Then Elisha went out to the place where the water began flowing {from the ground}. Elisha threw the salt into the water. He said, “The Lord said, ‘I am making this water pure! From now on this water will not cause any more death or keep the land from growing crops.’”
But Elisha said, “Bring some flour.” {They brought flour to Elisha}, and he threw it into the pot. Then Elisha said, “Pour the soup for the people so they can eat.”
You people were in trouble.\par You called for help\par and I set you free.\par I was hidden in the storm clouds,\par and I answered you.\par I tested you by the water at Meribah.” {\cf2\super [468]} \par \i (SELAH {\cf2\super [469]})\i0 \par
My followers will call to me for help,\par and I will answer them.\par I will be with them when they have trouble.\par I will rescue them and honor them.\par
Moses and Aaron were some of his priests.\par And Samuel was one of the men\par who called on his name.\par They prayed to the Lord,\par and he answered them.\par
Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will cause food to fall from the sky. This food will be for you to eat. Every day the people should go out and gather the food they need that day. I will do this to see if the people will do what I tell them.
The Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, even if Moses and Samuel were here to pray for the people of Judah, I would not feel sorry for these people. Send the people of Judah away from me. Tell them to go.
So, the Lord All-Powerful says:\par “A worker heats metal in a fire\par to test if it is pure.\par I will test the people of Judah like that.\par I have no other choice.\par My people have sinned.\par
Don’t listen to that person. Why? Because the Lord your God is testing you. The Lord wants to know if you love him with all your heart and all your soul.
In the desert, the Lord fed you manna [53] —something your ancestors [54] had never seen. The Lord tested you. Why? Because the Lord made you humble so that things would go well for you in the end.
And you must remember the whole trip that the Lord your God has led you through these 40 years in the desert. The Lord was testing you. He wanted to make you humble. He wanted to know the things in your heart. He wanted to know if you would obey his commands.
The Lord left those nations in the land to test the people of Israel. He wanted to see if the people of Israel would obey the Lord’s commands that he had given to their ancestors [22] through Moses.