The LORD is our God,
\nand we are his people,
\nthe sheep he takes care of
\nin his own pasture.
\nListen to God\u2019s voice today!
\nDon\u2019t be stubborn and rebel
\nas your ancestors did
\nat Meribah and Massah
\nout in the desert.
\nFor forty years
\nthey tested God and saw
\nthe things he did.
\nThen God got tired of them
\nand said,
\n\u201cYou never show good sense,
\nand you don\u2019t understand
\nwhat I want you to do.\u201d
\nIn his anger, God told them,
\n\u201cYou people will never enter
\nmy place of rest.\u201d (Psalm 95:7-11)<\/p>\n
God is eternal, but his patience is not. God ultimately disciplined his people. Time after time he had been there for them. He had taken them out of Egypt, he had seen to their every need, satisfied their every complaint and nothing was enough. Finally, when he brought them to the promised land, laid it at their feet, they turned up their noses and told him no, that they didn\u2019t believe they would be able to take the land, that instead God would see to their destruction.<\/p>\n
Their ingratitude, leading them to refuse God\u2019s gift, led God to postpone the gift. Instead of giving it to the people he had rescued from slavery, he would wait one generation. He would give it to their children instead. They repeatedly wished they could be back in Egypt, as if being a slave was such a good thing. Since they didn\u2019t really want to be rescued, since they didn\u2019t want the relief that could be theirs, he gave them what they kept saying they wanted. <\/p>\n
Rather than rejoicing in the gift God had given them, they only found fault. Rather than trusting that God was good, they always suspected he had something bad in mind for them. Of course, we never think this way, do we? How often do we doubt God\u2019s goodness in the midst of hard times? How often do we take his many gifts for granted, seeing only the cloud that surrounds his silver lining.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/plugins\/send-to-kindle\/media\/white-15.png\")
Send to Kindle<\/span><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The LORD is our God, and we are his people, the sheep he takes care of in his own pasture. Listen to God\u2019s voice today! Don\u2019t be stubborn and rebel as your ancestors did at Meribah and Massah out in … Continue reading