Isaiah – Seek the Lord’s Help

Read Isaiah 7:1-13
 
Isaiah 7:10-13 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also?”
 
WITH a brief check of a Bible concordance, I find 12 scriptures that say, in effect, as Jesus rejected Satan’s temptations in Luke 4:12 “It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” This command was originally given to Israel in Deuteronomy 6:16 as Moses urged Israel to faithfully trust God in all things, even in dark and troublesome days that would surely come.
    It was a troublesome time in Judah when Ahaz spoke these words to Isaiah. Based on scripture, we can believe Ahaz had taken the correct position. He would not test the LORD God. But, in truth, Ahaz was rejecting God here.
    We understand Ahaz’ sin when we read 2 Kings 16:7 Ahaz sent messengers to say to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, “I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” Ahaz was not trusting God’s sign. Instead, he sought safety in an earthly alliance. The Holy God of Israel had offered Ahaz assurance of his protection. Ahaz was not convinced and turned to his own means.
    The many admonitions of “do not put the Lord God to the test” relate to our tendency to make demands of God for our specific needs. We test God with, “if you will heal me, then I will do what you tell me.” Such statements are another way of saying, “My will be done on earth, Lord. Or I won’t trust you or seek you any longer.” We want God to be subject to our  needs, so we can be sure he loves  us.
    Yet, there are times when God says, “Test me.” He commanded this also in Malachi 3:10,  regarding his blessings that will come from our tithes. He allowed Gideon to test him with the fleece (Judges 6). In his grace, God does sometimes grant you his patience through such prayers that will eventually open your eyes to see He is sovereign, and you are not.
    God will fulfill his own command here. In our next lesson, we’ll see how God used Ahaz’s faithless response to bring to humanity the eternal sign of salvation.
 
What Do You Think? Has God failed you? Perhaps you should reconsider your relationship with him.