One of the main themes we see in these two chapters is the rebellion of the Israelites, refusing to enter the land God had promised them.
As a result, they wandered around in the wilderness until the generation who had rebelled died.
What really is amazing about it all is their complete lack of trust.
Consider.
God had set the Israelites free from slavery through miracle after miracle.
Every day, God provided them food to eat, literally giving them bread from heaven.
Night and day, they could see the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire which represented God’s presence.
And yet they would not trust him. In fact, they utterly rebelled against him.
Sometimes people wonder why God doesn’t make himself more visible to us. If he did, more people would believe in him, right?
But if the history of the Israelites teaches us one thing, it wouldn’t matter.
People still wouldn’t believe. People would still rebel against God.
I still have to ask the question, though.
How could the Israelites fail to trust God after all he had done?
How is it they could rebel against him?
Perhaps the best answer is: they took God for granted.
The pillar of cloud and pillar of fire may have been special at first.
But after a while, they got used to seeing it, not really thinking about what it really meant: that God was with them, leading them, watching over them, and protecting them.
At first the manna was something special. They said in wonder, “What is this?”
But after days of gathering and eating it, the manna too became something much less special. They forgot what it meant: God was miraculously providing their needs.
The result? They lost their gratitude. They lost their wonder of God.
How about you?
Do you take God for granted? Have you lost your gratitude toward God? Have you lost your wonder of God?
At best, losing our gratitude and wonder steals away all our passion toward God.
At worst, it causes us to rebel against him.
When you think about God and all he’s done for you, especially, the cross, do you still have a heart of gratitude and wonder?
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 
2 replies on “Taking God for granted”
Great insight, thank you. For me, I’ve recently been having problems with my 22 year old daughter. Nothing too serious, but through the struggle, I’ve come see many similarities between our own rebellious children and us as God’s children. I started to realize that no matter how much I have given her, she’s become unappreciative and takes it all for granted. Just a few years ago, this was not the case. That is exactly how we are to God.
I pray that God may work in her heart and give you wisdom as you deal with her in this time.