Biting The Hand
“Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me, days without number.” Jeremiah 2:32
Forgotten – If you look up the definition of “forget” even in a Hebrew dictionary, you are likely to read something about the loss of memory. Yes, that’s true. “Forget” does mean something no longer remembered. But this definition is very Greek. It’s located in the mind. It’s a cognitive aberration. If we look at the Hebrew pictogram, we see a very different story. We see something hidden but very important. Forgetting is not simply mental. The picture tells us why.
The Hebrew verb here is sakah. There are some very interesting things about this verb that we need to know. First, it has no etymological connections to other Semitic languages. That is quite unusual. It means that this is a word that is originally Hebrew. It was created to fit the Hebrew view of the world. Let that sink in a bit. Something is happening here that is not like the surrounding cultures.
Secondly, there are a number of Hebrew words associated with sakah. These include “not remember (a different idea than forget, by the way), not know, not see and deny”. While some of these might be considered strictly cognitive, it’s not hard to see that some are very much behavioral (like deny). Hebrew is a language of action, not mental construct. If we are going to understand the deep meaning of sakah, we will have to look at its behavioral component.
OK, let’s look at the pictogram. The consonants Shin-Kaf-Hey paint the picture “what comes from destroying the open palm.” Did you get that? To forget is to destroy God’s gracious provision. Suddenly the passage in Deuteronomy slams into place. “Then your heart will become proud and you will forget YHWH your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” Why will the people forget? Because they have been blessed. They have been fed. They have been cared for. They have prospered. They do not forget when they suffer reproach, persecution or tribulation. They forget when times are good. They forget that the only reason they enjoy the benefits of life is because God gave them those benefits. Forgetting is biting the hand that feeds you!
Now you can appreciate just how Greek our definition of forgetting really is. We have shifted the concept from the action of ignoring, denying and deliberately pushing aside God’s role in our success toward a purely mental dysfunction. We think of forgetting as if it were simply a matter of brain matter mistakes. But the Hebrew picture shows us something entirely different. Forgetting is walking out on God. Ultimately, it has nothing to do with my mental acumen. It is about my behavior. I forget when I refuse to acknowledge my dependence and God’s grace, no matter how sharp my memory.
Can you forget God? You certainly can! Every time you think that by your own hand you have arrived at this place in life, you forget God. Now is a good time to remember – and remembering is associated with another Hebrew word – repenting.
Topical Index: Sovereignty
