You shall not temp the Lord, your God

5.)Then the devil took Jesus up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 

6.) and said to Him: “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over You and in their hands they shall bear You up, lest You dash Your foot against a stone.’ ” 

7.) Jesus said to the devil: “It is also written, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God."

(Matthew 4:5‭-‬7) AMEN!

 

The temple was the religious center of the Jewish nation and the place where the people expected the Messiah to arrive. “Behold, I send My messenger, and He will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple..." says the Lord of hosts (Malachi 3:1). Herod the Great had renovated the temple in hopes of gaining the Jews’ confidence. The temple was the tallest building in the area, and this “pinnacle”” was probably the corner wall that jutted out of the hillside, overlooking the valley below. From this spot, Jesus could see all of Jerusalem behind Him and the country for miles in front of Him.

 

God is NOT our magician in the sky ready to perform on request. In response to the devil's temptations, Jesus said not to put God to a test! “You shall NOT tempt the Lord your God as you tempted Him in Massah." (Deuteronomy 6:16). We may want to ask God to do something to prove His existence or His love for us, however, Jesus once taught through the parable of the rich fool and Lazarus (Luke 16:19:31) that people who don’t believe what is written in the Bible now, won’t believe even if someone were to come back from the dead to warn them! God wants us to live by faith, not by magic! So, don’t try to manipulate God by always asking for signs!

 

The devil used Scripture to try to convince Jesus to sin! Sometimes friends or associates will present attractive and convincing reasons why we should try something we know is wrong. They may even find Bible verses that "seem" to "support"  their viewpoint. We MUST study the Bible carefully, especially the broader contexts of specific verses, so that we understand God’s principles for living and what He wants for our life. Only IF we really understand what the WHOLE Bible says, will we be able to recognize errors of interpretation when people take verses out of context and twist them to say what they want them to say. 

 

Lord Jesus was able to resist ALL of the devil’s temptations because He not only knew Scripture, but He also obeyed it! We MUST imitate Jesus! Ephesians 6:17 says that God’s Word is the sword of the Spirit which is used in spiritual combat. KNOWING Bible verses is an important step in helping us resist the devil’s attacks, but we must also OBEY the Bible. "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." (James 1:22) Note that the devil had memorized Scripture, but he failed to obey it. Knowing and obeying the Bible helps us follow God’s desires rather than the devil’s. May the Lord fill us with His Holy Spirit, bless us with His divine wisdom and knowledge to know the Word, a dedicated and obedient heart and His strength to OBEY the Scripture, in Jesus Almighty Name! AMEN!