Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover: As Yet

How Easily We Forget

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2018-12-06

Synopsis: John Weaver warns that just as Israel quickly forgot God's mighty works, covenant, and even God Himself, Christians today easily forget His grace, their profession of faith, and their first love. Using Deuteronomy and Exodus, he traces a progression from forgetting God's works to forgetting His covenant to forgetting Him, leading to idolatry. He urges repentance and daily remembrance of God's mercies.

[John Weaver] Well, it's good to see each one of you here tonight, and I'm thankful to be here myself. I want you to open your Bibles, if you would please, to Deuteronomy chapter 4, and we'll read verse 9. We'll read several others, and I hope you'll keep your Bibles open and your fingers nimble, because we will be turning to a lot of Scriptures as well. The title of the message is, How Easily We Forget. How Easily We Forget. Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 9, God says, Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thine heart all the days of thy life, but teach them thy sons and thy sons' sons. How easily we forget.

[John Weaver] I suppose the most famous words And probably the words most frequently spoken are simply two words, I forgot. We may use similar phrases such as it slipped my mind or I guess I was not thinking. But whatever we say, usually it boils down to this one thing that we just simply forgot. And the truth of the matter is, as we age, the more forgetful we become. But also as we age, the more we are willing to admit that we are forgetful as well.

[John Weaver] When my wife's mother, Granny Doris, was alive, her memory started slipping. And so Alice and I bought her some ginkgo biloba to take, which supposedly helped the memory. We were riding to church and Granny Doris was in the back seat and she said, I think that stuff is helping me. I said, helping what granny? She said my memory. I said, Well, what stuff are you talking about?

[John Weaver] She said, I don't know, I forgot. So I explained to her that it was ginkgo biloba. So but you know, here is, you know, 95 years old, it's okay to forget. I mean, that's, that's fine. But you know, the truth is, we not only forget little things, oftentimes, we forget important things as well. Over the years, one of my fears was that I would forget a meeting or a preaching appointment.

[John Weaver] Thankfully, by the grace of God, I never have done so. But, you know, it played on my mind for the longest. I just did not want to forget. But just to show you how we do forget, one day Alice and I were at home and our daughters began calling us on the phone and shouting, Happy Anniversary! We looked at each other, and both of us had forgotten it was our anniversary. Now, I'd have been in trouble if it had just been me, but she had forgotten as well. So we just simply laughed about it and talked about how busy we'd really been. But I want you to look back to Deuteronomy 4, verse 9. This time, I want to include verse 10. Watch carefully.

[John Weaver] God says, Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, unless thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, unless they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life. But teach them by sons and by sons' sons, specially, specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Oreb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children." They were not to forget the things which they had seen. And these certainly would include the miracles and the judgments of God. They were to keep them in their hearts and they were to pass them on to their children and also to their children's children. And God specifically singled out the day when they heard His words.

[John Weaver] Now, just in line with this warning, if you would skip down to verse 23, I want you to note what else God says in this light. Deuteronomy 4, verse 23, Take heed unto yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which He made with you. and make you a raven image, or the likeness of anything which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee."

[John Weaver] Now, interestingly, he said, don't forget my works, don't forget my miracles, don't forget my judgments. And now he's saying, do not forget my covenant. When we begin to forget the works of God, the miracles and the judgments of God, the next thing you know, we are forgetting the covenant of God. And you know, when we think of the word covenant, we automatically always think of the old covenant or the Old Testament. We fail to realize sometimes that the word covenant just simply means testament. And just like Israel forgot the old covenant, many times Christians forget the new covenant.

[John Weaver] And certainly we do indeed turn aside to idolatry. Now you say, not me. I don't fall down before an idol. I understand that. But do you realize the Bible tells you in the book of Colossians 3 and verse 5 that covetousness is idolatry. So whenever you begin to covet, whenever you do anything that God forbids, that is in essence idolatry. You are placing yourself and your desires above the one true and living God.

[John Weaver] So let me ask you a question or two. How often do you really think of the Word of God? How often do you really think of God? How often do you remember His promises, His warnings? How often do you think about His commandments? How often do you really consider Him and what He has done? How long and how often do you even think about your profession of faith?

[John Weaver] How about your baptismal oath? You know, we don't understand that baptismal oath. Usually, when we baptize someone, we'll say, do you profess faith in Jesus Christ? Do you confess that Jesus Christ is Lord? And they would say, yes. And then the preacher will say something like this, upon your profession of faith in Him, my brother, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And we baptize them. But you know, we forget exactly what that oath is that we take when we are baptized. You know, the earliest oath The earliest oath was just simply three words, and it was, Esu, Esen, Kyrian. Jesus is Lord. The word Lord, Kyrios, literally means boss, owner, master, sovereign, supreme one.

[John Weaver] You see, the truth is this. When we get baptized today, most of us, well, it's just a little ordinance. We never placed the importance upon it that it was placed upon it in the New Testament. Why? Because in the New Testament, when a man was baptized and he said that Jesus Christ is Lord, in essence, he's probably signing his own death warrant. He was signing to have all of his goods confiscated. Why? Because there was a war between Christ and Caesar. You see, Caesar wanted everybody to confess that Caesar was Lord. Do you realize that Christians in the New Testament era were not put to death by the Roman Empire just because they were Christians? In the Roman Empire, you could believe whatever you wanted to believe. If you wanted to believe in Jesus Christ, have at it. If you wanted to believe in Zeus or Baal, it didn't matter. Just so once a year, you swore by the genius of Caesar, and you said that Caesar is Lord. In other words, Caesar gives me the right to believe as I believe.

[John Weaver] And Christians refused to do that, and thus they were put to death, not just because they were Christians, but because they were traitors to the emperor cult. And today, when a person gets baptized, most people never pay any attention to it. But when we say Jesus is Lord, we're confessing and acknowledging that He is the Sovereign and Supreme One. When one forgets the works and the miracles and judgments of God, the next step is he forgets the covenant of God. Once you forget the covenant of God, the next step is that you forget God.

[John Weaver] Like Demas, you forsake Him because you love the present evil world. People forsake God because they love their flesh, they love their lusts, they love their desires more than His grace and His mercy.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you. Since we're in Deuteronomy, look in Deuteronomy chapter 6.

[John Weaver] Now, we've already talked about don't forget the works of God, don't forget the covenant of God. Now look in Deuteronomy 6 and verse 12. He says it like this. Deuteronomy 6, verse 12, Then beware, lest thou forget the Lord who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage. Now, isn't that strange? You don't forget the Lord. Turn over, if you would, to Deuteronomy 8 and verse 11. Here's another warning. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping His commandments and His judgments and His statutes, which I command thee this day." I want you to see, here is that intimate connection between God and His Word. If you forget to obey God, you have forgotten God. If you forget His covenant, you've forgotten Him. Look in verse 14. Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage. Look in verse 19. And it shall be, if thou do it all, forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day, that you shall surely perish.

[John Weaver] So here are stages. God says we forget His works, we forget His miracles, we forget His judgments, and then the next step, we forget His covenant. And then after we forget His covenant, we actually forget Him. And one step leads to the other step. And by the way, when we forget one truth, forgetting one truth also leads to forgetting other truths as well. And every time we forget Him, we replace Him.

[John Weaver] Look back at Deuteronomy 8 and verse 19. He said,"...and it shall be, if thou do it all, forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall perish. You may respond and you may say, hey, wait, not me. I will never fall down before an idol. I'll never fall down before a monument of stone or something like that. Hey, you don't have to. You don't have to. The truth of the matter is anytime we place anything above God, it is idolatry. When we give in to the lust of our flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, it is idolatry. You remember Paul speaks of those whose God is their belly in Philippians chapter 3 and verse 19. He said, whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is their shame, and they mind earthly things. They have no desire about God. They don't think about Him. They've totally forgotten Him.

[John Weaver] Here's the simple truth. You cannot forget God without replacing Him. Anytime you forget him, you basically have replaced him. You may have replaced him with your own desires, your own lusts, but we forget his precepts and we forget his covenants. We forget his commandment in order that we may satisfy and please ourselves.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you a question. Do you remember how Israel was delivered out of Egypt? Stop and think about this for a moment. The truth of the matter is When God delivered Israel out of Egypt, it was a demonstration of His almighty power. In fact, I had to be selective, but I'm going to show you four passages that emphasize the power and the might and the majesty that God used in delivering the children of Israel out of Egypt.

[John Weaver] I want you to look back to Deuteronomy chapter 4, and notice if you would please verse 34. Deuteronomy 4 and verse 34. Look at this question that is asked. Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation by temptations, by signs, by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt? Now watch. Before your eyes. You saw the great power. You saw the great miracles. You saw the great terror. You saw it. Look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 7 and verse 19. Deuteronomy 7 verse 19. Again, he talks about it like this, the great temptations which thine eyes saw. and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm whereby the Lord thy God brought thee out, so shall the Lord thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid." Note if you would again, he said, your eyes saw everything that I did.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles if you would to Deuteronomy 26 and verse 8. Deuteronomy 26 and verse 8. Again. Deuteronomy 26, verse 8, he says this, And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders. One last passage on this, if you look in Deuteronomy 34, verse 12. Deuteronomy 34, verse 12. Again, the Word of God says it like this, And in all that mighty hand, and all that great terror which Moses showed in the sight of all Israel." Note, if you would, three out of the four passages talks about the fact that they saw, they were there first hand, they knew everything that happened. And he talks about God's mighty power, His outstretched arm, His outstretched hand, the temptations, the wonders, all of this. Now, here's my question. In light of all of this, everything that we just read, and everything that you know that happened, which I'm going to remind you of, when you stop and think about how God delivered Israel with His mighty power, with His outstretched arm, with His signs, with His wonders, with His temptations, with His terrors,

[John Weaver] that He demonstrated upon the Egyptians, and that the children of Israel saw with their own eyes. Here's my question. How long do you think it would take you to forget all of that? I know you and I would say, well, we would never forget it. Really? Well, I'll tell you what let's do. Let's try to make this personal tonight. Okay. So here's what I want to do. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Exodus, if you would. We're going to start with Exodus chapter nine, but we're going to look at several other passages. But here's what I would like you to do just for a little while. Just for a little while, I want you to pretend that you were there when Israel was delivered. that you saw what they saw and that you experienced what they experienced.

[John Weaver] Everybody knows that there were 10 plagues. But what most people do not understand is this. Out of all of those 10 plagues, the children of Israel were exempt. Not one of those plagues landed upon the children of Israel. For instance, let's go to Exodus chapter 11 and look at verse 7. Then we'll come back to chapter 9. But look at Exodus chapter 11 and verse 7. Note what the Bible says. Here it is. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue against man or beast, that you may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. God said a dog won't even move his tongue against my people, nor against any of their beasts. So that you may know that I put a difference between the Egyptians and my people. Now you remember that there was a very grievous moraine that fell upon the cattle of the Egyptians. In fact, their cattle were killed. But if you look in Exodus chapter 9 and verses 4 through 7, Note what the Scripture says.

[John Weaver] And the Lord shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt, and there shall nothing die of all that is of the children of Israel. And the Lord appointed a set time, saying to Marah, The Lord shall do this thing in the land. And the Lord did that thing on the Marah, and all the cattle of Egypt died, but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one. And Pharaoh said, And behold, there was not one of the chattel of the Israelites dead, And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go." Now note, here, God sent this plague, and He separated the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt. When the plague of darkness hit, again, God separated the Egyptians and the Israelites.

