But which came first-the provision or the temptation? At this point Satan came to tempt Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread" (Matt. 4:3). Just as with Eve, Satan questioned what God had said forty days earlier when He openly declared Jesus to be His Son at the banks of the Jordan when baptized by John the Baptist. Satan attempted to distort God's character. "Why has He led You out here to starve?
Why doesn't He provide for You? Perhaps it is time You begin to provide for Yourself. If You don't get nutrition soon You'll die or end up with severe permanent physical problems. Use Your authority to serve Yourself. Turn this stone to bread." The children of Israel faced this same dilemma after they left Egypt and followed God into the wilderness: they ran out of food. After a mere three days, they thought God had abandoned them to die.
So they began to complain. They reasoned it was better for them to have died as slaves under the oppression of the Egyptians. At least they had food there (Exod. 16). They thought God had tricked them by leading them out into the wilderness to starve. In their eyes, God was holding out on them. How deceived they were!
Their verbal complaints were the outward manifestation of their lawless hearts within. They were willing to submit to Pharaoh rather than to God's authority. They would obey whoever made it best for them. They doubted God's character. They did not want to follow God's leading because it required trusting Him. They were easily deceived into not submitting to His authority.
This attitude would later cost them the Promised Land. It led them into rebellion. Unlike the Israelites, Jesus denied Himself and waited for God's provision. He would not allow the enemy to pervert the character of God in His mind. He knew His Father would provide for His needs. He would stay submitted to God's authority no matter how unpleasant it was for the moment.
He resisted Satan's temptation to take matters into His own hands; then "the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him" (Matt. 4:11). Why? Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. -HEBREWS 5:7-8
God heard Him because of His godly fear. He did not doubt God's goodness. In the face of great temptation and intense suffering, more so than any other had undergone, He chose to obey even though it meant suffering. This kind of obedience and submission blocked all inroads of the enemy to His life.
Satan had no access or entrance. The devil's door remained shut. Jesus lived in perfect obedience to His Father; therefore, He could testify on the eve of His death: The ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. -JOHN 14:30-31
Jesus spoke of obedience when He declared that the ruler of this world, Satan, had found nothing in Him. Through perfect obedience to His Father, the door was kept securely shut against Satan. Jesus was found blameless! Aleluya...
My name is César and I’m a Voice in The Desert
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www.mywalkwithmycreator.com
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