Have we ever noticed that? When you read the events of the exodus of the children of Israel, you notice that no matter what they did, they still had the guidance, they still had the manna and the water from the rock, they still had all the blessings in spite of their sin. You might think, ‘That is very strange, and they didn't deserve those blessings’, but it is a type. All these things are written for our learning. It is a type of how God deals with those Christians in our day who are in the covenant. Though we stumble and fall and we do not deserve it, his kindness and his blessing continue with us.
This is important for the churches when they disobey God, and they go ahead and bring the world into the church, and do awful things and pollute the worship, dumbing it down, ruining high and holy things, and abandoning reverence. What they must not do is say, ‘Oh, but God is still with us because we’ve still had some conversions, and we've still had this benefit and that benefit, and we continue to get some good teaching. When they say that, they don't understand. That doesn't excuse our misbehaviour. God in his amazing patience and forbearance does continue to bless, even when we are disobedient. But we are under warning; we are under notice. We shouldn't presume on that too long, because ultimately, as with the Jews of old, he will take the blessing away. However, what we read here is all an indication of the mercy and the kindness of God to his true people. He will not abandon us at once. Covenant living says ‘I must examine my heart and repent of my sins and change my ways. I must not presume on the great kindness and tolerance toward me of my God.’