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Chapter 1

The First Command: Remember the Days of Old

1. The “Days of Old” in Light of God’s History of Salvation

The Hebrew term for the days of old is It does not simply refer to past history, but rather to a history marked by the fulfillment of God’s Word and His promise to save mankind (Deut 4:32; Ps 77:5–6, 11–12; 78:1–8; 143:5; Isa 46:9). The term “days of old” encompasses a quite comprehensive period of time, dating all the way back to the beginning, and includes the entire time in which God’s work of salvation has been in progress. This is evident from the two Hebrew words that compose the expression, “days of old”: the plural form of meaning “day”; and meaning “long duration,” “antiquity,” “eternity,” or “everlasting.”

For Moses, the “days of old” encompass the following events:

1. The fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden

2. Cain’s gruesome murder and the unrighteous deeds of his descendants

3. The overflowing sin and wickedness of Noah’s time

4. The construction of the Tower of Babel and man’s hubris

5. The covenant of the torch given to Abraham in Genesis 15

6. Israel’s 430 years of slavery in Egypt

7. The glorious exodus from Egypt

8. The 40 years of trial in the wilderness

God’s commitment to the work of salvation has been steadfast until today despite man’s increasing sins after the fall and expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Thus, the “days of old” are the days and years of God’s work marked by His fervent love and tears. The prophet Jeremiah referred to these days as the “ancient paths” and the “good way” (Jer 6:16).

The “good way” is the path of faith through which the messianic promise was fulfilled. It is a path of suffering that requires people of faith to engage in ongoing battles against evil in order to sustain the good and to overcome any affliction that may come along the way (Heb 11:36). Thankfully, this path promises the blessing of peace in the end (Jer 6:16b). This entire path is compressed into the genealogies in the Book of Genesis. In other words, the traces of the events of old, the good way, God’s fervent love, and His tears and zeal have been condensed into the genealogies.

2. Remember

In Hebrew, the term to remember is This word means “to remember,” “to recall a memory” (Exod 13:3), “to consider” (Job 7:7), “to recollect” (Ps 63:6), “to think in light of the future” (Isa 47:7), and “to remind.” In the original Hebrew text, this word appears 15 times in the Book of Deuteronomy (Deut 5:15; 7:18 [2 times]; 8:2, 18; 9:7, 27; 15:15; 16:3, 12; 24:9, 18, 22; 25:17; 32:7). Human beings have the tendency to forget even crucial events after some time has passed or as generations change. The chief cupbearer whose dream Joseph interpreted is an excellent example (Gen 40:23).

The history of the Israelites is, undeniably, full of events that are too shameful to recall. They spent 430 years of slavery in a foreign country (Exod 12:40–41) and wandered in the wilderness for 40 years without having their own land. The 430 years in Egypt were so bitter that the Bible often likens Egypt to an iron furnace (Deut 4:20; 1 Kgs 8:51; Jer 11:4). Through Moses and the other prophets who were sent to the Israelites throughout the ages, God urged the Israelites to remember their detestable years of slavery in Egypt (Exod 13:3, 14; 20:2; Deut 5:6, 15; 6:12; 7:8; 8:14; 13:5, 10; 15:15; 16:12; 24:18; 24:22; Josh 24:17; Judg 6:8; Jer 34:13; Mic 6:4). Moreover, He commanded them to remember how He had allowed them to suffer in the wilderness (Deut 8:2; 9:7). Nations that easily forget their times of suffering are doomed to experience greater suffering in the future.

God did not arbitrarily instruct the Israelites to “remember” without helping them to do so. God established various memorial days so that the “days of old” would be eternally remembered. He also designated various objects as memorials for His people. The noun form of the verb to remember () is meaning “memorial” or “reminder.”

First, God instituted memorial days to commemorate great historical events. He instituted the Day of Passover and commanded His people to “celebrate it as a permanent ordinance” (Exod 12:14, 17, 24). Accordingly, the Israelites observed Passover by eating unleavened bread and bitter herbs to commemorate God’s saving work before the exodus when the angel of death passed over their homes and spared their lives (Exod 12:8; Num 9:11).

Exodus 13:16 So it shall serve as a sign on your hand, and as phylacteries on your forehead, for with a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.

Besides the Day of Passover, God also commanded the Israelites to observe the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles as reminders of the enormous and wondrous grace of salvation that He had poured upon them throughout their history (Exod 34:22–23; Deut 16:16). Furthermore, God commanded them to keep His Sabbaths holy: “You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations” (Exod 31:13). He also said, “And also I gave them My sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them” (Ezek 20:12, 20).

Second, after He began to intercede in human history, God urged the people to preserve certain objects as memorials. He did this so that they might remember God’s grace, which He had poured out upon them in times of their distress, and give thanks to Him.

The following are some examples of the memorials that appear in the Bible. When 250 leaders of the congregation, along with Korah and his companions, assembled together against Moses and Aaron (Num 16:1–3), the earth opened up its mouth and swallowed them up with their households and all the men who belonged to Korah (Num 16:31–35). Then, Moses was instructed by God to tell Eleazar, “The censers of these men who sinned against their own souls, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar ... and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel” (Num 16:36–40).

When the Israelites challenged the authority of Moses and Aaron, God caused Aaron’s rod to bud in order to stop their murmurings. He instructed Moses to place this rod in the Ark of the Covenant to be kept as a sign against the rebels (Num 17:10). God also commanded them to preserve manna—the food with which God had sustained the Israelites in the wilderness—in a jar to be kept in the Ark of the Covenant for their descendants (Exod 16:32–34). Finally, He commanded that the two tablets of the Law be kept in the Ark of the Covenant also (Deut 10:2, 5). Consequently, Aaron’s budded rod, the jar of manna, and the two covenantal tablets were preserved in the Ark of the Covenant as memorials to remind the people of God’s grace throughout the generations (Heb 9:4).

The bronze serpent that Moses made and erected on a pole during the wanderings in the wilderness was also preserved as a memorial (Num 21:4–9; 2 Kgs 18:4). When the Israelites were about to die after being bitten by fiery serpents because of their grumblings against God, He commanded them to look at the serpent made of bronze so that they might be healed and live again. This bronze serpent was a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ, who would be nailed to the cross for all eyes to behold (John 3:14–15). At the same time, it was a reminder that God is merciful even in wrath.

Also, when God allowed Joshua to lead the people across the Jordan River after the death of Moses, He commanded them to set up a memorial to commemorate the miracle of the parting of the waters and the drying up of the land (Josh 3). God had them set up 12 stones in two different places as a perpetual sign for the crossing of the Jordan River (Josh 4:6). God commanded them to take one set of 12 stones from the middle of the Jordan and set them up in Gilgal (Josh 4:8, 20), and the other in the middle of the Jordan at the place where the priests had stood with the Ark of the Covenant (Josh 4:9). In Joshua 4:7, God said, “So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”

The command to “remember the days of old” is a call to discover God’s fervent love as well as His grace and guidance throughout the times of suffering, affliction, and trials so that we may come to deeply fathom His amazing plan of redemption.