[John Weaver] If you look in Exodus chapter 10, at verses 22 and 23, look at it. Exodus 10 verse 22,"...And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven, And there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. You know, there's an old joke that we used to ask when I was a boy, where was Moses when the lights went out?

[John Weaver] The standard answer is in the dark, but that's not true. The children of Israel had light in their dwellings. He was still in the light. It was the Egyptians that were in the darkness.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you again, and I'm going to remind you, but I want you to pretend just with me just for a moment that you're in Egypt. That you are seeing and you are experiencing everything that I'm going to remind you firsthand. You're not only seeing it and experiencing it, you're understanding that you are spared. Everything that you have is spared. None of these judgments touches you, your cattle, your family, but yet you see everything that happens to the Egyptians and to the enemies. Let me just reinforce these plagues in your mind.

[John Weaver] First of all, you saw the water turned into blood and all the fish in the rivers died. That's in Exodus chapter 7. You don't have to turn there, but just stop and think about the river being turned into blood and the bloated, dead fish stinking. You saw that. And then secondly, you saw the frogs that came out of the water and enveloped the land. They had frogs in the kitchen. They had frogs in the living room. They had frogs in the bed. They had frogs everywhere. You saw that, but there were no frogs in your place, no frogs in your neighbor's place. No, no, no. It was just in the Egyptians. And moreover, you saw the dust of the land turned into lice, lice upon man and lice upon beasts in Exodus chapter eight. But you had no lice. Your animals had no lice, your children had no lice, but here the Egyptians are being tormented with lice. But you're spared. You also saw the swarms of flies that corrupted and destroyed everything that the Egyptians had in Exodus chapter eight, and you were spared this horrible corruption.

[John Weaver] Now, I don't know about you, But I don't like flies. I don't know if it's true or not, but I read that every time a fly lit, he spit. Whether that's true or not, I don't know, but that's what I read. But I know I don't like flies. Can you imagine not even being able to breathe without inhaling flies? I've been deer hunting in swamps and you take that mosquito net off and you can't breathe because they're in your nose and in your mouth. That's exactly the way it was with these flies, but there were no flies in your house. There were no flies in your neighbor's house.

[John Weaver] No, it was just in the Egyptians. You saw the grievous rain upon the cattle. And you saw all of the enemy's cattle die, but yours did not die. Yours was not hurt at all. And then, of course, you also saw the boils and the blains that were breaking in upon man and upon beast. But you had no boils. You had no blains. Anyone that's ever had a boil can testify how painful Excruciatingly painful a boil really can be. And here the Egyptians were, and their beasts were eaten up with boils and blames. But you escaped.

[John Weaver] There was none on you, none on your family, none on your neighbors. And you saw the thunderstorm of hail and fire and the destruction that followed. It was such a destruction that there had never been a storm like that previously. In fact, look in your Bibles very quickly to Exodus 9 and look at verse 24. Exodus 9, verse 24, So there was hail and fire mingled with hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt, since it became a nation.

[John Weaver] Hey man, this was something exceptional. And you saw all of this firsthand, but it never bothered you, just your enemies. By the way, you also saw the plague of locusts. I mean, the locusts that were so thick, they darkened the sky. I never will forget years ago when I was going up to Pennsylvania to preach. I got to looking at the trees as I was driving. And I saw all these dead limbs. Most of the tree was green, but a lot was dead and hanging.

[John Weaver] And I thought, what in the world has happened? Come to find out all the locusts had come out and they had eaten those limbs and those leaves and they died. And here, this plague of locusts devours everything, but yet yours is not devoured. And you were there when you saw the darkness fall upon the Egyptians. Darkness that was so thick, no one moved for three days.

[John Weaver] Now let me tell you, you and I cannot really envision this darkness. But years ago, my wife and I and two of our grandchildren went to Tempatigos National Cave In Utah, we had to walk a mile up the mountain to get to the cave. And this cave was absolutely humongous. And the ranger took us all in and we got to this cavern. Of course, they had lights in there.

[John Weaver] You could see the staglemites and staglithite. You could see everything. It was beautiful. And the ranger said, let me show you something. Stand still. Hold hands. Do not move. And then the ranger. Turn the lights off. We're probably half a mile back in the earth somewhere. You couldn't see this. You you couldn't see anything. It was so pitch black. There was absolutely no light. Without lights, we would have never gotten out of that cave.

[John Weaver] Here it is so dark. They sat and stayed in one place for three days. You saw that. You were there, didn't affect you, you had light in your dwellings, but they had darkness. And then lastly, You heard the cries and the screams and the horror of every Egyptian family when they found that their firstborn child was dead. But your child is alive. Yours didn't die. But you heard their anguish and their cries and their screams.

[John Weaver] Let me show you something. You not only saw this, You don't only experience this, you understood a truth that God has revealed. Look in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 12, Exodus 12 and verse 12. Watch what you will have learned from all of this. Exodus 12 and verse 12, God says, For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, now watch, and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. When you saw all of this, you knew firsthand, you understood that Jesus Christ who is revealed in the Old Testament, you saw that the one true and the living God, the great I Am, is God, and there is none beside Him.

[John Weaver] All of these plagues were not just against the Egyptians. They were against all the false gods. The false gods of Egypt could not do one thing. They could not hinder or thwart or stop one plague. And every Israelite who saw knew who the one true and the living God was. You know there is no other God. You not only saw the plagues, you not only understood that there was no other God but the one true and the living God, but you were there when Pharaoh and his chariots chased you and you were bottled up at the Red Sea.

[John Weaver] You were there when Moses lifted the rod, and you went across on dry ground. When you got across, you looked back, and you saw Moses raising that rod, and here Pharaoh and his chariots are in the sea, and all the sea comes back in upon them, and they drown. And if you look in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 14, beginning there with verse 27, Exodus 14, verse 27, here's what you saw. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared. And the Egyptians fled against it, and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. There remained not so much as one of them, but the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall under them on their right hand and on their left.

[John Weaver] Thus, the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and His servant Moses." Wow! Oh, man! Can you imagine that?

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you a question. How long would it take you to forget that? You saw it. You were there. How long would it take you to forget that? You're going to say, man, I'd never forget that. Really? Well, let's look in our Bible, Statues of the Shepherd 12. Let's see really and truly how long it took these Israelites to forget all of this. Exodus chapter 12 verses 1 through 6, this is the Passover.

[John Weaver] This is where God delivers them and leads them out of Egypt. In Exodus 12 and verse 1, And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month, that is, Abed, the month that he's going to deliver them, this month shall be unto you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you. So God has set the date. This is going to be the first month of their year. Speaking to all the congregation of Israel, saying in the tenth day of the month, they shall take them every man and lamb according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for house. If the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the souls. Every man, according who's eating shall make your account for the lamb, your lamb. shall be without blemish a male of the first year. You shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it up until the 14th day of the same month.

[John Weaver] And the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening." So, Abeb 14 was the day of Passover, and the next day they were to leave. on the 15th of Abel.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look at verse 11. Look what God says. Exodus 12, verse 11. And thus shall you eat it with your loins girded and with your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. So, this has happened. The Lamb has been slain. The blood has been applied. You're marching out of Egypt.

[John Weaver] You've witnessed everything that I've just described. Now, I want you to look in Exodus chapter 13, and let's begin reading there verse 3. So here's my question. How long is it going to take you to forget all of this? Exodus 13, verse 3, And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage, for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place.

[John Weaver] There shall no leavened bread be eaten. This day came you out in the month Abib. And it shall be, when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware to give unto thy fathers, to give thee a land full of milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days, and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be any leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters. And thou shalt show thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. And it shall be foresigned unto thee upon thine hand, and for memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord's law may be in thy mouth. For with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt.

[John Weaver] Thou therefore shalt keep this ordinance in his season from year to year." Note if you would, God says, here's the month they bid. Here's the 14. You've got to keep this ordinance. This is going to be in remembrance of everything that I've done on how I delivered you. In other words, this ordinance is going to make you think of all the mighty power, all the miracles, all the temptations, all the terrors, everything that's happened. This is going to make you remember. You've got to keep this ordinance. OK. How long did it take them to forget everything?

[John Weaver] Well, turn now to Exodus chapter 15. Exodus chapter 15, and let's begin reading there with verse 32. Exodus 15, verse 32. I'm sorry, verse 22. Exodus 15, verse 22.

[John Weaver] So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea. That is, they just crossed now. And they went out into the wilderness of Shur. And they went, are you reading? And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, which, when he had cast in the waters, the waters were made sweet. There he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them." Note, if you would, three days in there complaining and bellyaching and saying, what are we going to drink? What did God just do?

[John Weaver] What about all the demonstration of His mighty power? What about the fact that He parted the Red Sea? What about the fact that they walked across on dry ground? What about the fact that He slew all of their enemies? What about the fact that they saw the plagues? They were spared. They knew that God was God and that God had brought them out. And in three days, they're already complaining. Huh.

[John Weaver] Look in Exodus chapter 16, beginning there verse 1. Hang on. It doesn't get any better. And they took their journey from Elam, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of sin, which is between Elam and Sinai. Are you looking? On the 15th day of the second month. Oh, 30 days. One month has passed after their departing out of the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, when we did eat bread to the full, for you brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. What? Thirty days!

[John Weaver] And what do they say? Would to God we were back in Egypt! Would to God we were back there! We had plenty to eat back there. They had rather be slaves in Egypt than to be the Lord's free men in the desert. In three days, they were murmuring and complaining. In 30 days, they were wanting to go back. Remembering all the good things they had in Egypt. One month. And already desiring the flesh pots of Egypt.

[John Weaver] And wishing that they had died there. So why do they murmur and why do they complain? Here's the answer. Because they forgot God. They forgot his covenant. They forgot his works. Oh. Hang on, look in Exodus chapter 17. Exodus 17. And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of sin after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord and pitched in Rephidim.

[John Weaver] And there was no water for the people to drink. They've already forgotten what God did earlier. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? Wherefore do you tempt the Lord? And the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us forth up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? according to the context.

[John Weaver] Chapter 16, this incident happened one week later. So in three days, they're murmuring and complaining. In 30 days, they're wanting to go back. In another week, they're still murmuring and complaining and ready to go back into slavery. Have you ever noticed how easily and how quickly we forget the things of God? How easily and quickly we forget the works of God? Do you remember how God came down upon Mount Sinai? I want you to look in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 19. Exodus chapter 19. And hold this passage, but look at Exodus 19 and verse 16. Because God came down in great power, Exodus 19 and verse 16, the Bible says this, And it came to pass on the third day in the morning that there was thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud, so that all the people that

[John Weaver] were in the camp trembled." In other words, God came down upon this mountain and all the people saw everything and they were frightened and they trembled. Who was it that went up on the mount to receive the law? It was Moses. Do you remember how long he was supposed to be up there? What was it? Forty days? Forty nights. I want to show you what happened. I want you to hold Exodus 19. We're coming back there. But I want you to turn to Exodus chapter 32. I'm going to show you what happened while Moses is up on the mountain. Watch this carefully. Exodus chapter 32, and let's begin reading there with verse one. And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, now, I don't know how long they thought he was to be up there. He would have certainly come back in time, but it was not quick enough for them. So when the people saw that Moses had laid to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together into Aaron and said to him, up, make us gods which shall go before us for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know

[John Weaver] not what has become of him. And Aaron said to them, break off the golden earrings which are in your ears of your wives and your sons and your daughters and bring them unto me. And all the people break off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graven tool. And after he had made it unto Moses' camp, and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is the feast of the Lord.

