The importance of remembering
Daily Scripture
Exodus 24:3-4, 1 Chronicles 16:1-4
Exodus 24
3 Moses came and told the people all the Lord’s words and all the case laws. All the people answered in unison, “Everything that the Lord has said we will do.” 4 Moses then wrote down all the Lord’s words. He got up early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He set up twelve sacred stone pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
1 Chronicles 16
1 They brought in God’s chest and placed it inside the tent David had pitched for it. Then they brought entirely burned offerings and well-being sacrifices before God. 2 When David had finished offering the entirely burned offerings and the well-being sacrifices, he blessed the people in the Lord’s name 3 and distributed a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a raisin cake to every Israelite man and woman.
4 David appointed some of the Levites to serve before the Lord’s chest in order to remember, to give thanks, and to praise the Lord, Israel’s God.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
As in our Sunday worship Scripture reading (cf. Joshua 4:1-7), ancient Israel at times used stones (not carved or sculpted statues, just “stones” *) to remind them of important experiences. By King David’s time, they also used music as a significant vehicle to sustain their memories of how God had led and guided them. The power was neither in stones nor in tunes, in and of themselves, but in the way those tangible clues could trigger the power of human memory.
- Moses set up “twelve sacred stone pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel” (Exodus 24). Exodus 23:24 said God told Israel to “smash to bits the sacred stone pillars” of Canaanite nations, which stood for the “gods” those nations worshiped. Moses’ pillars were not to worship, but to remind the tribes of Israel of their covenant with the only true God who delivered them from slavery. Why does it matter to worship, not memorials, but the God whose acts memorials remind us of?
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1 Chronicles, written after the Israelites’ exile in Babylon ended, reviewed Israel’s history as the nation rebuilt the Temple and its worship. It told what King David did many years before and explained the purpose the worship elements served. “The musical service of the Levites before the sacred chest includes singing about God’s deeds (remembrance and thanksgiving) and God’s attributes (praise).” * Why is it important to see worship music as more than concert performance?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, as I worship, let all the visual, verbal, and sonic reminders of your presence draw my attention to you, not just to the reminders themselves. Amen.
GPS Insights
Katy Nall
Katy Nall serves as the Program Director of Missions for Resurrection West. She is a mom of two and loves to be outside in the sunshine, especially if it involves mountains or ocean. She loves hiking, reading, learning, and connecting.
On the windowsill of our kitchen at home there is a small glass heart. The heart is chipped on the bottom, it has scratches and smudges from being touched and dropped, but the names and dates that are written on the side are still clearly visible. Katy and Drew, November 21st, 2012–the day of our wedding. We received it as a gift on our wedding day and every time I see it, I am reminded of that precious day and the love I have with my husband. The heart itself might break or get lost, but what it symbolizes is much more precious than glass. As I look around the kitchen, I see crinkled papers with curled up corners dangling from magnets on my fridges. A smiling watermelon, a squiggly doodle of a tiger, a video game “level,” and multiple other masterpieces that my kids have created over the years. There are pictures of them at the zoo as chubby cheeked toddlers, smiling in front of birthday cakes, and family vacations to our favorite beach. I cherish them all.
When I read these passages, it makes me think of the many ways that we display or memorialize the things we love. Whether it is a sports team banner hanging on the porch, permanent Christmas lights strung up on the roof, or a list of names engraved in stone to remind us of those that gave their lives for us. All these things are tangible symbols that we use to remember and celebrate so many important and meaningful things in our lives!
Today is Memorial Day. It’s a very special day that we recognize each year to remember the people who have given their lives to protect freedom for all. It is so important in our world of a thousand opinions, arguments, and agendas for us to not lose sight of what those brave men and women gave their lives to protect. They died for their families, their friends, and their neighbors. They died so that people like me could decide who I want to marry and which pieces of art I want to tape to my fridge. We will not all be called to give our lives in service of others, but we can honor their sacrifice by embracing the gift of this life. Our personal relationship with God and the connections we build with others are the most important things in our lives. I believe the best way to celebrate the legacy of the people that have made an impact on our lives is to treasure each moment that we have with those that we love and greet strangers with the warmth and kindness of someone we expect will soon be a good friend!
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* “In the Negev and Eastern Sinai some 142 independent sites of standing stones have been found, most with origins dating thousands of years before Israel’s appearance…. These were unformed stones and should be distinguished from the carved stelae found in Egypt and Hazor.” Richard Hess, comment on Joshua 4 in Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel: Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (Old Testament), Volume 2. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009, p. 27.
** Melody D. Knowles, study note on 1 Chronicles 16:4 in The CEB Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013, p. 645 OT.
