ChristsWords.com -- The original Greek and its symbolic meaning

Mat 4:7 It is written again, You shall not test the Lord your God.
Alternative: It is also written, don't try out the Lord your God.

In this second test or temptation of Christ, he uses the Greek word that we translate as "tempt" and "test." Quite suitable for a lesson on temptation.

Here, Christ is quoting Isa 7:12. We can get closer to Christ's meaning by looking at the meaning of the source material.

In the original, "tempt" is the Hebrew, nacah. Its meaning is closer to "test" than to "seduce."  It has a strong flavor of "try out" "test the limits." It is used by Ahaz, in response to being cautioned against asking for a sign from God. Since Ahaz did not need any proof from God, he was given proof:

Pretty interesting that "the sign" Himself  is now being asked again for a sign. It says that no proof is ever enough for those who do not want to believe. Also interesting that Christ adds the word "Lord" to the quote because he does describe himself with that term, while he never uses God. So he asking not to tempt God in a way that ambiguously could be referring to himself.

In the larger context of our tests in life, in the first test, we are asked to trust that our spiritual needs are as important than our physical needs. In this second test, we are asked to trust that God is working in the absence of proof. This is the "mental:" test beyond the physical.

This question of "proof" is, of course, the big question that agnostics always have: why doesn't God (the existing one) prove his existence beyond all doubt? Here, Christ gives the answer: reality is not subject to proof. We are on earth to be tested by God. We are not here to test God. The relationship is, by definition, asymmetric.

We live in a universe in which nothing is provable. In science, theories can be disproven, but they cannot be proven. Every current scientific theory is a place holder until a better theory can be found. We can know the truth of some statements, but we cannot know the truth about reality. The most obvious truths about reality down through history (the sun rises, the earth is flat, etc.) have been proven false time and time again.

This impossibility of proof becomes one of the themes of Christ's life. Throughout his teaching, despite his many miracles, Christ said again and again that no "sign" would convince people who do not want to believe. Every miracle in our own lives can be explained away as "merely" natural or "merely" a coincidence. No matter how big a wonder we are confronted with--and the universe itself is as big as wonders come--we do not have to believe in anything. Belief is always left to our choice. The world is constructed exactly that way because our testing (not God's) is its only purpose. See how this comes together with Christs quote of scriptures?

We can never know of God's existence with certainty. Not only is this the way the universe is set up: it is a mistake for us to even try.

The fact that the universe is designed (or we are designed) to keep the answer to this key question ambiguous gives away the game. No matter how much we learn, we must choose to believe in God or not. Currently, science recognizes that there are about twenty variables in physics, whose values could be anything, but which are finely tuned to allow life. Absent a belief in God, the only explanation is an infinite number of universes so that one could have this combination of values that allow us to observe them. This is called the "anthropomorphic principle," which is kind of funny because it purpose is to give us the ability to think that we are the highest power in the universe. Science does not allow us to choose between an incomprehensible divine cause and some simple physical explanation for the universe. Instead it allows us to choose between two infinities: a physical one or a spiritual one.

Uncertainty is the essence of freedom. The fact that we cannot test God, cannot test our version of faith, and cannot test what we think God wants us to do, gives us freedom. God will not smite us if we step out of line. We can cross the line. We are free.

How do we know where the line its? Christ's answer to all his tests makes it clear. He begins each with "It is written." Certainly, in saying this he was referring to the lesson of the old testament, but he may have also been referring the all the ancient wisdom of humanity. There is a clear convergence of all the ancient religious books on morality. This code is written in the human heart. We may get confused at a given time and place. Even an entire generation can get confused by the lies of the world, but the knowledge the is preserved and survives generation after generation is the truth.

"Wrote" is from graphô (grapho), which means "to write," "having marked or drawn," "to describe," "to brand," "to express by written characters," "to ordain," "to enroll oneself," "to be indicted," and "to write down."

"Test" is from ekpeirazô (ekpeirazo), which means "tempt" or "test."  The word is uncommon Greek, but it consists of two very common words. Ek, which means "out of," "from," "by" and "away from." Peirazô means "to attempt," "to try," "to test," and, in a bad sense, "to seek to seduce," and "to tempt."

"Lord," is from kurios (kyrios), which means "having power," "being in authority" and "being in possession of." It also means "lord," "master of the house," and "head of the family."

"God" is from theos (theos), which means "God," the Deity."