[John Weaver] And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." And the word to play is a euphemism for fornication. Note, if you would please, this happened in the third month. Go back to Exodus chapter 19, if you would please. And let's begin reading there with verse 1. Exodus 19 verse 1. in the third month, when the children of Israel were going forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness, and there Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, and said, Thus shalt thou say unto the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel, and he goes on down. Note, if you would, in the third month, Now, put two and two together.

[John Weaver] In three days, they're bellyaching and complaining. In 30 days, they're wanting to go back. A week later, they're still bellyaching and complaining. And let's just say, here's the third month, and let's say Moses was up there for 30 days. In four months, they've made a golden calf and are falling down and worshiping it and violating not only the first commandment, but the seventh commandment and all of them. In four months? In four months? How could they forget? How can we forget? Here's what I'm trying to tell you, folks. How easily we forget our promises to God, our profession of faith, our obedience. We turn aside so quickly, just like those Israelites. We even forget each other. We forget our pastors.

[John Weaver] Listen, I pastored people I've prayed with them. I've cried with them. I was there when catastrophes struck in their homes and tragedies, as the world would call them, when there were deaths, when there were problems in their marriage. I was there. And I loved them and I prayed with them and I wept with them. And some of them today will not even speak to me.

[John Weaver] I've got one friend. A Christian brother who helped another Christian brother. Financially. Not just one time. Numerous times. To the tune of thousands. And when this brother who helped the other brother financially. Held a position that the other one did not like. He had one piece of his equipment and he called his Christian brother and he said, come get your stuff and get it out of my house and don't ever come back. What? After this brother had helped him and given him, literally given him thousands of dollars, how can you forget things like that? How can you forget the people who prayed with you and wept with you? How can you forget what God has done for you? How can you forget who God has used?

[John Weaver] How long does it take? Here's the problem. We've lost our first love. And I want you to turn To Revelation, chapter two, and I will read it for you. Look in Revelation, chapter two, and let's begin reading there with verse one. Because he's writing to the Church of Ephesus. And look what God says. Under the angel of the Church of Ephesus, right. These things, says he, that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walk in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, I know thy works, thy labor, thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil, and how thou hast tried them which say they are apostles and are not, and found them to be liars, and hast borne, and hast patience for my name's sake, and hast labored, and hast not fainted.

[John Weaver] Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee. Because thou hast left thy first love. Look what our Lord says. Remember. Therefore, from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do thy first works, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. You know, our hearts used to be on fire for the Lord. We used to be so excited just to come and hear the word of God. We used to be so excited to come to a prayer meeting. We used to be so excited to fellowship with each other. And today. Well, if we don't come, somebody might think we're backslidden, I guess we need to go.

[John Weaver] There's no joy, there's no happiness, there's no remembrance. I want you to turn to the book of Jeremiah, chapter two. Jeremiah, chapter two. And here's my question. Would you be content? And would you be satisfied? For God to treat you. The way you treat him. Look at this question. Jeremiah 2. Verse 32. God ask. Can a maid forget her ornaments? And you forget your necklace, your earrings, your rings? No. Can a maid forget her ornaments?

[John Weaver] or a bride her attire? I don't have any bride who ever forgot her wedding dress. Can a maid forget her ornaments or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number."

[John Weaver] I want to tell you something. There's a passage of Scripture. You know, I quote every day. In fact, I usually quote it two or three times a day. I quote it in the morning when I wake up. I quote it at night when I go to bed. And I often quote it several times during the day. So here's my question. Why did you not die in your sleep last night?

[John Weaver] Why did you not drop dead today?

[John Weaver] Here's the answer. Lamentations 3, 22 and 23. It is of the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed. Because His compassions, they fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness. You do not need to see the Red Sea, nor do you need to see the judgments of God against the Egyptians. God has been so gracious and so kind to you every morning and every day and every night.

[John Weaver] You should never cease praising Him. You should never forget all the wonderful works that he's done for you. Every time I go down the road and I've seen several riding with Brother Sam, every time I go down the road and I see these crosses beside the road where someone has been killed, I thank God that he spared my life.

[John Weaver] If you forget what God has done for you, you will forget his covenant. And you'll forget him. Remember from whence thou art fallen. And repent. And come back to your first love or else, he said. I will remove thy candlestick from his place. Father, help us to live for thee. Help us to remember thee, to thank thee daily for your infinite grace and mercy. O God, we bow before Thee, and worship Thee as the one true and living God, and acknowledge besides Thee there is none else. Thank You, Lord, in Christ's name, amen.

How Easily We Forget

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	121018135770
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover: As Yet
Genre	Sermon
Date	2018-12-06
Dictation Name
Book	Book 078: Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover - Volume 1 — Chapter 20
Source Timed Segments	71

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Problem of Forgetting

Weaver introduces the topic with personal anecdotes about forgetfulness and reads Deuteronomy 4:9, emphasizing the command to remember God's works and teach them to children.

Well, it's good to see each one of you here tonight, and I'm thankful to be here myself. I want you to open your Bibles, if you would please, to Deuteronomy chapter 4, and we'll read verse 9. We'll read several others, and I hope you'll keep your Bibles open and your fingers nimble, because we will be turning to a lot of Scriptures as well. The title of the message is, "How Easily We Forget." How Easily We Forget. Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 9, God says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 4:9

"Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thine heart all the days of thy life, but teach them thy sons and thy sons' sons."

How easily we forget.

The Progression of Forgetting

He outlines a dangerous progression: forgetting God's works leads to forgetting His covenant, which leads to forgetting God Himself and turning to idolatry.

God says, "Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life. But teach them thy sons and thy sons' sons, specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children." They were not to forget the things which they had seen. And these certainly would include the miracles and the judgments of God. They were to keep them in their hearts and they were to pass them on to their children and also to their children's children. And God specifically singled out the day when they heard His words.

Now, just in line with this warning, if you would skip down to verse 23, I want you to note what else God says in this light. Deuteronomy 4, verse 23,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 4:23

"Take heed unto yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which He made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of anything which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee."

Now, interestingly, he said, don't forget my works, don't forget my miracles, don't forget my judgments. And now he's saying, do not forget my covenant. When we begin to forget the works of God, the miracles and the judgments of God, the next thing you know, we are forgetting the covenant of God. And you know, when we think of the word covenant, we automatically always think of the old covenant or the Old Testament. We fail to realize sometimes that the word covenant just simply means testament. And just like Israel forgot the old covenant, many times Christians forget the new covenant.

Idolatry in Modern Life

Weaver explains that idolatry is not just bowing to statues but includes covetousness and placing anything above God, referencing Colossians 3:5.

And certainly we do indeed turn aside to idolatry. Now you say, "Not me. I don't fall down before an idol." I understand that. But do you realize the Bible tells you in the book of Colossians 3 and verse 5 that covetousness is idolatry. So whenever you begin to covet, whenever you do anything that God forbids, that is in essence idolatry. You are placing yourself and your desires above the one true and living God.

So let me ask you a question or two. How often do you really think of the Word of God? How often do you really think of God? How often do you remember His promises, His warnings? How often do you think about His commandments? How often do you really consider Him and what He has done? How long and how often do you even think about your profession of faith?

The Significance of Baptism

He discusses the baptismal oath 'Jesus is Lord' as a confession of Christ's sovereignty, contrasting modern casualness with the early church's life-or-death commitment.

How about your baptismal oath? You know, we don't understand that baptismal oath. Usually, when we baptize someone, we'll say, "Do you profess faith in Jesus Christ? Do you confess that Jesus Christ is Lord?" And they would say, "Yes." And then the preacher will say something like this, "Upon your profession of faith in Him, my brother, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." And we baptize them. But you know, we forget exactly what that oath is that we take when we are baptized. You know, the earliest oath was just simply three words, and it was, "Iēsous Kyrios." Jesus is Lord. The word Lord, Kyrios, literally means boss, owner, master, sovereign, supreme one.

You see, the truth is this. When we get baptized today, most of us, well, it's just a little ordinance. We never placed the importance upon it that it was placed upon it in the New Testament. Why? Because in the New Testament, when a man was baptized and he said that Jesus Christ is Lord, in essence, he's probably signing his own death warrant. He was signing to have all of his goods confiscated. Why? Because there was a war between Christ and Caesar. You see, Caesar wanted everybody to confess that Caesar was Lord. Do you realize that Christians in the New Testament era were not put to death by the Roman Empire just because they were Christians? In the Roman Empire, you could believe whatever you wanted to believe. If you wanted to believe in Jesus Christ, have at it. If you wanted to believe in Zeus or Baal, it didn't matter. Just so once a year, you swore by the genius of Caesar, and you said that Caesar is Lord. In other words, Caesar gives me the right to believe as I believe.

And Christians refused to do that, and thus they were put to death, not just because they were Christians, but because they were traitors to the emperor cult. And today, when a person gets baptized, most people never pay any attention to it. But when we say Jesus is Lord, we're confessing and acknowledging that He is the Sovereign and Supreme One. When one forgets the works and the miracles and judgments of God, the next step is he forgets the covenant of God. Once you forget the covenant of God, the next step is that you forget God.

Israel's Witness of God's Power

Weaver reviews the plagues and the Red Sea crossing, stressing that Israel saw God's mighty hand, outstretched arm, and great terrors firsthand.

I want you to look back to Deuteronomy chapter 4, and notice if you would please verse 34. Deuteronomy 4 and verse 34. Look at this question that is asked.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 4:34

"Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation by temptations, by signs, by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt?"

Now watch. "Before your eyes." You saw the great power. You saw the great miracles. You saw the great terror. You saw it. Look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 7 and verse 19. Deuteronomy 7 verse 19. Again, he talks about it like this, "The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm whereby the Lord thy God brought thee out, so shall the Lord thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid." Note if you would again, he said, "Your eyes saw everything that I did."

Look in your Bibles if you would to Deuteronomy 26 and verse 8. Deuteronomy 26 and verse 8. Again. Deuteronomy 26, verse 8, he says this,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 26:8

"And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders."

One last passage on this, if you look in Deuteronomy 34, verse 12. Deuteronomy 34, verse 12. Again, the Word of God says it like this, "And in all that mighty hand, and all that great terror which Moses showed in the sight of all Israel." Note, if you would, three out of the four passages talks about the fact that they saw, they were there first hand, they knew everything that happened. And he talks about God's mighty power, His outstretched arm, His outstretched hand, the temptations, the wonders, all of this. Now, here's my question. In light of all of this, everything that we just read, and everything that you know that happened, which I'm going to remind you of, when you stop and think about how God delivered Israel with His mighty power, with His outstretched arm, with His signs, with His wonders, with His temptations, with His terrors,

How Quickly Israel Forgot

He traces Israel's complaints and idolatry within days and months of deliverance, showing they forgot God's works and desired Egypt.

