God Scorns the Hubris of Lucifer
God Scorns the Hubris of Lucifer.
[Author note: This is the last entry in my category called “God Laughs.” The other posts all have “God Laughs” in the title, but for this particular post, I thought “scorns” was the appropriate word to use. The same Hebrew word is used for both verbs. This post is all about Satan, the very source of unrighteous hubris, the author of pride, conceit, arrogance and rebellion. This is the fallen angel who brought about the fall of mankind. The Lord scoffs at the devil, for he is defeated and his doom is sealed]
“The One who sits enthroned in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them… The wicked plot against the righteous; they snarl at them in defiance. But the Lord laughs, for He sees their day of judgment coming… They come out at night, snarling like vicious dogs as they prowl the streets. Listen to the filth that comes from their mouths, their words cut like swords. ‘After all, who can hear us?’ they sneer. For your part, Lord, you laugh at them.” (Psalm 2:4; Psalm 37:13; Psalm 59:6-8).
It seems to me that our Lord God has an ironic sense of humor. He is reported to have deep belly laughs when He looks at mankind and sees how ridiculous we can be. He seems to laugh whenever we humans do things that are laughably absurd. God sees irony everywhere, He observes behavior that is unexpectedly foolish in light of His greatness. God seems amused when He sees the opposite of what one should expect in a God-filled universe. He chuckles at attitudes that defy logic from His perspective. On the one hand, God isn’t surprised by anything. On the other hand, He seems to be pleasantly scornful at what we humans can do.
People build an immense building and think it will reach God and enable access to Him, and God finds it ridiculous. He sees nations without a conscience conspire against God to cut Him out of their laws and society, and God can only say, ‘Are you serious?’ He sees a man who thinks he can become equal to Him in every respect, a god-player, and God can only shake His head. God observes someone who thinks He is able to flee His presence and live as if He doesn’t exist, and God can only look at him with righteous scorn. He hears many of us utter obscene and hurtful language thinking that no one is within earshot, and God can only say, ‘You’re just kidding me, right?’ He sees so many who think they can do evil and live without restraint, and God can only sigh in sad amusement, knowing there will be a true come-to-Jesus moment waiting in the future. God knows that there will be a Judgment Day coming, and He takes joy in the reality of a moral universe that He created. He knows that all who have rejected Him will someday reap what they sown if they have rejected His grace in life. All this foolishness, all this thoughtlessness… Is it that we don’t have a high enough view of God? Is it that we have too high a view of ourselves? Both? Perhaps what makes God laugh loudest is our futile hubris, our unrighteous chutzpah.
Our downfall is probably attributed to our hubris, which can be defined this way:
HUBRIS: a Greek word that means excessive pride; exaggerated self-conceit; overwhelming self-confidence; sheer arrogance; in ancient Greece, hubris was a character flaw reflecting a defiance of the gods, when someone would foolishly or maliciously act against the divine order; someone with hubris always has a lack of self-awareness and won’t stop to examine his behavior or consider other actions; people with hubris are generally too full of themselves to question their motives or actions; people who are overcome with hubris eventually bring about their own downfall. As Rabbi Jonathon Sacks once wrote, “If Scripture is our guide, what makes God laugh is a person’s delusion of grandeur.”
An Important Thought. “There are two equal and opposite errors into which we can fall regarding the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. The devils themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.” (C. S. Lewis, the Preface to his book, The Screwtape Letters).
The Enemy. In the parable of the weeds and the wheat (Mattthew 13), notice that the evil sower only plants his bad seed after the good seed has been planted. He wants to produce a counterfeit to wreak havoc during the growing season, and bring confusion to what is good and what is evil. “Falsehood comes in after truth; after the prophets came false prophets; after Christ will come the Anti-Christ. The devil fashions falsehood and heresy to resemble the true Faith.” (Orthodox Study Bible).
