TESTING GOD - A: 3rd Sun in Lent

First Reading: Exo 17:3-7 (12 March 2023)

“The place was called Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled there and tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord in our midst or not?” (Exo 17:7).

This is the summary statement of the biblical episode when the Israelites clamored to Moses for being left to suffer thirst in the desert due to the absence of drinking water (vv. 1-3). God is described here as “tested” by man (vv. 2, 7), which is further emphasized by the Hebrew words Massah that literally means “testing of men (judicial) or of God” and Meribah that denotes “provocation, strife” (cf. Hebrew Strong’s Dictionary).

Many English biblical translations render verse 7 with the phrase “and tested the Lord” (e.g., Christian Standard Bible, New American Standard, New Revised Standard Version). Others present it as “and because they tempted the Lord” (e.g., King James Version, Douay-Rheims American, Geneva Bible, Jubilee Bible). This latter translation is probably informed by the Latin Vulgate’s “et quia tentaverunt Dominum”. Meanwhile, the French projects the sense of a forceful insistence with the translation: “et parce qu’ils avaient voulu forcer la main à l’Eternal” (La Bible du Semeur), which literally means “and because they had wanted to force the hand of the Eternal”. In sum, most biblical translators want to underscore, here, the radical action of the Israelites in pressuring Moses and God to give in to their request at all costs.

Ideally, this should never be the case because man is just a mere creature of God. Man has no right to challenge the authority and decisions of the one who, in the first place, made him and gave him life on earth? While this cry produced its desired effect, i.e., to satisfy the Israelites’ quench, such a display of grumble has been negatively perceived in the succeeding generations. The Meribah and Massah Experience becomes infamous and associated with a lack of faith in God.

In this regard, the Psalmist exhorts, “Today, listen to the voice of the Lord: Do not grow stubborn as your fathers did in the wilderness, when at Meriba and Massah they challenged me and provoked me, although they had seen all of my works” (Psa 95:8-9).

The Israelites’ chief complaint is a question on the prolonged absence of God in the midst of human suffering. For them, God’s presence is equated to not allowing his chosen people to suffer; instead, he should always pamper them with his limitless blessings. However, this mentality reduces God to a mere benefactor or provider, instead of treating him as the Lord and master of all creations. Accordingly, as creator of all, he may allow anybody to suffer for an unknown reason, which nobody may be able to fathom. He doesn’t need to explain to anyone.

The crux is that one should not be immediately disheartened by any negative event or tragedy in life. It is possible that they are just utilized by God to test our level of maturity, our resilience, our commitment to righteousness, and our faith in him. A popular illustration of this notion is presented in the imageries of the carrot, egg, and ground coffee beans. When all of these items are placed into a boiling water for 15 minutes, each has a different reaction. The hard carrot becomes soft, the soft egg becomes hard, and the bitter coffee beans become a delicious coffee. Like carrots, some people appear to be tough in the face of trials, but when the sailings go rough soften and breakdown his/her composure. Like eggs, others begin as gentle and pacific persons at the advent of suffering, but their hearts harden amidst intense persecutions and trials. Finally, like ground coffee beans, a few are looked down by many for being bitter but thrive and transform to better persons after many beatings and difficulties.

I can only remember along these lines the comment of Job when given the hardest tests of life, “‘Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips” (Job 2:10).

- Rex Fortes, CM