The command to “not forget the Lord” is found in Deuteronomy 8:11, which says “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today.” This verse comes in the context of Moses reminding the Israelites of God’s provision for them during their time in the wilderness after being delivered from slavery in Egypt. As they were about to enter the Promised Land, Moses exhorted the people not to forget all that God had done for them once they began to enjoy the blessings of the land.
Forgetting God and His commandments leads to several dangerous implications:
1. Forgetting God leads to ingratitude.
If the Israelites forgot the Lord who delivered them from Egypt and sustained them in the wilderness, they would no longer be grateful for His salvation and provision. Forgetting God leads to taking His blessings for granted rather than living with hearts of gratitude and praise for His goodness (Deuteronomy 8:7-10).
2. Forgetting God leads to pride and self-sufficiency.
Forgetting that God is the ultimate provider can cause us to become prideful and think we have achieved everything by our own strength. Keeping God at the center of our lives guards against pride and reminds us that all good things come from Him (Deuteronomy 8:11-14, 17-18).
3. Forgetting God leads us to idols.
When God is no longer foremost in our minds and hearts, we will be tempted to replace Him with idols. The prosperity and comforts of the Promised Land could easily become idols if the people forgot the Lord. Keeping God central prevents us from idolatry (Deuteronomy 8:19).
4. Forgetting God leads to spiritual decay and moral decline.
The commands, rules, and statutes of God in the law provide a hedge that protects the people from sin and corruption. Forgetting God leads to forgetting His law, which opens the gates to increased wickedness and injustice in society (Deuteronomy 8:11,19-20).
5. Forgetting God leads to incurring His judgment.
If the Israelites turned away from the Lord to follow other gods, they were warned clearly that they would perish from the good land just as the nations who previously inhabited it. God disciplines those He loves (Deuteronomy 8:19-20; Hebrews 12:5-11). His chastisement is meant to remind us of His standards and turn us back to Him.
6. Forgetting God is indicative of a heart growing cold toward Him.
Forgetting the Lord is a symptom of someone drifting away in their relationship with Him. It signals a cooling off of affection for God and attentiveness to His voice through Scripture and the Spirit. We must take the caution against forgetting Him seriously by intentionally stoking our love for Christ through spiritual disciplines (Revelation 2:4-5).
7. Forgetting God breaks trust and invites consequences in our relationships.
The covenant between God and Israel was like a marriage, full of blessings when both parties upheld their covenant vows faithfully. Forgetting God would break trust in the relationship. Even when we as Christians break trust with God, He remains faithful, though consequences in the relationship may result (2 Timothy 2:11-13).
In summary, the command not to forget God carries heavy implications. Forgetting Him leads to spiritual apathy and opens the door for all kinds of sin and idolatry to take root. This in turn results in the loss of God’s blessing and favor, despite His constant faithfulness to those whose hearts grow cold toward Him. The warning against forgetting God is meant to jar us out of complacency into a posture of continual remembrance of Him, reliance on Him, and gratitude for His provision.
8. Forgetting God severs us from our source of life and joy.
Apart from God there is only aimlessness, meaningless and death. Forgetting God separates us from the giver and sustainer of life. Remembering Him keeps our hearts aligned to our true source of hope, purpose, and satisfaction (Psalm 16:11, 73:25-26).
9. Forgetting God shows we have stopped seeking Him.
God calls us to continually seek Him and thirst for Him. Forgetting God signals our quest for Him has waned. It means we have become content with only a superficial knowledge of Him rather than pursuing Him passionately and wanting to know Him deeply (Jeremiah 29:13, Philippians 3:8, 10).
10. Forgetting God leads to self-deception about our true spiritual state.
Thinking we can do fine without being intentional about remembering God is the height of folly and self-deception. Apart from abiding in Christ our lives will lack His beauty, fruitfulness and security. We must cling to Him through constant remembrance (John 15:1-8).
Overall the Bible makes it abundantly clear, forgetting God has dire spiritual, moral and relational consequences. It leads to the erosion of all that gives our lives meaning, purpose and joy. The command highlights our need for intentional disciplines and community that keep our hearts tender toward God and remind us continually of His manifold blessings in our lives. We must heed Scripture’s warning and not let the cares of the world choke out the supreme treasure of knowing Christ Jesus the Lord (Luke 8:14). May we never forget the amazing grace shown to us through Him.