Testing God

By Ron Julian|February 24th, 2001|Article, Bible Study

Matt.5:7

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’
7 

The situation where in is alarming. DOH updates, data, statistics and quarantine
restrictions about covid-19 will place everybody in a state caution if not panic. The
surging unemployment rate, scandals in the government and widespread news of chaos
and disasters here and abroad affects us not only physically but also mentally. And the
very situations were in- restricted in movement, no church gatherings, health and safety
concerns- will try to shake the foundations of our faith.

And we ask the question: Is God doing right? Tama ba ang ginagawa ng Diyos?

Most of us will ask ourselves this question sooner or later. Hard times seem to offer
strong evidence that God is not on our side. We are tempted to charge God with neglect
and even hostility. – kapag may nagkasakit sa pamilya, may nawalan ng trabaho, may
problemang dumating o may namatay, or even DELAYED answers in prayers—we put
God on the stand and hold him for trial.

Tinatanong natin ang ating mga sarili- Kakampi ko ba ang Diyos? Is he on my side? If
God wants me to trust Him, maybe he should start improving or changing the way He
directs the course of my life.

That we ask such questions is not surprising; in fact, the Bible tells us that our troubles
are intended to raise such questions.

 God has an agenda for His people, and high on the list is His intention that each
of us confront the issue of God’s character.
 Raising the question is part of our learning process. We must address this
otherwise we will be drifting in this lifetime constantly doubting who he is/
constantly doubting his goodness.

Jesus too was confronted by the question when Satan tempted Him three times in the
wilderness. We will try to examine one of those temptations, and use Jesus’ response
as our model.
The temptation of Jesus was recorded in Matt 5 and Lk 4.

At age 30, when he is about to enter public ministry---the Bible said that after baptism,
upon the instigation of Jehovah, he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.

-wilderness or the Judean desert is the that region in Palestine which is uncultivated,
uninhabited, and inhospitable which lies east of Jerusalem and descends to the Dead Sea. The area
is dry, parched crossed by many valleys and ravines.

Driven by the Spirit into the desert, Jesus remains there for forty days without eating; he lives
among wild beasts.

-it is said that the wilderness is a place of transition, or preparation. For 40 days and forty
nights, Jesus stayed there in order to prepare himself -body, soul and spirit- for the great work
ahead.

-but since, it was Jehovah- who led him into the desert---the wilderness, is also a place of
training, suffering and teaching.   ---after40 long days and nights – the tempter came.

The Second Temptation of Jesus

Then the devil took Him into the holy city; and he had Him stand on
the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of
God throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will give His angels
charge concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will bear You up,
lest You strike Your foot against a stone.'” Jesus said to him, “On the
other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the
test.'” (Matthew 4:5-7)

At first glance, the lesson of this temptation may seem to be nothing more than “Don’t
try to make God do some tricks for you.”

- Para bang Subukan natin, tingnan natin kung sasaluhin tayo ng Diyos.

Some of us may have been in such a situation where in, subukan ko nga kung
talagang---ililigtas ako ng Diyos, or kung talagang mahal ako ng Diyos. We tend to
romanticize this concept kagaya ng kultura noon sa pagliligawan---susubukin—upang
mapatunayang talagang nagmamahal. Balik tayo ng mga 100 years, at makikita natin
yung mga lolo natin na nagsisibak ng kahoy, nag-iigib at nagsasaka para sa pamilya ng
ating mga lola; or 30 years ago- pahihirapan ang mga nangliligaw para mapatunayan
ang wagas na pag-ibig.
Pero malamang, wala sa atin ang nag-isip na tumalon sa 5th floor at nag-eexpect na
ililigtas siya ng Diyos. Nobody may have thought of throwing himself off a skyscraper
expecting God to catch him.

But the issue on the passage, runs much deeper. To understand the issue as Jesus
sees it, we must understand the Scripture He quotes in response to the temptation.

- In each of His three temptations, Jesus quotes from the same sermon in
Deuteronomy. In fact, Moses delivered this sermon to Israel after their wandering
in the wilderness for forty years.
- Jesus clearly sees a parallel between the lessons Israel learned in the wilderness
and His own experience, between their temptations and His own. To understand
the lesson as Jesus sees it, we must find that parallel. In this case, we must ask
the question, “Why is jumping off a temple like grumbling about water?”

Israel in the Wilderness

Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:16: “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you
tested Him at Massah.”

