“They came to her. She said to them.
‘Listen to me,
Rulers of the people of Bethulia!
What you have said to the people today is not right.
You have even sworn
You have pronounced this oath between God and you,
You promised to surrender the town to our enemies,
Unless the Lord turns and helps us within so many days.
Who are you?
Do you think that you can put God to the test today?
You are setting yourselves up in the place of God in human affairs.
You are putting the Lord Almighty to the test.
You will never know anything!
You cannot plumb the depths of the human heart!
You cannot find out what a man is thinking!
How do you expect to search out God?
God made all these things.
How can you find out his mind?
How can you comprehend his thought?
No, my brothers,
Do not anger the Lord our God!
If he does not choose to help us within these five days,
He has power to protect us within any time he pleases.
He may even destroy us in the presence of our enemies.
Do not try to bind the purposes of the Lord our God!
God is not like a human being!
He cannot be threatened!
He is not a mere moral!
He cannot be won over by pleading.
Therefore, while we wait for his deliverance,
Let us call upon him to help us!
He will hear our voice,
If it pleases him.’”
Judith pointed out that they should not be putting God to the test. They were not right in speaking that way. Who are you to test God? Why are you putting yourselves in the place of God? You do not know anything about the human heart and understanding. How can you possibly understand the thought of God? Do not anger God. He is not like a human being or mere mortal. He has made all things. He has the power to protect or destroy you if he pleases. All you can do is call for help, while we wait for his deliverance. He will either hear or not hear us as he pleases.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 