This is where God delivers them and leads them out of Egypt. In Exodus 12 and verse 1,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 12:1-6

"And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month, that is, Abib, the month that he's going to deliver them, this month shall be unto you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you."

So God has set the date. This is going to be the first month of their year.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 12:1-6

"Speak ye to all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of the month, they shall take them every man a lamb according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house. And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the souls. Every man, according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. Ye shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats, and ye shall keep it up until the 14th day of the same month."

"And the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening." So, Abib 14 was the day of Passover, and the next day they were to leave, on the 15th of Abib. Now, I want you to look at verse 11. Look what God says. Exodus 12, verse 11.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 12:11

"And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, and with your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and ye shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover."

So, this has happened. The Lamb has been slain. The blood has been applied. You're marching out of Egypt.

You've witnessed everything that I've just described. Now, I want you to look in Exodus chapter 13, and let's begin reading there verse 3. So here's my question. How long is it going to take you to forget all of this? Exodus 13, verse 3,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 13:3-10

"And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage, for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place." "There shall no leavened bread be eaten. This day came ye out in the month Abib. And it shall be, when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware to give unto thy fathers, to give thee a land full of milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days, and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be any leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters. And thou shalt show thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord's law may be in thy mouth. For with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt."

"Thou therefore shalt keep this ordinance in his season from year to year." Note if you would, God says, here's the month Abib. Here's the 14th. You've got to keep this ordinance. This is going to be in remembrance of everything that I've done on how I delivered you. In other words, this ordinance is going to make you think of all the mighty power, all the miracles, all the temptations, all the terrors, everything that's happened. This is going to make you remember. You've got to keep this ordinance. OK. How long did it take them to forget everything?

Well, turn now to Exodus chapter 15. Exodus chapter 15, and let's begin reading there with verse 22. Exodus 15, verse 22.

"So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea." That is, they just crossed now. "And they went out into the wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, which, when he had cast in the waters, the waters were made sweet. There he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them." Note, if you would, three days in there complaining and bellyaching and saying, "What are we going to drink?" What did God just do?

What about all the demonstration of His mighty power? What about the fact that He parted the Red Sea? What about the fact that they walked across on dry ground? What about the fact that He slew all of their enemies? What about the fact that they saw the plagues? They were spared. They knew that God was God and that God had brought them out. And in three days, they're already complaining. Huh.

Look in Exodus chapter 16, beginning there verse 1. Hang on. It doesn't get any better. "And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai." Are you looking? "On the 15th day of the second month." Oh, 30 days. One month has passed after their departing out of the land of Egypt. "And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, when we did eat bread to the full, for you brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger." What? Thirty days!

And what do they say? "Would to God we were back in Egypt! Would to God we were back there! We had plenty to eat back there." They had rather be slaves in Egypt than to be the Lord's free men in the desert. In three days, they were murmuring and complaining. In 30 days, they were wanting to go back. Remembering all the good things they had in Egypt. One month. And already desiring the flesh pots of Egypt.

And wishing that they had died there. So why do they murmur and why do they complain? Here's the answer. Because they forgot God. They forgot his covenant. They forgot his works. Oh. Hang on, look in Exodus chapter 17. Exodus 17. "And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord and pitched in Rephidim."

"And there was no water for the people to drink." They've already forgotten what God did earlier. "Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? Wherefore do you tempt the Lord? And the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us forth up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?" According to the context, chapter 16, this incident happened one week later. So in three days, they're murmuring and complaining. In 30 days, they're wanting to go back. In another week, they're still murmuring and complaining and ready to go back into slavery. Have you ever noticed how easily and how quickly we forget the things of God? How easily and quickly we forget the works of God? Do you remember how God came down upon Mount Sinai? I want you to look in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 19. Exodus chapter 19. And hold this passage, but look at Exodus 19 and verse 16. Because God came down in great power, Exodus 19 and verse 16, the Bible says this, "And it came to pass on the third day in the morning that there was thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud, so that all the people that

were in the camp trembled." In other words, God came down upon this mountain and all the people saw everything and they were frightened and they trembled. Who was it that went up on the mount to receive the law? It was Moses. Do you remember how long he was supposed to be up there? What was it? Forty days? Forty nights. I want to show you what happened. I want you to hold Exodus 19. We're coming back there. But I want you to turn to Exodus chapter 32. I'm going to show you what happened while Moses is up on the mountain. Watch this carefully. Exodus chapter 32, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. "And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount," now, I don't know how long they thought he was to be up there. He would have certainly come back in time, but it was not quick enough for them. "So when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron and said to him, Up, make us gods which shall go before us for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know

not what has become of him. And Aaron said to them, Break off the golden earrings which are in your ears of your wives and your sons and your daughters and bring them unto me. And all the people break off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graven tool. And after he had made it a molten calf, and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is the feast of the Lord."

"And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." And the word "to play" is a euphemism for fornication. Note, if you would please, this happened in the third month. Go back to Exodus chapter 19, if you would please. And let's begin reading there with verse 1. Exodus 19 verse 1. "In the third month, when the children of Israel were going forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness, and there Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, and said, Thus shalt thou say unto the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel," and he goes on down. Note, if you would, in the third month. Now, put two and two together.

In three days, they're bellyaching and complaining. In 30 days, they're wanting to go back. A week later, they're still bellyaching and complaining. And let's just say, here's the third month, and let's say Moses was up there for 30 days. In four months, they've made a golden calf and are falling down and worshiping it and violating not only the first commandment, but the seventh commandment and all of them. In four months? In four months? How could they forget? How can we forget? Here's what I'm trying to tell you, folks. How easily we forget our promises to God, our profession of faith, our obedience. We turn aside so quickly, just like those Israelites. We even forget each other. We forget our pastors.

Forgetting in the Christian Life

Weaver applies the lesson to believers, noting how easily we forget God's grace, our first love, and even those who have helped us.

Listen, I pastored people. I've prayed with them. I've cried with them. I was there when catastrophes struck in their homes and tragedies, as the world would call them, when there were deaths, when there were problems in their marriage. I was there. And I loved them and I prayed with them and I wept with them. And some of them today will not even speak to me.

I've got one friend. A Christian brother who helped another Christian brother. Financially. Not just one time. Numerous times. To the tune of thousands. And when this brother who helped the other brother financially held a position that the other one did not like, he had one piece of his equipment and he called his Christian brother and he said, "Come get your stuff and get it out of my house and don't ever come back." What? After this brother had helped him and given him, literally given him thousands of dollars, how can you forget things like that? How can you forget the people who prayed with you and wept with you? How can you forget what God has done for you? How can you forget who God has used?

Call to Remember and Repent

He cites Revelation 2:4-5 and Lamentations 3:22-23, urging repentance and daily remembrance of God's mercies to avoid losing our candlestick.

How long does it take? Here's the problem. We've lost our first love. And I want you to turn to Revelation, chapter 2, and I will read it for you. Look in Revelation, chapter 2, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Because he's writing to the Church of Ephesus. And look what God says. "Unto the angel of the Church of Ephesus write. These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, I know thy works, thy labor, thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil, and how thou hast tried them which say they are apostles and are not, and found them to be liars, and hast borne, and hast patience for my name's sake, and hast labored, and hast not fainted."

"Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee. Because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do thy first works, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." You know, our hearts used to be on fire for the Lord. We used to be so excited just to come and hear the word of God. We used to be so excited to come to a prayer meeting. We used to be so excited to fellowship with each other. And today, well, if we don't come, somebody might think we're backslidden, I guess we need to go.

There's no joy, there's no happiness, there's no remembrance. I want you to turn to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 2. Jeremiah, chapter 2. And here's my question. Would you be content? And would you be satisfied for God to treat you the way you treat him? Look at this question. Jeremiah 2, verse 32. God asks, "Can a maid forget her ornaments?" And you forget your necklace, your earrings, your rings? No. "Can a maid forget her ornaments?

or a bride her attire?" I don't know any bride who ever forgot her wedding dress. "Can a maid forget her ornaments or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number."

I want to tell you something. There's a passage of Scripture. You know, I quote every day. In fact, I usually quote it two or three times a day. I quote it in the morning when I wake up. I quote it at night when I go to bed. And I often quote it several times during the day. So here's my question. Why did you not die in your sleep last night?

Why did you not drop dead today?

Here's the answer. Lamentations 3, 22 and 23. "It is of the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed. Because His compassions, they fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness." You do not need to see the Red Sea, nor do you need to see the judgments of God against the Egyptians. God has been so gracious and so kind to you every morning and every day and every night.

You should never cease praising Him. You should never forget all the wonderful works that he's done for you. Every time I go down the road and I've seen several riding with Brother Sam, every time I go down the road and I see these crosses beside the road where someone has been killed, I thank God that he spared my life.

If you forget what God has done for you, you will forget his covenant. And you'll forget him. "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen. And repent. And come back to your first love or else," he said, "I will remove thy candlestick from his place." Father, help us to live for thee. Help us to remember thee, to thank thee daily for your infinite grace and mercy. O God, we bow before Thee, and worship Thee as the one true and living God, and acknowledge besides Thee there is none else. Thank You, Lord, in Christ's name, amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Danger of Forgetting God

Summary: Forgetting God's works leads to forgetting His covenant and ultimately forgetting Him, resulting in idolatry and judgment.

Evidence: Deuteronomy 4:9, 23; 6:12; 8:11, 14, 19 are cited to show the progression from forgetting works to forgetting God.

Idolatry as Heart Idolatry

Summary: Idolatry is not limited to physical idols but includes covetousness, lust, and placing self above God.

Evidence: Colossians 3:5 is referenced, and Weaver states 'anytime we place anything above God, it is idolatry.'

The Lordship of Christ in Baptism

Summary: Baptism is a public confession that Jesus is Lord (Kyrios), meaning boss, owner, master, sovereign, which in the early church meant risking death.

Evidence: Weaver explains the early oath 'Iēsous Kyrios' and contrasts it with modern casual attitudes toward baptism.

God's Mighty Deliverance of Israel

Summary: God demonstrated His power through the plagues and the Red Sea, sparing Israel and judging Egypt's gods, so that Israel knew He alone is God.

Evidence: Exodus 9:4-7, 10:22-23, 12:12, 14:27-31 are read to show Israel's firsthand witness of God's acts.

The Speed of Forgetting

Summary: Israel complained within three days, wanted to return to Egypt in 30 days, and made a golden calf within four months, illustrating how quickly we forget.

Evidence: Exodus 15:22-24, 16:1-3, 17:1-3, 32:1-6 are traced chronologically to show the rapid decline.

Losing First Love

Summary: Christians can lose their initial zeal and love for God, becoming mechanical in worship, which requires repentance.

Evidence: Revelation 2:1-5 is read, and Weaver describes how excitement for God's Word and fellowship fades.

Daily Remembrance of God's Mercies

Summary: Believers should daily recall God's faithfulness and mercies, which are new every morning, to avoid forgetting Him.

Evidence: Lamentations 3:22-23 is quoted as a daily practice, and Weaver gives examples of thanking God for spared life.

Key Arguments

Forgetting God's works leads to forgetting His covenant and then forgetting God.

Summary: Weaver argues from Deuteronomy that there is a sequential progression: when we forget what God has done, we next forget His covenant, and finally we forget God Himself.

