Sunday September 08th, 2024
« Jesus answered, “The Scriptures also say, ‘Don’t try to test the Lord your God!’ »
22 None of these people will live to enter that land. They have seen the dazzling light of my Presence and the miracles that I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, but they have tried my patience over and over again and have refused to obey me.
23 They will never enter the land which I promised to their ancestors. None of those who have rejected me will ever enter it.
24 But because my servant Caleb has a different attitude and has remained loyal to me, I will bring him into the land which he explored, and his descendants will possess the land
25 in whose valleys the Amalekites and the Canaanites now live. Turn back tomorrow and go into the wilderness in the direction of the Gulf of Aqaba.”
26 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
27 “How much longer are these wicked people going to complain against me? I have heard enough of these complaints!
28 Now give them this answer: ‘I swear that as surely as I live, I will do to you just what you have asked. I, the Lord, have spoken.
29 You will die and your corpses will be scattered across this wilderness. Because you have complained against me, none of you over twenty years of age will enter that land.
30 I promised to let you live there, but not one of you will, except Caleb and Joshua.
Many years ago, I visited a zoo in Ibadan, Nigeria, and I was told the story of a certain prophet who jumped into the lion’s cage to prove that he had the same power as Daniel.
The lion ate him up in spite of the huge cross he carried with him.
One major difference between that man and Daniel is that the latter did not jump into the lions’ den to tempt God; he was thrown into it for praying to God.
God however, didn’t only save Daniel; He also prospered him and wiped out his accusers (Daniel 6:1-26). Mark 16:18NLT says:
« They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed” »
Does this mean that you should deliberately drink poison?
No.
What God is saying in the passage above is that if someone tries to poison you, the poison will not harm you.
It is foolishness to tempt God.
This is the trap the devil set before Jesus Christ in Matthew 4:5-7 when he told Him to jump off the pinnacle of the temple, reminding Him that the Bible says God’s angels will not allow His foot to be dashed against a stone.
Jesus escaped this trap by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16 NKJV:
« You shall not tempt the Lord your God…»
Tempting God provokes His wrath and also limits what He wants to do in the life of His children.
« How often did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert! Yes, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. »
As we see in our Bible reading today, the children of Israel tempted God in the wilderness with their unbelief, murmuring and idolatry.
This limited God’s plans for their lives and prevented them from entering the Promised Land with the exception of Caleb and Joshua who had faith in Him.
It is indeed foolishness to tempt God.
Are you tempting God?
Prayer focus – Lord, please forgive me for every time I have tempted You and help me never to do it again.
Author – Bishop Enoch Adejare Adeboye; General Overseer of the RCCG
Edited by Naomie Joseph
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