Titles in Scripture for the Devil. One look at these titles and names given to the devil, and there can be no question about why he is slated for eternal damnation: the Father of Lies (John 8:44); the Adversary, Satan (1 Peter 5:8 and over 50 times in NT); the Ruler of Darkness (Eph 6:12); the Accuser of the Brethren (Rev. 12:10); the Enemy (Matt. 13:39, Luke 10:18-19); the Slanderer, the Devil (given 38 times in NT); Ruler of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2); the King of Death (Heb. 2:14); Prince of this world (John 12:31); the Lord of the Flies, Beelzebub (Matt. 12:24); the Great Dragon (Rev. 12:9); the Ancient Serpent (Rev. 12:9, 2 Cor. 11:3); the Angel of the Bottomless Pit (Rev. 9:11); the Tempter (Matt.4:3); the false Angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14); the Roaring Lion (1 Peter 5:8); the Ruler of Demons (Matt. 12:24); the Evil One (Matt. 6:13); the Murderer (John 8:44); the Daystar and Son of the Morning, Lucifer (Isaiah 14:2); the Shining One, Lucifer (Isaiah 14:2); the Worthless One, Belial (Deut. 13:14, 1 Sam. 2:12, Ps. 18:4, Ps. 41:8); the Deceiver of the whole world (Rev. 12:9); the Destroyer, Apollyon (Rev. 9:11, Ps. 17:4, 1 Cor. 10:10)).
Angels. Lucifer the fallen angel violated the very purpose of angels. A word about the intended mission of angels in Scripture: Angels are mighty spiritual ambassadors created by God to serve His purposes on earth and in heaven. In this parable, God sends angels to separate the good from the bad at the end of the age, much as they did in the earlier story of the wheat and weeds (Matthew 13:39-43). They are executing God’s judgment. We see them in that role many times, including the judgment of Herod in Acts 13:23, and the judgment of Satan in Revelation 20:1-3. But angels do much more that deliver God’s punishment.
Angels serve believers (Hebrews 1:14). We see this role demonstrated many times in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. They fed Elijah (1 Kings 19), they stopped the sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22:11), and they intervened at many important moments in biblical history. God orders His angels to protect us wherever we go (Ps. 91:11 and Ps. 34:7), and to patrol the earth (Zech. 1).
Angels protected and served Jesus. They spoke personally and powerfully to Mary, to Joseph, and to the wise men in order to protect Him in His vulnerable state. They announced Him to the shepherds in a mind-boggling way. They ministered to Him at critical times, including during the wilderness temptations (Matthew 4:11) and the agony of Gethsemane (Luke 22:43). It is implied in scripture that they were always with Him during His life and ministry, ready to serve.
Angels protect the helpless. Jesus made a special point that God has appointed guardian angels over children. “In heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.” (Matthew 18:10). It’s interesting that an angel guided the beleaguered and vulnerable Israelites in Egypt (Exodus 14:19). Angels are definitely a major aspect of the heavenly support system of people here on earth.
Angels carry God’s special messages to people on earth. This is seen countless times in scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation. One fascinating example is when three angels bring vital messages to the world at large in Revelation 14. It’s very interesting that the common perception among the Jews is that the Lord used His angels to deliver the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. That fact is mentioned in Galatians 3:19, Hebrews 2:2, and Acts 7:38 and 53. God may have written the Law on the stone with His finger, but He undoubtedly used angels as mediators to deliver the Law to His people.
Angels worship God without ceasing. “And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God. They sang: ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen.’”
Character Description of the Devil. Does this look like the sort of person you would find trustworthy? Would you want to befriend or even become a casual acquaintance of this sort of person? Is this the sort of person you would ever invite into your life even to a minimum degree? The right answer is NO… He wants to assume the throne of the Most High God; he hates the truth; he wants to take life out of people and replace it with death; he accuses the innocent and slanders the godly; he tells nothing but lies; he loves to thwart the purposes of God and hinder the gospel; he loves to antagonize the followers of Jesus; he is poised to tempt those in their weak moments; he is always prowling for those who are vulnerable; he is a master of disguise; he counterfeits that which is good and perverts what is pure; he spawns evil through those who are fooled into following him; he would deceive the whole world if he could; he loves to mar and deface that which is beautiful; he loves to be smooth and alluring and convincing in his temptations; he overflows with ambition and pride; he wants to embrace all the glory due to God and desires for all to worship him alone; he will be accountable to no one but himself; he is the original trickster, sneaky, and plays dirty; he knows now that Jesus came into the world to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), and works extra hard to bring as many as he can down with him to his eternal doom.
