David Koberstein
Active member
The Hebrew word for "forget," shakach and nashah, are also broad in scope. Often they mean to ignore, neglect, forsake,
or disregard a person or covenant. For instance,
So watch yourselves, that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and make for
yourselves a graven image in the form of anything against which the Lord your God has commanded you. (Deut. 4:23)
The idea here is that the Israelites would intentionally ignore their covenant, not necessarily forget that they made it.
When the Israelites lapse into idolatry, we also hear God threatening to "forget" them:
Therefore behold, I will surely forget you and cast you away from My presence, along with the city which I gave you and
your fathers. (Jer. 23:39)
Once again the emphasis is on action rather than mental activity. God is saying that he would spurn his people, not lose
their memory from his mind. When God "forgets" something, he does not necessarily lack information. This helps us
understand why, in the Psalms, we hear people asking God why he is forgetting them:
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? (Ps 13:1)
Here the Psalmist is saying, "why do you ignore my prayers and not intervene in my crisis?" God doesn't forget, but sometimes
it seems as if he does.
Shalom
or disregard a person or covenant. For instance,
So watch yourselves, that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and make for
yourselves a graven image in the form of anything against which the Lord your God has commanded you. (Deut. 4:23)
The idea here is that the Israelites would intentionally ignore their covenant, not necessarily forget that they made it.
When the Israelites lapse into idolatry, we also hear God threatening to "forget" them:
Therefore behold, I will surely forget you and cast you away from My presence, along with the city which I gave you and
your fathers. (Jer. 23:39)
Once again the emphasis is on action rather than mental activity. God is saying that he would spurn his people, not lose
their memory from his mind. When God "forgets" something, he does not necessarily lack information. This helps us
understand why, in the Psalms, we hear people asking God why he is forgetting them:
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? (Ps 13:1)
Here the Psalmist is saying, "why do you ignore my prayers and not intervene in my crisis?" God doesn't forget, but sometimes
it seems as if he does.
Shalom
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