We are walking in today: Weekend Meditation--The Purpose Of Testing Is To First Learn : Then Accept, Reject, Or Improve
Witness growth throughout the Bible: H3954 leqesh after-growth, aftermath, spring crop, late crop after-growth
2 Samuel 23:5; Psalm 65:10-12
316. You shall not appear before God empty-handed on the pilgrimage Festivals --Exodus 23:15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
317. You shall not allow the fat of the offerings to remain overnight --Exodus 23:18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.
318. You shall desist from plowing and harvesting on the Sabbath --Exodus 34:21 Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.
319. All males shall appear before the Lord three times a year --Exodus 34:23 Thrice in the year shall all your menchildren appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel.
320. You shall not slaughter the Passover lamb while in the possession of leavened food --Exodus 34:25 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning.
321. You shall not kindle fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day --Exodus 35:3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.
322. You shall perform the incense service and offerings on Yom Kippur (Avodah) Leviticus 16:12-13 12 And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail: 13 And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:
323. You shall afflict yourselves on Yom Kippur --Leviticus 16:29 And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:
324. You shall have a Sabbath of complete rest on Yom Kippur --Leviticus 16:29, 31 29 And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: 31 It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.325. You shall revere the Sanctuary --Leviticus 19:30 For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord.
326. You shall bring an Omer of your First Fruits on the morrow of the rest day after Passover --Leviticus 23:10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:
327. You shall count the Omer, seven weeks from First Fruits, until the morrow, 50 days --Leviticus 23:15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:
Job 34:3
For words are tested by the ear, as food is tasted by the mouth.
Plain and simple we must understand why Yahweh test His people, all throughout the entire scriptures--we see numerous tests brought upon the children of Israel. Time and time again, Yahweh allowed them to go through these tests. Some to see whether or not they would be faithful in trusting in Yahweh. Some in teaching truths brought out by tests. Testing each other in order to learn the qualities and values of individuals. Joseph tests his brothers when he required that they bring Benjamin to him whenever they might return to Egypt
Genesis 42:15
And the Lord said, Truly if Cain is put to death, seven lives will be taken for his. And the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one might put him to death.
Daniel and his friends were tested by the Babylonian steward
Daniel 1:14
So he gave ear to them in this thing and put them to the test for ten days
Deacons are to be tested before they are appointed to the office
1 Timothy 3:10
And let these first be put to the test; then let them become Deacons if there is nothing against them.
Yeshua was tested by the Pharisees and Sadducees with this disputation and questions.
Matthew 16:1,19:3, 22:18,35
Yahweh test people in order to know their hearts.
Psalms 7:9
O let the evil of the evil-doer come to an end, but give strength to the upright: for men's minds and hearts are tested by the God of righteousness.
Yahweh test people in order to learn whether they will obey.
When the children of Israel complained and said they had no food. Yahweh said, 'Behold I will rain bread from heaven for you and the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day that I may test them whether they will walk in My law or not'.
Exodus 16:4
Then the Lord said to Moses, See, I will send down bread from heaven for you; and the people will go out every day and get enough for the day's needs; so that I may put them to the test to see if they will keep my laws or not.
Deuteronomy 13:2-4
And the sign or the wonder takes place, and he says to you, Let us go after other gods, which are strange to you, and give them worship; 3 Then give no attention to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God is testing you, to see if all the love of your heart and soul is given to him. 4 But keep on in the ways of the Lord your God, fearing him and keeping his orders and hearing his voice, worshipping him and being true to him.
The Israelites were tested when they entered into the Promised Land to annihilate all the wicked inhabitants as commanded by Yahweh.
Judges 2:21-22
21 From now on I will not go on driving out from before them any of the nations which at the death of Joshua were still living in this land; 22 In order to put Israel to the test, and see if they will keep the way of the Lord, walking in it as their fathers did, or not.
Yahweh test people in order to accept them, to reject them, or to improve them.
Job 23:10
For he has knowledge of the way I take; after I have been tested I will come out like gold.
Isaiah 48:10
See, I have been testing you for myself like silver; I have put you through the fire of trouble.
As gold is refined to remove impurities, so also Yahweh sometimes test people with affliction in order that they may improve.
Zachariah 13:9
And I will make the third part go through the fire, cleaning them as silver is made clean, and testing them as gold is tested: and they will make their prayer to me and I will give them an answer: I will say, It is my people; and they will say, The Lord is my God.
Several observations come from the fact that God tests us:
1. Yahweh gives freedom of choice to obey or disobey.
2. Yahweh knows we love Him by weather not we obey Him
3. Yahweh rewards or punishes us depending upon whether or not we obey.
James 1:12
There is a blessing on the man who undergoes testing; because, if he has God's approval, he will be given the crown of life, which the Lord has said he will give to those who have love for him.
2 Thessalonians 1:7-9
7 And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus comes from heaven with the angels of his power in flames of fire, 8 To give punishment to those who have no knowledge of God, and to those who do not give ear to the good news of our Lord Jesus: 9 Whose reward will be eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his strength,
4. Yahweh wants us to obey.
Isaiah 55:6-7
6 Make search for the Lord while he is there, make prayer to him while he is near: 7 Let the sinner give up his way, and the evil-doer his purpose: and let him come back to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him; and to our God, for there is full forgiveness with him.
5. Yahweh sometimes tests us with affliction to improve us.
James 1:2-3
2 Let it be all joy to you, my brothers, when you undergo tests of every sort; 3 Because you have the knowledge that the testing of your faith gives you the power of going on in hope;
In closing, we understand the purpose of testing is first to learn to see what situation Yahweh is using to improve. Will we then accept His principles and apply them to reject anything that does not match up to His kingdom principles? Are we striving to improve? Or remaining in rebellion and refusing to accept correction? These are tools that Yahweh uses to test us and we should use them also, to test each other. Testing let you know where your heart is. This testing will reveal whether someone has good intentions or not. Or do you value the relationship you have with Yahweh to be in obedience to His instuctions? To hear this again click here.
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