Descriptions of the Devil in the Hebrew Bible: Please refer to Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:12-17. These passages are referring in the immediate context to a fallen king, but the words are so cosmic and so extravagant, that scholars have interpreted them to refer to the spiritual force behind those fallen kings. Christians have always seen those passages in two ways, as a condemnation of those fallen kings of Babylon and as a picture of the fall of Satan. The prideful ambition and evil designs of Satan are well-described in these passages.
Before Creation. Jesus was an eyewitness to Satan’s downfall: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” (Luke 10:18). And now an astounding vision from John: “And another sign appeared in heaven; behold, a great fiery dragon… His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them down to the earth. And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” (Rev. 12:3-4, 7-9).
..In the Beginning. God created this magnificent world out of nothing but His power and wisdom. Then, out of love, God took dirt and water and sculpted Adam and Eve in His image. He gave them His breath of life, and then put them to work nurturing the Garden of Eden. God loved Adam and Eve, He was delighted with them, and He extended Himself into fellowship with them. God willingly established communion with humanity through Adam and Eve, like a painter who steps into His canvas and interacts with the characters in the painting. Adam and Eve didn’t fully realize how good they had it. God was their best friend, they lived in Paradise, and they had everything they could ever want or need. Then along came a snake.
The First Parents. Adam and Eve had it all, until they didn’t. They were made in innocence. They were not guilty of anything. They were innocent, but not perfect. They had the profound gift of free will, able to choose the right way or the wrong way, the good way or the bad way. Adam and Eve had no excuse for their moral failure. They should have seen the temptation coming a mile away. Maybe they had never had a conversation with a snake before, and were foolishly mesmerized by the interaction with the animal world. Maybe they were unaware that a truly evil fallen angel was disguised in this snake, and didn’t realize this being had the cunning of a genuine genius con man. And there was the snake, slithering in the very tree that was declared out of bounds for them by the Creator. Did Adam and Eve know they were talking with a demonic master who was the source of evil and death? Or did they blissfully walk right into this trap unawares? But there was no excuse. Our first parents knowingly broke communion with God, they were naively lured into disobedience. Satan lied, and Adam and Eve didn’t see through the deceit. They chose to believe Satan’s lie that “they will not surely die.” (Gen 3:4), even with their loving God’s words still ringing in their ears, “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat; for on the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.” (2:17). Sure enough, Adam and Eve died a spiritual death as they chewed the forbidden fruit. They separated themselves from their source of life.
Satan. The evil one. The fallen angel. The liar and deceiver. The accuser. We may never know why God allowed Satan to enter the Garden of Eden, but he certainly made his presence felt. He who was once a shining angel of light in the service of God lowered himself to enter a common snake, a lowly snake, slithering in a forbidden tree, trespassing in God’s creation. Satan disguised himself in a snake, and seduced the first humans to rebel against their Maker. And God’s world has been reeling ever since, until the presence of God’s Son.
Satan’s Three Deceptions. The three areas of temptations noted in 1 John 2:16 are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. John here is echoing those three temptations in the Fall: the forbidden fruit was good for eating (the lust of the flesh), a delight to the eyes (the lust of the eyes), and they would become wiser (the pride of life). The devil deceived Adam and Eve through their fleshly appetite, through their love of beauty, and through the promise of wisdom. Satan was fiendishly tricky and brilliantly dishonest. He knew how to appeal to the weak spots of humanity, of Adam and Eve, and he used these weak spots to his full advantage.
