To be human is to be forgetful. The trick is to remember what you’re forgetting.”

-Aldous Huxley

I tend to get very forgetful when I get busy, overstimulated, or distracted. No less than one thousand arguments in my home have begun with my inability to remember the answer to a question that I have asked ad nauseam. I ask, and my wife answers. I ask, my wife repeats. I ask, my wife graciously informs me that I have already answered. And then one or two more rounds persist. It may seem like a trivial example, but each time I ask, fail to process, and re-open the case it tends to add tension to our communication and my wife’s perception of how I view her answer (and her). I cannot help but imagine her inner voice telling her: “He has not cared enough to recall my answer.” Fair enough.

On the other hand, if I am focused and locked in on someone else’s words, I can remember facts about them for decades. The smallest of details (good and bad) stick to my brain and heart like chewed gum adheres to the underside of a shoe. When I have listened closely, assigned value to whatever has been communicated, and realized how God wants to use every moment to redeem and draw others to Him, recollection is a piece of cake. It is overwhelmingly true that my own failure to pay attention and value someone/something that has all the difference in whether I hold onto information. The nation of Israel and their King, David, have found themselves in a similar situation that in regard to God and His holy commands. God does not fail to remind them. Just like my wife and me, the only thing that will level the playing field is a reacquaintance with the One who has been forgotten.

Read 2 Samuel 6, Numbers 4:15, and 1 Chronicles 15:1-2;12-15

1. What is your first thought that bubbles to the surface when you hear about God’s response to Uzzah? Why is that your response?

2.The word ‘holy’ is meant to show how separate and different something/someone is; Why do you think we struggle to appropriately respond to God’s holiness? What does God’s holiness mean when it comes to our position before Him? How should that inform our worship of Him?

3. When David settles down and remembers who God is, what does He do? How do you think God wants you to respond to His character right now? What can you do this week to remember Him?

4. How did Jesus keep His holiness and become relatable? Why did He do that for you? What does He want you to do with that information?