Deut 6:16

"You shall not tempt the LORD your God as you tempted Him in Massah." Deut 6:16

Sometimes the Israelites argued against anything and anyone. So it was at Massah (aka Meribah). The people had just escaped from Egypt and were roaming in the wilderness. At some point, their water was a growing a bit strong... and they complained to Moses. No, really they were about to string Moses from the nearest tree, if there happened to be one nearby. Moses did what all men of God should do. He went to his knees supplicating the Father to do something about this situation.

God instructed Moses to take the rod he had used to strike the Nile and a few trusted elders to a nearby stone. Once there, Moses was to strike the stone with the rod. Sounds a bit strange, but then Moses was used to the strange and unusual from God. After all, that rod, when it hit the Nile, caused the river to turn into blood, and that was after the same rod had turned into a viper and devoured the snakes of the Egyptian sorcerers!

Expecting something strange to happen, Moses walked up to the rock, struck it and stood back from a gusher of a crack in the stone! From within the rock flowed the sweetest water in sufficient quantities to feed the multitude. Before you picture a nice little stream of water like you might see in an Italian fountain, realize that this stream was sufficient to water over a million people and to do it on a daily basis. Wouldn't that rod come in handy if you live in the desert.

The people managed to "snooker" God, or so they thought. They tested God and found they could manipulate Him. "Grumble enough and God will give you the desires of your heart," or so the people thought. But God was not to be "snookered" and would not be manipulated by a rowdy crowd. Moses tells the next generation, before they entered the Promised Land, that they had best not "put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah." Ah. So they tested God. Other references add some light to the meaning of the word "tested." Deuteronomy 9:22 says that the people "provoked" God. That sounds a bit stronger than "tested." Provoking indicates that the people were pushing God to the limit. He was on the verge of anger, AND I DON'T THINK I LIKE AN ANGRY GOD. Deuteronomy 33:8 says that the people "contended" with God. That sounds like a brawl. They started arguing unreasonably and inconsolably with God. Finally Psalm 95:8 says that the people "hardened their heart" against God. That is a serious charge. Hardened hearts are not only inconsolable; they are nearly murderous in nature, as if a person could kill the One True God!

In conclusion, don't you just love it when I conclude? In conclusion, it is ok for God to test us. But we had best not get in the habit of testing Him, except when Malachi gives us instruction: "Bring the whole offering into the warehouse.. test me in this." (Malachi 3:10) Don't test God... except in the tithe. Only in this test will you be permitted to put God on the spot, and He will invariably bless the tither. Amen and Amen.