Read: Matthew 4.1-11
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT: In Old Testament times, God used the leader Moses to rescue His people from slavery in Egypt and bring them into the Promised Land (what we know today as the land of Israel). After a miraculous parting of the waters of the Red Sea, the Israelites (as the Jewish people were known at that time) spent 40 years in the wilderness of Sinai, where God again used Moses to give the people a comprehensive code by which to live individually and collectively, known as "the Law" or the "Mosaic Law" (which can be found in the first five books of the Old Testament). During that time, the people wrestled with the issues of faithfulness to God and fully trusting Him in all ways (which they often failed to do). Only after this lengthy and difficult time of struggle were they able to finally cross the Jordan River and settle in the Promised Land. It's interesting to note that Matthew seems to draw a parallel between those events and Jesus' life. After His baptism in the Jordan River, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, where He fasted 40 days and nights. During this time, Satan ("the Accuser," known also as the devil/tempter, who is the great eternal opponent of God's Kingdom and God's will), came to Jesus and tempted Him in His time of physical weakness and isolation. Like the Israelites of old, Jesus was tempted to put His pressing physical needs ahead of everything else, including His faithfulness to God (verses 3-4). He was tempted to waver in His trust in God by putting God to a test as a condition of faithfulness (verses 5-7). He was ultimately tempted with wealth, power, and glory if He would only be someone other than who God sent Him and called Him to be. Jesus met every temptation with a quote from Old Testament scripture, which reminds us again of how valuable Bible study and knowledge can be. He also met every temptation with the power of the Spirit at work in Him, which also reminds us again of the power of staying connected with God every day through prayer and simple trust. Matthew shows us that Jesus came through His wilderness experience completely faithful to God and ultimately strengthened/equipped for His impending ministry in the "Promised Land" of Israel. Matthew gives us a portrait of a sinless Savior who was able to overcome the strongest battles set against Him by the devil, and He was able to do so at a time of great physical weakness and personal isolation. Finally, Matthew reveals Jesus to be unlike anyone else who has ever appeared on the scene...a person even greater than the greatest figure of Old Testament times (namely Moses, who was not always completely faithful to God). We're learning more about this Son of God from Matthew, and we're discovering that what we learn can apply to our lives and struggles as well.
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