Asking a sign from God

God is invisible. But times and again, He gives us signs to show His approval. For example, God puts the rainbow in cloud as a sign of covenant between Him and the earth that He would not destroy the earth again with flood (Genesis 9:13). Circumcision becomes a sign in flesh that Israelites are the Chosen People of God (Genesis 17:11). The blood of Paschal Lamb was a sign to spare the Israelites in Egypt of the plague to wipe out the first-born (Exodus 12:13). The tearing down of the altar at Bethel, where Jeroboam was burning incense, was a sign for the religious reform of Josiah in the future (1 Kings 13:2-3). Hezekiah was a sign given to Ahaz that the Syrian-Israel alliance posed no threat to Judah (Isaiah 7:14). These and others were signs God gave voluntarily.
But there were people in the Old Testament who took the initiative to demand signs from God for assurance. Gideon, the Judge whom God chose to deliver Israelites from Midianites, demanded a sign to confirm that God had really chosen him.
And he said to him, "If now I have found favor with thee, then show me a sign that it is thou who speakest with me (Judges 6:17).
In fact, after the first sign, Gideon demanded an opposite sign to confirm (Judges 6:36-40)!
Jonathan also demanded a sign when he and his armour-bearer attempted to attack a garrison of Philistines.
Then said Jonathan, "Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them.
If they say to us, 'Wait until we come to you,' then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them.
But if they say, 'Come up to us,' then we will go up; for the LORD has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us." (1 Samuel 14:8-10)
These Israelites were really something. They put the Lord to the test according to their design! But this is not the end of the story. Hezekiah asked a sign from God to assure him that he would recover from his illness (2 Kings 20:8). Even David, the Psalter, demanded a sign in time of distress.
Show me a sign of thy favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
because thou, LORD, hast helped me and comforted me (Psalm 86:17).
So, it seems totally legitimate for the Pharisees to demand from Jesus a sign from heaven to show God's approval of his work (Mark 8:11). God had already done this many times before in the Old Testament. Moreover, there was a long line of respectable people making similar demands from God. Therefore, Jesus did not disappoint them and promised to give them the sign of Jonah, that is, his resurrection (Matthew 16:1-4).
But what about the sign Satan demanded in Jesus' temptation? He asked Jesus to jump down from the top of the Temple to show that he is the Son of God. Jesus refused, quoting Deuteronomy 6:16 that we should not tempt the Lord our God (Luke 4:9-12). Jesus satisfied the demands from the Pharisees but dismissed Satan's outright. Is it because Satan is God's enemy so much so that his demand should be refused? On the surface, it seems correct. Satan wanted the human Jesus not to die to save the world; not to defeat him with resurrection. Without death, there will not be resurrection. Satan's demand was very subtle indeed. Since it goes against God's plan, Satan's request was denied. So, next time when we want a sign from God, make sure that the sign falls within God's plan, that it is not a temptation of God. We should not put Him in a test-tube. God freely gives us signs. Without freedom, no sign or love is genuine.

My Advocate, who am I to ask a sign from God? I am just a negligible creature of God. May Your will be done, not mine. I see injustice done. I see a man holding grudges against his subordinate and persecuting her doggedly in a paranoid manner. How much I desire a sign from You but I resist. I pray that truth and justice prevail. Amen.