We are forced to use human terms and categories to describe the God of
Israel. We call this anthropomorphic language.[1] The Hebrew word zākar is often used to speak of God remembering His covenant with
His people (Gen.
9:15-16; Exod. 6:5; Lev. 26:42, 45; Ps. 105:8, 42; 106:45). Exodus
2:24 says that as a when God heard “their groaning in Egypt,” He
“remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.”
The word zākar
also appears in prayers recorded in the Bible by people like Moses (Exod.
32:13), Samson (Judges 16:28), Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:3), Nehemiah (Neh. 13:14,
22, 29, 31), Jeremiah (Jer.15:15; Lam. 5:1), and Habakkuk (Hab. 3:2). These prayers are calling on God to more than
know about them or the statements in His covenants. They are a call for God to act on their
behalf.
There are three groups of meanings [for zākar]: 1) for completely inward
mental acts such as “remembering” or “paying attention to,” 2) for such inward
mental acts accompanied by appropriate external acts, and 3) for forms of
audible speaking with such meanings as “recite” or “invoke.” … This range of
meanings shows the same blending or overlapping between mental states and
external acts seen also in other Hebrew terms (e.g. Hebrew šāmaʿ “to hear”).[2]
Other scriptures instruct the people to remember God or His
commandments (Deut. 8:18; Joshua 1:13; Eccl.12:1; Mal. 4:4). These passages are not commands to prepare for a history
quiz. They are a call for them to do
what God has commanded.
We often you the
expression is a similar way when we tell someone to remember to do something. The expectation is that action will follow. When God “remembers” His covenant, it means that he is going to act to
fulfill His promises.
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H2142&t=NKJV
[1] Bob Utley, The Exodus of Israel from Egypt: God Fulfills His Promise to Abraham
(Bible Lessons International, 2014), p 27 < http://www.freebiblecommentary.org/old_testament_studies/VOL02OT/VOL02OT.pdf>
[2] R.
Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, eds., Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament
(Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 241.
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