Remember the days of old
HOR Book 1 Studies • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
I’d like to share a message based on book 1 of the history of redemption series. The book’s title is “The Genesis Genealogies: God’s administration in the history of redemption”. And the very first chapter is about a single Bible verse: Deuteronomy 32:7, which is our scripture reading for today.
“Remember the days of old,
Consider the years of all generations.
Ask your father, and he will inform you,
Your elders, and they will tell you.
Here Moses is speaking to the Israelites. They are the second generation, born in the wilderness. He’s led them out of Egypt and through the wilderness these past 40 years. And this is Moses’ final will and testament, his last words to the people. Remember, consider, ask.
And Rev. Abraham Park says that “These three commands are the basic code of conduct for Christians who are journeying toward the kingdom of heaven, the spiritual Canaan.”
And these make up our three points for the evening. Remember, consider, ask.
Remember the days of old
Remember the days of old
The Hebrew word for “remember” is zakar, and it means to remember, to recollect, to recall. As human beings, our memories drift away whether we like it or not.
For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.
But what does it mean to remember? The opposite of remember is dismember. To cut something off. And so to remember means to make something a part of you. It is the act of making past things present.
For example, we’re seated here because we remembered that Wednesday service happens at 7:40pm on Wednesdays.
The praise team came earlier at 6pm because they remember they’re on duty.
And after service, we go home because we remember where we live.
When Jesus wanted to make a point, He told His disciples to remember.
“Remember Lot’s wife.
“Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.
In other words, to remember something is to bring the past into the present. And so God is telling His people to remember. Remember what? The days of old.
So what are the days of old? Should we all grab a history textbook and start memorizing? The days of old refer to the events of redemptive history, events that sit on the timeline of salvation.
And for the second generation Israelites in the Plains of Moab, these days would include
The fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
The murder of Abel and Cain’s departure from God
The wickedness of Noah’s time and the flood
The construction of the Tower of Babel
The covenants that God made with Abraham
Israel’s 430 years of slavery in Egypt
The ten plagues and the Exodus
The 40-years wilderness journey
These are the days of old, the story of God’s people.
But God didn’t just tell them to remember and then leave them alone. God set up festivals, memorial days or holidays, rituals and items to help them remember.
The Passover is one example. If you kept the Passover, you’d be eating bitter herbs every year while your father talks about the bitter slavery in Egypt, along with the story of the ten plagues and the Exodus.
‘Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance.
And so God sets up seven festivals in total, all of which contain rituals to help the Israelites remember the days of old. And more than that, they point to the future fulfillment of God’s redemption work in Jesus Christ. It’s not just remembering for the sake of memorizing.
Jesus comes as the true Passover Lamb. Jesus comes as the true bread from heaven. So on and so forth.
For our part, we also have our rhythms of the year to help us remember.
We’ve just observed Christmas, and so the birth of Jesus and all the joy it brings is fresh in our minds.
We’re soon going observe the season of Lent to help us remember the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus.
And at the end of passion week, we’ll observe Easter to remember His resurrection.
We also celebrate thanksgiving Lord’s Day in November
And every Sunday, we observe the Sabbath. Imagine if church was only once a month. Would we be able to remember as much of the Bible? Probably not.
God also set up memorial items to help the Israelites remember who they are. For example, the items inside the ark of the covenant. Aaron’s budded rod, the jar of manna, and the two stone tablets.
Aaron’s budded rod became a sign for the Israelites to remember not to grumble against God.
But the Lord said to Moses, “Put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put an end to their grumblings against Me, so that they will not die.”
The jar of manna became a sign for the Israelites to remember the providence of the Lord in the wilderness.
Then Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded, ‘Let an omerful of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’ ”
Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omerful of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept throughout your generations.”
As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the Testimony, to be kept.
The two stone tablets contained the Ten Commandments, for the people of God to remember.
‘I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you shattered, and you shall put them in the ark.’
So these three things reminded the Israelites not to grumble, to trust in God’s provision, and to live according to the Word of God.
Objection: What about Isaiah 43:18?
Objection: What about Isaiah 43:18?
“Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
Does this mean the Bible is contradicting itself? That isn’t the case. By the former things or things of the past, Isaiah is referring to the ways of the old covenant. He’s not talking about the days of old. And we know this because Isaiah himself says to remember the days of old.
“Remember the former things long past,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is no one like Me,
Isaiah is speaking of the old covenant in light of the new. We can see this in the next verse.
Isaiah 43:18–19 (NASB95)
“Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
“Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.
This is talking about the old and the new covenants.
When Jesus gave the new covenant, the religious leaders hated Him. They held on to the old ways, the covenant of law given at Mt. Sinai.
The Apostle Paul addresses this issue in Galatians.
Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.