What does Moses mean by “putting the Lord to the test?” Ano ba ang nangyari sa
Massah?

(Exodus 17:1-7)

Then…the sons of Israel…camped at Rephidim, and there was no

water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with
Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said
to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the
Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled
against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from
Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” …
And he named the place Massah [which means “test”] and
Meribah [which means “quarrel”] because of the quarrel of the
sons of Israel, and because they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord
among us, or not?” 

Israel had seen God do great things in the  past. He saved them miraculously out of
Egypt;

- 10 plagues, He parted the red sea; He sent them manna to eat. God also had
promised to do great things in their future. He promised them all the blessings of
Abraham; He promised to take them to a land of peace and abundance.
- But there was a problem. The problem for Israel was the present. They were in
the middle of the wilderness, and they had no water. –
- Sa mata ng Israel, medyo kakaiba ang peg natin. Maalamat. Ganda ng past,
promising ang future, kaso problematic and present.

Thus, Israel’s reaction might seem perfectly reasonable. Since there is no water,
anyone’s natural reaction would be to worry. Ang matimbang sa Israel ay ang
kasalukuyan.

There is no doubt that Israel had much evidence from the past that God was powerful
and trustworthy;-they have seen it with their own eyes and felt it with their 2 hands. And
Israel had great promises that the future would be wonderful.

But why was does this present situation so worrisome or bothersome? Answer?

Because at the heart the people- they did not trust God. They gave no thought to what
God had done in the past nor what He promised for the future; they thought only about
their lack of water NOW!.

This helps us understand what “putting God to the test” means. Each Israelite looked
around at the bleak wilderness and asked, “Why has God brought me here?” God clearly
was not to be trusted; look at the scary and dangerous place to which He had brought
them. However, if God were to apologize and come through with some water, maybe
they would be willing to forgive Him and follow Him again.

Ron Julian in his article, commented: Notice how Exodus describes it: “…they tested the
Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us, or not?'” The lack of water caused them to question
whether God was really on their side. All that He had done in the past didn’t count; all
that He had promised to do in the future didn’t count; what counted was the frightening
present. God couldn’t really be there, couldn’t really be powerful and trustworthy, if He
would bring them to a barren wilderness.”
But the question should have been settled already;

 God is there; He is powerful and loving. –if that is truth, then by all means, no
happening or incident can change that…even the present. (kaya nga sinasabi
natin- ano man ang ating nararanasan, o nararamdaman- ay hindi kayang
baguhin o sirain ang tunay na katangian ng Diyos.—if he is good, then HE IS
GOOD!---he will never be bad, he will never be evil.---there may be factors palying.
Things we might know or understand—but one thing remains, GOD is still good!
 Unfortunately, for Israel, each new difficulty caused Israel to question God’s
power and goodness. They “tested” Him by making Him prove His faithfulness all
over again.
 Years later, Moses looks back on this event and warns the people: “You shall not
put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah.” This is the verse
Jesus quotes when Satan tempts Him in the wilderness.

Going to Jesus in the Wilderness

Some people suggest that Satan was tempting Jesus to put on a show for the crowds,
to prove to the crowds that He was the Messiah. This is unlikely, since very few people
could have seen what Jesus was doing.

Jesus was not surrounded by people. Hindi sila nakatingala kay Jesus na tila
nakatingin sa isang taong gusting tumalon sa mataas na gusali dahil gusting tapusin
ang kanyang buhay- walang mga tao ninenerbyos at naghihintay kung ano ang kanyang
susunod na gagawin.

-for the very reason that Jesus had not yet stared his ministry. Wala pa siya followers.
Hindi pa siya nagpapakilala sa public, wala pang mga milagrong ginawa at hindi for
public consumption ang pangyayari.

The pinnacle of the temple is most likely a corner of the outer wall of the city; it looks
down on the desolate Kidron valley (overlooking the wilderness) Unless a few travelers
were walking by far below, no one would have seen Jesus jump. The text doesn’t
mention a crowd; Satan was tempting Jesus to do something for His own sake, not for
the crowd’s sake.

