Psalm 56, 57; 1 Kings 21:1-16; 1 Cor. 1:1-19; Matt. 4:1-11
Who is the real power in Israel? Ahab wants a vineyard to turn into a vegetable garden and the man who owns the land chooses not to sell or swap the property because it is a family inheritance. The king pouts like a child over the refusal and Jezebel takes charge and arranges for the man, Naboth, to be falsely charged with blasphemy and stoned to death. How many men were willing to do this woman’s bidding? We speak of complementarianism in the church, that men are intended to lead and women play a complementary role yet sometimes we see situations like this where the male is the titular leader and yet the power is wielded by the female. Weak men have been the bane of the church in many places and the Lord needs us to lead according to His Word.
Immediately after His baptism and the words from heaven that the Father is pleased with His beloved Son, Jesus retreats to the wilderness to face temptation alone. Each temptation appeals to a worldly desire. He has not eaten for forty days and He is able to turn stones into bread but even food cannot be His prime concern, there will always be the temptation to do something useful, even good to our eyes, but Jesus must deny Himself and in doing so He teaches us the importance of bringing the body into submission to the will of the Father. Surely He knows that until His mission is complete the angels will indeed protect Him from harm, and what a sign that would be, but testing the Father’s love is not necessary, He knows He is loved. Finally, Jesus is offered the kingdoms of the world, He could indeed be king of the world, but instead He will suffer all that lies ahead for the sake of the Father’s glory and for us. Jesus is the archetype for a strong man, one whose strength is in the Father and whose trust is only in Him as well.
I see some of the same things in the church today that Paul speaks into in the Corinthian church. There are some who can easily quote their favorite preacher on any topic but who have no thoughts of their own on the Word. The Bible is reduced to a set of unconnected verses that become nothing more than aphorisms and take-off points for someone’s life philosophy and are used to justify things like the desire for wealth and power. I had someone suggest to me recently that you could tell whether someone was “religious” or “Christian” based on what their reaction was to a particularly popular preacher. The only test of whether someone is Christian is what they make of Jesus. We must never follow men rather than Jesus, He alone is worthy, see Revelation 5 for proof. Truly strong men and women follow Him and listen only to His voice.
Thou rushing wind that art so strong
Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice,
Ye lights of evening, find a voice!
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
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