Deuteronomy 6:16-19 – Don’t doubt or test God.

To put God to the test is literally to challenge God to get Him to prove Himself. It stamps from a heart of unbelief. It’s an expression of doubt. This was what happened at Rephidim recorded in Exodus 17:1-7. There was no water in this place where they were camping. Immediately they took it out on Moses. They grumbled and quarrelled with him treating him roughly. In so doing they were essentially grumbling at God. They had forgotten that God had sustained them and kept His promises to them throughout their journey. He had never failed them in any way. Here they were using the lack of water to provoke the Lord. Like spoilt children, they were threatening not to follow God if water was not provided. Moses named this place Massah, which means testing, because of the question the Israelites raised. Their question was, “Is the Lord among us or not?” 

Referring to that incident, Moses warned them against adopting such distrusting behavior as they faced hardship in their forward journey. He was calling on them to be resolute and diligent in keeping the Commandments and instructions of the Lord. He knew that they would face tough times as they sought to possess the land. He wanted them to act rightly even as they confront the enemies in the land whom they were told to drive out. As a reminder, he told them that the land was promised to them. God Himself had already sworn to give it to them. All they needed was to do what was right and trust the Lord as they advance.  

Doubting God, rebelling against Him, and provoking Him are all different variations of putting the Lord to the test. Instead of adopting such negative attitudes, we must instead trust Him to see us through no matter how tough the circumstances we may face in life. These verses tell us the best thing to do in life is to keep and obey the instructions of the Lord given to us. We must seek to obey them diligently, meaning we must be careful, earnest, and consistent in applying God’s Word. The call to do “what is right  and good in the sight of the Lord” in verse 18 suggests that we must rightly respect His Word to us. There is also a promise in verse 18 that if we do what is right and obey God diligently, all will be well with us, and we will surely inherit His blessings. That’s the promise of God!