Testing God

Acts 15:10 “Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? “

When the news salvation to the gentiles has arrived to Jerusalem, the sect of the Pharisees had raised concerns about gentiles to come to Judaism through circumcision. Peter addressed them with this statement. Placing the yoke of circumcision on the gentiles is seen as testing God. The first thing to learn here is that testing God provokes His anger and is seen as an insult to Him. In Exodus 17:7, we read what testing God really is. It doubts the existence of God. These men complained about food and other requirements which could have been genuine. But testing God shows lack of faith and let us remember that this is only thing God expects from us. Grace is being dispensed and we do not commit or obey but just believe in Him which would produce the necessary obedience and submission in us. But if we do not believe and test Him, all the purposes He has in our life gets wasted and he gives up on us completely.

If we read Hebrews 3:8-11, it explains that the judgment of the whole generation Israel in the wilderness was because they tested God and it provoked Him. When God had delivered these men out of Egypt and through the red sea, they did see the power of God. But even such a great deliverance did not keep his people believing Him constantly and God sees this as a great betrayal and insult to Him. Forgetting God’s manifestations is a very bad evil that had consumed tons and tons of people out of their salvation. It is important for all of us to remember How God has redeemed us and trust Him completely in the wilderness in our lives. Failure here will be very expensive.

In Matthew 4:7, Jesus replies to Satan that testing God is not right. The test Satan proposed was a very small one to jump from the pinnacle of the temple. The first test was on the flesh, second one on the ego of Jesus and the third was to test the faithfulness of Jesus. The second test has so many things for us to learn where Satan tests the ego by asking Him, if you are the son of God, prove yourself. Jesus came to the earth with the highest authority possible ever. The devil was just a tempter and Jesus has no reason to oblige to him. But we read that the devil took Jesus to places and He went and humbly replied to him. If we face the devil with over confidence or with ease, our flesh will provoke us enough to test God in front of the devil. What Elijah and Moses did were not testing God, but rather their faith in God was so immense that they could prove God’s presence in front of ungodly men. But if we intend to prove our strength and try to perform miracles, it is like insulting God directly.

There is one instance in the bible where God allowed to test Him and this verse unfortunately in the much referenced verse in many sermons. Malachi 3:10 is targeted at people who have already been cursed because of their disobediences. The verse mentions “try me now” which means that you do not know me and so you can test me this one time alone. The verse continues that the final victory is to the ones who fear the Lord and serve Him.

In Psalms 78:18 we read how having our own desires higher than God’s is testing God. When we ask God for anything that is of the world or to please the world denies God of his position. The following verses explain clearly that Manna is not a blessing from heaven but it was our desire to be satisfied in the flesh and so, God obliged and then killed the whole generation. This is also a prayer but as in verse 41 of the same psalm, they limited God’s authority over them by testing Him. Verse 20 shows our attitude. Satan being a deceiver has the human mind as a powerful weapon against the Lord. He can easily make us get frustrated because of things we lack in our lives. We actually like to tell everybody that we are being ignored. Psalms 106:14 explains why we test God. This Craving looks to be genuine where the men had great food, entertainment and even rest when they were in the world. But in the wilderness, God has plans in their future and wanted them to be trained well for a great life ahead. The craving for fleshy needs became fatal to all but two of them.

Let us not test God in any of our ways.

Amen.