Broken Trust in God. Satan succeeded in whispering words of insurrection, in convincing Eve and Adam to doubt God’s pure motives. Before Satan, they trusted in God’s goodness, they assumed that God wanted what was best for them. But what happened? Eve was beguiled into doubting God’s intentions when God laid down the law about the tree of knowledge and the fruit of that one particular tree. First, Eve was led to question God’s thinking. She was brought to the point of contradicting God, thinking that maybe God didn’t have their best interests in mind. She started thinking that maybe God doesn’t know what He’s doing. Then Eve elevated herself by going beyond His word of warning, desiring to see for herself why she should be limited by God in this way. Her prideful ambition at this point helped her to make that final step in disobeying God’s word. She allowed Satan to fool her into thinking she could become independent from God. She chose to desire forbidden knowledge instead of trusting in God’s knowledge. She wanted that knowledge for herself. She fell for the oldest trick in the book… You can become your own god! Don’t trust God’s motives, Satan said, just defy His authority and become separate from Him and from all those rules. Don’t worry, you won’t die! God lied to you when He said that, said Satan. Hapless Adam, observing this interaction between Eve and the snake, could have intervened with a word of caution, but he didn’t. He simply took the forbidden fruit for himself, duplicating Eve’s sin. Adam and Eve, partners in crime. The first parents left us all something in their spiritual DNA, the tendency to repeat their monumental mistake of displacing God at the center. We humans in Adam and Eve’s extended family still have an essence of goodness, since we remain created in God’s image. But we are tainted and destined for spiritual death. Adam and Eve broke their trust in God’s character, and they died a horrific spiritual death. And that’s what we have inherited from our first parents.
The Image of God to the Likeness of Christ. God created mankind in His image. Because of the entrance of sin, that image has become marred, tainted, broken. Christ has come to bring wholeness to the broken image, restoring the image to its pre-sin existence. Christ is the image of God, and now we are to be remade into the image of Christ. “For He knew all about us before we were born, and He destined us from the beginning to share the likeness of His Son.” (Romans 8:29, TPT). The Message puts it this way: “God decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love Him along the same lines as the life of His Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity He restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Him.” Believers are called to be “conformed to the likeness of His Son.” (NIV). Father Patrick Reardon put it still another way: “Christ is the original meaning of humanity. Christ is what God had in mind when He reached down and formed the first lump of mud into a man.” (Christ in the Psalms). We are to be stamped with the likeness of Christ. The Orthodox church believes that as Man, Christ is the image in which man was made and toward which man is moving. Christ is the perfect image of God, and believers are being restored into His likeness.
“Immediately after His baptism, Jesus was compelled by the Holy Spirit to go into an uninhabited desert region. He remained there in the wilderness for forty days, enduring the ordeals of Satan’s tests. Jesus encountered wild animals, but also angels who appeared and ministered to His needs.” (Mark 1:12-13).
Jesus Pushed Into Temptation. The Gospel of Mark doesn’t mince words. “The Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness.” (Mark 1:12). The Holy Spirit didn’t passively encourage Jesus to go into the wilderness. The Spirit didn’t lead Jesus by the hand into temptation. The fact is, the Holy Spirit drove Jesus, He thrust Him into the wilderness to face off with the devil. The temptations were forced onto Jesus. He was pushed, and He didn’t have much of a choice. The temptations were difficult experiences directed by God. And this was immediately after a spiritual mountain top experience, the baptism of Christ. The wilderness temptations came right after God Himself spoke from heaven, confirming the eternal Sonship of Jesus and God’s everlasting love for His Son. Sometimes God brings us head first into difficult situations right after a spiritual high point. He wants to test our progress in the Faith. He wants us to learn from experience. He wants us to toughen up and become stubbornly dependent on God. As it happens, the Spirit doesn’t have to push us into predicaments very often. We are are so adept at getting ourselves into difficult situations, we don’t need the Lord’s help. The timing of the temptations was important. It must have been crucial to God that Jesus face this enemy and defeat him before His public ministry began. Jesus was thus given the opportunity to qualify Himself as the Messiah before He swings into action.
