Jesus'
time in the wilderness getting tempted by Satan is definitely one of the many
great moments, when we can see our Lord in his greatness. In every point, where
we mere humans failed, he is victorious.
Adam and
Eve were in the lush garden of Eden and had all the food they could have
wanted, and yet they could not resist the fruit of this one tree. The serpent
comes, the tempter approached and the father of lies spoke his native language
...and we have already read the rest of the story. From that point onwards
everything goes downhill. Were it not for the promise of the serpent crusher,
we could pack up and stop reading. And hundreds of years later there is a
chosen nation in the wilderness for 40 years and again and again they murmur
and test the LORD, even though he provided everything that was needed for them.
And now
comes Jesus, 40 days and 40 nights without food, and he was hungry! His body
screamed for nourishment and the weakness of his body must have been agonising.
What a pleasant relief a loaf of bread would have been. But never must the Son
of God listen to the devil. And never should he allow the devil to call his
identity as Son of God into question, by serving himself. He was there in the
wilderness to stand firm against the devil and by that, to make the devil flee
away. "Resist the devil, and he will flee from
you." (Js 4:7). And this obedience of Jesus would then be credited
to us. Jesus was in the wilderness as a servant, to serve us, showing us his
integrity and preparing a righteousness which he could give as fine linen, bright and pure to his Bride, the
church.
And the
destructive weapon against Satan's first attempt to make Jesus look to himself
first and not to others was from Deuteronomy. When the Israelites were
wandering about in the wilderness, they grumbled for a lack of food and the
LORD provided manna for them, "a fine,
flake-like think, fine as frost on the ground. … It was like coriander seed,
white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey." (Ex
16:14, 31) They didn't know before that time, what manna was. The LORD made it
specifically to teach them this truth which Jesus uses against the devil.
"The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the
soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;… More to be
desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and
drippings of the honeycomb." Ps 19:7-10 "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey
to my mouth! … Therefore I love your commandments above gold, above fine gold."
Ps 119:103, 127
With every bit of the manna and at every moment, when the taste of
honey would stimulate their palate, they were meant to think beyond their
stomachs. "And you shall
remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble
you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his
commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers
know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives
by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD."
Dt 8:2-3
But still, they grumbled even against the manna. "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die
in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this
worthless food." (Num 21:5)
Worthless? Loathing? This was like saying "Your Word is useless and your promises give no hope in this desert." But how precious did the word become for our salvation, when
Jesus spoke it against the devil! It fought off the first of three vicious
temptations, which endangered our salvation. "For it is no empty word for you, but your very life" (Dt 32:47). Let's not make the same mistake
and get fed up with the taste of honey. As we do B120 in community, whether on
schedule or not, let us, instead of pushing each other to read, make the Word
sweeter to each other's taste so that is not duty, but choice, a joy and a
pleasure.
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