Forty Years Sustained in the Wilderness - Nehemiah 9:21

In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared how the Levites said Jehovah God cared for the people of Israel by delivering them from Egypt, and He said of Jehovah God, “you in your manifold mercies forsook them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way wherein they should go. You gave also your good spirit to instruct them, and withheld not your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst”, and in chapter nine and verse twenty-one of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared how the Levites said of Jehovah God, “forty years did you sustain them in the wilderness” where we read,

Yes, forty years did you sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing;

their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.

The verse reads, “Yes, forty years did you sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing;” Nehemiah began with the words, “yes, forty years” which means “even so and indeed, for forty annual sets of day” “did you sustain them”or “you, Jehovah God, maintained, supported and nourished them, the people of Israel” “in the wilderness” which means “within the uninhabited land or desert”, “so that they lacked nothing” or “which resulted in the fact that they, the people of Israel, were not in want or need of one thing”. Nehemiah shared how the Levites recognized that Jehovah God supported and nourished the people of Israel for “forty years” to such a degree that the people did not want or need anything. 

The verse continues, “their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.” Nehemiah added the words, “their clothes” or “their, the people of Israel's, garments” “waxed not old” which means “did not become consume, made old or spent”, “and their feet” or “and their, the people of Israel's, physical feet” “swelled not” which means “did not become swollen or blistered”. Nehemiah shared how the Levites recalled how the garments of the people of Israel did not wear out nor did their “physical feet” become blistered or swollen as they travelled through the wilderness. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn through Nehemiah that the Levites remembered that God so provided for the people of Israel for “forty years” that their clothing did not become consumed nor did their “feet”become blistered and swollen. They had no need or “lack” while they travelled, and it was because God took care of them. God cares for us, and He loves us. We have are separated from a personal relationship with Him by sin that leads to death, and when we yield our lives to His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead three days later, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put within us an understanding of His provision for us even when we are unaware. 

Next time Nehemiah shares how the Levites said Jehovah God, “gave them kingdoms and nations”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".