Divided Loyalties. What was the devil trying to do with these temptations? Did he have an ultimate goal in confronting Jesus with these moments of testing? Was there an overarching purpose to the devil’s temptations? Yes, there was one dominant goal. The devil wanted to drive a wedge between the Father and the Son. The Greek word for devil is diablo, which means “slanderer.” Diablo comes from two different Greek words which taken together means, “tear apart.” And that’s what the devil wanted to do, tear apart the eternally intimate relationship between the Father and the Son. The devil wanted to test the loyalty of Jesus to God. Each of the three temptations were meant to have Jesus question His trust in God, to move independently of the will of the Father. Each temptation was to try to create some self-doubt in Jesus’ mind about His status with the Father… “If you are the Son of God…” In turning the stones into bread, the devil subtly wanted Jesus to doubt His dependence on God to care for Him. The devil wanted Jesus to grow impatient and question if God was going to provide food. In the second temptation, the devil wanted Jesus to question His security in God. Jesus was meant to wonder if God could protect Him. The devil wanted Jesus to doubt God’s protection and thus do something to test God, to find out if He is faithful. The third temptation was the devil’s attempt to get Jesus to doubt God’s control over the world. Is the Father truly the King? Maybe I should take that power if God is not up to it. All three temptations were meant to separate, even a little bit, the intimacy between God and His Son. If the devil could get Jesus to become disloyal to the Father and to act independently of Him, then the devil had it made. But there was no wavering of loyalty, no compromise of their divine love. The devil knew a secret, but it didn’t do him any good. “The secret of the whole world of humanity is the love between the Father and the Son. That is at the root of it all. Upon the love between the Son and the Father hangs the whole universe. What it can mean exactly, you know, I cannot tell you.” (George MacDonald, Knowing the Risen Lord).
Submission to the Father. Jesus submitted to God’s push into the wilderness because He needed to set the record straight with the devil. Jesus needed to show the devil right from the start who the boss was. Jesus needed to undo the fall of Adam. The devil is a fool. He figured that if he could defeat Adam, he could succeed against Jesus as well. But the devil didn’t realize that Jesus was the New Adam, the only one who could undo the Fall and face off with the devil and win. Jesus defeated the tempter and his schemes, and now can offer the eternal life bungled by Adam. Jesus can now offer the hope of salvation that was lost in the doom of Adam’s sin. Jesus also wanted to show His followers an example of how we can stand victoriously against temptation. And He wanted to reveal a warning to us that we will indeed face spiritual warfare with the devil and his forces. Finally, Jesus needed to face temptation as a human experience, something common to personhood. He needed to prove His humanity by going through temptation, and He needed to prove His divinity by passing the test.
The Spiritual Armor of Jesus. Being filled with the Holy Spirit after His baptism, there is no doubt that Jesus was wearing his spiritual armor in the wilderness. He spent His forty days in prayer and fasting. He knew He was about to wrestle against the primary spiritual force of darkness. He knew He would have to stand against the wiles of the devil, against the crafty power of wickedness. So Jesus made sure He was wearing the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness. He wore the Good News of peace on His feet. He held up His shield of faith and trust in God to put out the devil’s fiery darts. Jesus wore the helmet of salvation to protect His mind during the ordeal. And, most conspicuously, Jesus wielded the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. For every fiery dart, Jesus responded with a razor-sharp word from Scripture. For this intense battle with the devil, Jesus wore the full armor of God and was saturated in prayer. Jesus had received His battle plans. He was ready to stand firm against the subtle but deadly strategies of the Adversary.
