(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see why)
Focus Question:
What is “redemptive remembering?”
Intro:
Heavenly Father, thank you for a new week to serve you, to serve others, for the gifts of breath and bread. Help us to see your heart, and help us to continue to transform ours through the renewing of our minds. In Jesus’ name, amen.
There are times I feel inadequate for the job, and today’s one of those days. In our NT segment we begin the first of two chapters of the letters John wrote directly to seven churches in Asia…and they each contain some encouragement, albeit sometimes to repent. We’ll talk more about these tomorrow. These, along with the latter part of what we’ll read in Ezekiel today, that prompts the focus question we’ll get to — What is “redemptive remembering?”
New Testament segment:
As we get to our NT segment, remember one thing…chapter 1 ended using red words, and chapters 2 & 3 are all red words. In other words, John wrote down the words of Jesus. And they, well, they pack a punch.
Passage: Revelation 2
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 29
Words: ~661
Old Testament segment:
In our OT segment today, it’s worth remembering that Ezekiel chs 4-24 are warnings about the coming destruction of Jerusalem — the consequence of generations of, in a sense, failure on their part of the marital covenant. Chapter 19 today is in the genre of lament that “encourages Ezekiel’s audience not to have false hopes about their protection.”(1) And Chapter 20 “narrates Israel’s guilt from the day God chose the Israelites (sometime prior to the exodus event) to the time God exiled them from the promised land…(and) rather than use allegory or metaphor, it uses straightforward historical recollection.”(2)
Passage: Ezekiel 19-20:44
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 58
Words: ~1694
The bottom line:
My friends, our Bottom Line segment is really short today. Redemptive remembering is a description of the fact, that in the OT, looking backward always (or almost always) includes an element of looking forward. In theological terms, remembrance is eschatological. Why remember what God has done? To be reminded that we can be confident in him delivering on what he has promised to do.
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) D. A. Carson, ed., NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 1438.
(2) D. A. Carson, ed., NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 1439.
(3) Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 1525.