In Numbers 33:3 and 4, we see the children of Israel leaving Egypt. In verses 5 through 8, they go to and through the Red Sea. In verses 9 through 15, they go from Marah to Mount Sinai, where they received the Law and instructions for building the Tabernacle and the sacrificial system. In verses 16 through 36, they go from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea. And in verses 37 through 49, they go from Kadesh-barnea to the Jordan River, into the Land of Promise.

In this account, there is something huge missing, a glaring omission, namely, the thirty-eight years the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness due to their unbelief. In other words, the Father records exactingly and carefully every single spot where they pitched their tents in obedience to His leading. But when they were in sin, there’s no mention, no record, no memory as far as He is concerned.

How I like that! He remembers where we’ve been, but He forgets about our sin. He edits it out of the video, throws away the slide, erases it from His journal. That’s the kind of God we serve.

Why doesn’t He remember our sins? Because He sent His Son to die on the Cross in our place and shed His blood in order that they could be cleansed. What a price the Father paid to eradicate that memory, to clean up my story.