1st Temptation of Jesus. “Turn these stones into bread.” Forty days is the outside number for the ability to survive without food. After forty days, one’s inner organs start to consume each other in the body’s desperate drive to receive some sort of nourishment. So Jesus was literally beginning to starve. He was way beyond being merely hungry, and the devil wanted to exploit that fact. Jesus was getting desperate, but He nonetheless didn’t give in to this powerful temptation. For one thing, Jesus was not about to comply with any suggestion of Satan. Jesus depended on the Father for provision of food. Jesus wanted to depend on God’s word to be said, God’s will to be done, God’s initiative to give the green light to eat. Jesus was not going to use His supernatural power for self-indulgence. He would not seek nourishment apart from God’s timing. His loyalty to the Father was like food to Him. Jesus expanded on this in John 4:32-34: “I have food to eat of which you do not know… My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work.” Henri Nouwen likens this first temptation to our being tempted to be “relevant,” in which we base our ministry on being productive, on meeting a need, or successfully producing tangible results. The devil wanted Jesus to use His power to meet a felt need and ignore the Father’s will in the process. To engage in independent self-reliance is not in Jesus’ game plan. Earthly well-being is not a priority for Jesus. Becoming a slave to physical needs does not sway Jesus despite His intense hunger. Jesus is saying that He will use His power to serve God, to serve others, but not to serve Himself. The self-discipline here of Jesus is a marvel.
2nd Temptation of Jesus. “Taking Jesus to the highest point of the Temple, the devil told Him to jump off.” Did the devil and Jesus teleport themselves to the Temple in Jerusalem? Why not? Or was this scene in their vivid imaginations and that was the same as being there? We don’t know, of course. The highest point of the temple is on the Royal Porch, which overlooks a sheer drop of 450 feet to the valley below. Also of interest is that in rabbinic tradition, “In the hour when the Messiah is to be revealed, he shall come and stand on the roof of the Temple.” So for one thing, Jesus knew it was not yet God’s time for Him to be seen anywhere near the roof of the Temple. Then the devil wanted Jesus to do what amounted to a spectacular magic trick. Throw yourself down, says the devil, and surely the angels will protect you. Think how extraordinary this would be, you would be a sensation, your popularity will be over the top! Go ahead, says the devil, and see if your God will really protect you like He said. Put Him to the test. Are you all that secure in God’s ability to rescue you? Don’t you have a tiny doubt in there somewhere? Go ahead, let’s see what your God does. Call His bluff. Jesus replied with Scripture about not testing the Lord. Besides, Jesus is saying, I don’t need to test the Lord. I trust Him, I am secure in His protection. I am not going to recklessly expose myself to danger to find out if He is faithful. I already know He is. I am not going to provide some heavenly spectacle for the acclaim of the people. No, devil, that will not work for me.
3rd Temptation of Jesus. “I will give you all these kingdoms if you worship me.” The devil and Jesus now find themselves on the peak of a high mountain. They are able to get a bird’s-eye view of the world and all of civilization. The devil proudly claims ownership of all they survey, and offers to give to Jesus the power to rule everything they see. It seems the devil has a right to at least think this bombastically. After all, Scripture even names the devil “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31 and 16:11) and “the god of this age.” (2 Cor. 4:4). John said that “the whole world is in his power.” (1 John 5:19). The devil appealed to the human thirst for power, but with strings attached. In some ways, this temptation doesn’t make sense. What good would it do to have power over the kingdoms but still have Satan in power over you? I’ll give you all this power, Jesus, if you give me your allegiance so I’ll be the most powerful of all. But if you were the ruler of all these kingdoms, Jesus, think of the wealth, the domination, whatever you want at the snap of your fingers. You would be the boss of everyone, they would all have to obey you! Think of that power! All you have to do, Jesus, is let me be your boss. Is that so much to ask? Come on, where’s your ambition, where’s your pride? Think of your influence, your control! Don’t worry about your so-called Father and His kingdom. You wouldn’t need Him any more. Stay with me, Jesus, and you can rule without Him. But once again, Jesus didn’t compromise with evil. This temptation didn’t appeal to His spirit of servanthood. The mission of Jesus is self-sacrifice, not domination. Even if I was attracted to give orders, devil, I would not bow down to worship you. The only One worthy of worship is my Father, the Lord my God. Him only will I serve. So go away now, Satan! Be gone! You lost.
