There is this misconception that if God just revealed Himself that man would all fall in line and serve Him.
Has man’s heart been like that in the past?
No!
One of the most important things we learn in the book of Exodus is that man can have the awesome and mighty God reveal Himself to them and they still rebelled and grumbled against Him.
Exodus 14:10-12 – 10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
This is right after the ten wonders He performed against the Egyptians and yet saved the Israelites from harm.
After parting the Red Sea, allowing them to pass on dry ground and drowning the Egyptian army, they do it again.
Exodus 15:22-24 – 22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) 24 So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
Soon after that we read.
Exodus 16:2-3- 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
The Lord does another miracle and rains down manna from heaven.
It goes on and on. The people, who saw the most awe inspiring events from God, often rebelled and went against Him. Made a golden calf, tried to save the manna for the next day, and didn’t gather enough for two days concerning the Sabbath. Tried to go out and find some on the Sabbath.
This generation of adults that saw the most and greatest miracles all died, but two of them, before being able to enter the Promised Land. Why? For disobeying God.
God did so much for them and He wanted them to trust Him. Time after time again, they didn’t trust Him, they grumbled about their misfortunes.
It’s not about proof. God’s proof is already all around us. It’s all about the heart. God knows our hearts and He wants us to trust Him. He wants us to seek Him and live by faith.