Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number.—Jeremiah 2:32
Such sad words...To be forgotten by someone who you only have an acquaintance with is one thing, but to be forgotten by someone you have literally poured your heart into...is another. When a child rejects a parent as Israel rejected God who had done so much for them it is unnatural. It is an offense against, as David Guzik says, “all that is good and right” I looked up up “forgetfulness” in my Thompson Chain and what I found was very helpful.
It defined forgetfulness as living as though God did not exist. It also outlined the warnings given in Scripture for living this way and categorized them.
The first warning was that there is a need for watchfulness...
"Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren,—Deuteronomy 4:9
The second warning given was that forgetfulness often follows prosperity...
"So it shall be, when the LORD your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, "houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant--when you have eaten and are full--
"then beware, lest you forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.—Deuteronomy 6:10-12
The third was that it leads to doom...
And there will be desolation.
Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation,
And have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold,—Isaiah 17:9b-10
The fourth warning was that it begets moral cowardice..
I, even I, am He who comforts you.
Who are you that you should be afraid
Of a man who will die,
And of the son of a man who will be made like grass?
And you forget the LORD your Maker,
Who stretched out the heavens
And laid the foundations of the earth;
You have feared continually every day
Because of the fury of the oppressor,
When he has prepared to destroy.
And where is the fury of the oppressor?—Isaiah 51:12-13
The final warning in regard to forgetting God was that it ends in bitter tears...
A voice was heard on the desolate heights,
Weeping and supplications of the children of Israel.
For they have perverted their way;
They have forgotten the LORD their God.—Jeremiah 3:21
In closing, some verses from Hebrews 2 and Psalm 103 come to mind...
Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.—Hebrews 2:1
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.—Ps 103:1-2