Evidence: He reads Deuteronomy 4:9, 23; 6:12; 8:11, 14, 19 and states, 'When we begin to forget the works of God... the next thing you know, we are forgetting the covenant of God... Once you forget the covenant of God, the next step is that you forget God.'

Idolatry is any replacement of God with self or desires.

Summary: Idolatry is not merely bowing to images; it is covetousness, lust, and placing anything above God, which happens when we forget Him.

Evidence: He cites Colossians 3:5 and says, 'anytime we place anything above God, it is idolatry... You cannot forget God without replacing Him.'

Baptism is a serious confession of Christ's absolute lordship.

Summary: The early baptismal oath 'Jesus is Lord' was a treasonous statement against Caesar, often leading to death; modern believers have lost this weighty understanding.

Evidence: Weaver explains the Greek Kyrios and the historical conflict with the emperor cult, saying, 'when a man was baptized... he's probably signing his own death warrant.'

Israel's rapid forgetfulness proves human tendency to forget God.

Summary: Despite witnessing the plagues and Red Sea, Israel murmured in three days, longed for Egypt in 30 days, and worshiped a golden calf in four months.

Evidence: He walks through Exodus 15, 16, 17, and 32, noting the timeline: 'In three days, they're bellyaching... In 30 days, they're wanting to go back... In four months, they've made a golden calf.'

Christians today forget God's grace and their first love.

Summary: Just as Israel forgot, believers forget God's daily mercies, their profession of faith, and the people God used to help them, leading to a loss of first love.

Evidence: He shares personal stories of forgotten relationships and reads Revelation 2:4-5, saying, 'We've lost our first love.'

Repentance and daily remembrance are the remedy.

Summary: God calls His people to remember, repent, and do their first works, or face removal of their witness; daily quoting Lamentations 3:22-23 helps maintain gratitude.

Evidence: He reads Revelation 2:5 and Lamentations 3:22-23, and says, 'You should never cease praising Him. You should never forget all the wonderful works that he's done for you.'

Scripture References

Deuteronomy 4:9

Context: The opening command to take heed and not forget the things seen, teaching them to children.

Deuteronomy 4:10

Context: Specifically remembering the day at Horeb when they heard God's words.

Deuteronomy 4:23

Context: Warning not to forget the covenant of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 4:34

Context: God's mighty deliverance by signs, wonders, and a stretched-out arm.

Deuteronomy 6:12

Context: Warning not to forget the Lord who brought them out of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 7:19

Context: The great temptations, signs, and wonders their eyes saw.

Deuteronomy 8:11

Context: Warning not to forget the Lord by not keeping His commandments.

Deuteronomy 8:14

Context: Warning that a lifted heart leads to forgetting the Lord.

Deuteronomy 8:19

Context: If they forget the Lord and serve other gods, they will perish.

Deuteronomy 26:8

Context: God brought them out with a mighty hand and outstretched arm.

Deuteronomy 34:12

Context: The mighty hand and great terror Moses showed in the sight of Israel.

Exodus 9:4-7

Context: God severed between the cattle of Israel and Egypt; none of Israel's died.

Exodus 9:24

Context: The hail and fire were exceptionally grievous, unlike any before.

Exodus 10:22-23

Context: Thick darkness in Egypt for three days, but Israel had light in their dwellings.

Exodus 11:7

Context: Not a dog would move its tongue against Israel, showing God's distinction.

Exodus 12:1-6

Context: The institution of the Passover on the 14th of Abib.

Exodus 12:11

Context: Instructions to eat the Passover in haste, ready to leave.

Exodus 12:12

Context: God executed judgment against all the gods of Egypt.

Exodus 13:3-10

Context: Command to remember the day of deliverance and keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Exodus 14:27-31

Context: The Red Sea returned and drowned the Egyptians; Israel saw and believed.

Historical References

The Roman emperor cult and the confession 'Caesar is Lord'

Context: Weaver explains that early Christians were executed not merely for being Christians but for refusing to swear by the genius of Caesar and confess Caesar as Lord, making them traitors.

Important Quotes

Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thine heart all the days of thy life, but teach them thy sons and thy sons' sons.

Significance: This is the foundational text of the sermon, emphasizing the command to remember and pass on God's works.

When we begin to forget the works of God, the miracles and the judgments of God, the next thing you know, we are forgetting the covenant of God.

Significance: Summarizes the progression that is central to Weaver's argument.

You cannot forget God without replacing Him. Anytime you forget him, you basically have replaced him.

Significance: Highlights the inevitable consequence of forgetting God—idolatry.

In three days, they're bellyaching and complaining. In 30 days, they're wanting to go back. A week later, they're still bellyaching and complaining. And let's just say, here's the third month, and let's say Moses was up there for 30 days. In four months, they've made a golden calf and are falling down and worshiping it.

Significance: Dramatically illustrates the rapidity of Israel's forgetfulness.

Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do thy first works, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Significance: The call to repentance from Revelation 2, applied to the listener.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed. Because His compassions, they fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness.

Significance: The daily reminder of God's grace that Weaver uses to combat forgetfulness.

Discussion Questions

What are some of God's works in your own life that you are prone to forget?

Context: Weaver asks how often we think of God's promises, warnings, and what He has done, implying we should actively remember.

In what ways might we be guilty of idolatry without realizing it?

Context: He explains that covetousness and placing anything above God is idolatry, challenging the listener to examine their heart.

How does our view of baptism compare to the early church's understanding of confessing 'Jesus is Lord'?

Context: Weaver contrasts modern casualness with the life-or-death commitment of early Christians.

Why do you think Israel forgot God's mighty works so quickly, and how can we guard against the same tendency?

Context: The sermon traces Israel's rapid decline and asks how long it would take us to forget.

What does it look like to 'lose your first love' for Christ, and how can it be restored?

Context: Weaver describes the loss of excitement for God's Word and fellowship, and reads Revelation 2:4-5.

How can we cultivate a daily habit of remembering God's mercies?

Context: He shares his practice of quoting Lamentations 3:22-23 multiple times a day.

Applications

Remember God's works and covenant daily.

Summary: Believers should actively recall what God has done in Scripture and in their lives to prevent spiritual drift.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'You should never cease praising Him. You should never forget all the wonderful works that he's done for you.'

Examine your heart for idolatry.

Summary: Recognize that covetousness, lust, and self-centered desires are forms of idolatry that replace God.

Evidence: He states, 'anytime we place anything above God, it is idolatry.'

Take your baptismal confession seriously.

Summary: Understand that confessing 'Jesus is Lord' means acknowledging His absolute sovereignty over every area of life.

Evidence: Weaver explains the meaning of Kyrios and the early church's costly confession.

Repent and return to your first love.

Summary: If your zeal for God has faded, heed Revelation 2:5 by remembering, repenting, and doing the works you did at first.

Evidence: He reads Revelation 2:5 and urges, 'Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent.'

Cultivate gratitude for God's daily mercies.

Summary: Make it a practice to thank God each morning for His faithfulness and the gift of life, using Lamentations 3:22-23 as a model.

Evidence: Weaver shares his personal habit of quoting Lamentations 3:22-23 multiple times daily.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T14:40:11Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T03:22:43Z

