What does it mean to test God?

Answer

In the Bible, there are examples of both an acceptable and unacceptable kind of testing God. It is acceptable to “test” God concerning tithes and offerings, for instance, but unacceptable when the test is based on doubt.

Malachi 3:10 states, “‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.'” This is the sole instance in the Bible where God instructs His people to “test” Him. Interestingly, the Hebrew term used for “test” in this verse is bachan, which means “to examine, scrutinize, or prove (as in gold, persons, or the heart).” Just as gold is “tested” with fire to demonstrate its quality, God encourages Israel to test Him in tithes and offerings and witness His faithfulness in response.

Another Hebrew word for “test” is used elsewhere in the Bible. Nasah means “to put to the test, try, or tempt.” It is employed in Deuteronomy 6:16, where God instructs Israel not to test Him: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.”

This second, unacceptable form of testing occurs when doubt prompts us to demand something from God to prove Himself to us. Jesus referenced Deuteronomy 6:16 in the wilderness, in reply to one of Satan’s temptations. “The devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test”” (Matthew 4:7-10). Essentially, the devil was urging Jesus to “p

Proving God’s Word was true by trying to force God’s hand— if Jesus was in danger, God would have to rescue Him. Jesus declined to test God in that manner. We are to trust God’s Word through faith, without needing a sign (see Luke 11:29). God’s assurances are available to us when necessary; attempting to manipulate circumstances to pressure God into fulfilling His assurances is wicked.

The incident where the Israelites tested God at Massah is recounted in Exodus 17. As God guided Moses and His people toward the Promised Land, they settled at a place with no water. The immediate response of the Israelites was to complain against God and argue with Moses (Exodus 17:1-3). Their lack of confidence in God to provide for them is apparent in their accusations against Moses: “They said, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt to let us, our children, and our livestock die of thirst?’” «And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? », (Exodus 17:3). The Israelites were clearly in a situation where they needed God to intervene. However, the moment they tested God was when doubt and fear overwhelmed them, and they concluded that God had forsaken them (see Exodus 17:7). They doubted God’s dependability because He did not meet their expectations.

The distinction between these two forms of testing God is faith. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” «Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. », (Hebrews 11:1). The Israelites at Massah tested God because they lacked faith in Him. The Israelites in Malachi’s time were invi

People wanted to test God because they had faith in Him.

Faith, by definition, involves risk. When genuine faith is present, obedience follows. It is that faith-driven action of obedience that God cherishes. As illustrated in the case of Israel’s tithes and offerings, when we give based on our faith in who God is, He demonstrates His faithfulness. Conversely, when we perceive God through our doubts and insist on something from Him to ascertain if He is trustworthy, we are at risk of testing God (see Mark 8:11-12).