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Here is just a question along with my thoughts, that I would love to get answers to!

I know that a lot of places in the Bible say do not put the Lord your God to the test. However I found a verse Malachi 3:10 

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there maybe food in my house, and try me now in this,"says the Lord of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.

Now I realized that this is a different kind of testing. We see here that God is asking us to test him. I also realized it was talk about offerings. Now I kind of question is this kind of testing by faith that makes it different from the other type of testing?

There are two stories I would like to contrast

First one

When Jesus was tempted by Satan, Satan told him if he was the son of God to turn the stone into bread. But Jesus replied to Satan you shall not put the Lord to the test( I am not quoting the same exact thing, just keeping it general). Now in this story we know that it's kind of absurd to ask God to turn stone into bread ( not saying that that can't happen). Obviously God was there with a purpose and Satan was to deter him. So in this case it would be like when Satan again tested him by telling him to throw himself and that God will send his angels to save him! The way I understood this kind of testing is putting yourself in a situation on purpose to ask God to get you out would be testing God! which is wrong!

Now the second story

We read about this man named Gideon. An Angel approched him telling him he will save isreal at of the hands of the midianites. Now keep in mind that a lot of the times it says the Lord spoke to Gideon...so Gideon decided to put the Lord to the test three times. First one was when the Lord set fire Gideon's offerings. The second time was when the Lord made a dew on the fleece and not seen on the ground. The third one was vice versa. So my thinking here is Gideon asked him or tested him so that he could have faith in him and be encouraged. 

However, if we were to test God the way Gideon did in which kind of situations are we allowed? What are your thoughts on the difference between these two? If possible use examples?

Thank you and God bless!

Your brother in Christ

Keny

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45 minutes ago, Keny said:

Here is just a question along with my thoughts, that I would love to get answers to!

I know that a lot of places in the Bible say do not put the Lord your God to the test. However I found a verse Malachi 3:10 

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there maybe food in my house, and try me now in this,"says the Lord of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.

Now I realized that this is a different kind of testing. We see here that God is asking us to test him. I also realized it was talk about offerings. Now I kind of question is this kind of testing by faith that makes it different from the other type of testing?

There are two stories I would like to contrast

First one

When Jesus was tempted by Satan, Satan told him if he was the son of God to turn the stone into bread. But Jesus replied to Satan you shall not put the Lord to the test( I am not quoting the same exact thing, just keeping it general). Now in this story we know that it's kind of absurd to ask God to turn stone into bread ( not saying that that can't happen). Obviously God was there with a purpose and Satan was to deter him. So in this case it would be like when Satan again tested him by telling him to throw himself and that God will send his angels to save him! The way I understood this kind of testing is putting yourself in a situation on purpose to ask God to get you out would be testing God! which is wrong!

Now the second story

We read about this man named Gideon. An Angel approched him telling him he will save isreal at of the hands of the midianites. Now keep in mind that a lot of the times it says the Lord spoke to Gideon...so Gideon decided to put the Lord to the test three times. First one was when the Lord set fire Gideon's offerings. The second time was when the Lord made a dew on the fleece and not seen on the ground. The third one was vice versa. So my thinking here is Gideon asked him or tested him so that he could have faith in him and be encouraged. 

However, if we were to test God the way Gideon did in which kind of situations are we allowed? What are your thoughts on the difference between these two? If possible use examples?

Thank you and God bless!

Your brother in Christ

Keny

We can test God that He exists - taste and see His goodness

We can test Jesus that He's truth - does our Law judge a man before it hears what He says?

We can test God in the tithe - an old favorite when atheists say "prove God exists" is "Tithe!"

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53 minutes ago, Keny said:

Here is just a question along with my thoughts, that I would love to get answers to!

I know that a lot of places in the Bible say do not put the Lord your God to the test. However I found a verse Malachi 3:10 

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there maybe food in my house, and try me now in this,"says the Lord of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.

Now I realized that this is a different kind of testing. We see here that God is asking us to test him. I also realized it was talk about offerings. Now I kind of question is this kind of testing by faith that makes it different from the other type of testing?

