Slip Away on The Way

Nehemiah 9:20-22

You gave your good spirit to instruct them, and did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and gave them water for their thirst. Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness so that they lacked nothing; their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell. And you gave them kingdoms and peoples, and allotted to them every corner, so they took possession of the land of King Sihon of Heshbon and the land of King Og of Bashan.

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Carefree highway, got ta see you my old flame
Carefree highway, you seen better days
The mornin' after blues from my head down to my shoes
Carefree highway, let me slip away
Slip away on you

"Carefree Highway" written and recorded by Gordon Lightfoot from "Sundown"

This is the part of Ezra/Nehemiah where the Prophet Nehemiah has taken the nation into the hills for the reading of the law. He is reading of the faithfulness of the Lord despite the faithlessness of the Nation of Israel. Forty years in the desert, forty years and they wanted for nothing, forty years on a carefree highway.

Right before this scene, immediately before this part of the reading, Nehemiah shares the tragic truth of the building of the golden calf and the nation's blasphemies. For the nation the way was carefree, but to the Lord it was anything but carefree. The Lord suggested giving up on the whole lot of them, and Moses stood firm on the people's behalf. Moses and the Lord were steadfast.
Because of that, the nation's clothing did not wear out for forty years. From their head down to their shoes, their clothing did not wear out.

The nation of Israel committed blasphemy and entered the promised land. Staying with the One who is The Way, the Lord, it is good to see the Lord, call the Lord "Old Friend," and slip away on the way.