Class Outline:

Sunday July 10,2022

MAT 4:5-11

Then the devil took Him into the holy city; and he had Him stand on the pinnacle [Greek: “little wing” - impossible to tell which part of the temple this means] of the temple, 6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God throw Yourself down; for it is written,

 

'He will give His angels charge concerning You';

 

and

 

'On their hands they will bear You up,

Lest You strike Your foot against a stone.'"

 

7 Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

 

Satan’s temptation reveals his idea of blessing for the human race, and therefore likely for himself. A prosperous life should be one in which there are no undesirable consequences to our decisions. A blessed life is one in which no matter what we crave, God will give it. A great life is one in which God supports every path we take like a doting parent over a spoiled child.

 

 

 

This is very revealing indeed, and we must recognize that it is a temptation for a reason; within our conscience, our pictures of what life could be, somewhat blurry from sin and ignorance, we are very much tempted to that always comfortable and consequence free life.

 

Life isn’t to be without pain or discomfort, but it is to be victoriously lived under the will of God.

 

Jesus’ ministry has just begun and He knows that it will unveil itself and work in accordance with the sovereign will of the Father. What times and at what speeds those things come and go, everything leading up to the moment He dies on the cross has already been worked out, but not all of that is revealed to Him - He trusts. He said what the Father wanted Him to say, did what the Father wanted Him to do, went where the Father wanted Him to go. How often He said, “My hour has not yet come.” Jesus could read what was happening to Him, but He did not control the timing of it. As a Man, Jesus had placed Himself at the mercy of the Father’s timing for whatever may befall Him.

 

HEB 10:7

"Then I said, 'Behold, I have come

(In the roll of the book it is written of Me)

To do Thy will, O God.'"

 

ISA 42:1,4

“Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;

My chosen one in whom My soul delights … He will not be disheartened or crushed,”

 

He can no more control the times than any other man, unless He uses His deity to do it. Satan tempts Jesus to force God to presently act in a way that is not planned. That is tempting God.

 

The devil quotes PSA 91:11-12 and he misinterprets it. We should be grateful that he does, for it shows us that we need to understand this psalm. Why are we faced with this psalm in this situation - this place and time? I’m convinced it is no coincidence. What the devil thinks is a temptation is revealing.

 

Psa 91 should be seen hand in hand with Psa 90. We looked at Psa 90 on Thursday. First, their similarities are clear.

 

PSA 90:1

Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

 

PSA 91:9

For you have made the Lord, my refuge,

Even the Most High, your dwelling place.

 

Psa 90: short life, sin, death, wrath of God … “How long until Your favor Lord?”

 

The difference between 90 and 91 is the trust of the believer. But if God didn’t remove our sin, there would be nothing to trust, yet since He did, those who trust enter into His dwelling place where His pinions cover us. And though our life is short and contains plenty of trials, tests, persecutions, and heartaches, God will get us through, and that abundantly.

 

JOH 10:10

came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.

 

Life is short and transitory. There is only so much time to hear God’s voice. Eternal, perfect speech is from God alone (fear Him), and we only have a short time to hear it. That should make us very attentive and diligent to learn.

 

After seeing the solemn Psa 90, now we can look at the bright and joyful Psa 91.

 

Let’s read the psalm and see if we accept the devil’s interpretation.

 

Psa 91

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress,

My God, in whom I trust!"

3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper,

And from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with His pinions,

And under His wings you may seek refuge;

His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night,

Or of the arrow that flies by day;

6 Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,

And ten thousand at your right hand;

But it shall not approach you.

8 You will only look on with your eyes,

And see the recompense of the wicked.

9 For you have made the Lord, my refuge,

Even the Most High, your dwelling place.

10 No evil will befall you,

Nor will any plague come near your tent.

11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you,

To guard you in all your ways [devil left this line out].

12 They will bear you up in their hands,

Lest you strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra,

The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.

14 "Because he has loved Me [clung to me with affection and delight], therefore I will deliver him;

I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.

15 "He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will rescue him, and honor him.

16 "With a long life I will satisfy him,

And let him behold My salvation."

 

The one who trusts sits in the discreet place of the Most High.

 

JOH 14:23

“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him.”

