Living Up To Our Privileges As Children of God

Nehemiah 9:20 (ESV) … “You gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst.”

During the forty years of Israel’s discipline in the wilderness, the old generation died and a new generation was born; but God never forsook His people. He led them by the cloud and fire, taught them the Word, provided them with the necessities of life, and gave them victory over their enemies. God keeps His promises and fulfills His purposes. If we obey Him, we share in the blessing; if we disobey Him, we miss the blessing; but God’s purposes will be fulfilled and His name glorified.

Like too many of God’s people today, the Jews were shortsighted: They forgot the glorious purposes that God had in mind for the nation. Had they meditated on God’s promises and purposes (Gen. 12:1–3; Ex. 19:1–8), they would not have wanted to go back to Egypt or mingle with the godless nations around them. Israel was a people who lived beneath their privileges and failed to accept fully God’s will for their lives.[1]

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Determined (pp. 113–114). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.