When God is Forgotten

Do you have a hard time remembering things? I have to admit that I do…and one of the hardest things for me to remember are names. Now that’s not good for a pastor! I worked in pharmacy a long time and I still can remember “big words”, but for some reason it’s hard for me to remember names. As I write this, my wife and I’ve been married for over 21 years, and I joke with her about this. I tell her that for the first five years of our marriage I called her, “honey”, “baby”, and “sweetheart” because I couldn’t remember her name 🙂 Of course, that’s just a joke, but I must be missing something above the shoulders when it comes to names…Anyway…

This post has come about from my personal time in God’s Word, and I thought it very interesting what I’d read in Ezekiel 22:12, “In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD.” [Emphasis added]

It’s one thing to forget names, but it’s totally something else TO FORGET THE LORD GOD! In Ezekiel’s time, one of the reasons why Israel was being judged by God was because they had forgotten God. What made Israel forget God? In Ezekiel 22:

vs3-4 = Idolatry…and as the verse says, idolatry defiles.

vs7 = Disrespectful toward their parents.

vs8 = Disrespectful and irreverent toward God.

vs9-11 = Lewdness – the unlawful indulgence of lust…and it was so bad and so “out-in-the-open” that verse 10 describes their lewdness like as a son discovering his father’s nakedness, “In thee have they discovered their fathers’ nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution.” To “discover your father’s nakedness” means that a son would have his father’s wife: Leviticus 20:11, “And the man that lieth with his father’s wife hath uncovered his father’s nakedness…”

What sins were committed in Israel! But this is the answer to the question…what made Israel forget God? Their wicked iniquities made them forget God! When sin abounds – God is forgotten. Don’t we as a nation need to hear this today? Aren’t there churches in our country where “this would preach“? Aren’t there families who need to wake up and realize that when sin abounds God is forgotten?

*When pornography is sought after and consumed – God is forgotten!

*When lying is just a way of doing business – God is forgotten!

*When God’s House and God’s Word are forsaken – God is forgotten!

*When children are not corrected and disobedient before their parents – God is forgotten!

*When satisfying “self” is the main goal – God is forgotten!

*When there’s acceptance and no guilt with adultery and fornication – God is forgotten!

*When Hollywood trains us rather than the Bible – God is forgotten!

*And I could go on and on. [If you’d like, you can add to it!]

 SO: Let me ask again – “Do YOU have a hard time remembering things…or more importantly, remembering God?” It’s one thing to forget a name…but it’s something totally different to forget God.