The Provocation
Psalm 95:8 Harden not your heart as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. The word provocation means action or speech that makes someone annoyed or angry, especially deliberately. It is an action word that means to cause a reaction in someone or from someone. Simply put it is the reaction to someones action. Relationships are based on the reaction to someones action. All of our relationships with God have been based on the actions of God showing himself to us in certain ways. We then react to his action in the way we choose. We only have two ways to choose from, his way or our way. This is why the word says we are to study and imitate Jesus. Jesus walks in the ways of God. When we choose Jesus, we are choosing to walk in the ways of God leaving our old ways behind. How do we know that we have given up on our old ways? The answer is simple. God proves us in such a way that i