George Santayana (1863–1952) said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” There is a difference between learning history and learning from history. Reading Deuteronomy 3 is mostly learning history. Moses sounds like a high school teacher droning on about past events, and I can imagine some of the younger Israelites dozing off by the time he got to verse 17. But, reading Deuteronomy 4 is mostly learning from history! If those sleepy students didn’t pay attention to that part of the speech, they would undoubtedly make the same mistakes that their predecessors had made — worshiping things instead of worshiping God — which would inevitably lead them to death and destruction, as it had done to their predecessors. This is serious business!
As Americans, most of us have at least a general understanding of the facts and figures of our own history. But, have we learned the lessons from our past, or will we (like the Israelites did) make the same mistakes as our predecessors, and end up suffering the same fate?
The key to success is found in Deut. 4:29 — “seek the LORD your God . . . seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
John H. Roller, Hickory, N.C.
