Tempted to Provide | Matthew 4:1-4

Matthew 4:1-4 "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

Jesus Christ was our forerunner while here on this earth. Hebrews tells us that He was tempted in all points such as we are, yet without sin. He was certainly tempted more than just this one occasion, but we are given this one occasion as a detailed snapshot of how Jesus was tempted and how He dealt with it. Herein we will find how to deal with the temptations that come into our life.

Satan is so clever that at first glance it is hard to determine what is even sinful about Satan's offer. Turning stones into bread is not sinful in itself. Jesus did many miracles far greater than this. So be sober and be vigilant. Satan is the trickster of all the ages, and those things that he tempts us with will not always appear sinful. He can dress up evil intentions with the greatest deeds.

It only becomes clear what was evil about this request when Jesus replies: "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Jesus quotes a line from Deuteronomy 8:3: "And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live." This verse says the Lord suffered them to hunger, then fed them with manna so that they might know that man does not live by bread alone but by every word of God.

Like Israel was led into a wilderness to feel the pains of hunger, so had Jesus been. As they waited on heaven's supply, so was Jesus going to wait on God to end His season of hunger. He was not going to take it upon Himself to end His season of hunger early but would wait on God's supply.

Dear Christian, you too will be suffered to hunger. You will pass through long dry deserts with little to no supply, and then Satan will appear. He will tempt you to end this season early, to do what's within your power to supply your needs. It will not seem inherently evil, but rest assured it is. It is sinful to live where God does not want you, or how God does not want you to live. It is sinful to be full when He has made you empty, and to stifle His providence in your life. Abraham was tempted in a like manner when the king of Sodom offered him all the riches of Sodom, to which he replied: "I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine."

Wait on heaven's supply and reply as our Savior did: "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." In Jesus' case, the angels came and fed Him bread from heaven. In Abraham's case, he was given all the riches of God in the very next chapter. If you'll wait on God's supply, He'll feed you with manna from heaven!