 

The contrast we will see is between this and testing God in which we expect God to do for us whatever we will. The description of the saint in Psa 91 is one who trusts God, has many names for God (Most High, Almighty, Lord (Yavah), God (Elohim)). That the saint has many names for God reveals an intimacy of lovers. He is set securely on high for this very reason: “he has known My name” (vs. 14).

 

Wanting God to do what we want is akin to Him knowing our name rather than us knowing His.

 

The description of the saint is one who sits in God’s dwelling and says to Yavah - My refuge and my fortress, my Elohim who I trust. He clings to God with delight (“loves Him” vs. 14).

 

The main theme is “safety” from both secret and open dangers. Satan wants Jesus to throw Himself into danger and test it out.

 

By doing that, Jesus would be calling into question the soundness of the word (promise) itself. Dwelling in the house of the Most High and trusting Him is different from asking the Most High to prove Himself through action.

 

In this world there are traps and pestilence always (hidden dangers and unseen strikes).

 

The “snare of the trapper” (vs. 3) means that dangers are always all around. We don’t have to make them. “Deadly pestilence” (vs. 3) and the snare speak of hidden danger and that which strikes unseen.

 

The finished contemplation of all that God delivers him “through” (vv. 3-8) causes him to repeat vs. 1, For you have made the Lord, my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place (vs. 9).

 

Faith and love have no need to vary its expression and loves to repeat itself.

 

“I love you. I trust you,” never gets old when it is sincere and justly placed. God says it to us and we repeat it back to Him. It is nothing but insincerity to feel the need to say it in varying ways as if it were the words themselves that had meaning and not the actual love. Love never fails and we never fail to hear its sweet truth when we are the objects of God’s love and He ours.

 

Vs. 10: General - “No evil will befall you.” None?

 

It depends on what the psalmist means by evil. Is evil, as the devil would have us believe, the presence of anything difficult or uncomfortable or uncontrolled? We know better if we have had any education in God’s word.

 

Evil is stumbling out of God’s will.

 

We know that evil will come upon us. The snare of the trapper and the pestilence are out there. So is this just a platitude ? Of course not. When we see evil for what it really is, we rejoice as those who dwell with God in trust that it will not befall us, for we may sin and fail here and there, but with God’s forgiveness through the blood of Christ, we are not leaving God’s shelter (pinions of the eagle mother).

 

This life, even in the shelter of God is not one without pain or trial, but one without stumbling headlong into death in the wilderness.

 

Why move?

 

This reality of life is further divulged by our “tent.” The nomads of Palestine moved frequently because resources dried up in one place or the weather changed. They had to uproot and move. Jael was able to drive a tent peg through Sisera’s head in JUD 4:21 because she had lots of practice.

 

Nor will any plague come near your tent (10b).

 

There is a time to plant and a time to uproot, but we do not determine those times. We have to trust and be ready to move and to do when called to. And we will do this with joy because we cling to and know our Lord.

 

Man’s tent is contrasted to God’s permanent dwelling. We change, but God does not.

 

Then here the angels are added to take the place of our protectors. The danger they protect us from is stumbling.

 

PSA 91:11-12

For He will give His angels charge concerning you,

To guard you in all your ways [devil left this line out].

12 They will bear you up in their hands,

Lest you strike your foot against a stone.

 

Angels have no charge to take stones out of the way. Smooth paths are monotonous and therefore wearying in the worst kind of way. Plus, smooth paths make us presumptuous. Hindrances are good for us or God wouldn’t allow them. They drive us to look for God (2Co 12).

 

Still, if they bear us up, then nothing should happen to the ones who trust God - nothing bad at all. But that is obviously not true. We must not gloss over it or conclude falsehood.

 

A stone can bruise the foot or it can cause us to stumble.

 

It is stumbling that is the issue here, and not the bruising. Stumbling is akin to leaving God’s will, which is what Satan desires Jesus to do, and all of us as well.

 

Stumbling, not bruising, is the danger, and angels are employed in our service. We would love to know the specifics of that, but it is obvious that God has determined that it is not necessary for us to know. Elisha showed his servant the angels on the hill, but they soon faded away invisible. We are to have the comfort of knowing that a multitude of God’s magnificent servants are ordered to concern for us.

 

2KI 6:15-17

Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" 16 So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, "O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.