Clean Transcript

How Easily We Forget

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Well, it's good to see each one of you here tonight, and I'm thankful to be here myself. I want you to open your Bibles, if you would please, to Deuteronomy chapter 4, and we'll read verse 9. We'll read several others, and I hope you'll keep your Bibles open and your fingers nimble, because we will be turning to a lot of Scriptures as well. The title of the message is, "How Easily We Forget." How Easily We Forget. Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 9, God says, "Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thine heart all the days of thy life, but teach them thy sons and thy sons' sons." How easily we forget.
#1 | 0:00 to 0:56 | cleaned
I suppose the most famous words, and probably the words most frequently spoken, are simply two words: "I forgot." We may use similar phrases such as "it slipped my mind" or "I guess I was not thinking." But whatever we say, usually it boils down to this one thing: that we just simply forgot. And the truth of the matter is, as we age, the more forgetful we become. But also as we age, the more we are willing to admit that we are forgetful as well.
#2 | 0:57 to 1:35 | cleaned
When my wife's mother, Granny Doris, was alive, her memory started slipping. And so Alice and I bought her some ginkgo biloba to take, which supposedly helped the memory. We were riding to church and Granny Doris was in the back seat and she said, "I think that stuff is helping me." I said, "Helping what, Granny?" She said, "My memory." I said, "Well, what stuff are you talking about?"
#3 | 1:36 to 2:07 | cleaned
She said, "I don't know, I forgot." So I explained to her that it was ginkgo biloba. But you know, here she is, 95 years old, it's okay to forget. I mean, that's fine. But you know, the truth is, we not only forget little things, oftentimes we forget important things as well. Over the years, one of my fears was that I would forget a meeting or a preaching appointment.
#4 | 2:08 to 2:36 | cleaned
Thankfully, by the grace of God, I never have done so. But, you know, it played on my mind for the longest. I just did not want to forget. But just to show you how we do forget, one day Alice and I were at home and our daughters began calling us on the phone and shouting, "Happy Anniversary!" We looked at each other, and both of us had forgotten it was our anniversary. Now, I'd have been in trouble if it had just been me, but she had forgotten as well. So we just simply laughed about it and talked about how busy we'd really been. But I want you to look back to Deuteronomy 4, verse 9. This time, I want to include verse 10. Watch carefully.
#5 | 2:36 to 3:23 | cleaned
God says, "Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life. But teach them thy sons and thy sons' sons, specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children." They were not to forget the things which they had seen. And these certainly would include the miracles and the judgments of God. They were to keep them in their hearts and they were to pass them on to their children and also to their children's children. And God specifically singled out the day when they heard His words.
#6 | 3:24 to 4:20 | cleaned
Now, just in line with this warning, if you would skip down to verse 23, I want you to note what else God says in this light. Deuteronomy 4, verse 23, "Take heed unto yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which He made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of anything which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee."
#7 | 4:21 to 4:43 | cleaned
Now, interestingly, he said, don't forget my works, don't forget my miracles, don't forget my judgments. And now he's saying, do not forget my covenant. When we begin to forget the works of God, the miracles and the judgments of God, the next thing you know, we are forgetting the covenant of God. And you know, when we think of the word covenant, we automatically always think of the old covenant or the Old Testament. We fail to realize sometimes that the word covenant just simply means testament. And just like Israel forgot the old covenant, many times Christians forget the new covenant.
#8 | 4:44 to 5:22 | cleaned
And certainly we do indeed turn aside to idolatry. Now you say, "Not me. I don't fall down before an idol." I understand that. But do you realize the Bible tells you in the book of Colossians 3 and verse 5 that covetousness is idolatry. So whenever you begin to covet, whenever you do anything that God forbids, that is in essence idolatry. You are placing yourself and your desires above the one true and living God.
#9 | 5:23 to 5:50 | cleaned
So let me ask you a question or two. How often do you really think of the Word of God? How often do you really think of God? How often do you remember His promises, His warnings? How often do you think about His commandments? How often do you really consider Him and what He has done? How long and how often do you even think about your profession of faith?
#10 | 5:50 to 6:14 | cleaned
How about your baptismal oath? You know, we don't understand that baptismal oath. Usually, when we baptize someone, we'll say, "Do you profess faith in Jesus Christ? Do you confess that Jesus Christ is Lord?" And they would say, "Yes." And then the preacher will say something like this, "Upon your profession of faith in Him, my brother, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." And we baptize them. But you know, we forget exactly what that oath is that we take when we are baptized. You know, the earliest oath was just simply three words, and it was, "Iēsous Kyrios." Jesus is Lord. The word Lord, Kyrios, literally means boss, owner, master, sovereign, supreme one.
#11 | 6:16 to 7:09 | cleaned
You see, the truth is this. When we get baptized today, most of us, well, it's just a little ordinance. We never placed the importance upon it that it was placed upon it in the New Testament. Why? Because in the New Testament, when a man was baptized and he said that Jesus Christ is Lord, in essence, he's probably signing his own death warrant. He was signing to have all of his goods confiscated. Why? Because there was a war between Christ and Caesar. You see, Caesar wanted everybody to confess that Caesar was Lord. Do you realize that Christians in the New Testament era were not put to death by the Roman Empire just because they were Christians? In the Roman Empire, you could believe whatever you wanted to believe. If you wanted to believe in Jesus Christ, have at it. If you wanted to believe in Zeus or Baal, it didn't matter. Just so once a year, you swore by the genius of Caesar, and you said that Caesar is Lord. In other words, Caesar gives me the right to believe as I believe.
#12 | 7:10 to 8:11 | cleaned
And Christians refused to do that, and thus they were put to death, not just because they were Christians, but because they were traitors to the emperor cult. And today, when a person gets baptized, most people never pay any attention to it. But when we say Jesus is Lord, we're confessing and acknowledging that He is the Sovereign and Supreme One. When one forgets the works and the miracles and judgments of God, the next step is he forgets the covenant of God. Once you forget the covenant of God, the next step is that you forget God.
#13 | 8:11 to 8:56 | cleaned
Like Demas, you forsake Him because you love the present evil world. People forsake God because they love their flesh, they love their lusts, they love their desires more than His grace and His mercy.
#14 | 8:57 to 9:10 | cleaned
Now, let me show you. Since we're in Deuteronomy, look in Deuteronomy chapter 6.
#15 | 9:11 to 9:14 | cleaned
Now, we've already talked about don't forget the works of God, don't forget the covenant of God. Now look in Deuteronomy 6 and verse 12. He says it like this. Deuteronomy 6, verse 12, "Then beware, lest thou forget the Lord who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage." Now, isn't that strange? You don't forget the Lord. Turn over, if you would, to Deuteronomy 8 and verse 11. Here's another warning. "Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping His commandments and His judgments and His statutes, which I command thee this day." I want you to see, here is that intimate connection between God and His Word. If you forget to obey God, you have forgotten God. If you forget His covenant, you've forgotten Him. Look in verse 14. "Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage." Look in verse 19. "And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day, that you shall surely perish."
#16 | 9:16 to 10:26 | cleaned
So here are stages. God says we forget His works, we forget His miracles, we forget His judgments, and then the next step, we forget His covenant. And then after we forget His covenant, we actually forget Him. And one step leads to the other step. And by the way, when we forget one truth, forgetting one truth also leads to forgetting other truths as well. And every time we forget Him, we replace Him.
#17 | 10:28 to 10:58 | cleaned
Look back at Deuteronomy 8 and verse 19. He said, "...and it shall be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall perish." You may respond and you may say, "Hey, wait, not me. I will never fall down before an idol. I'll never fall down before a monument of stone or something like that." Hey, you don't have to. You don't have to. The truth of the matter is anytime we place anything above God, it is idolatry. When we give in to the lust of our flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, it is idolatry. You remember Paul speaks of those whose God is their belly in Philippians chapter 3 and verse 19. He said, "Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is their shame, and they mind earthly things." They have no desire about God. They don't think about Him. They've totally forgotten Him.
#18 | 10:59 to 12:03 | cleaned
Here's the simple truth. You cannot forget God without replacing Him. Anytime you forget him, you basically have replaced him. You may have replaced him with your own desires, your own lusts, but we forget his precepts and we forget his covenants. We forget his commandment in order that we may satisfy and please ourselves.
#19 | 12:04 to 12:26 | cleaned
Now, let me ask you a question. Do you remember how Israel was delivered out of Egypt? Stop and think about this for a moment. The truth of the matter is, when God delivered Israel out of Egypt, it was a demonstration of His almighty power. In fact, I had to be selective, but I'm going to show you four passages that emphasize the power and the might and the majesty that God used in delivering the children of Israel out of Egypt.
#20 | 12:27 to 13:03 | cleaned
I want you to look back to Deuteronomy chapter 4, and notice if you would please verse 34. Deuteronomy 4 and verse 34. Look at this question that is asked. "Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation by temptations, by signs, by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt?" Now watch. "Before your eyes." You saw the great power. You saw the great miracles. You saw the great terror. You saw it. Look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 7 and verse 19. Deuteronomy 7 verse 19. Again, he talks about it like this, "The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm whereby the Lord thy God brought thee out, so shall the Lord thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid." Note if you would again, he said, "Your eyes saw everything that I did."
#21 | 13:04 to 14:22 | cleaned
Look in your Bibles if you would to Deuteronomy 26 and verse 8. Deuteronomy 26 and verse 8. Again. Deuteronomy 26, verse 8, he says this, "And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders." One last passage on this, if you look in Deuteronomy 34, verse 12. Deuteronomy 34, verse 12. Again, the Word of God says it like this, "And in all that mighty hand, and all that great terror which Moses showed in the sight of all Israel." Note, if you would, three out of the four passages talks about the fact that they saw, they were there first hand, they knew everything that happened. And he talks about God's mighty power, His outstretched arm, His outstretched hand, the temptations, the wonders, all of this. Now, here's my question. In light of all of this, everything that we just read, and everything that you know that happened, which I'm going to remind you of, when you stop and think about how God delivered Israel with His mighty power, with His outstretched arm, with His signs, with His wonders, with His temptations, with His terrors,
#22 | 14:23 to 16:00 | cleaned
that He demonstrated upon the Egyptians, and that the children of Israel saw with their own eyes. Here's my question. How long do you think it would take you to forget all of that? I know you and I would say, "Well, we would never forget it." Really? Well, I'll tell you what let's do. Let's try to make this personal tonight. Okay. So here's what I want to do. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Exodus, if you would. We're going to start with Exodus chapter 9, but we're going to look at several other passages. But here's what I would like you to do just for a little while. Just for a little while, I want you to pretend that you were there when Israel was delivered. That you saw what they saw and that you experienced what they experienced.
#23 | 16:02 to 17:09 | cleaned
Everybody knows that there were 10 plagues. But what most people do not understand is this. Out of all of those 10 plagues, the children of Israel were exempt. Not one of those plagues landed upon the children of Israel. For instance, let's go to Exodus chapter 11 and look at verse 7. Then we'll come back to chapter 9. But look at Exodus chapter 11 and verse 7. Note what the Bible says. Here it is. "But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue against man or beast, that you may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel." God said a dog won't even move his tongue against my people, nor against any of their beasts. So that you may know that I put a difference between the Egyptians and my people. Now you remember that there was a very grievous murrain that fell upon the cattle of the Egyptians. In fact, their cattle were killed. But if you look in Exodus chapter 9 and verses 4 through 7, note what the Scripture says.
#24 | 17:12 to 18:28 | cleaned
"And the Lord shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt, and there shall nothing die of all that is of the children of Israel. And the Lord appointed a set time, saying, Tomorrow the Lord shall do this thing in the land. And the Lord did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died, but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one. And Pharaoh sent, and behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go." Now note, here, God sent this plague, and He separated the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt. When the plague of darkness hit, again, God separated the Egyptians and the Israelites.
#25 | 18:28 to 19:14 | cleaned
If you look in Exodus chapter 10, at verses 22 and 23, look at it. Exodus 10 verse 22, "...And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven, and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings." You know, there's an old joke that we used to ask when I was a boy, "Where was Moses when the lights went out?"
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The standard answer is "in the dark," but that's not true. The children of Israel had light in their dwellings. He was still in the light. It was the Egyptians that were in the darkness.
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Now, let me ask you again, and I'm going to remind you, but I want you to pretend just with me just for a moment that you're in Egypt. That you are seeing and you are experiencing everything that I'm going to remind you firsthand. You're not only seeing it and experiencing it, you're understanding that you are spared. Everything that you have is spared. None of these judgments touches you, your cattle, your family, but yet you see everything that happens to the Egyptians and to the enemies. Let me just reinforce these plagues in your mind.
#28 | 20:02 to 20:45 | cleaned
First of all, you saw the water turned into blood and all the fish in the rivers died. That's in Exodus chapter 7. You don't have to turn there, but just stop and think about the river being turned into blood and the bloated, dead fish stinking. You saw that. And then secondly, you saw the frogs that came out of the water and enveloped the land. They had frogs in the kitchen. They had frogs in the living room. They had frogs in the bed. They had frogs everywhere. You saw that, but there were no frogs in your place, no frogs in your neighbor's place. No, no, no. It was just in the Egyptians. And moreover, you saw the dust of the land turned into lice, lice upon man and lice upon beasts in Exodus chapter 8. But you had no lice. Your animals had no lice, your children had no lice, but here the Egyptians are being tormented with lice. But you're spared. You also saw the swarms of flies that corrupted and destroyed everything that the Egyptians had in Exodus chapter 8, and you were spared this horrible corruption.
#29 | 20:45 to 22:11 | cleaned
Now, I don't know about you, but I don't like flies. I don't know if it's true or not, but I read that every time a fly lit, he spit. Whether that's true or not, I don't know, but that's what I read. But I know I don't like flies. Can you imagine not even being able to breathe without inhaling flies? I've been deer hunting in swamps and you take that mosquito net off and you can't breathe because they're in your nose and in your mouth. That's exactly the way it was with these flies, but there were no flies in your house. There were no flies in your neighbor's house.
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No, it was just in the Egyptians. You saw the grievous murrain upon the cattle. And you saw all of the enemy's cattle die, but yours did not die. Yours was not hurt at all. And then, of course, you also saw the boils and the blains that were breaking in upon man and upon beast. But you had no boils. You had no blains. Anyone that's ever had a boil can testify how excruciatingly painful a boil really can be. And here the Egyptians were, and their beasts were eaten up with boils and blains. But you escaped.
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There was none on you, none on your family, none on your neighbors. And you saw the thunderstorm of hail and fire and the destruction that followed. It was such a destruction that there had never been a storm like that previously. In fact, look in your Bibles very quickly to Exodus 9 and look at verse 24. Exodus 9, verse 24, "So there was hail and fire mingled with hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt, since it became a nation."
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Hey man, this was something exceptional. And you saw all of this firsthand, but it never bothered you, just your enemies. By the way, you also saw the plague of locusts. I mean, the locusts that were so thick, they darkened the sky. I never will forget years ago when I was going up to Pennsylvania to preach. I got to looking at the trees as I was driving. And I saw all these dead limbs. Most of the tree was green, but a lot was dead and hanging.