Jesus was facing the same situation Israel faced in the wilderness. Like Israel, Jesus
could look back on God’s kindness in the past. 
  Only forty days earlier the voice of God had announced from heaven that Jesus
was His beloved Son.
 He could recall, the stories told by his parents regarding how he was conceived,
or how he was saved from Herod’s power and how they were sustained by the
gifts of the magi.
 Also, like Israel, Jesus had great promises from God concerning the future. 
 As the Son of God, Jesus was promised that He would rule over creation at the
right hand of the Father. No human being has ever been promised a more
glorious future.
 But like Israel, Jesus’ present  circumstances were difficult. Instead of being
carried off to glory, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where He
faced great hunger and hardship.
o Imagine it: God has promised to make you king of the world, and then He
takes you into the wilderness to starve.
o Certainly Jesus faced the very real temptation to question the Father’s
goodness. Jesus faced the same question Israel had faced: “Why has God
brought me here?”

This temptation was potentially very attractive. On the surface, jumping off the temple
seems like such a powerful act of faith. - Certainly nobody would jump unless he truly
trusted God to catch him. Very few of us would have the faith and courage to do it, but
Jesus had such faith and courage. What a powerful demonstration of faith jumping off
the temple could have been!

But jumping off the temple does not demonstrate faith; instead it would be a gross act
of unbelief.

God hadn’t asked Him to jump off the temple; to jump would not be obedience, but
presumption. Why would He want to? Because it would force God’s hand. Because it
would make the Father prove that He indeed was on Jesus’ side. Things were looking
bleak for Jesus at the moment; how tempting to force the Father to send a legion of
angels, to demand that God prove again that Jesus was His beloved Son. Like Israel in
the wilderness, Jesus would have been asking the question, “Is God with me or not?”

Jesus didn’t need the answer to that question; He knew already.

Yes, the Father had led him into a barren wilderness and afflicted Him with hunger and
lack. He was there to suffer, to train, to do God’s bidding and not his pleasure. It was a
confinement, an isolation filled not with pleasure but pain.
But Jesus knew that God was with Him; He didn’t need to prove it to Himself, or to
Satan, or to anyone else. God had proven Himself in the past; God had made great
promises for the future; Jesus could look at His difficult present  circumstances and
say, “The Father has nothing to prove to Me.”

You and I in the Wilderness

Like Israel, like Jesus, you and I are on a journey much like their journey through the
wilderness:

 We can look back at God’s kindness in the past. Each of us has personal ways that God
has blessed us in this life. He moved in ways we did not expect. He provided in ways we
have never imagined.
o Listen to your story. Go back to your history and see that God has been good to
you.
o Remember how he saved from that danger, how he helped you in that problem.
o Remember his hand giving you favor in that dire situation?
o Or how he helped you---A person struggling in sin; or a person in addiction. A
person with no direction in life, a person with no hope, a person with no sense of
significance, a person in total darkness--------then, God enter your situation, and
brought life.
o I don’t know your story, but I know that you have a good God who will never leave,
who will never forsake you.
o Ultimately, we can say that our story is actually his story—showing how good and
great he is. That he is reliable, that he is trustworthy.

The culmination of each of our story, is God’s great love demonstrated on the cross of Christ.
We can’t emphasize this enough. No greater act of love has ever been committed than Jesus’
death on the cross for us. We have every reason to believe in God’s goodness towards us.

 We have great promises from God about the future. God’s people have been promised
an eternal life of righteousness. What is more valuable in the world? The people of God
have a great destiny.
 Today our present  circumstances may be difficult. We may be suffering, or sick or in a
desperate situation. Or we may be struggling with sin. We may have been offended, or
hurt or violated by people who should be loving and protecting us. Life can be painful,
difficult, and disappointing. We are often led to ask: “Why has God brought me here?”

We must not put God to the test.

  To test God means much more than trying to get Him to do a miracle; to test God
is to insist that He prove that He is trustworthy. To test God is to look at today’s
difficulties and say, “A loving God would never let me suffer in this way. Maybe if
things get better, then I can trust Him.” To test God is to ask, as Israel did, “Is God
with us or not?” God has shown us that He is with us; He has nothing to prove to
us. If we refuse to see it, we are as blind as Israel was in the wilderness.

Israel and Jesus were not in the wilderness by accident; God led them there. Neither is it
an accident what is happening in our lives.

Can he not see your situation?

Can he not understand?

Does he not hear our prayers? Can he not make it end?

-we may not understand our situation or like our present state. We may not be happy on
how life is treating us, we may be struggling and enduring the longest time-- but the
question is ----will we trust God in the midst of our troubles, or will we put Him to the
test?