Lord, Throughout These Forty Days...7

Yesterday I started unpacking the parallels between the temptation of Adam and Eve and that of the Lord Jesus. The settings of each were described. Then I contrasted the circumstances surrounding the temptation of Adam and Jesus.

Now to temptation one.

Flash back to the Garden.
"Eve...saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food." Adam and Eve were tempted to eat something that looked like good food. Now remember, they were full and had the entire world of food possibilities within arm's reach. But that fruit of that tree started looking yummy. Why was God keeping such a yummy thing from them? The question of the Tempter started to take root.

After all God had made the tree and its yummy looking fruit. Surely He made it with a purpose. Everything, EVERYTHING, He made was declared good. What was up with a God who would make all things good and then deny them access to some -- even one -- of them?

The core of the first temptation centers not on the fruit's yumminess. That simple starting point leads the First Parents to doubt the specific word of God. He had said they were not to eat that tree's fruit and that doing so dire consequences would follow. Why would He say that?

Fast forward to Jesus in the Wilderness.
He is hungry -- an argument could be made for starving to death. Little round rocks dot the landscape. The Tempter again whispers. The rocks start looking like golden-brown loaves of bread, just like Momma Mary used to make. "Turn them to bread...if you are..."

After all Jesus did have the ability to produce bread miraculously. He would do so at least twice to feed thousands from mere lunchables. Why would He have such power and not be authorized to use it in this extreme need?

This temptation presents itself to Jesus just as it had to Adam. The yumminess of the foodstuff at hand gives rise to doubt about why God's Word restricted access to it. Doubts finally call for a choice.

"Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God." Unlike our First Parents, Jesus acclaims the primacy of the Word of God and affirms the nature of God from Whom that Word precedes. Where God clearly speaks, we must abide by that Word.

God did make everything very good. He does have a purpose for it being available. But He has the right to proscribe its use. As the designer and maker, He knows best how things are to be used or if they are to be used at all.

The first choice, temptingly wrapped in yummy food, challenges our trust in God and His Word. Do we trust the Word or our reasoning? Do we trust God enough to follow His direction? Both settings forced a choice about what sustains us and our life.

Adam failed because he chose things to sustain him. He denied God's right to direct the use of the things He provides. He rebelled against the clear command of God. He assumed too much thinking he knew better than God what was good. He abdicated his governership of creation by his unauthorized use that creation.

Jesus overcame. He reaffirms the Word of God as man's rule for living. Jesus trusts to the Father's provision for His physical need rather than selfish use of His authority. He redeems the failure of Adam.