They hardened their necks, but...

They refused to obey,
And they were not mindful of Your wonders
That You did among them.
But they hardened their necks,
And in their rebellion
They appointed a leader
To return to their bondage.
But You are God,
Ready to pardon,
Gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger,
Abundant in kindness,
And did not forsake them.
“Even when they made a moulded calf for themselves,
And said, ‘This is your god
That brought you up out of Egypt,’
And worked great provocations,
Yet in Your manifold mercies
You did not forsake them in the wilderness.
The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day,
To lead them on the road;
Nor the pillar of fire by night,
To show them light,
And the way they should go. – Nehemiah 9.17-19

God’s people have not always been faithful to Him. Here we read of all the wrongs Israel committed in the wilderness. We even read how the people ‘hardened their necks’ against God. One would think that this would have been enough to have God give up on them and turn them away.

There is a difference though. We are not talking about a man. The psalm carries on with:

But You are God,
Ready to pardon,
Gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger,
Abundant in kindness,
And did not forsake them.

God is not man who can be easily provoked. He is God. He is always ready to pardon. He is gracious. He is merciful. He is slow to anger. He is abundant in kindness.

But that's not all – He did not forsake His people.

I am glad these things are true. I am glad for my own sake that God is ready to pardon me and is gracious and merciful and slow to anger and abundant in kindness.

And I am especially glad that He will not forsake me. I certainly would deserve it. Every time I doubt God I show my lack of faith. When I worry it is because I think that I am in control. When I am drawn away by my flesh I replace God on the throne one my heart. I other words I harden my neck to His word.

Praise God for His grace and mercy in my life. Praise God He will never, ever, ever leave me or forsake me.