Desire

They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved. Psalm 78:18 ESV

They craved – Have you tested God? Oh, I don’t mean, “Have you expectantly anticipated the fulfillment of His promises?” Nor do I mean, “Have you asked according to His will?” I mean, “Have you put God to the test?” “Have you demanded something of God according to your desires?” Asaph’s poem forces us to take a very serious accounting of our expectations about God because the word he chooses is not a word we would expect. The word is naphsha, from nephesh, the word about life itself. Waltke provides a significant insight into the connection between life and breath in the usage of Asaph.

About twenty times, however, nepeš is the subject of ʾāwâ “to desire,” “to crave.” Here it is not the hunger/appetite/desire itself but that which possesses the appetite, “the soul.” A person, a soul, may crave physical food: “and you say, ‘I will eat meat,’ because you desire [tĕʾawweh] to eat meat, then you may eat meat, according to the desire of your soul [bĕkol-ʾawwat napšĕkā]” (Deut 12:20; cf. 14:26; I Sam 2:16). The compound can also speak of the sexual drive: “a wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness, that sniffs the wind has passion [bĕʾawwat napšāh] [Qere and LXX], in the time of her heat who can turn her away” (Jer 2:24). So also it may denote one’s spiritual/volitional desire for something. Abner said to David: “that you may be king over all that your soul desires” (II Sam 3:21; I Kgs 11:37). “The desire of the wicked soul is evil” (Prov 21:10). “[what] his soul desires [wĕnapšô ʾiwwĕtâ] that he does” (Job 23:13).^[1]

Perhaps the rabbis were right. We are the crossroads of yetzer ha’ra (the desire for life as we wish it) and yetzer ha’tov (the inclination to bring God’s desire to fruition). If this is so, then Asaph’s indictment is universal. It isn’t just the children of Israel who put God to the test. It’s me! It’s you! When we demand that God bring about life as we wish it, we challenge His sovereignty. We mock His goodness. We insult His intention. We are the ones who employ naphsha and we nasa (test) the Lord. It doesn’t take complaining for meat in the desert. All it takes is expecting God to give me the life I want!

“Lord, forgive my arrogance. Forgive those times when I thought of You as my servant. Forgive me for expecting, desiring, even demanding that You should provide for me as I wish. Not my will but Yours be done.”

Topical Index: naphsha, breath, desire, crave, test, Psalm 78:18

^[1] Waltke, B. K. (1999). 1395 נָפַשׁ. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (588). Chicago: Moody Press.