Today’s Daily Reading, Deuteronomy 6:13-16, provided Jesus with ammunition to defeat two of Satan’s wilderness temptations, which came to Him in Luke 4. It’s highly likely that He had been spending time in the wilderness meditating on Deuteronomy and so, when the moment of temptation came, He was ready to fend it off with God’s Word.
First, tempted to compromise and worship Satan in order to have an easier path through life, Jesus quotes v.13, “ Fear the Lord your God, serve him only!” Then, tempted to force God’s hand into putting on a dramatic angel-rescue show and thereby to manipulate people into believing in Him, Jesus pulls out v.16, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test .”
We will never be faced with these exact temptations, but how often have we not been tempted to compromise on what we know is God’s will, because it will mean less resistance or difficulty in our lives? And how often have we not presumed to demand that God should do things MY way, rather than submitting to His good, pleasing and perfect way? As David Guzik points out in his commentary, “Anytime we deny God’s love for us, or demand He do something for us, we are testing Him as if He must answer to our standards …“
Luke 4 is a reminder to us of the subtlety of the devil’s temptations, but also of the power available to a mind soaked in the Word of God to resist such temptations. May God grant us the grace today to read, meditate on and even memorise His Word so that it may be stored up in our hearts for ready access in moments of temptation and trial.
Amen!
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