"We Celebrate So That We Never Forget"
Remembering where He brought us from helps us know how we ought to be.
17 “True justice must be given to foreigners living among you and to orphans, and you must never accept a widow’s garment as security for her debt. 18 Always remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God redeemed you from your slavery. That is why I have given you this command.
19 “When you are harvesting your crops and forget to bring in a bundle of grain from your field, don’t go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the LORD your God will bless you in all you do. 20 When you beat the olives from your olive trees, don’t go over the boughs twice. Leave the remaining olives for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. 21 When you gather the grapes in your vineyard, don’t glean the vines after they are picked. Leave the remaining grapes for the foreigners, orphans, and widows.
22 Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt. That is why I am giving you this command.
(2) to renew and repeat them Ez 23:19, neg. v 27. d. especially remember the dealings of
And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm
Israel itself was helpless in Egypt and needed the help of God in order to become free and prosperous (18); here again her past provides a pattern for her own behaviour.
The mercy to be extended to her as well as to the alien and orphan was a reflex of the mercy of God, who in a mighty act of redemptive and protective grace brought helpless Israel out from Egyptian bondage (v. 18; cf. 5:15; 6:12, 21; 8:14; 10:19; 15:15). Memory of the Lord’s goodness to them should have evoked corresponding blessings from them to the weakest members of the community.
Practical ways of doing this and at the same time protecting the dignity of the persons involved are outlined in vv. 19–22
as Israel had been a foreigner in Egypt. So as never to forget the Lord’s gracious deliverance of his people from enslavement, they in turn were to deliver the weakest among them from social and economic bondage.
Again the Israelites are reminded that they were slaves in Egypt, and so they must deal in a kindly and compassionate manner with those who have no power in their society
For You shall remember …, see verse 18.
it must be remembered that Israel in every age was called on to identify herself in vivid imagination with her forefathers and to experience their redemption.
we cannot even know who we are.
Forgetfulness is a function of neglect or not caring
the means God appointed to help the children of Israel were to remember what was important. In his dealings with Moses, God had established a set of repetitive processes by which the Israelites would be constantly reminded of all that God had done for them.
reminders of who God was, who the Israelites were, and how they related to each other
we need constant reminders of who God is and what he has done if we are to stay on the straight and narrow
Why? Because otherwise their memories of who God is and what he has done over the years will slowly fade or distort as they simply accommodate to sinful, human expectations of who God is and how he acts.
God often directs His people in the Old Testament to remember their past and all that He had said and done for them (Deut. 4:10; 5:15; 7:18; 8:18; 24:9).
Remembering is an important act of worship.