There are two stories I would like to contrast

First one

When Jesus was tempted by Satan, Satan told him if he was the son of God to turn the stone into bread. But Jesus replied to Satan you shall not put the Lord to the test( I am not quoting the same exact thing, just keeping it general). Now in this story we know that it's kind of absurd to ask God to turn stone into bread ( not saying that that can't happen). Obviously God was there with a purpose and Satan was to deter him. So in this case it would be like when Satan again tested him by telling him to throw himself and that God will send his angels to save him! The way I understood this kind of testing is putting yourself in a situation on purpose to ask God to get you out would be testing God! which is wrong!

Now the second story

We read about this man named Gideon. An Angel approched him telling him he will save isreal at of the hands of the midianites. Now keep in mind that a lot of the times it says the Lord spoke to Gideon...so Gideon decided to put the Lord to the test three times. First one was when the Lord set fire Gideon's offerings. The second time was when the Lord made a dew on the fleece and not seen on the ground. The third one was vice versa. So my thinking here is Gideon asked him or tested him so that he could have faith in him and be encouraged. 

However, if we were to test God the way Gideon did in which kind of situations are we allowed? What are your thoughts on the difference between these two? If possible use examples?

Thank you and God bless!

Your brother in Christ 

Keny

I think at heart you have the right idea. Common sense factors in, as do specific circumstances. Using the example of Jesus being tempted by Satan, consider that Jesus was fasting in the wilderness at the time for spiritual edification. Certainly God will sustain us, but in that specific instance going for bread would have been putting physical needs over spiritual ones, the exact opposite of what Jesus had set out to do there.

The Bible does tell us in John 1:4 to test the spirits to see whether or not they're of God because there's no shortage of deceiving spirits and people around. What Gideon did could be seen as a form of that, and also bear in mind that at the time Gideon was about he had a much smaller body of scripture to draw from for guidance.

To add a little bit to this, faith is praised often in the Bible. Jesus speaks of trusting in God like a child would trust a parent (Matthew 7:11). We're also familiar with the story of Thomas being skeptical about the resurrection of Jesus. When he finally did see Jesus he believed, and Jesus responded with "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." If someone tries to push God into acting a certain way as a test then in a way they're making a declaration of unbelief and saying "I'll believe if God does this or that."

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Trying to test God is not a very wise plan. 

Deuteronomy 6:16  Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.  KJV

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2 hours ago, BeauJangles said:

Trying to test God is not a very wise plan. 

Deuteronomy 6:16  Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.  KJV

I am not trying to to test God. I really want to ask God to reveal himself to me so that I could hear him(audible). I know that testing God is not right, but what if I want to ask God to prove that if he really wants to have a relationship with me. If he's there listening to me to reveal himself to me. Is this testing God the wrong way? If God encourages us to test then why would that be out of unbelife?

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22 minutes ago, Keny said:

I am not trying to to test God. I really want to ask God to reveal himself to me so that I could hear him(audible). 

Keny, it's not out of the question that the Lord could indeed speak to you audibly, but I know He does impress upon us in ways that we can comprehend with our mind's understanding. 

22 minutes ago, Keny said:

I want to ask God to prove that if he really wants to have a relationship with me.

C'mon now bro, do you really doubt this? 

1 John 3: 1  Behold, what manner of love the father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:  KJV

Revelation 3:20  Behold I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and sup with him, and he with me.  KJV 

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5 minutes ago, BeauJangles said:

Keny, it's not out of the question that the Lord could indeed speak to you audibly, but I know He does impress upon us in ways that we can comprehend with our mind's understanding. 

C'mon now bro, do you really doubt this? 

1 John 3: 1  Behold, what manner of love the father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:  KJV

Revelation 3:20  Behold I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and sup with him, and he with me.  KJV 

Of course no don't doubt about that, but my question is why hasn't that happened yet so I thought  I test God to prove it! Is there anything wrong with that?

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12 minutes ago, Keny said:

Of course no don't doubt about that, but my question is why hasn't that happened yet so I thought  I test God to prove it! Is there anything wrong with that?

No, there's nothing wrong with that. But Keny, Jesus died for you. What more proof do you need? 

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15 minutes ago, BeauJangles said:

No, there's nothing wrong with that. But Keny, Jesus died for you. What more proof do you need? 

Then why do people test God?and why do even people in the Bible test God?

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10 minutes ago, Keny said:

Then why do people test God?and why do even people in the Bible test God?

Some had problems with their faith, and the bible as we know was not available to them at that time.

Romans 10:17  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  KJV  

 

Edited by BeauJangles
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