Browse Bible Study Resources

Daily Devotions

Psalms

Psalms 
Day 
Day 119

Psalm 78:18a "And they tested God in their heart..."

Day 119 – Psalm 78

“And they tested God in their heart…” Psalm 78:18a

TESTING FROM GOD

It was perfectly right for God to test the children of Israel. He declared that He would test them.

“There He made a statute and an ordinance for them,
and there He tested them, and said,
‘If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God
and do what is right in His sight, give ear to
His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none
of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians.
For I am the LORD who heals you.'”
Exodus 15:25c-26

Four aspect of God’s testing may be highlighted:

1. Test of heeding God’s voice.

2. Test of doing what is right in God’s sight.

3. Test of hearing God’s commandments.

4. Test of keeping God’s statutes.

TESTING OF GOD

The children of God failed the above tests miserably. Instead of humbly submitting themselves to God’s teaching and leading, they tested Him instead.

“And they tested God in their heart
By asking for the food of their fancy.”
Psalm 78:18

1. “They tested God in their heart”

a) This testing is expressed in their complaining against Moses (Exodus 16:2, 7, 8).
b) Beyond Moses, they were actually testing God deep down in their hearts.

2. “By asking for the food of their fancy”

What were some of these foods of fancy?

a) Israel remembered their “pots of meat” and “bread” (Exodus 16:3).
b) Israel also remembered “the fish, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions and the garlic” (Numbers 11:5).

The children had forgotten their deliverance from bondage in Egypt. What were these food items compared to the freedom God had given them. Besides, He had not failed to provide for them!