Old Testament # 17
“Beware Lest Thou Forget”
Deuteronomy 6; 8; 11; 32
Introduction
There is a great deal of literature about rememberingin Biblical studies. That should not be a surprise to us, since each week as we partake of the sacrament, we covenant that we will always rememberHim. And along with that is that covenant to keep His commandments. When this lesson is being studied in Sunday School, all being well, I will be in England with my vicar brother in Salisbury. Salisbury is home to a magnificent Church of England cathedral which I hope to visit. And I hope I will be remembering what I felt the week before in Israel as I visited those places where Jesus walked and taught. But geography isn’t really important when it comes to worshipping, remembering is. Remembering and keeping commandments is what gives us the spiritual oxygen Elder Maxwell talked about in the quote I cited last week. This week’s lesson comprises Moses’s last sermons to his people as he prepared to leave and go to his Lord, whom he had served so diligently. And it is our farewell to the first five books of the Old Testament—the books of Moses.
This is what the Institute manual tells us about Deuteronomy:
Deuteronomy is a title formed from the two Greek words deutero,“second,” and nomos,“law.” Thus, the title means “the second law,” or “the repetition of the law” (see Fallows, Bible Encyclopedia,s.v. “Deuteronomy,” 1:522). The Christian world adopted this descriptive title from the Septuagint (the first Greek translation of the Old Testament written in the second century before Christ) rather than the Jewish name for the book, Eileh Hadvareem,which is the first two words of the book in Hebrew (translated as “these be the words”).
Enclosed in these chapters are the exhortations that led to observant Jews wearing tefillin(frontlets/phylacteries) to pray, and a fringed shawl (tallit), and putting a mezuzah on their doors. The mezuzah is a little box usually with a shinletter on them and inside is a parchment with Deut. 6:4–9 and 11:13–21. Those texts are called the shema, because they start with the imperative “Hear” which is the translation.
What is our equivalent of these physical reminders of the Lord? The manual suggests we look around our living space — what do we see? What books are prominent, what artwork? What music are we listening to? What websites do we visit? What programs do we stream? It’s a bit daunting.
President Ezra Taft Benson said that people who are “captained by Christ will be consumed in Christ. … Enter their homes, and the pictures on their walls, the books on their shelves, the music in the air, their words and acts reveal them as Christians” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1985, 6; or Ensign,Nov. 1985, 6–7).
President Brigham Young said: “The worst fear that I have about [members of this Church] is that they will get rich in this country, forget God and his people, wax fat, and kick themselves out of the Church and go to hell. This people will stand mobbing, robbing, poverty, and all manner of persecution, and be true. But my greater fear for them is that they cannot stand wealth; and yet they have to be tried with riches, for they will become the richest people on this earth” (in Preston Nibley, Brigham Young: The Man and His Work[1936], 128).[1]
Elder Gerrit Gong has given us six ways in which we can always remember Him:
· First, we can always remember Him by having confidence in His covenants, promises, and assurances.
· Second, we can always remember Him by gratefully acknowledging His hand throughout our lives.
· Third, we can always remember Him by trusting when the Lord assures us, “He who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.”
· Fourth, He invites us to remember that He is always welcoming us home.
· Fifth, we can always remember Him on the Sabbath through the sacrament. At the end of His mortal ministry and the beginning of His resurrected ministry—both times—our Savior took bread and wine and asked that we remember His body and blood,“for as oft as ye do this ye will remember this hour that I was with you.”
· Finally, sixth, our Savior invites us to always remember Him as He always remembers us.[2]
Deuteronomy 32:3-4 talks about the Rock, meaning Christ. President Eyring has something to say about this that serves as comfort and strength during the trials we inevitably undergo:
I have seen whenever Latter-day Saints stand firmly on the rock of a testimony of Jesus Christ, [b]ecause they have no doubt He watches over them, they become fearless. They ignore their own trials to go to the relief of others. And they do so out of love for the Lord, asking no recompense.
Elder Wilford W. Anderson further strengthens this testimony:
I speak to all who suffer, to all who mourn, to all who now face or who will yet face trials and challenges in this life. My message is to all who are worried or afraid or discouraged. My message is but an echo, a reminder of the constant comforting counsel from a loving Father to His children since the world began.
“Remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation.”[3]
This reminds me of our new emphasis (which of course isn’t at all new, insofar as it is a higher version of what we know we should be doing) on ministering. So I finish with a quote from Sis. Bingham:
With this higher, holier approach to ministering, some brothers and sisters may struggle to know if they’re making a difference. We can feel successful (1) when we ask the Lord for direction and (2) when we follow that direction. Each time we follow through on revelation received, we feel the Spirit confirming what we’ve done. That’s real success. That’s when we become more like the Savior and true ministering brothers and sisters. Be patient! As we prayerfully seek the Spirit, we will be guided in how to help those we care for. At the same time, wewill feel a greater measure of God’s love for us as we stretch and learn to better hear and act on promptings from the Spirit.[4]
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