A Branch, A Budding Branch, and a Bronze Serpent: Christ in the Book of Numbers January 6, 2010

⁹ Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”

¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? ¹¹ Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. ¹² If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.^{[a] 14} And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but^[b] have eternal life.

- John 3:9-15

⁴⁵ Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. ⁴⁶ For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. ⁴⁷ But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

John 5:45-47

As the book of Genesis has three prominent types of Christ being wed to His bride (see here), the book of Numbers has three prominent types of Christ in relation to the cross. There are other types interspersed throughout the text, of course, but these three form a thematic unity that not only gives us a complete typological picture of the person of Christ, but also underscores the seamless textual unity of the book of Numbers.

Numbers 13

Typically (no pun intended) Moses is viewed as the leading type of Christ in this passage, for it is Moses who sends out the twelve to surrounding areas to spy it out and give a report on it, as Christ sent out the twelve to preach and heal, etc. However, there is another type embedded within that narrative that we almost always overlook. Let’s look at it 13:23-25:

²³ Then they came to the Valley of Eshcol, and there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes; they carried it between two of them on a pole. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs. ²⁴ The place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the men of Israel cut down there. ²⁵ And they returned from spying out the land after forty days.

What is the context of this short passage? Well, to summarize it briefly, the twelve spies are sent to spy out the promised land. They  pluck a branch from the promised land, hang it upon a pole “between the two of them” and bring it back to the rest of Israel as a testimony of the truth of God’s promises, and of God’s covenantal faithfulness. Yet, Israel is not united in their opinion of the fruit, but divided into two opposing sides. On the one hand, there is a good testimony about the promised land; on the other hand, there is a bad report. vv. 26-33:

²⁶ Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. ²⁷ Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. ²⁸ Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. ²⁹ The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.”
³⁰ Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”
³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” ³² And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. ³³ There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

This branch was taken from the promised land, hanged upon a pole between two men, and brought before all Israel as a testimony of the truth of God’s promises and His covenantal faithfulness, and yet all Israel was divided in two – some believed, some did not.

Do we see the picture yet?

Christ is that branch, He is the Branch of Righteousness, the King of Israel (see, Jeremiah 23:5-6), the “True Vine” (cf. John 15:1) who came down from the promised land through Israel to be hanged between two men. His death upon the cross was/is evidence of the truth of God’s Word/Promises and His covenantal faithfulness. Yet, the report given about Him was/is divided. As the firstfruits of the promised land hanged between those who believed and those who didn’t so did the Lord Jesus. We read:

“If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”
³⁸ And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:^[i]

THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

³⁹ Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”
⁴⁰ But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
⁴³ And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

- Luke 23:36b-43

What is beautiful is that the Branch/King metaphor of Jeremiah 23:5-6 finds a correlation here in the Paradise/Kingdom statements of the repentant thief and the Lord Jesus, as it does in our passage from Numbers 13 where the branch and its fruit point to the Promised Land/Israel’s future Kingdom. Isn’t that amazing? I’m beginning to understand why the Lord said Moses testified about Him!

Numbers 17

Again, in Numbers 17 we have another type of Christ in the cut off Branch. However, whereas the former Branch type shows us the Lord in His coming to die, this Branch type shows us the Lord rising to new life to alone serve as the mediator between God and man. He is, as the hymn says, “the man of God’s own choosing.” To avoid posting the whole chapter, I’ll briefly describe the events and post a pertinent portion of text pertaining to our study.

In Numbers 16, a man named Korah attempts to rebel against Moses and Aaron. His claim is that all of Israel is holy and, therefore, should be allowed to serve in the Tabernacle before the Lord. Long story short, by a test given by Moses, he is found to be an illegitimate authority/priest. The people are disgruntled and complain against Moses, so the Lord tells Moses to gather the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel and Aaron. They are to have a staff/rod, with their names written into them, represent them before the Lord. The man whose staff/rod bears life on the next day, that man is the one whom God has chosen to be His representative/priest.

⁶ So Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and each of their leaders gave him a rod apiece, for each leader according to their fathers’ houses, twelve rods; and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. ⁷ And Moses placed the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness.
⁸ Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds.

- Numbers 17:6-8

Let’s look closely at the details. Firstly, thirteen staffs/rods were placed before the Lord; twelve belonged to the twelve heads of Israel, one belonged to Aaron. Secondly, the staffs/rods were placed there, in a sense, by the law – Moses – to be judged as worthy or unworthy, chosen or not chosen to be God’s representative. Thirdly, the staff/rod, which was now cut-off and dead, was to bring forth life as proof of being chosen by God.

