Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.
The Rock who fathered His people and the God who formed them is their source and maker, the giver and sustainer of their life, and to be unmindful and forgetful toward Him is to forsake Him and lightly esteem Him by turning to strange new gods in idolatry and sacrifice that provokes Him. The verse stands in the song of Moses rehearsing God's past dealings with Israel and foretelling the future, a song God commanded to be memorized, taught to children, sung in worship, repeated in daily work, and kept before the people by memorials so His goodness, mercy, and deliverance would not fade from memory. Such forgetting is rebellion and apostasy that stirs His jealousy and anger because of His love for His people and His abhorrence of sin, with plain warning that persistent rebellion brings swift calamity and judgment without remedy, as fulfilled in Judah's apostasy and in Israel's wilderness unfaithfulness that kept them from His rest. Remembering Him inspires thanksgiving to the Fountain of life and power who can make the wilderness fruitful, while forgetting Him is to turn from His commandments which are life, deny the covenant bond, and refuse to let faith govern life or to trust Him alone for deliverance. That forgetfulness is seen today when those once earnest become listless and indifferent, hardly distinct from worldlings in practice and selfishness, seeking guidance from deceptive spirits, enslaved to mammon and appetite, and lacking zeal for souls while multitudes perish.
Words and Song Setting
The Rock who fathered the people and the God who shaped them is their origin and Maker and Giver. He is the one who brought them into being and gave them life. He is the one who formed them and who sustains them.
To be unmindful of that Rock and to forget that God is to forsake the God who made them. It is to hold lightly, to make little of, the Rock of their salvation. Unmindfulness and forgetfulness are not mere lapse of memory but departure from the Maker Himself.
That departure took visible form in going after strange and unfamiliar gods and in idolatry. It provoked Him with abominations, provoked Him to jealousy and to anger. It was sacrifice offered to demons and not to God, to gods they did not know, to new gods newly risen up whom their fathers had never feared.
The saying stands in the song of Moses, which rehearses His dealings with Israel. That song also tells of events to come. Among those future things is the final victory of the faithful when Christ comes again in power and glory.
God commanded that song to be framed out of His dealings with ancient Israel so that the history of the past would not be forgotten. It was to be memorized and taught to children and to later generations, to be sung in worship and repeated in daily work. It was to be kept before the people, with memorials gathered up and laid up in sight and carefully preserved. Then when children asked, the whole story of providential dealings and marked goodness and mercy and care and deliverance could be told again. In that way His goodness and wonderful works would be kept in mind and recounted often before young and old, rather than fading from memory.
Apostasy and Coming Judgment
Forgetting the Rock who formed His people and brought them into being is rebellion and apostasy. That forgetfulness was turning to strange, unfamiliar gods and idolatry, forsaking the Maker and lightly esteeming the Rock of salvation and life. Such turning provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods and to anger with abominations, even sacrificing to devils and not to God, to gods they did not know, to new gods newly come up whom their fathers had not feared.
That provoking of God to anger and judgment reveals both His love for His people and His abhorrence of sin. The song in which the verse stands gives a prophetic portrayal of departure from God, with plain warning that persistent rebellion brings judgment. The day of calamity would follow swiftly, and there would be no remedy.
The conditions so described were fulfilled in Judah's apostasy. These warnings of judgment on persistent rebellion made Josiah tremble over Judah's future. The same warning recalls Israel's repeated unfaithfulness in the wilderness, which grieved God and kept the people from entering His rest, because He required them to trust and depend on Him alone.
The rebellion warned against includes disregarding God's law and Sabbath. It includes parents' failure to teach their children obedience from generation to generation.
Remembering God Today
Forgetting God grieves Him, while remembering Him inspires thanksgiving. He is the Fountain of life and power, a wonder-working God who can make the wilderness a fruitful field for His people for the glory of His name, and His past goodness and wonderful works are to be often recounted before young and old. He desires His obedient, commandment-keeping children to claim His blessing and to come before Him with praise and thanksgiving, showing that they know they have reason for joy and gladness. To forget Him is to turn from His commandments, which are their life, and to deny that He is their God and they are His people, whereas to stand on the Rock of Ages is to let faith and religion govern life.
The verse applies to those who seek guidance from deceptive spirits rather than looking to God and trusting Him for deliverance, warning that such misplaced trust leaves them under deception and facing destruction. For those once earnest in proclaiming the third angel's message, forgetting means becoming listless and indifferent until the line between them and worldlings is almost indistinguishable. It is conforming to the world in its practices, customs, and selfishness, and instead of leading the world to obey God's law, uniting with the world in transgression and daily becoming converted to the world. Such forgetfulness also means being slaves of mammon, indulging appetite and spending money extravagantly for selfish gratification to the great dishonor of God. It is lacking zeal for spreading the third angel's message, so that even those not openly living in transgression lend their influence to Satan while multitudes perish with few burdened for souls, in a stupor and paralysis that prevents understanding the duty of the hour.
