A Life in Exile

They had come from a land of gods and idols, and they were headed to a land of gods and idols. Now in the wilderness, God was speaking to the Israelites through Moses. He was reminding them of the ten commandments God had given them. Ten words, written in stone, that would be the guardrails for living in accordance with the righteousness of God. What was the first word?

Do not have other gods besides me.

Deuteronomy 5:7 CSB

God was to be their focus, their all. As Moses continued to instruct the Israelites, this point would be made over and over to them, in various ways. It would be a central part of the shema, their daily declaration of faith.

Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

Facing temptations

They needed these central tenets and declarations, because soon, the Israelites would be going into a new land. Unlike the trials faced in the wilderness, the Promised Land had its own set of issues. No shortage of food here. There was water and green and goodness in abundance, but there were also other peoples, people who did not worship the Lord their God. These people had their own gods and own ways. It was here they would need to remember that the God who brought them out of Egypt, the God who brought them to this beautiful land—he alone was to be their God.

So, here we find our focal verse.

Fear the Lord your God, worship him, and take your oaths in his name. (Deuteronomy 6:13)

When they were faced with the temptation to follow the gods of the peoples around them, they were to stop and remember to worship the Lord, Elohim, Yahweh, or otherwise known as the Lord their God. Only in focusing on the Lord could they resist the temptations to come.

Jesus understood their struggle.

Before he’d chosen the twelve or performed any miracle, Jesus would need to pass a ministry entrance exam. This was his wilderness before entering into the Promised Land of proclamation. The Spirit brought him to this place to prepare his heart and mind, helping him transition from a simple son of a carpenter into the Son of Man. The baptism was the first step of obedience, and this would be the second in his formation as rabbi to a group of impossibly unfit students.

After he’d been in this wilderness, fasting and praying for forty days, the “other” in the form of the devil comes to get him off track, just as the peoples in the land did for the newly arrived Israelites. Three temptations were thrown out to Jesus.

The first curveball dealt with an immediate need—his hunger. Jesus knocked that one out of the park with a reminder that man doesn’t live by bread alone. God’s word is sufficient. Check out Deuteronomy 8:3 for that reference from the wilderness.

The second ball was directed as his relationship with God himself. Would he trust the Father enough to save him from a daring jump from the highest point? Knowing Jesus loved to quote Scripture, the devil does the same here, but for his own purposes. Jesus comes back with another quote from the wilderness days of Israel and tells him we don’t test God. You can find that in Deuteronomy 6:16.

The final aim comes from the view of one who obviously had a false sense of power. It will be here we see our reference to the focal verse for today.

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” (Matthew 4:8-10)

Satan may have been allowed temporary dominion over the earth, but he definitely was not the true landlord. The temptation to bow down to a false god was nothing new. Jesus knew this and knew that the Israelites had failed the test after all Moses had told them. He however, would demonstrate his unwavering loyalty and devotion to the Father by quoting the words of Moses from that time in their history. He proved not only to Satan himself, but to all who would come to see the Christ, that he alone was capable of fulfilling all righteousness.

What makes Satan run.

It was with this statement that Satan knew he was beat. After this proclamation of worship to the One True God, Satan left Jesus, leaving him to the angels he had tempted him to call on earlier. We know that Satan wasn’t done in his agitation of the Son of Man, but we do know that he would never have the upper hand with one who was focused on worshiping and serving God and God alone.

This is a wonderful example for us. The temptations of false gods and idols are still around today. What Moses told the Israelites and Jesus modeled in the wilderness is still the best way to make Satan scram and to stand firm in this fallen Promised Land. Are you proclaiming your purpose of worshiping the Lord your God and serving only him? Don’t shrink back when temptation strikes. Hit that ball out of the park with a strong grip on the Word of God and an arm powered by the aim of the Holy Spirit.

Grace and Peace

If you missed the last Learning from the Past post, click HERE, or start the series from the BEGINNING.