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And I thought, "What in the world has happened?" Come to find out all the locusts had come out and they had eaten those limbs and those leaves and they died. And here, this plague of locusts devours everything, but yet yours is not devoured. And you were there when you saw the darkness fall upon the Egyptians. Darkness that was so thick, no one moved for three days.
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Now let me tell you, you and I cannot really envision this darkness. But years ago, my wife and I and two of our grandchildren went to Timpanogos Cave in Utah. We had to walk a mile up the mountain to get to the cave. And this cave was absolutely humongous. And the ranger took us all in and we got to this cavern. Of course, they had lights in there.
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You could see the stalagmites and stalactites. You could see everything. It was beautiful. And the ranger said, "Let me show you something. Stand still. Hold hands. Do not move." And then the ranger turned the lights off. We're probably half a mile back in the earth somewhere. You couldn't see this. You couldn't see anything. It was so pitch black. There was absolutely no light. Without lights, we would have never gotten out of that cave.
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Here it is so dark. They sat and stayed in one place for three days. You saw that. You were there, didn't affect you, you had light in your dwellings, but they had darkness. And then lastly, you heard the cries and the screams and the horror of every Egyptian family when they found that their firstborn child was dead. But your child is alive. Yours didn't die. But you heard their anguish and their cries and their screams.
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Let me show you something. You not only saw this, you don't only experience this, you understood a truth that God has revealed. Look in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 12, Exodus 12 and verse 12. Watch what you will have learned from all of this. Exodus 12 and verse 12, God says, "For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, now watch, and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord." When you saw all of this, you knew firsthand, you understood that Jesus Christ who is revealed in the Old Testament, you saw that the one true and the living God, the great I Am, is God, and there is none beside Him.
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All of these plagues were not just against the Egyptians. They were against all the false gods. The false gods of Egypt could not do one thing. They could not hinder or thwart or stop one plague. And every Israelite who saw knew who the one true and the living God was. You know there is no other God. You not only saw the plagues, you not only understood that there was no other God but the one true and the living God, but you were there when Pharaoh and his chariots chased you and you were bottled up at the Red Sea.
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You were there when Moses lifted the rod, and you went across on dry ground. When you got across, you looked back, and you saw Moses raising that rod, and here Pharaoh and his chariots are in the sea, and all the sea comes back in upon them, and they drown. And if you look in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 14, beginning there with verse 27, Exodus 14, verse 27, here's what you saw. "And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared. And the Egyptians fled against it, and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. There remained not so much as one of them, but the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall under them on their right hand and on their left."
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"Thus, the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and His servant Moses." Wow! Oh, man! Can you imagine that?
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Now, let me ask you a question. How long would it take you to forget that? You saw it. You were there. How long would it take you to forget that? You're going to say, "Man, I'd never forget that." Really? Well, let's look in our Bible, Exodus chapter 12. Let's see really and truly how long it took these Israelites to forget all of this. Exodus chapter 12 verses 1 through 6, this is the Passover.
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This is where God delivers them and leads them out of Egypt. In Exodus 12 and verse 1, "And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month, that is, Abib, the month that he's going to deliver them, this month shall be unto you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you." So God has set the date. This is going to be the first month of their year. "Speak ye to all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of the month, they shall take them every man a lamb according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house. And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the souls. Every man, according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. Ye shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats, and ye shall keep it up until the 14th day of the same month."
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"And the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening." So, Abib 14 was the day of Passover, and the next day they were to leave, on the 15th of Abib.
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Now, I want you to look at verse 11. Look what God says. Exodus 12, verse 11. "And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, and with your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and ye shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover." So, this has happened. The Lamb has been slain. The blood has been applied. You're marching out of Egypt.
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You've witnessed everything that I've just described. Now, I want you to look in Exodus chapter 13, and let's begin reading there verse 3. So here's my question. How long is it going to take you to forget all of this? Exodus 13, verse 3, "And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage, for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place."
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"There shall no leavened bread be eaten. This day came ye out in the month Abib. And it shall be, when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware to give unto thy fathers, to give thee a land full of milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days, and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be any leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters. And thou shalt show thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord's law may be in thy mouth. For with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt."
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"Thou therefore shalt keep this ordinance in his season from year to year." Note if you would, God says, here's the month Abib. Here's the 14th. You've got to keep this ordinance. This is going to be in remembrance of everything that I've done on how I delivered you. In other words, this ordinance is going to make you think of all the mighty power, all the miracles, all the temptations, all the terrors, everything that's happened. This is going to make you remember. You've got to keep this ordinance. OK. How long did it take them to forget everything?
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Well, turn now to Exodus chapter 15. Exodus chapter 15, and let's begin reading there with verse 22. Exodus 15, verse 22.
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"So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea." That is, they just crossed now. "And they went out into the wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, which, when he had cast in the waters, the waters were made sweet. There he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them." Note, if you would, three days in there complaining and bellyaching and saying, "What are we going to drink?" What did God just do?
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What about all the demonstration of His mighty power? What about the fact that He parted the Red Sea? What about the fact that they walked across on dry ground? What about the fact that He slew all of their enemies? What about the fact that they saw the plagues? They were spared. They knew that God was God and that God had brought them out. And in three days, they're already complaining. Huh.
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Look in Exodus chapter 16, beginning there verse 1. Hang on. It doesn't get any better. "And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai." Are you looking? "On the 15th day of the second month." Oh, 30 days. One month has passed after their departing out of the land of Egypt. "And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, when we did eat bread to the full, for you brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger." What? Thirty days!
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And what do they say? "Would to God we were back in Egypt! Would to God we were back there! We had plenty to eat back there." They had rather be slaves in Egypt than to be the Lord's free men in the desert. In three days, they were murmuring and complaining. In 30 days, they were wanting to go back. Remembering all the good things they had in Egypt. One month. And already desiring the flesh pots of Egypt.
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And wishing that they had died there. So why do they murmur and why do they complain? Here's the answer. Because they forgot God. They forgot his covenant. They forgot his works. Oh. Hang on, look in Exodus chapter 17. Exodus 17. "And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord and pitched in Rephidim."
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"And there was no water for the people to drink." They've already forgotten what God did earlier. "Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? Wherefore do you tempt the Lord? And the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us forth up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?"
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According to the context, chapter 16, this incident happened one week later. So in three days, they're murmuring and complaining. In 30 days, they're wanting to go back. In another week, they're still murmuring and complaining and ready to go back into slavery. Have you ever noticed how easily and how quickly we forget the things of God? How easily and quickly we forget the works of God? Do you remember how God came down upon Mount Sinai? I want you to look in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 19. Exodus chapter 19. And hold this passage, but look at Exodus 19 and verse 16. Because God came down in great power, Exodus 19 and verse 16, the Bible says this, "And it came to pass on the third day in the morning that there was thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud, so that all the people that
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were in the camp trembled." In other words, God came down upon this mountain and all the people saw everything and they were frightened and they trembled. Who was it that went up on the mount to receive the law? It was Moses. Do you remember how long he was supposed to be up there? What was it? Forty days? Forty nights. I want to show you what happened. I want you to hold Exodus 19. We're coming back there. But I want you to turn to Exodus chapter 32. I'm going to show you what happened while Moses is up on the mountain. Watch this carefully. Exodus chapter 32, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. "And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount," now, I don't know how long they thought he was to be up there. He would have certainly come back in time, but it was not quick enough for them. "So when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron and said to him, Up, make us gods which shall go before us for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know
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not what has become of him. And Aaron said to them, Break off the golden earrings which are in your ears of your wives and your sons and your daughters and bring them unto me. And all the people break off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graven tool. And after he had made it a molten calf, and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is the feast of the Lord."
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"And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." And the word "to play" is a euphemism for fornication. Note, if you would please, this happened in the third month. Go back to Exodus chapter 19, if you would please. And let's begin reading there with verse 1. Exodus 19 verse 1. "In the third month, when the children of Israel were going forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness, and there Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, and said, Thus shalt thou say unto the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel," and he goes on down. Note, if you would, in the third month. Now, put two and two together.
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In three days, they're bellyaching and complaining. In 30 days, they're wanting to go back. A week later, they're still bellyaching and complaining. And let's just say, here's the third month, and let's say Moses was up there for 30 days. In four months, they've made a golden calf and are falling down and worshiping it and violating not only the first commandment, but the seventh commandment and all of them. In four months? In four months? How could they forget? How can we forget? Here's what I'm trying to tell you, folks. How easily we forget our promises to God, our profession of faith, our obedience. We turn aside so quickly, just like those Israelites. We even forget each other. We forget our pastors.
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Listen, I pastored people. I've prayed with them. I've cried with them. I was there when catastrophes struck in their homes and tragedies, as the world would call them, when there were deaths, when there were problems in their marriage. I was there. And I loved them and I prayed with them and I wept with them. And some of them today will not even speak to me.
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I've got one friend. A Christian brother who helped another Christian brother. Financially. Not just one time. Numerous times. To the tune of thousands. And when this brother who helped the other brother financially held a position that the other one did not like, he had one piece of his equipment and he called his Christian brother and he said, "Come get your stuff and get it out of my house and don't ever come back." What? After this brother had helped him and given him, literally given him thousands of dollars, how can you forget things like that? How can you forget the people who prayed with you and wept with you? How can you forget what God has done for you? How can you forget who God has used?
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How long does it take? Here's the problem. We've lost our first love. And I want you to turn to Revelation, chapter 2, and I will read it for you. Look in Revelation, chapter 2, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Because he's writing to the Church of Ephesus. And look what God says. "Unto the angel of the Church of Ephesus write. These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, I know thy works, thy labor, thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil, and how thou hast tried them which say they are apostles and are not, and found them to be liars, and hast borne, and hast patience for my name's sake, and hast labored, and hast not fainted."
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"Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee. Because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do thy first works, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." You know, our hearts used to be on fire for the Lord. We used to be so excited just to come and hear the word of God. We used to be so excited to come to a prayer meeting. We used to be so excited to fellowship with each other. And today, well, if we don't come, somebody might think we're backslidden, I guess we need to go.
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There's no joy, there's no happiness, there's no remembrance. I want you to turn to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 2. Jeremiah, chapter 2. And here's my question. Would you be content? And would you be satisfied for God to treat you the way you treat him? Look at this question. Jeremiah 2, verse 32. God asks, "Can a maid forget her ornaments?" And you forget your necklace, your earrings, your rings? No. "Can a maid forget her ornaments?
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or a bride her attire?" I don't know any bride who ever forgot her wedding dress. "Can a maid forget her ornaments or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number."
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I want to tell you something. There's a passage of Scripture. You know, I quote every day. In fact, I usually quote it two or three times a day. I quote it in the morning when I wake up. I quote it at night when I go to bed. And I often quote it several times during the day. So here's my question. Why did you not die in your sleep last night?
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Why did you not drop dead today?
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Here's the answer. Lamentations 3, 22 and 23. "It is of the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed. Because His compassions, they fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness." You do not need to see the Red Sea, nor do you need to see the judgments of God against the Egyptians. God has been so gracious and so kind to you every morning and every day and every night.
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You should never cease praising Him. You should never forget all the wonderful works that he's done for you. Every time I go down the road and I've seen several riding with Brother Sam, every time I go down the road and I see these crosses beside the road where someone has been killed, I thank God that he spared my life.
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If you forget what God has done for you, you will forget his covenant. And you'll forget him. "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen. And repent. And come back to your first love or else," he said, "I will remove thy candlestick from his place." Father, help us to live for thee. Help us to remember thee, to thank thee daily for your infinite grace and mercy. O God, we bow before Thee, and worship Thee as the one true and living God, and acknowledge besides Thee there is none else. Thank You, Lord, in Christ's name, amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T14:40:11Z

