Israel sinned against God in so many ways, but our text itemised two of them. The first of these was that they forgot the works of God. How does forgetting the works of God amount to a sin? Forgetfulness is the foundation of ingratitude, and this is a great sin against God. Giving thanks with understanding can only take place when there is a good memory of what God has done for us in the past. Closely related to that is the tendency to murmur and complain. If we forget what God has done, it would seem as if He has never done anything that is thank-worthy. We also know from the scriptures that God hates murmuring. Finally, forgetfulness works against the development of faith in God’s ability for present and future intervention. Remembering God’s past acts of kindness oils our weapon of faith.

Forgetfulness is the foundation of ingratitude, and this is a great sin against God…Remembering God’s past acts of kindness oils our weapon of faith.

The best way to avoid the sin of forgetting God’s work is to adopt David’s approach as recorded in Psalm 103. In verse 2, he charged his soul to bless the Lord and never forget his benefits. He then used verses 3-5 to enumerate those benefits. Through daily rehearsals of God’s works, we will be able to overcome the temptation to forget. In case you are wondering whether that would become monotonous, just consider what Psalm 106:2 says – “Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can declare all His praise?” No one can exhaust the praise of God at a single sitting. So we have to make it a practice from day to day.