Seeing the picture?

Christ is the staff/rod of Aaron, cut off as all men are, placed before the Father by the Law, as all men are, and yet He lives! He brought forth life from death. And it is His resurrection – His bringing forth of life from death – that proves His role as God’s High Priest. We read in Acts 2:32-36:

³² This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. ³³ Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.
³⁴ “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself:

‘ The LORD said to my Lord,
“ Sit at My right hand,
³⁵ Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”’

³⁶ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

Amen :)

Numbers 21

The final type of the crucifixion is given in Numbers 21:4-9.

⁴ Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. ⁵ And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” ⁶ So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.
⁷ Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
⁸ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” ⁹ So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

Again, we see a pole upon which something is hanged. In the case of Numbers 13, it is the cut-off Branch, the true Vine who is hanged; in this chapter, it is a serpent made of bronze by Moses. As with the other two types, Moses stands in the same relation to Israel – he serves the same function as the law. For he is both the source of God’s wrath against Israel, and the one who directs men to God’s salvation.

In Numbers 13, Moses (the law) sends men out to spy out the promised land, to taste and see that the Lord is good – but they would not. Instead of trusting in God, they decide to work their way into the promised land by their own efforts (see, Numbers 14:39-45 which clearly shows that what is at stake here is faith in God’s ability to give them the promised land (as expressed by Caleb) and lack of faith as evidence in the religious works of the rebelious Israelites). In Numbers 17, Moses (the law) places all men before God and gives them the proof they are to look for in order to verify who among all of Israel is chosen by God, but only one man is chosen – Aaron, the priest – while the others remain, in a symbolic sense, impotent, dead. Finally, in Numbers 21, Moses (the law) brings judgment upon men when they speak against him, but he also shows how God’s salvation came forth and how one can be saved.

Again,

Amen.

Central to the Types

There are three types, but only one is set up as a remembrance to Israel: the type of the resurrection (i.e. Aaron’s budding rod) which is directly in the center of God’s typological portrait. Hence, we read in Numbers 17:10:

And the LORD said to Moses, “Bring Aaron’s rod back before the Testimony, to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put their complaints away from Me, lest they die.”

We look to the Branch of Righteousness as the firstfruits of what God has promised, as we look to Him for salvation, but we remember His supremacy, authority, and unique and sole position as Mediator and Priest in His resurrection.

For those who rebel against God religiously (as those who refused to enter the promised land did), as well as for those who curse against God’s Word (as those who were bitten by serpents did), and for all men – the cross is what God is pointing you to.

Be blessed.

-h.

Two Consecrations December 22, 2009

¹ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD, ³ he shall separate himself from wine and similar drink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. ⁴ All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin.
⁵ ‘All the days of the vow of his separation no razor shall come upon his head; until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the LORD, he shall be holy. Then he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. ⁶ All the days that he separates himself to the LORD he shall not go near a dead body. ⁷ He shall not make himself unclean even for his father or his mother, for his brother or his sister, when they die, because his separation to God is on his head. ⁸ All the days of his separation he shall be holy to the LORD.
⁹ ‘And if anyone dies very suddenly beside him, and he defiles his consecrated head, then he shall shave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it. ¹⁰ Then on the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting; ¹¹ and the priest shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because he sinned in regard to the corpse; and he shall sanctify his head that same day.

¹² He shall consecrate to the LORD the days of his separation, and bring a male lamb in its first year as a trespass offering; but the former days shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.

Numbers 6:1-12 presents us with two consecrations: (i.)vv.1-8, and (ii.)vv.9-12. The first is the individual’s consecration of his offering to take the vow of a Nazarite; the second is the consecration of “the days of his separation” (v.12). Are these two the same type of consecration? I’m not sure. But the language is compelling for a number of reasons.

Complete Abstinence Is Not Enough

In the first consecration, it was possible for the person vowing to not drink or defile himself, and yet it seems as if the Lord is showing us that even complete abstinence is not enough to keep a man. Hence, we find this juxtaposition:

⁶ All the days that he separates himself to the LORD he shall not go near a dead body.[...]

⁹ …if anyone dies very suddenly beside him

The would-be-Nazarite was perhaps willing and able to abstain from even defiling himself for his own family members, but he couldn’t stop defilement from coming to him. God demanded active and passive purity. And because death and sin and corruption came to him, he was guilty, in spite of his active pursuit of a clean track record. He needed to start over; the old vow, though made with the best of intentions, was now completely lost.

