PUTTING GOD TO THE TEST?

 JULY 15, 2022

We noted on Monday that the Hebrew word for wisdom is best translated as “skill”. It was used to describe the ability of the craftsmen who worked on the tabernacle in Exodus 31:6.

31 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— 4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. 6 Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you.”

The desire to be wise, is the desire to be skillful in the matters of life. Proverbs purports to be offering sound practical teaching to sharpen our skill.

Today, we will look at these words from Proverbs 3:9-10 that say:

9 Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.

AH, Money and wealth! Most of us don’t like to reflect on this theme, I will let you in a on little confession Pastors don’t like to write, preach or teach on it. Every time I do deal with the issue of wealth or money I take a risk, that I am going to be challenged by how skillfully I use my financial resources. Financial faithfulness has been a continue struggle in my life.

I am not alone. One of the leading struggles people have, is with money. No matter how much one has, we all still want a little more. We may not like to admit it but money is probably the thing that we trust in the most. We know we need it. We misunderstand it. We imagine that our problems would be solved if only we had more money.

This proverb encourages us to remember that God is the source of our provision. It tells us to give a portion of what we receive back to God in gratitude for His provision. Giving is a difficult subject. Perhaps, that indicates how true this proverb is.

We think the money is ours. We think offerings and tithes are just ways organized religion have created to take advantage of people’s money. The Bible instructs that giving to God is a way of demonstrating in a tangible way that we believe God is the source of all that is good in our life, and to show our gratitude to God, and to learn dependence on Him.

This proverb has a promise. If we trust God with our money, God will bless us. It is so hard for us to take that step and trust God’s provision. What I find tremendously interesting is that it is the area of our resources that God says we can test Him. You may recall Jesus response to the Devil in the temptation account quoting the words “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” But Malachi 3:10 says, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test 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 a blessing until it overflows. This isn’t some “prosperity pyramid scheme.” This promise is

not that God will give us everything we want. It’s a promise that if we trust in God’s provision, we can rely on the fact that He knows what we need, desires our good, and promises to fill our lives with blessing.

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” ---- JESUS

Matthew 6:26



Let Us Pray

God,

We thank you that you are Jehovah-Jireh, the God who provides. We are thankful that you own it all and you hold everything in your hands. We thank you that you know our needs before we even ask, before we even come to you. You’re aware of all that concerns us, and you have a plan. You hold our provision, in your loving hands.

Forgive us for doubting you, for worrying, and for trying so hard to work everything out on our own. Help us to trust you more, help us in our unbelief. We choose to recognize and to believe that you are Able to accomplish far more, to do far greater, than we even think possible.

AMEN