“Alright! Alright! I heard you the first time!” These are the words I would think to myself when I was a teenager and my parents were telling me something over and over again, so I wouldn’t forget it. (It was probably safer to think these words, then to say them out loud to my parents.)
In Deuteronomy chapter 8, God, through Moses, is doing the same thing any good parent does…repeating His instructions over and over. And like any good parent, It’s not because He thinks we don’t understand. It’s because He’s stressing the importance of what He’s saying, as well as the need to remember it and apply it.
Moses repeatedly urges the people to remember and realize the goodness of God; both in times of want and in times of plenty. In times of want, it’s easy to forget God’s goodness, because we’re suffering. And in times of plenty, it’s easy to forget God’s goodness, because we’re satisfied. And our sin nature longs to satisfy our flesh, rather than be satisfied with our Father.
We should not shirk the discipline of the Lord in times of want. (Deuteronomy 8:3-5) Nor should we shirk our dependence on Him in times of plenty. (Deuteronomy 8:10,18.)
Constantly remembering the goodness of God, in both good and bad times, will prompt us to more consistency obey His directions.
So…don’t forget!