I looked for examples in the Bible where using experiments to test for God’s presence was mentioned. I have a number of excerpts below, from Luke (the Temptations in the Wilderness), Judges (Gideon’s fleece experiment), and Exodus (water from a stone in Massah). I think there might be one involving David, too, but I can’t remember where.
KJV. Luk 4:9-12 [+/-]Luke 4:9-12
[9]And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle
of the temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God,
throw yourself down from here, [10]for it is written,
"'He will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,'
[11]and
"'On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"
[12]And Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'You shall not put
the Lord your God to the test.'" (ESV)
. And he [Satan-ER] brought him [Jesus-ER] to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in [their] hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
KJV. Judges 6:36-40 [+/-]Judges 6:36-40
[36]Then Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by
my hand, as you have said, [37]behold, I am laying a fleece
of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the
fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall
know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have
said." [38]And it was so. When he rose early next morning
and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the
fleece to fill a bowl with water. [39]Then Gideon said to
God, "Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just
once more. Please let me test just once more with the
fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all
the ground let there be dew." [40]And God did so that
night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the
ground there was dew. (ESV)
. And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; [and] if the dew be on the fleece only, and [it be] dry upon all the earth [beside], then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.
KJV. Exodus 17 [+/-]Exodus 17
[17:1]All the congregation of the people of Israel moved
on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the
commandment of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, but there
was no water for the people to drink. [2]Therefore the
people quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to
drink." And Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with
me? Why do you test the LORD?" [3]But the people thirsted
there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and
said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and
our children and our livestock with thirst?" [4]So Moses
cried to the LORD, "What shall I do with this people? They
are almost ready to stone me." [5]And the LORD said to
Moses, "Pass on before the people, taking with you some of
the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with
which you struck the Nile, and go. [6]Behold, I will stand
before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike
the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people
will drink." And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders
of Israel. [7]And he called the name of the place Massah
and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of
Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, "Is the
LORD among us or not?"
[8]Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.
[9]So Moses said to Joshua, "Choose for us men, and go out
and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of
the hill with the staff of God in my hand." [10]So Joshua
did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses,
Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. [11]Whenever
Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he
lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. [12]But Moses' hands
grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and
he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on
one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands
were steady until the going down of the sun. [13]And Joshua
overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.
[14]Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this as a
memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua,
that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from
under heaven." [15]And Moses built an altar and called the
name of it, The LORD Is My Banner, [16]saying, "A hand upon
the throne of the LORD! The LORD will have war with Amalek
from generation to generation." (ESV)
: 3-7. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD? And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore [is] this [that] thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?
KJV. Deu 6:16 [+/-]Deuteronomy 6:16
[16]"You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as
you tested him at Massah. (ESV)
Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted [him] in Massah.
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