What does the Bible indicate regarding whether or not it is alright for people to test God, particularly if they want to confirm that God is calling them to be engaged in a specific endeavor?

Before we attempt to answer this question, we want to make it clear that testing is not the same as tempting.  The first definition given for “tempt” in Webster’s Dictionary is “to entice to do wrong by promise of pleasure or gain.”  In contrast, the verb “test” does not involve enticement to do wrong.  And, in the context in which we are using the verb “test,” the term suggests validating or verifying.

Therefore, scriptures that pertain to tempting God, such as Deuteronomy 6:16a, which states,You shall not tempt the Lord your God. . . .” are not relevant to this discussion.

We will now consider several scriptures in which godly men in the Bible apparently tested God by bargaining with Him.  [Note:  When we quote Scripture in this article, we use the wording in the New King James Version of the Bible.]

Jacob the Patriarch

Jacob bargained with God on a couple of occasions, as recorded in the two scripture passages that immediately follow.

Genesis 28:20-22 says,

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God.  And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

Subsequently, Genesis 32:24-29 states,

Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.  Now when He [the Man] saw that He did not prevail against him [Jacob], He [the Man] touched the socket of his [Jacob’s] hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He [the Man] wrestled with him [Jacob]. And He [the Man] said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.”  But he [Jacob]  said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” So He [the Man] said to him [Jacob], “What is your name?”  He said, “Jacob.”  And He [the Man]  said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”  Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.”  And He [the Man] said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He [the Man] blessed him [Jacob] there.

These two scripture passages do not provide adequate reason to believe that Jacob actually tested either God the Father or the Man, who apparently was Jesus Christ in temporary human form or an angel of God.  Jacob bargained with God and the Man, but bargaining is not the same as testing.  In any case, God did not punish Jacob for what Jacob requested in either of these situations.  In fact, God subsequently blessed Jacob.

Gideon the Judge

The next scripture passage indicates that before Gideon agreed to help save Israel as God had asked him to do, he wanted God to perform two miracles to confirm that God would help him to save Israel.

Judges 6:36-40 declares,

 So Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand as You have said— look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.” And it was so. When he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece together, he wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water. Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more: Let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew.” And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground.

This scripture passage clearly did involve testing of God, but it was initiated by Gideon for a pure motive, which was so he could be certain that God would help him in leading the Israelites to defeat the Midianites.  God not only did not punish Gideon for requesting the two confirmations; He also performed both miracles that Gideon requested.

David the King

Two scriptures report an incident in which King David entered what is referred to as the  house of God and ate the showbread (consecrated bread) that was not lawful to be eaten by anyone other than the priests of Israel.

Matthew 12:3-4 states,

[Jesus Christ, in reference to 1 Samuel 21:1-6, asked the Pharisees who confronted Him,] “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests”?

Likewise, Mark 2:25-26 says in reference to 1 Samuel 21:1-6,

[Jesus Christ asked the Pharisees who confronted Him] “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?”

There is no indication in either of these last two scriptures that David intended to test God by disregarding God’s instruction in Leviticus 24:8-9 regarding who was allowed to eat the showbread.   David almost certainly knew that he was violating God’s instruction that only the priests of Israel were to be allowed to eat the showbread.   Nevertheless, David asked a priest to give him the showbread and the priest did so.  Regardless of the rectitude of what David did, God did not punish David for violating His instruction regarding who was allowed to eat the showbread.

Conclusion

Only one of the incidents that we have cited seems to have involved actually testing God.  We would like to be able to offer more than one biblical example of an incident in which a person tested God, but evidently there is not another such biblical example.  In any case, the one incident that involved testing God indicates that it is not wrong to test Him if the person testing God sincerely desires to determine God’s will with regard to undertaking a specific endeavor, particularly if that endeavor is based on what seems to be a special calling by God to perform a specific task.

Furthermore, we believe that the answer to the basic question on which this article focuses is that whether or not it is alright to test God probably depends on the specific circumstances of each situation.   And, almost certainly, the attitude of the person who is testing God for the purpose of getting a confirmation from Him is especially important.  Thus, if a person is sincerely seeking to confirm what God wants him (or her) to do, God may provide some type of confirmation.  On the other hand, if someone with an improper motive tests God, it is reasonable to believe that God will either not respond or He will respond adversely.