3:13 The people had spoken arrogantly against the Lord, yet when faced with their disrespect they asked for proof.
3:14 The Lord obliged them. They had said that serving the Lord and obeying Him did not benefit them, that it did not pay to serve Yahweh. When they mourned over their sins, their physical conditions did not improve.
"Some of the people who made the complaint (3:14) were guilty of the myopic legalism that eventually led to Jewish pharisaism in the first century A.D. This legalism concentrated on performing certain rigorous activities and not doing other things as the means of vindicating themselves before God. But this actually stifled the full expression of inner righteousness required by God (Matt. 5:20-48; 23:1-36)."38
3:15 It seemed better for them to become self-assertive because then some good things would come their way. It was those who practiced wickedness who got ahead and grew stronger materially (cf. 2:17). Even though they tested the Lord's patience by behaving as they did, they escaped His punishment temporarily.