The Retreat of the Devil. So the devil finally retreated from Jesus, and angels came to minister to Him in the wilderness. They could have brought manna from heaven, or provided a feast of some type, but certainly they brought comfort and encouragement from heaven’s throne. Once the devil knew he was defeated in this face-off, he left Jesus, knowing he was going to return to Him “at an opportune time.” (Luke 4:13). This wasn’t the last He’d see of the devil. No doubt temptations came and went throughout the public ministry of Jesus. Certainly the devil made an appearance during the Passion, with Judas, in Gethsemane, in front of His accusers. Throughout His life, Jesus was probably tempted everyday, just like us. “For we do not have a great High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin… For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to help us when we are being tested. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (Hebrews 4:15, 2:18, 4:16). In the wilderness of our world, we will find ourselves in a battleground like Jesus. But we can be assured that our victorious Pioneer will be at our side. He knows what to do. He’s been here before.
Spiritual Warfare. Finally, grow strong in the Lord, with the strength of his power. Put on the full armor of God so as to be able to resist the devil’s tactics. For it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the principalities and the ruling forces who are masters of the darkness in this world, the spirits of evil in the heavens. That is why you must take up all God’s armor, or you will not be able to put up any resistance on the evil day, or stand your ground even though you exert yourselves to the full.” (Ephesians 6:10-13, NJB).
Believers in Christ are asked to join an army as well. We are called to put on God’s armor, the spiritual armor of Yahweh, to engage in battle with the spiritual forces of wickedness. In the Hebrew Bible, we often see Yahweh gather His angelic warriors to serve Him in warfare against the enemies. It seems that sometimes the warfare was more spiritual, and other times the battles were with physical enemies. Sometimes there is a mysterious interplay between the unseen and seen worlds. Oftentimes Yahweh fought along with the believers in the battle, like with David and Goliath. Other times Yahweh and His army fought instead of the believers, asking the believers to simply watch the battle as Yahweh and his warriors do all the fighting. Who knows what spiritual warfare looks like now. Who knows what role the LORD’s host plays in everyday life. I have a feeling we have no idea the battles that are waged that we know nothing about. The fact is we can’t be aware of what is happening in the unseen world. What would we see if Yahweh opened our eyes to see like Elisha’s servant? We can certainly thank Yahweh-sabaoth that He fights our battles for us when we are blissfully unaware. One thing we do know… When we put on God’s armor, we are joining the angel army in some meaningful way, to an extent that we can’t be sure of. Thank you, Yahweh-sabaoth, that you remain the valiant Commander of the Angel Armies. Thank you that you still are the victorious King of the heavenly troops that continue to defend us in the unseen battles that occur around us.
The Temptation of Us. Anyone who meets a temptation or a testing challenge head on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons are loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.” (James 1:12).
In the modern era, temptation often comes knocking on our door through technology, through screens that are so accessible. It is just true that when we go on a screen, we open the door to multiple temptations. It is a sad fact that it is easy for a screen to stimulate a desire to be angry with this person, to lust after that person, to be entertained into oblivion. For a God-fearing person, there are constant questions to consider as we welcome technology into our lives… What do we choose to welcome into our hearts? Who do we decide to entertain in our homes through the internet? Do we have guests on our screens that shouldn’t be here? What type of desire do we flirt with via technology? With television and internet, it’s too easy to tempt fate. Attractive desires can be powerfully seductive. We can often be hungry fish circling a bait that is alluring. It is easy to be hungry and have a weak moment, tempted to take the bait. The tempter is only too happy to dangle the bait after we have developed an appetite. We need to outsmart the tempter as he sits above us in the boat, ready to reel us in. We need to be self-aware of our weak moments. Sometimes, one hook is all it takes.
Final Word of Caution. Do not dabble in the occult, in the ways of the Evil One! It is a trap that brings you nothing but spiritual harm and eventual disaster. The Lord Yahweh warned us of all this long ago: “When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations and detestable acts of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who engages in child sacrifice, or one who practices witchcraft, or is a fortune-teller, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts spells, or a medium, psychic or a spiritist, or one who calls up the spirits of the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 18:9-12). It’s no wonder that any Israelite who practiced any of those detestable practices were immediately executed.