When God Is Put On Trial

 Hebrews 3:7-9 "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: 'Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works forty years.'"

The Day Of Trial

When most Christians read this passage, they see "the day of trial in the wilderness" and immediately think God was trying the Israelites while they walked through the desert. They somehow think that God wanted to see what was really inside these people, and so He put them through various trials to expose their sin. But I have news for you...God already knew what was in them! He didn't need some kind of trial to see what they were really like.

No, if you'll read this passage again carefully, you'll see that the Israelites weren't the ones on trial here! God says they "tested Me, tried Me..." From this passage, we know that it was the people who put God on trial. 

Apparently, there was a specific day when the entire nation of Israel put God on trial in the wilderness. At one point in time, these people called witnesses, weighed the evidence, and passed judgement on God Himself! What was the trial about? What was their verdict?

The answers to these questions profoundly affect us today...so let's look at the Wilderness Trial of the LORD God.

When Was This Trial?

We know that this trial occurred before the forty-year wandering in the wilderness. We can see this fact in the very next two verses: "Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, 'They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.' So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.'"

We know from Numbers 14:26-35 that God sent the Israelites back into the wilderness for forty years because He forbid them from entering the land of rest. Apparently, He wasn't too thrilled with their verdict...and it caused Him to swear an oath, they would not enter His rest.

So when did this trial occur? Moses tells us the story in Deuteronomy 1:22-35. (Homework: Read this passage, as well as the same story from Numbers 13 and 14 and find out for yourself where they went wrong.) 

The Israelites had sent twelve spies to scout out the promised land and bring back word to them. Remember, God had already promised to give them the land...all the spies were supposed to do was give them a "sneak peek" at how good the land was. But, that wasn't how it went down.

When the spies returned, ten of them gave a message of fear. They explained that the people who had possession of the land were too strong to fight...that there were giants and powerful armies who weren't just going to hand over their homeland! Sure, it was a good land to live in; but there was no way they could take it away from the inhabitants.

As the people listened, they grew more and more afraid. Look at their words in Deuteronomy 1:27-18 "Because the LORD hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. Where can we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, 'The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven...'"

In the end, the entire congregation stood against Moses and the two remaining spies and refused to enter the promise land. Somewhere around three million people decided to kill Moses, Joshua, and Caleb - and then go back to Egypt. It was at this point that God stepped in and announced, "Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land of which I swore to give to your fathers..."

This was the Trial in the Wilderness.
The issue at hand was whether God was faithful to His Word or not.
The jury was the nation of Israel.
The witnesses for the prosecution of God were the 10 fearful spies.
The witnesses for the defense (as if God needed to be defended) were Joshua, Caleb, and Moses.
And the jury's verdict was..."God is not worthy to be believed."

Well, these people ended up being right about one thing. They declared that they would not be able to take God's promise...and they didn't. Not a single person who judged that God was unfaithful was allowed to receive His promise to them. But it wasn't God's fault! Their unbelief stole that promise from them and handed it to others who were willing to believe it.

A Trial That Continues Today

You would think, after all God had done for the Israelites, they would be willing to trust Him. Think about it:
He struck Egypt and brought them out of slavery.
He split the Red Sea for them to walk across, and then used it to drown their enemies.
He miraculously cleansed stagnant, poisonous water and made it fit to drink.
He covered the ground with manna every day so they could eat.
He led them with a cloud and with fire.
He could be seen in the cloud above the Tabernacle every day!
He split a rock open and gave them water to drink.
What more evidence did they need to trust in His faithfulness?

Sadly, we often do the same thing today.

Think of all He's done for you already. Think of His unfailing love for you and His eternal salvation. Think of His impeccable Word that has never failed. Think of all the times you've trusted Him to forgive your sins. Is it really too much for you to have faith in His other promises?

If God's word promised something - i.e. salvation, healing, miracles, prosperity, dominion on earth - we don't have the right to put that promise on trial! If God said it in the Bible, there is only one response for us: faith.

We need to be like Abraham's wife, Sarah. Look at what Hebrews 11:11 says about her, "By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised."

Sarah didn't simply say, "God loves me, even though I don't have kids." She didn't settle for less than what God promised her. No! Her verdict was the opposite of the Wilderness Trial; she judged God to be faithful!

In this verse, the word for Sarah's faith (pistis) and the word for God's faithfulness (pistos) are a noun/adjective version of the same word. In other words, the word for faith is the same as the word for faithfulness. This one Greek Word describes the faith of the one who believes, and the faithfulness of the one they're believing in!

What does this mean? It means you can't talk about your faith unless you talk about God's faithfulness. And you can't claim God is faithful without also placing your faith in all of what He said. God is true to His word...and that's why we believe what is written!

Remember this: the Israelites failed to receive their promise because of their unbelief. Sarah received her promise by faith. These are two results of the same trial. Consider God to be faithful, and you will receive what He promised to you. Doubt His Word, and you will miss out the very promises He wants you to have!

That kind of unbelief is called "evil" in Hebrews 4:12. "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God." God calls that kind of verdict (i.e "God's Word is not worthy of my faith.") evil and rebellious. Yikes!

So let's not harden our hearts in unbelief. Let's be courageous enough to take God at His word and believe His promises. We're already doing that concerning salvation...let's now turn our faith to every other promise God has made to us!