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Tempting God

To tempt the Lord means to try to seduce or provoke Him to fulfill the tempter's wishes, which is impossible (Exo.17:2). God can neither contradict Himself (2Tim.2:13) nor can He be tempted to sin (James 1:13). The consequence is that it only invites God's wrath on the tempter who has actually sinned by contradicting God (Deut.6:16). God said that the Israelites in the wilderness tempted God 10 times (Num.14:22).

People can tempt the Lord by
1. Contending and complaining instead of trusting God in difficult situations (Exo.17:1,2,3). This questions God's goodwill for their lives.
2. Creating provocative situations and challenging God to act on their behalf  (Matt.4:5,6,7).  This questions God's centrality in their lives.
3. Misquoting, misrepresenting, and wrongly applying God's word (Matt.4:5,6,7). This questions the faithfulness of God.
4. Not paying attention to and disobeying the voice of God (Num.14:22). This undermines the seriousness of divine communication.
5. Conspiring to deceive God (Acts 5:8,9; Gal.6:7). This questions God's righteous and just nature; that He cannot overlook sin.
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