Forgetting God is Forgetting His: Benefits
Jump to: Torrey'sLibrarySubtopicsTerms
Topical Encyclopedia
Forgetting God is a recurring theme in the Bible, often associated with the neglect of His commandments, statutes, and the manifold benefits He bestows upon His people. The act of forgetting God is not merely an intellectual lapse but a spiritual and moral failure that leads to dire consequences. The Scriptures repeatedly remind believers of the importance of remembering God's deeds, His covenant, and the blessings that flow from a life aligned with His will.

Biblical Foundation

The Bible frequently warns against the dangers of forgetting God and the benefits He provides. In Deuteronomy 8:11-14 , Moses cautions the Israelites: "Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God by failing to keep His commandments and ordinances and statutes, which I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud, and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery."

This passage highlights the human tendency to forget God in times of prosperity, attributing success to one's own efforts rather than recognizing it as a blessing from God. Forgetting God leads to pride and self-reliance, which are contrary to the humility and dependence on God that He desires from His people.

Spiritual Benefits

Remembering God and His benefits is crucial for spiritual well-being. Psalm 103:2 exhorts believers: "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all His kind deeds." The psalmist lists the benefits of God, including forgiveness, healing, redemption, love, and compassion. These benefits are not merely temporal but have eternal significance, shaping the believer's relationship with God and their understanding of His character.

Consequences of Forgetting

Forgetting God leads to spiritual decay and moral decline. In Hosea 4:6 , God laments, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children." This verse underscores the peril of neglecting God's law and the resulting loss of divine favor and protection.

Covenantal Relationship

The covenantal relationship between God and His people is central to understanding the importance of remembering His benefits. In Deuteronomy 4:23-24 , the Israelites are warned: "Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that He made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the LORD your God has forbidden. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God." Forgetting God and His covenant leads to idolatry, which is a breach of the exclusive relationship God desires with His people.

Practical Remembrance

The Bible provides practical ways to remember God and His benefits. Regular engagement with Scripture, prayer, and communal worship are means by which believers can keep God's deeds and promises at the forefront of their minds. In Joshua 1:8 , God instructs Joshua, "This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do."

Conclusion

Forgetting God is a serious spiritual issue that results in the loss of His benefits and blessings. The Bible calls believers to a life of remembrance, continually acknowledging God's goodness, faithfulness, and the abundant life He offers to those who remain steadfast in their devotion to Him.
Torrey's Topical Textbook
Psalm 103:2
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Psalm 106:7
Our fathers understood not your wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of your mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Benefits of an Early Piety
... The Benefits of an Early Piety. ... The covetous worldling, that employs all his care
and pains in ... For as the forgetting God in scripture language, implies a total ...
/.../whitefield/selected sermons of george whitefield/the benefits of an early.htm

Matt. xxiii. 1-3.
... Since they were continually forgetting God's benefits, He commanded His marvellous
works to be inscribed on little tablets, and that these should be suspended ...
/.../homilies on the gospel of saint matthew/homily lxxii matt xxiii 1-3.htm

Ephesians vi. 14
... The Jews were continually forgetting God's benefits to them. Accordingly then, God
tied the sense of these, His benefits, not only to the time, but also to the ...
/.../homily xxiii ephesians vi 14.htm

Concerning the Neglect of the Commemoration.
... of Rome are in danger of forgetting past judgments ... much danger of men becoming
ungrateful to God, and through forgetfulness of His benefits not feeling ...
/.../leo/writings of leo the great/sermon lxxxiv concerning the.htm

Two Retrospects of one Life
... years' mourning for Rachel's son, the heir of his inheritance. ... that you will rather
seek to learn what God means by darkness, and not forgetting to look at ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture k/two retrospects of one life.htm

The Touch of Faith
... The others went their way, forgetting Him who had made ... upon them the precious story
of what God has wrought ... render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me ...
//christianbookshelf.org/white/the desire of ages/chapter 36 the touch of.htm

