Psalm 91:11-13 - For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
After Jesus was baptized, the Spirit led Him into the wilderness to endure Satan's temptations. The devil first asked Jesus to turn stones into bread, but the Lord used Scripture to defeat the tempter: "Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4b). Perhaps after hearing the Word, Satan decided to fight fire with fire and use a little Scripture himself. The devil challenged Jesus to jump from the highest point of the temple and quoted Psalm 91—at least in part—to suggest that angels would come and lift Jesus to safety. Jesus again denied victory to Satan, answering with the Word, "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test" (Matthew 4:7b).
The devil tried in vain to trap Jesus, even using words from a psalm. Yet in his unholy use of holy Scripture, the ancient serpent of Eden neglected to mention the last phrases of his chosen text: "You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot." That description of trampling a serpent underfoot may have struck a little too close to home for the serpent whose doom was spelled out in Eden. The ancient foe who led Adam and Eve into sin no doubt remembered what God decreed: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her Offspring; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel" (Genesis 3:15). One day the serpent would strike the woman's Offspring, sinking poisonous fangs into his Victim. Yet in that death-dealing blow, the serpent himself would be trampled underfoot, his power crushed. Satan would not want to remind the woman's Offspring, Jesus the Messiah, of that particular promise, but we can be certain that Jesus already knew all about it!
Jesus resisted every temptation. He did not turn stones into bread, but He is the Bread of life. His death did not come in a fall from the temple, but on a cross. But He did not become King of kings by bowing down to worship the devil, but by rising in victory over death. Jesus, the woman's Offspring, died on a cross to atone for our sins and in dying and rising He crushed the serpent's head. Jesus rose to life, overcoming the devil's deadly poison. Now we follow in the footsteps of our Lord, studying the Scriptures and learning to wield the sword of the Word against Satan and his lies. The ancient serpent of Eden is a defeated foe, yet he is an enemy who still rages against us. We resist him and we already how the battle will end: "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet" (Romans 16:20a).
WE PRAY: Jesus, help me to be strong in faith as I use Your holy Word to resist the temptations of the devil. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler.
Reflection Questions:
1. Temptations for fame, wealth, and power come in many forms and varying degrees. How do you handle these temptations in your life?
2. How did Jesus reject the temptations the devil used against Him in the wilderness?
3. What can we do when we are tempted to sin?
Today's Bible Readings: Isaiah 32-33 Romans 3
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