, the more likely we will be to remain faithful to Him in the present.

The former things of old do not limit themselves to the person and works of God.  The things of old could also refer to the law and customs that organized Israel.  The things of old could also mean traditions, principles, or culture that shaped who and what they were.  The problem lay not in the things of old.  Rather, in the fact they abandoned the things of old.  Not all new things are good things.  That is not to say we should reject all things new.  If that were the case, we would all be dying at a much younger age.  Rather, there are certain things that stand the test of time.  For example, Hebrews chapter 10 commands the assembly of the saints.  Yet with the invention of the internet and streaming platforms, assembly is becoming something of the past.  This is not good!  The Bible tells us we should spend time in it every day.  We should read it, study it, apply it; but most of all, treat it as it is—the voice of God.  Yet, with the invention of electronic Bibles, the saints struggle to find the books of the Bible as they are referenced.  We used to know where things were by their location on a physical page.  Not any longer.  Considering the abundance of information available, one would expect us to be more knowledgeable about the Bible than we currently are.  Just the opposite is true.  The things of old have value.  They should not be discarded simply because something new comes along.

To the point, we can easily sway from our walk with God because we forget the past.  We forget the things of the past that define the present.  We forget the principles, the law, the standards, etc. and march after the new and exciting.  When it applies to God, we forget God has not changed.  He is the same God we met decades ago.  He can do above what we ask or think today, as He did in the past.  He is as real to us in the present as He was the day we met Him.  He has not gone anywhere.  If we are struggling in the present and the future looks bleak, perhaps the answer to both is in yesterday, last year, or a few decades ago.  The Bible is a record of the old things.  It is a record of what God did in the past.  History holds no value unless we can apply it in the present.  Why do we read of the past works of God?  Why do we study the seven days of creation, the miracles God wrought for Israel, or the life and times of Jesus Christ?  These things are things of old.  Thousands of years old.  We do so to find hope and purpose in the present.  We do so because we need to navigate life as our ancestors did.  We read and study the things of old because God has not changed.  We read and study the past so we can walk with God in a more intimate and faithful way.