Test

2 Chronicles 32:25-31 – But Hezekiah’s heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the Lord’s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. Then Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the Lord’s wrath did not come on them during the days of Hezekiah. Hezekiah had very great wealth and honor, and he made treasuries for his silver and gold and for his precious stones, spices, shields and all kinds of valuables. He also made buildings to store the harvest of grain, new wine and olive oil; and he made stalls for various kinds of cattle, and pens for the flocks. He built villages and acquired great numbers of flocks and herds, for God had given him very great riches. It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Gihon spring and channeled the water down to the west side of the City of David. He succeeded in everything he undertook. But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart.

Genesis 22:1 – Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.

2 Kings 20:17,19 – The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord…“The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?”

Application:

• ·         Abraham was “tested”, not “tempted”, for God does not tempt. Satan tempts us in order to make us fall; God tests us in order to confirm our faith or prove our commitment.
• ·         Isaiah’s prediction of Babylonian exile at least 115 years before it happened is all the more remarkable because, when he spoke, it appeared that Assyria rather than Babylonia was the world power from whom Judah had the most to fear.
• ·         Although it is possible to understand Hezekiah’s statement, “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” as a selfish expression of relief that he himself would not experience the announced adversity, it seems better to take it as a humble acceptance of the Lord’s judgment and as gratefulness for the intervening time of peace that the Lord in His mercy was granting to His people.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV