Good morning:
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This famous quote by George Santayana is most certainly true. If you don’t learn from your own or others past mistakes you will likely make the same mistakes again. Sometimes, though, it’s better to forget the things of old. Isaiah says in chapter 43 verses 18-19:18 “Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.”
Isaiah is not telling the children of Israel to abandon learning from the past, but rather to not look on the past as the “end all be all” of happiness and contentment. It was tempting for the Israelites to look back on the days of the Exodus or Kings Saul, David, and Solomon and wish for those times again. It can be tempting for you to look back on the days of your youth and say “Ah, if only things could be like they were in the good ol’ days.” The truth is that better days are coming. For the Israelites, the better days were the days of Jesus, the GodMan, walking among men. Even though Israel was under foreign rule, The days of Jesus’ life were better than the days of independence. For you, the better days are what you have to look forward to in heaven. The good ol’ days of this life cannot compare to what God has prepared for you in His presence.
In Christ, Pastor Naumann
