They - tempted Him, and proved Him, and saw His works forty years.- To - tempt- God and to - prove- Him, are near, if not altogether, synonymous expressions. They refer to men as it were making experiments, whether He be indeed the powerful, holy, just, and faithful God He has declared Himself to be. Instead of believing His declarations, and acting accordingly, they seemed, as it were, bent to discover, though at the hazard of their own destruction, whether He really was able or meant to execute either His promises or threatenings.