“Don’t forget!” “Don’t you remember?” These are phrases I find myself saying to our two children multiple times every day! I’ve come to find that a large part of parenting is helping your children not forget what they need to remember, whether it’s the little things (“tie your shoes”) or the big things (“my love for your will never change”). Sometimes it feels like all we do as parents is remind them over and over again, and it can get weary. Yet I’m reminded of two truths: First, they are kids, and secondly, I’m just a big kid who needs to be reminded of many things as well. Perhaps it’s not just children who need constant reminders.

In Deuteronomy 10-12, God is speaking to his people through Moses, doing what a good parent does—reminding them “don’t forget!” Only these things are a matter of life and death. It wasn’t that long ago that God performed many signs and miracles, including parting the Red Sea and allowing them to escape from Egypt. You would think they would never need another reminder of God’s faithfulness and a reason to worship him wholeheartedly. Yet, we know that the story of God’s people through the desert is one often filled with doubt, complaining and forgetfulness.

This is why Moses says in Deuteronomy 11:1-3, Love the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always. Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the Lord your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm; the signs he performed and the things he did in the heart of Egypt …

In other words, God is speaking through Moses saying, “Don’t forget how far I’ve brought you, the ways I’ve continually provided, and use those memories and core reminders to follow me in all your ways.” Not only that, but just as any loving parent would do, God provides a reason for their obedience. Rather than blind compliance, God says, “Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, and so that you may live long in the land the Lord swore to your ancestors … ” (Deuteronomy 11:8-9).

What is the reason God desires our obedience? For our own benefit. Just as I long for the very best for my children, God wants us to experience the abundant life. That can only come when we do life his way, following his commands. It turns out reminders aren’t just for kids, they’re for all of us who so often forget and need reminding of where life is found.

Questions for reflection:

  1. In your walk with God, what are some of the things you doubt or forget? That God is in control? That he provides? That you can trust him? Others?
  2. Why do some of the consequences for not following God’s commands in Deuteronomy 10-12 seem so serious and harsh? What is God trying to show us about his commands in these chapters?