How Easily We Forget

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver warns that just as Israel quickly forgot God's mighty works, covenant, and even God Himself, Christians today easily forget His grace, their profession of faith, and their first love. Using Deuteronomy and Exodus, he traces a progression from forgetting God's works to forgetting His covenant to forgetting Him, leading to idolatry. He urges repentance and daily remembrance of God's mercies.

Introduction: The Problem of Forgetting

Weaver introduces the topic with personal anecdotes about forgetfulness and reads Deuteronomy 4:9, emphasizing the command to remember God's works and teach them to children.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 4:9

"Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thine heart all the days of thy life, but teach them thy sons and thy sons' sons."

How easily we forget.

The Progression of Forgetting

He outlines a dangerous progression: forgetting God's works leads to forgetting His covenant, which leads to forgetting God Himself and turning to idolatry.

Now, just in line with this warning, if you would skip down to verse 23, I want you to note what else God says in this light. Deuteronomy 4, verse 23,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 4:23

"Take heed unto yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which He made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of anything which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee."

Idolatry in Modern Life

Weaver explains that idolatry is not just bowing to statues but includes covetousness and placing anything above God, referencing Colossians 3:5.

The Significance of Baptism

He discusses the baptismal oath 'Jesus is Lord' as a confession of Christ's sovereignty, contrasting modern casualness with the early church's life-or-death commitment.

Israel's Witness of God's Power

Weaver reviews the plagues and the Red Sea crossing, stressing that Israel saw God's mighty hand, outstretched arm, and great terrors firsthand.

I want you to look back to Deuteronomy chapter 4, and notice if you would please verse 34. Deuteronomy 4 and verse 34. Look at this question that is asked.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 4:34

"Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation by temptations, by signs, by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt?"

Look in your Bibles if you would to Deuteronomy 26 and verse 8. Deuteronomy 26 and verse 8. Again. Deuteronomy 26, verse 8, he says this,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 26:8

"And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders."

How Quickly Israel Forgot

He traces Israel's complaints and idolatry within days and months of deliverance, showing they forgot God's works and desired Egypt.

This is where God delivers them and leads them out of Egypt. In Exodus 12 and verse 1,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 12:1-6

"And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month, that is, Abib, the month that he's going to deliver them, this month shall be unto you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you."

So God has set the date. This is going to be the first month of their year.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 12:1-6

"Speak ye to all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of the month, they shall take them every man a lamb according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house. And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the souls. Every man, according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. Ye shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats, and ye shall keep it up until the 14th day of the same month."

Scripture Reading — Exodus 12:11

"And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, and with your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and ye shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover."

So, this has happened. The Lamb has been slain. The blood has been applied. You're marching out of Egypt.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 13:3-10

"And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage, for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place." "There shall no leavened bread be eaten. This day came ye out in the month Abib. And it shall be, when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware to give unto thy fathers, to give thee a land full of milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days, and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be any leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters. And thou shalt show thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord's law may be in thy mouth. For with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt."

Well, turn now to Exodus chapter 15. Exodus chapter 15, and let's begin reading there with verse 22. Exodus 15, verse 22.

Forgetting in the Christian Life

Weaver applies the lesson to believers, noting how easily we forget God's grace, our first love, and even those who have helped us.

Call to Remember and Repent

He cites Revelation 2:4-5 and Lamentations 3:22-23, urging repentance and daily remembrance of God's mercies to avoid losing our candlestick.

or a bride her attire?" I don't know any bride who ever forgot her wedding dress. "Can a maid forget her ornaments or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number."

Why did you not drop dead today?

How Easily We Forget

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	121018135770
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover: As Yet
Genre	Sermon
Date	2018-12-06
Dictation Name
Book	Book 078: Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover - Volume 1 — Chapter 20
Source Timed Segments	71

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Problem of Forgetting: Weaver introduces the topic with personal anecdotes about forgetfulness and reads Deuteronomy 4:9, emphasizing the command to remember God's works and teach them to children.
The Progression of Forgetting: He outlines a dangerous progression: forgetting God's works leads to forgetting His covenant, which leads to forgetting God Himself and turning to idolatry.
Idolatry in Modern Life: Weaver explains that idolatry is not just bowing to statues but includes covetousness and placing anything above God, referencing Colossians 3:5.
The Significance of Baptism: He discusses the baptismal oath 'Jesus is Lord' as a confession of Christ's sovereignty, contrasting modern casualness with the early church's life-or-death commitment.
Israel's Witness of God's Power: Weaver reviews the plagues and the Red Sea crossing, stressing that Israel saw God's mighty hand, outstretched arm, and great terrors firsthand.
How Quickly Israel Forgot: He traces Israel's complaints and idolatry within days and months of deliverance, showing they forgot God's works and desired Egypt.
Forgetting in the Christian Life: Weaver applies the lesson to believers, noting how easily we forget God's grace, our first love, and even those who have helped us.
Call to Remember and Repent: He cites Revelation 2:4-5 and Lamentations 3:22-23, urging repentance and daily remembrance of God's mercies to avoid losing our candlestick.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Forgetting God's works leads to forgetting His covenant and then forgetting God.

Weaver argues from Deuteronomy that there is a sequential progression: when we forget what God has done, we next forget His covenant, and finally we forget God Himself.

He reads Deuteronomy 4:9, 23; 6:12; 8:11, 14, 19 and states, 'When we begin to forget the works of God... the next thing you know, we are forgetting the covenant of God... Once you forget the covenant of God, the next step is that you forget God.'

Idolatry is any replacement of God with self or desires.

Idolatry is not merely bowing to images; it is covetousness, lust, and placing anything above God, which happens when we forget Him.

He cites Colossians 3:5 and says, 'anytime we place anything above God, it is idolatry... You cannot forget God without replacing Him.'

Baptism is a serious confession of Christ's absolute lordship.

The early baptismal oath 'Jesus is Lord' was a treasonous statement against Caesar, often leading to death; modern believers have lost this weighty understanding.

Weaver explains the Greek Kyrios and the historical conflict with the emperor cult, saying, 'when a man was baptized... he's probably signing his own death warrant.'

Israel's rapid forgetfulness proves human tendency to forget God.

Despite witnessing the plagues and Red Sea, Israel murmured in three days, longed for Egypt in 30 days, and worshiped a golden calf in four months.

He walks through Exodus 15, 16, 17, and 32, noting the timeline: 'In three days, they're bellyaching... In 30 days, they're wanting to go back... In four months, they've made a golden calf.'

Christians today forget God's grace and their first love.

Just as Israel forgot, believers forget God's daily mercies, their profession of faith, and the people God used to help them, leading to a loss of first love.

He shares personal stories of forgotten relationships and reads Revelation 2:4-5, saying, 'We've lost our first love.'

Repentance and daily remembrance are the remedy.

God calls His people to remember, repent, and do their first works, or face removal of their witness; daily quoting Lamentations 3:22-23 helps maintain gratitude.

He reads Revelation 2:5 and Lamentations 3:22-23, and says, 'You should never cease praising Him. You should never forget all the wonderful works that he's done for you.'

Scripture References

Deuteronomy 4:9: The opening command to take heed and not forget the things seen, teaching them to children.
Deuteronomy 4:10: Specifically remembering the day at Horeb when they heard God's words.
Deuteronomy 4:23: Warning not to forget the covenant of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 4:34: God's mighty deliverance by signs, wonders, and a stretched-out arm.
Deuteronomy 6:12: Warning not to forget the Lord who brought them out of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 7:19: The great temptations, signs, and wonders their eyes saw.
Deuteronomy 8:11: Warning not to forget the Lord by not keeping His commandments.
Deuteronomy 8:14: Warning that a lifted heart leads to forgetting the Lord.
Deuteronomy 8:19: If they forget the Lord and serve other gods, they will perish.
Deuteronomy 26:8: God brought them out with a mighty hand and outstretched arm.
Deuteronomy 34:12: The mighty hand and great terror Moses showed in the sight of Israel.
Exodus 9:4-7: God severed between the cattle of Israel and Egypt; none of Israel's died.
Exodus 9:24: The hail and fire were exceptionally grievous, unlike any before.
Exodus 10:22-23: Thick darkness in Egypt for three days, but Israel had light in their dwellings.
Exodus 11:7: Not a dog would move its tongue against Israel, showing God's distinction.
Exodus 12:1-6: The institution of the Passover on the 14th of Abib.
Exodus 12:11: Instructions to eat the Passover in haste, ready to leave.
Exodus 12:12: God executed judgment against all the gods of Egypt.
Exodus 13:3-10: Command to remember the day of deliverance and keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Exodus 14:27-31: The Red Sea returned and drowned the Egyptians; Israel saw and believed.

Historical References

The Roman emperor cult and the confession 'Caesar is Lord': Weaver explains that early Christians were executed not merely for being Christians but for refusing to swear by the genius of Caesar and confess Caesar as Lord, making them traitors.

Important Quotes

Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thine heart all the days of thy life, but teach them thy sons and thy sons' sons.

This is the foundational text of the sermon, emphasizing the command to remember and pass on God's works.

When we begin to forget the works of God, the miracles and the judgments of God, the next thing you know, we are forgetting the covenant of God.

Summarizes the progression that is central to Weaver's argument.

You cannot forget God without replacing Him. Anytime you forget him, you basically have replaced him.

Highlights the inevitable consequence of forgetting God—idolatry.

In three days, they're bellyaching and complaining. In 30 days, they're wanting to go back. A week later, they're still bellyaching and complaining. And let's just say, here's the third month, and let's say Moses was up there for 30 days. In four months, they've made a golden calf and are falling down and worshiping it.

Dramatically illustrates the rapidity of Israel's forgetfulness.

Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do thy first works, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

The call to repentance from Revelation 2, applied to the listener.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed. Because His compassions, they fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness.

The daily reminder of God's grace that Weaver uses to combat forgetfulness.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What are some of God's works in your own life that you are prone to forget?

[Context]

Weaver asks how often we think of God's promises, warnings, and what He has done, implying we should actively remember.

[Question]

In what ways might we be guilty of idolatry without realizing it?

[Context]

He explains that covetousness and placing anything above God is idolatry, challenging the listener to examine their heart.

[Question]

How does our view of baptism compare to the early church's understanding of confessing 'Jesus is Lord'?

[Context]

Weaver contrasts modern casualness with the life-or-death commitment of early Christians.

[Question]

Why do you think Israel forgot God's mighty works so quickly, and how can we guard against the same tendency?

[Context]

The sermon traces Israel's rapid decline and asks how long it would take us to forget.

[Question]

What does it look like to 'lose your first love' for Christ, and how can it be restored?

[Context]

Weaver describes the loss of excitement for God's Word and fellowship, and reads Revelation 2:4-5.

[Question]

How can we cultivate a daily habit of remembering God's mercies?

[Context]

He shares his practice of quoting Lamentations 3:22-23 multiple times a day.

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