Suffering as Testing

Watch this lesson on YouTube, or listen to it here.

Access the slide deck here. 

Intro

1) There is a word that runs throughout the Bible in relation to suffering: Testing.

2) Rather than try to explain it or understand it ourselves, let’s look at each of the Biblical examples where these words and concepts are found. What do they mean, and how does God use them in these texts? Then, let’s apply these principles to our own understanding of what is happening in our own suffering (or at least, what is a possible option).

3) Wrong things people have said:

A)   “I just can’t believe God would do this to his people. It doesn’t fit his character. Because this is something I would never do to my kids. I would never CAUSE the problem so they have to deal with it.”

B) “It was the devil who tested Job, not God. God just allowed it.”

Testing Examples

1) The refining fire.

A)   Texts

1) 1 Pet. 1:6-7 – “6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

2) James 1:2-4 – “2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

3) Others

(a)   Ps. 66:10-12

(b)   Prov. 17:3

(c)   Ezek. 22:17-22 – Israel has become dross to God, so he will burn them off.

(d)   Zech. 13:7-9. In this text we get to know the goal of the test. Will they call upon God’s name? If they do, then he will answer and say, “They are my people.”

(e)   Mal. 3:1-4. Jesus’ coming was a test for God’s people, and those who passed were better for it.

(f) Rev. 3:17-18. The Laodiceans had everything they thought they needed. Jesus counseled them to buy gold refined by fire so they could really be rich.

B) Definitions

1) BDAG 

(a)   “The process or means of determining the genuineness of something.”

(b)   “To draw a conclusion about worth on the basis of testing.”

2) L/N – “To try to learn the genuineness of something by examination and testing, often through actual use.” (e.g. Lk. 14:19)

C) Part of this illustration is to serve as a refining fire. The fire burns away the impurities, so that one is left with something more pure. However, the fundamental function of this word is simply to test. Can the metal withstand the fire? If not, then it is not worthy to be used.

2) While God does have a plan for his creation, and he does know how freewill agents will work within that plan, genuine libertarian free will demands a real option to choose. Each of the following examples show this option.

A)   Gen. 2:16-17. The presence of the tree was a test to see if Adam and Eve would choose to obey him.

B) Gen. 22 – God tested the genuineness and the extent of Abraham’s faith.

1) Gen. 15:6 – The thing that God wanted from Abraham was faith.

2) Text

(a)   vv. 1-2 – “God tested Abraham”

(b)   vv. 10-12 – “now I know that you fear God”

(c)   NOTE: I think this is a great illustration of Molinism. God made a promise to Abraham, and had a plan for him, but Abraham still have libertarian free will. He genuinely could have chosen not to obey God. God knew that he would obey him, but the test existed because of the free will.

C) Job’s suffering was ultimately a test.

1) 1:9-12 (vv. 20-21 – he passed)

2) 2:1-8 (vv. 9-10 – he passed again)

3) 23:10-12 – “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.”

D)   Ex. 15:22-26

1) v. 25 – “there he tested them”

2) Will they obey him in the first place?

3) What will they do when they need something? Will they grumble, or cry out to him for help?

E) Ex. 16:4 – “that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not”

F) Ex. 20:18-21 – Mt. Sinai

1) v. 20 – “God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.”

2) i.e. Do you have a proper reverence (fear) of God, and does that reverence lead to obedience?

G)   Deut. 8:2 (read last class)

H)   Deut. 13:1-5

1) God allows false teachers (and they even have some kind of miraculous abilities) to test his people.

2) Yes, there is a person who can capture your attention with signs and wonders, BUT is their message consistent with previous revelation? Are you fully committed to God and what God has said? Let’s see!

I)  Judges 2:19-3:4

1) In 2:22 and 3:4, the test was to see if Isreal would stay faithful.

2) In 3:1, the test was to equip them and prepare them with skills they would not otherwise have.

J)  Hezekiah (Main verse: 2 Chron. 32:31. I’m not sure what the test is in this text.)

1) 2 Kgs. 20:12-19

2) 2 Chron. 32:24-31

3) In 2 Chron. 32:25-26, Hezekiah’s problem was his pride, but he humbled himself. Maybe the test in this text is to see if his pride problem was solved? Apparently it was not because he made a big spectacle of his wealth, which would later plague his people.

4) In 2 Kgs. 20:19, Hezekiah’s attitude about the future pillaging of his wealth was, “Oh well. At least it won’t happen to me.” Maybe the test was to see if he was able to look beyond his own self and his own interests towards the best interests of God’s people and their future.

5) Did he ultimately pass the test? I’m not sure we can say since we don’t know exactly what the test is. However, for our purposes, we can know that God has given us blessings, and that we are being tested as to whether or not we manage them and think about them correctly or not.

3) Lexham Theological Wordbook on the purpose of God’s testing:

A)   to prevent people from sinning (Exod 20:20b);

B) to see whether they will follow God’s instructions (Exod 16:4);

C) to discover the motives of the heart and to keep his commandments (Deut 8:2; 2 Chr 32:31);

D)   to do good in the end to those he tests (Deut 8:16);

E)    and to see whether they love him wholeheartedly (Deut 13:4) and whether they will obey the his way (Judg 2:22; 3:4).

4) When you are ready for the test, then it becomes an opportunity to prove yourself.

A)   In high school and the early years of undergrad I dreaded tests. They were burdens and things to be dreaded. As I matured and took my studies more seriously, I genuinely looked forward to a test because I knew what I was doing and I was eager to show that.

B) Are there similar situations in the workplace? Annual evaluations?

C) Scriptural examples of tests as opportunities to show God that I’m really his:

1) Ps. 17:3 – “You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.”

2) Ps. 26:2 – “Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind.”

3) Ps. 139:23-24 – “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me int the way everlasting!”

D)   Advice from Sirach 2:1-6 – “1 My child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for testing. 2 Set your heart right and be steadfast, and do not be impetuous in time of calamity. 3 Cling to him and do not depart, so that your last days may be prosperous. 4 Accept whatever befalls you, and in times of humiliation be patient. 5 For gold is tested in the fire, and those found acceptable, in the furnace of humiliation. 6 Trust in him, and he will help you; make your ways straight, and hope in him.”

Testing vs Tempting

1) James 1:13

2) How does this passage fit into this conversation?

3)     ESVSB - God tests his people (e.g., Abraham, Genesis 22; Israel, Ex. 16:4; Hezekiah, 2 Chron. 32:31) so that their character is strengthened, but he never tempts (i.e., lures people into sin). Since God cannot be tempted with evil, and he is unreservedly good, he would never entice human beings to sin or seek to harm their faith. Tempted (Gk. peirazō) is the verb form of the noun translated “trial” (Gk. peirasmos) in James 1:12, but the context shows that different senses of the word are intended. God brings trials in order to strengthen the Christian’s faith. He never tempts, however, because he never desires his people to sin. Christians should never blame God when they do wrong.

4) I think the answer is in the motive.

A)   Testing is ultimately without best interests in mind. Even if we fail the test, the goal is to learn and grow from that.

B) Tempting is like setting a trap and intentionally trying to get someone.

C) e.g. There is a difference between a teacher who writes a difficult test to see if the students understand vs someone who writes a test question intentionally trying to trick and deceive.

5) Extras

A)   The Bible Project: The Test: https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=O-zh3xFZXTlZQRMk&v=sR4AT0LMJ5c&feature=youtu.be

B) The Bible Project: The Wilderness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b54d_GhBthI

1) Hos. 2:13-15 – The wilderness is where we meet God (away from this world).