But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
So we must remember the days of old as part of God’s command.
Consider the years of all generations
Consider the years of all generations
Moses’ second command was to consider the years of all generations. Binu shenot dor-va-dor.
This sounds like a repeat of the first command, but it’s different. They both refer to the past, but this time Moses is more specific.
The days of old refers to the work of God in all of history. The years of all generations refers to the work of God God in each generation. And we’re called to consider this carefully.
The Hebrew word is Bin, meaning “to discern” or “to have insight.”
When the Israelites were losing hope in Babylonian captivity, the prophet Isaiah urged them to consider Abraham, to consider God’s faithfulness to him and his descendants.
Isaiah 51:1–2 (NASB95)
“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, Who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were hewn And to the quarry from which you were dug. “Look to Abraham your father And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain; When he was but one I called him, Then I blessed him and multiplied him.”
What’s God’s saying? He’s saying that you might be struggling in Babylonian exile right now, but I’ve got this covenant with Abraham your forefather. And I’m loyal to him and his descendants. That’s grace. That’s hope.
Now, how can we consider the years of each generation? We need to study the genealogies in the Bible. That’s why in our church we focus so much on the genealogies. We’re just trying to be faithful to God’s command.
We have an orange juice machine downstairs at level 1. And when you make the payment, it automatically squeezes the juice out of each orange into a cup.
Each generation in the Bible is like an orange. And when we’re called to consider it, we’re called to squeeze all the juice out. How many oranges are there? 10 generations in Genesis 5, another ten in Genesis 11, and 42 generations in Matthew 1. Or you could do all the 77 generations in Luke 3. That’s a lot of juice.
And I pray that this year, through a careful consideration of each generation, all our cups will be filled to overflowing. Not with orange juice, but with the living waters of God’s grace. Vitamin C is important, but this is vitamin G. Vitamin Grace.
I pray that we will gain insight, understanding, and clarity regarding what God has done, and what He will do in our generation.
Ask your father and he will inform you, your elders and they will tell you
Ask your father and he will inform you, your elders and they will tell you
The Hebrew word for ‘ask’ is sha’al and it means to inquire, to make a request, or to beg. And it carries with it a sense of desperation. Like if you really need to know the answer to something.
And in this word we come to see the proper attitude for studying God’s Word. We need to be humble and teachable. We need to seek not to become masters of the Word of God, but to be mastered by it. To let it shape us and mold us. That’s the proper attitude.
And what do we ask about? We need to ask about the days of old and the years of all generations.
“You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.”
And so we are wise to come to church to inquire from the Word of God. Amen?
Now, who do we ask? In Deut. 32:7, Moses says to ask our fathers and elders.
Fathers back then were the patriarchs of the generation. Elders didn’t refer to the elderly, but to the spiritual leaders of the people.
So the question is, who are our fathers and elders today? First of all we have our spiritual leaders in the church. And it’s good to come to the elders and pastor and ask many questions about redemptive history in the Bible. Can I get an amen from our elders?
But we also have our forefathers of the faith in the Bible. Think of the genealogy of faith in Hebrews 11. We have Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and so on.
But how can we ask them if they’re gone? We need to sit at their feet and learn from their experience of God. They may have faded into history, but they still have a lot to teach us about the days of old and the years of all generations.
I’d now like to conclude.
Conclusion
Conclusion
In 1154, King Henry II created a new position in the royal court. The king’s remembrancer. And the king’s remembrancer had the job of reminding the barons of the court of their pending business, such as whether the taxes were paid or not. But this wasn’t a new thing.
King David had such a remembrancer. King Solomon had a remembrancer. King Hezekiah had a remembrancer. We see this position again and again.
So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered justice and righteousness for all his people.
Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder.
Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha were secretaries; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder;
When they called to the king, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebnah the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, came out to them.
The word “recorder” here is mazkir, which comes from the word zakar, meaning to remember. It’s the same word Moses uses in Deut. 32:7.
So the ancient Israelites had remembrancers as part of their royal court. By the way, the current British king’s remembrancer today is Jeremy David Cook.
And the Bible tells us that we have a remembrancer. Who is He? The Holy Spirit.
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
So we need to pray that every moment of every day, we will remember the things of God and walk by the Spirit.
We need to pray that we will remember God’s love in times when we’re feeling unloved.
That we will remember God’s promises in times when we’re feeling discouraged.
That we will remember God’s wrath in times when we’re feeling tempted.
And more than that, as the community of the Holy Spirit, let us be remembrancers for each other. Let’s help each other to remember the Word of God.
We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,
And finally, as people filled with the Holy Spirit, we need to be the remembrancers of the world. We need to bring the world to remembrance of the days of old, of the years of all generations.
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
I pray that all of us here will be the remembrancers of the Word of God.