Nehemiah 9:26 Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations.
After rehearsing all the things God did for Israel, from the Exodus, through the wilderness, to the conquest of the land, then he says nevertheless. Their response to God’s great acts of deliverance, provision, and protection was disobedience, rebellion against God, and casting the law out of sight. God tolerates much, but ignoring Him may hurt the most.
We may love the Lord and thank Him for what He has done for us, but we still provoke Him to wrath, ignore His Word, and grieve His Spirit every time we sin. It may seem inexplicable: why would they treat God like this after all He has done for them? But we are the same. It shows we are corrupt sinners at the core. We are no different than they were.
Our sin and rebellion is so thoroughgoing that we can do nothing but throw ourselves upon God’s mercy. We kneel at the cross and beg for mercy. And for Christ’s sake He forgives, pardons, cleanses, and takes away our sin and guilt and replaces it with righteousness, peace, and joy. After we are convicted of our own guilt and sin, we rise up out of the waters of baptism forgiven, cleansed, righteous, and new.
I, by nature, reject Him; He, by nature accepts us in Christ.