Something in my devotional this morning inspired this post so this is not my original thought, just my pondering on what I read.
When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea (remember the miracle of going over on dry land) they ended up in the wilderness for forty years. No, the journey should not have taken that long, but they sinned repeatedly against the Lord who had safely escorted them out of Egypt and across the Red Sea. What are some of their sins? They whined and complained that God’s provision wasn’t good enough; they wanted meat instead of manna. They worshiped a golden calf while Moses was on the mountain getting the Ten Commandments. Some of them tried to overthrow Moses, Aaron and Miriam and ended up being swallowed up by the earth for their rebellion. Ultimately, when the spies were sent out and returned with the news that the land was full of giants, they didn’t want to go in and take the land that God had promised because of their fear. Only two of the spies, Caleb and Joshua, said that God would help them win the victory regardless of the size of their foes. As a result, that entire generation had to wander in the wilderness until they had all died off, with the exception of the faith-filled Caleb and Joshua.
Now, fast-forward to the New Testament. Jesus has been baptized by John the Baptist and is ready to begin His ministry on earth. But first, He spends forty days in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. (Note, 40 years, 40 days. God definitely sends a message with the use of numbers but I am not tackling that right now.)
The entire Scriptural reference is in Matthew 4, Mark 1 and Luke 4.
Remember that when Adam and Eve were tempted by food in the Garden of Eden, they succumbed to temptation and were cast out of the Garden. Jesus, however, turned away from the temptation, even though He was hungry after being in the wilderness without eating for forty days. Nevertheless, His food was from the Father and He knew not to accept the temptation of turning stones into bread and satisfying the needs of His flesh.
In this temptation, Jesus could forego suffering and dying on the cross and become a ruler in the world. Knowing Satan’s lies for what they were, Jesus turned down the temptation and answered with scripture from the Old Testament, just as He had done with the bread temptation. Jesus answers Satan with His Father’s Word.
The final temptation was on the top of the temple. Satan tells Jesus to throw Himself down and that if He is the Son of God, angels will save Him. Jesus rejects the temptation, knowing that God’s will is not to do such a foolish and prideful thing. Jesus was sent to earth to save people from their sins on the cross, not demonstrate His power over the laws of physics.
Note that in the gospel of Matthew, the second and third temptations are in a different order, but the temptations and the lessons we learn from them are the same.
Application: Some of us (me!) have been undergoing a wilderness experience. For myself, I feel sometimes as though God has left me in a wilderness of medical tests and doctors who have no answers. But God is showing me that He is right there. He never moved or changed. My faith did a deep dive for a while, but God kept right on loving and guiding me.
Just as Moses needed reassurance of God’s presence, I do too. God said this to Moses and left it for me to discover and hold onto.
Wilderness experience? Not pleasant but a necessary part of the Christian walk if we are going to grow and lean in more in dependence on God and not our own self or resources. God is bringing me through the wilderness. I am not staying here because I am choosing to answer Satan’s temptations to turn away from God with God’s Word. Jesus is a good teacher…the best!
