When our son was in high school, he attended a small private school where my husband taught. We had a football team, but it was small in number.
The boys were all great friends, and they spent a lot of time at our house. I have fed those boys more ice cream pies than I care to count.
After the boys had eaten their fill of pie, their favorite thing to do was wrestle with one another. One of the boys, Jason, was very ticklish. The boys would get him on the floor and tickle the bottoms of his “shoes,” not his feet. The power of suggestion was unbelievable. He would act as though he had no shoes on his feet, laughing and begging the boys to stop.
The boys learned quickly that this was a way to “get” Jason, and they used it to their advantage. The thing that was interesting to me was that he never seemed to be prepared for it, even though it happened often.
Satan works that way in our lives. Even though we know he is going to tempt us, we never seem to be prepared for it. He sneaks up on us, catching us at a time of weakness.
When Eve was tempted in the Garden of Eden, she bought into the lies Satan told her. Eve explained that they were not allowed to eat of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden. The Devil’s answer was, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5 ESV).
Eve ate the fruit, gave some to Adam, and together they were punished by God. They did die!
King David is another example. “It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful” (Second Samuel 11:2).
David was simply taking a walk. His eyes strayed to a neighboring rooftop where he lusted after a woman as she was bathing. He didn’t go out there looking for a woman. It just happened.
David committed adultery, had the woman’s husband killed, and suffered the rest of his life for yielding to temptation. “Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun” (Second Samuel 12 10-11).
Jesus, Himself, was tempted by Satan. Jesus had been in the wilderness, after His baptism, for forty days and forty nights. He was hungry, tired, and vulnerable.
Satan tried to get Jesus to turn stones into bread. He tried to get Him to throw Himself off the temple. Then he tried to get Jesus to fall down and worship him. Each time, Jesus simply replied with scripture. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:5). “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test”(Matthew 4:7). “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve” (Matthew 4:11).
Luke tells us that when the devil completed these temptations, he left Jesus. But notice what else he tells us. “…He departed from him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). This was not the last time Jesus was tempted.
In spite of knowing we will be tempted on a regular basis, there are comforting words for those who are obedient to the gospel. Paul told the Corinthians, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (First Corinthians 10:12-13).
Those who were tempted serve as examples of how not to give in to the tempter. Just as Jason failed to prepare for what was an inevitable attack, so we fail to prepare for what is inevitable for us.
Did you notice how Jesus resisted the devil’s tricks? He used God’s Word. We can do the same, recalling commands, instructions, and examples from scripture. We can’t do that if we haven’t studied to know what God wants us to do.
One of the old Vacation Bible School songs tells us just what to do.
“The B-I-B-L-E yes that’s the book for me. I read, and study, and then obey, the B-I-B-L-E.”
Sandra Oliver