The Rock who fathered His people and the God who formed them is their source and maker, the giver and sustainer of their life, and to be unmindful and forgetful toward Him is to forsake Him and lightly esteem Him by turning to strange new gods in idolatry and sacrifice that provokes Him. The verse stands in the song of Moses rehearsing God's past dealings with Israel and foretelling the future, a song God commanded to be memorized, taught to children, sung in worship, repeated in daily work, and kept before the people by memorials so His goodness, mercy, and deliverance would not fade from memory. Such forgetting is rebellion and apostasy that stirs His jealousy and anger because of His love for His people and His abhorrence of sin, with plain warning that persistent rebellion brings swift calamity and judgment without remedy, as fulfilled in Judah's apostasy and in Israel's wilderness unfaithfulness that kept them from His rest. Remembering Him inspires thanksgiving to the Fountain of life and power who can make the wilderness fruitful, while forgetting Him is to turn from His commandments which are life, deny the covenant bond, and refuse to let faith govern life or to trust Him alone for deliverance. That forgetfulness is seen today when those once earnest become listless and indifferent, hardly distinct from worldlings in practice and selfishness, seeking guidance from deceptive spirits, enslaved to mammon and appetite, and lacking zeal for souls while multitudes perish.
Words and Song Setting
The Rock who fathered the people and the God who shaped them is their origin and Maker and Giver. He is the one who brought them into being and gave them life. He is the one who formed them and who sustains them.
To be unmindful of that Rock and to forget that God is to forsake the God who made them. It is to hold lightly, to make little of, the Rock of their salvation. Unmindfulness and forgetfulness are not mere lapse of memory but departure from the Maker Himself.
That departure took visible form in going after strange and unfamiliar gods and in idolatry. It provoked Him with abominations, provoked Him to jealousy and to anger. It was sacrifice offered to demons and not to God, to gods they did not know, to new gods newly risen up whom their fathers had never feared.
The saying stands in the song of Moses, which rehearses His dealings with Israel. That song also tells of events to come. Among those future things is the final victory of the faithful when Christ comes again in power and glory.
God commanded that song to be framed out of His dealings with ancient Israel so that the history of the past would not be forgotten. It was to be memorized and taught to children and to later generations, to be sung in worship and repeated in daily work. It was to be kept before the people, with memorials gathered up and laid up in sight and carefully preserved. Then when children asked, the whole story of providential dealings and marked goodness and mercy and care and deliverance could be told again. In that way His goodness and wonderful works would be kept in mind and recounted often before young and old, rather than fading from memory.
Apostasy and Coming Judgment
Forgetting the Rock who formed His people and brought them into being is rebellion and apostasy. That forgetfulness was turning to strange, unfamiliar gods and idolatry, forsaking the Maker and lightly esteeming the Rock of salvation and life. Such turning provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods and to anger with abominations, even sacrificing to devils and not to God, to gods they did not know, to new gods newly come up whom their fathers had not feared.
That provoking of God to anger and judgment reveals both His love for His people and His abhorrence of sin. The song in which the verse stands gives a prophetic portrayal of departure from God, with plain warning that persistent rebellion brings judgment. The day of calamity would follow swiftly, and there would be no remedy.
The conditions so described were fulfilled in Judah's apostasy. These warnings of judgment on persistent rebellion made Josiah tremble over Judah's future. The same warning recalls Israel's repeated unfaithfulness in the wilderness, which grieved God and kept the people from entering His rest, because He required them to trust and depend on Him alone.
The rebellion warned against includes disregarding God's law and Sabbath. It includes parents' failure to teach their children obedience from generation to generation.
Remembering God Today
Forgetting God grieves Him, while remembering Him inspires thanksgiving. He is the Fountain of life and power, a wonder-working God who can make the wilderness a fruitful field for His people for the glory of His name, and His past goodness and wonderful works are to be often recounted before young and old. He desires His obedient, commandment-keeping children to claim His blessing and to come before Him with praise and thanksgiving, showing that they know they have reason for joy and gladness. To forget Him is to turn from His commandments, which are their life, and to deny that He is their God and they are His people, whereas to stand on the Rock of Ages is to let faith and religion govern life.
The verse applies to those who seek guidance from deceptive spirits rather than looking to God and trusting Him for deliverance, warning that such misplaced trust leaves them under deception and facing destruction. For those once earnest in proclaiming the third angel's message, forgetting means becoming listless and indifferent until the line between them and worldlings is almost indistinguishable. It is conforming to the world in its practices, customs, and selfishness, and instead of leading the world to obey God's law, uniting with the world in transgression and daily becoming converted to the world. Such forgetfulness also means being slaves of mammon, indulging appetite and spending money extravagantly for selfish gratification to the great dishonor of God. It is lacking zeal for spreading the third angel's message, so that even those not openly living in transgression lend their influence to Satan while multitudes perish with few burdened for souls, in a stupor and paralysis that prevents understanding the duty of the hour.