After consecrating his offering to the Lord to take the vow of a Nazarite, he was now defiled, the days he had “under his belt” being lost to his corruption. And what was a symbol of his devotion to God was to be cast away like a filthy rag. He had to shave his head clean and begin anew.

Two Birds

However, in order to atone for his sin, the would-be-Nazarite needed to bring two birds to the priest. The first was to be slain as a sin offering, while the second was to be consumed as a burnt offering. The first heavenly creature was to be slain for his sin, the second was to be consumed with fire and ascend into the heavens from whence it came down to the altar of sacrifice.

Is the picture clear yet?

Without the descent, sacrifice, and ascension of these birds (in the form of rising smoke before the Lord God), there would be no atonement for the individual’s corruption/defilement. Ironically, he would now be separated by his sin, not his vow.

The Second Consecration & The Lamb Slain for Trespasses

While the two birds stand in relation to the individual’s broken commitment to the Lord, his sin and corruption, the lamb stands in relation to the individual’s trespass and his consecration of his days. At least in the text, the lamb is given alongside/with the individual’s consecration of his days unto God.

And all this is done on the eighth day (which is the number of new life/regeneration/resurrection).

The Significance of the Two Consecrations

I’m not sure how exact of an understanding of this passage I actually have, but here’s what I gained.

The individual’s vow and active abstinence from wine and grapes and dead bodies, etc, is not enough to keep him while he lives in a world saturated with sin and death. He must look to Christ daily. His days must be consecrated by the blood of the Lamb. Like the would-be-Nazarite, our failed vows, promises, etc are forgiven, but we need to pick up where we fell, and continue to follow Christ, although our past achievements may now be lost.

If you have anything to add, to correct, to admonish, to exhort, etc – let me know :) This was a challenging passage, and I’d appreciate whatever insight the Lord has given to you.

-h.

Two Ways Sin is Revealed December 17, 2009

I.

⁵ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Speak to the children of Israel: ‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in unfaithfulness against the LORD, and that person is guilty, ⁷ then he shall confess the sin which he has committed. He shall make restitution for his trespass in full, plus one-fifth of it, and give it to the one he has wronged. ⁸ But if the man has no relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for the wrong must go to the LORD for the priest, in addition to the ram of the atonement with which atonement is made for him. ⁹ Every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his. ¹⁰ And every man’s holy things shall be his; whatever any man gives the priest shall be his.’”

- Numbers 5:5-10

II.

¹¹ And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹²¹³ and a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and it is concealed that she has defiled herself, and “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him, there was no witness against her, nor was she caught— ¹⁴ if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, who has defiled herself; or if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, although she has not defiled herself— ¹⁵ then the man shall bring his wife to the priest…

¹⁶ ‘And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD. ¹⁷ The priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. ¹⁸ Then the priest shall stand the woman before the LORD, uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering for remembering in her hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that brings a curse. ¹⁹ And the priest shall put her under oath, and say to the woman, “If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray to uncleanness while under your husband’s authority, be free from this bitter water that brings a curse. ²⁰ But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, and if you have defiled yourself and some man other than your husband has lain with you”— ²¹ then the priest shall put the woman under the oath of the curse, and he shall say to the woman—“the LORD make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the LORD makes your thigh rot and your belly swell; ²² and may this water that causes the curse go into your stomach, and make your belly swell and your thigh rot.”
Then the woman shall say, “Amen, so be it.”

²³ ‘Then the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall scrape them off into the bitter water. ²⁴ And he shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter her to become bitter. ²⁵ Then the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, shall wave the offering before the LORD, and bring it to the altar; ²⁶ and the priest shall take a handful of the offering, as its memorial portion, burn it on the altar, and afterward make the woman drink the water. ²⁷ When he has made her drink the water, then it shall be, if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband, that the water that brings a curse will enter her and become bitter, and her belly will swell, her thigh will rot, and the woman will become a curse among her people.

