Quick Note – Deuteronomy 16:3 – A Day to Always Remember

Deuteronomy 16:3b – “…That all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt.”

Holidays are used to remember specific events in a person’s or nation’s life or history.  We celebrate Christmas to commemorate Christ’s birth.  We celebrate Easter to remember Christ’s Resurrection.  We celebrate Mother’s Day to honor mothers and Father’s Day to honor fathers.  Veteran’s Day is for us to remember our veterans, but it also commemorates the day when WWII was won on the European front.  Holidays help us to remember.  

The people of Israel were given a specific week long holiday to remember their deliverance from Egypt.  This holiday was known as the Passover.  Deuteronomy 16:1-8 describes the week long celebration where they were to offer a sacrifice to God and not eat leavened bread (bread made with yeast).  It is in this passage that we find our verse today – “…That all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt.”  This holiday was given for them to remember the day they were delivered.  And even today, Jewish people continue to celebrate the Passover (but without the sacrifices now).  

Although Christians do not celebrate the Passover, there is still something important we can learn from this passage today – the reason for the Passover – to remember the day when they were delivered all the days of their lives.  Like the Israelites, we used to live in bondage; rather than being in bondage to Egypt, we were in bondage to sin.  We were then saved by the grace of God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.  When we received Him into our hearts, we were set free from sin and entered the family of God.  This is the day we must remember all the days of our lives.  Every single day we should remember what Christ has done for us.  We should be thankful and grateful for His grace, love, and mercy.  This grateful heart will spur us to honor and serve Him every day of our lives.  Although you may not remember the exact day when you received Him into your life, you can still praise Him for it.  I must admit I don’t know the exact day, I only know that He is my God, my Lord, and my Savior and that I have given my life to Him.  And after reading this passage, I am challenged to remember His gift every day and give Him praise.