Ki Tavo “When you come”
Deuteronomy 26:1–29:8
Isaiah 60:1–22
2Kings 13-15

Remembering the Journey

The people of Israel are posed on the eastern bank of the Jordan River. Forty years of the desert are behind them. The Promised Land is now so close they can smell it. Within just a few days they will enter in.

As Moses reminds the people they are to live by the Torah in the land, he gives them a very important instruction. He tells them in Deuteronomy 26 what to do after they have settled in the land. They are to take part of the harvest of the land and go to the Priest serving in the Tabernacle. There they are to offer the harvest of the land and remember the journey which brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey. They are to remember especially the life of Egypt, which HaShem had delivered them from. They are to think back to the oppression and slavery they had lived under during the long years of bondage.

Remembering where we came from is a task we all should all do on a regular basis. It is far too easy to forget where we came from and the life He has called us out of. Over time our memories can play tricks on us and we tend to forget the hardships of our lives of slavery. We begin to do as the Hebrews did in remembering the cucumbers, the garlic and the meat, but forget that these things came only at the end of a day of bricks, mortar and the cracking of whips.

Forgetting where we came from can cause disaster in our lives. Forgetting can cause us to take our eyes off The One who brought us out of the bondage in the first place. We forget the hopeless situation we were in and the reasons we were there in the first place. We forget to be thankful for the journey He has lead us on and the destination that is now in sight. Forgetting the truth of the past causes us to look back over our shoulder to the life we once lived instead of focusing our gaze on the wonders which lie within the grasp of a few more short steps.

For some the past was a life filled with the worst bondages the world had to offer. For others it was a life filled with the worst bondages religion had to offer. In the end, bondage was bondage and either one had a hold which kept us from serving our Creator the way He desires and deserves.

Take a moment on this Shabbat weekend, especially as we approach the Fall Festivals to consider the Journey He has brought you through. Consider where you came from. Remember the chains of bondage He set you free of. Consider the steps He has ordered for you along your journey and the place He has brought you to today. Take a look ahead to the steps you can see in your future and the destination you are headed to. In all this, consider the wonder in the fact that the One who spoke the universe into existence has done this all for you and for me. In the end, the word thankfulness may take on a whole new meaning!