Stones Crying Out
... remembering, and the danger of forgetting, the past ... whether our recollection of God's
goodness to ... we shall certainly forget 'all His benefits.' The cultivation ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/stones crying out.htm

Twenty Second Sunday after Trinity Paul's Thanks and Prayers for ...
... Wholly forgetting God's benefits, they must wage war against each other, involving
nations, and subjecting ... Everyone is disposed to force his arrogant authority ...
/.../luther/epistle sermons vol iii/twenty second sunday after trinity.htm

Praying Saints of the Old Testaments
... It was the lesson they were ever learning and always forgetting, that prayer ... deliverance,
and that there was nothing too hard for God to do for His people. ...
/.../bounds/prayer and praying men/i praying saints of the.htm

Thanksgiving Versus Complaining
... All her life she had been forgetting the benefits the Lord had ... From the meanest in
God's employ ... enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with ...
/.../smith/the god of all comfort/chapter 15 thanksgiving versus complaining.htm

Resources
Why does Exodus 35:2 require the death penalty for working on the Sabbath? | GotQuestions.org

How can I heal from the hurt of a broken relationship? | GotQuestions.org

What is the "church of Oprah"? Is Eckhart Tolle's "New Earth" compatible with Christianity? | GotQuestions.org

Forgetting: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible ConcordanceBible DictionaryBible EncyclopediaTopical BibleBible Thesuarus
Subtopics

Forgetting

Forgetting God is Forgetting his Covenant

Forgetting God is Forgetting His: Benefits

Forgetting God is Forgetting His: Covenant

Forgetting God is Forgetting His: Law

Forgetting God is Forgetting His: Past Deliverance

Forgetting God is Forgetting His: Power to Deliver

Forgetting God is Forgetting His: Word

Forgetting God is Forgetting His: Works

Forgetting God: A Characteristic of the Wicked

Forgetting God: Backsliders are Guilty of

Forgetting God: Backsliders Guilty of

Forgetting God: Benefits

Forgetting God: Cautions Against

Forgetting God: Encouraged by False Teachers

Forgetting God: Exhortation to Those Guilty of

Forgetting God: Law

Forgetting God: Past Deliverances

Forgetting God: Power to Deliver

Forgetting God: Prosperity Leads To

Forgetting God: Prosperity often Leads To

Forgetting God: Punishment of

Forgetting God: Resolve Against

Forgetting God: The People of God

Forgetting God: Threatened

Forgetting God: Trials should not Lead To

Forgetting God: Word

Forgetting God: Works

Forgetting the Past

Related Terms

Forgetful (4 Occurrences)

Forget (77 Occurrences)

Forgetteth (10 Occurrences)

Lies (208 Occurrences)

Imagine (24 Occurrences)

Forsaking (29 Occurrences)

Reckon (34 Occurrences)

Reviving (4 Occurrences)

Revive (31 Occurrences)

Reaching (22 Occurrences)

Mixture (16 Occurrences)

Physician (6 Occurrences)

Ba'als (19 Occurrences)

Ashe'roth (1 Occurrence)

Apprehended (5 Occurrences)

Hagar (15 Occurrences)

Stretching (84 Occurrences)

Straining (4 Occurrences)

Greatness (63 Occurrences)

Filling (29 Occurrences)

Count (85 Occurrences)

Possession (251 Occurrences)

Ahead (98 Occurrences)

Past (200 Occurrences)

Behind (188 Occurrences)

Consider (178 Occurrences)

Philippi (8 Occurrences)

Forgive (81 Occurrences)

Serving (85 Occurrences)

Front (327 Occurrences)

Array (63 Occurrences)

Regard (230 Occurrences)

Setting (82 Occurrences)

Forward (252 Occurrences)

Great (10383 Occurrences)

Hold (500 Occurrences)

Temple (614 Occurrences)

Forgetting God is Forgetting his Covenant
Top of Page
Top of Page