- Numbers 5:11-27

Numbers 5, like chapters one through four, is arranged chiastically. Here is the chiasm:

A. Contaminated Men and Women Excommunicated (vv. 1- 4)

B. Certain Spiritual Unfaithfulness [Men and Women] (vv. 5-6)

C. Confession and Rituals for the Spiritually Unfaithful to Perform (vv. 7-10)

D. Uncertain Unfaithfulness to Husband (vv. 11-14)

C’. Prescribed Male Rituals (v. 15)

B’. Prescribed Female Ritual (vv. 16-26)

A’. Adulterous Woman to be Cursed By Israel [Socially Excommunicated] (v. 27 & vv.29-31)

At the opposite ends of the chiasm, that is points A. and A’., the curse/contamination/uncleanness is explicit, but as we move toward the center, the sin is concealed. So I ask the question:

Is this passage concerned primarily with the unfaithfulness of a wife toward her husband?

I would vouch to say that it is and it isn’t. You see, excommunicating those who are obviously unclean is easy. Confession of one’s sin is a little more difficult. But discovering whether or not someone has sin in their lives is a matter only the Word of God can discover. Hence, the LORD says:

²³ ‘Then the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall scrape them off into the bitter water. ²⁴ And he shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter her to become bitter.

and

²⁷ When he has made her drink the water, then it shall be, if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband, that the water that brings a curse will enter her and become bitter, and her belly will swell, her thigh will rot, and the woman will become a curse among her people.

While the ritual very likely did accomplish this “belly swelling” and “thigh rotting,” I think what God would have to see is this principle:

Our response to the Words of God (here given as the curse upon the unfaithful woman) exposes what’s otherwise hidden to others.

We can openly confess our sin and seek reconciliation/restitution (vv. 7-10), or the Word of God can expose us for what we are/for the sin in our lives.

A Word About the Curse

There are some who would criticize this passage as being unnecessarily harsh, but looking at the overall context helps adjust our sinful way of seeing things. For confession and reconciliation precede the woman’s concealment of her sin leading up to her judgment. The threat of such a horrible curse should be enough to drive us to not even think of concealing our sin before God and one another, especially since confession is something we can all do. Yet, we are more like the woman who is actually guilty, refusing to acknowledge our sin, until the Word of God exposes what is hidden within us.

The unfaithful woman who conceals her sin, interestingly, runs antithetically parallel to the unfaithful men and women of Israel who confess and seek reconciliation. Is it not obvious that the Holy Spirit is drawing a parallel between God’s bride and the man’s bride? Between what God’s people should look like (i.e. confessing and seeking restitution, think of Zaccheus, cf. Luke 19:1-10), and what they shouldn’t look like (i.e. concealing, hiding, lying)?

For believers and non-believers alike, the principle is the same:

^…the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

But for the non-believer, this should, like the curses given to the unfaithful woman, be enough to lead you to Christ to seek His forgiveness through confession, to be reconciled to the very Creator of all. For His Word will eventually expose what sin lies within you.

Whereas the believer should be driven to Christ, our Savior, to seek His grace in our time of need. Hence, the writer of Hebrews goes on to say:

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

- Hebrews 4:12-16

- h.

At the Center of it All December 15, 2009

And the tabernacle of meeting shall move out with the camp of the Levites in the middle of the camps…

-Numbers 2:17a

The Central Point of the Censuses of Numbers 1-4

What is beautiful about the Word of God is that none of its details are superfluous. I just began reading the book of Numbers, feeling compelled to do so as I prayed, and at first, I have to admit, I just didn’t see anything but a series of lists, numbers, and names. But as I stepped back from the text, I noticed that the first four chapters comprise a seven-fold chiasm.

A. 12 Tribes Numbered (20 yrs old and above) [Num. 1]

B. 12 Tribes Organized According to Function [Num. 2]

C. Levites Numbered (1 month old and above) [Num. 3:1-39]

D. 12 Tribes’ Firstborn Numbered (1 month old and above) [Num. 3:40-43]

C’. 12 Tribes’ Firstborn Redeemed [Num. 3:44-51]

B’. Levites Organized According to Function [Num. 4:1-33]

A’. Levites Numbered (30 yrs old and above) [Num. 4:34-49]

And what lies in the center of these lists? Redemption. The pattern emerged after I sifted through the many details, clustered them together, and organized them – and it was worth it.

God’s plan of redemption is central to the lists given. But there’s more…

The Central Point of War? Perhaps…

Numbers 1-4 also presents us with two groups of laborers for the Lord: the 12 tribes of Israel who would go to war to protect Israel from external threats and the Levites who would protect the things of God from internal threats.

⁵ And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: ⁶ “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. ⁷ And they shall attend to his needs and the needs of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of meeting, to do the work of the tabernacle. ⁸ Also they shall attend to all the furnishings of the tabernacle of meeting, and to the needs of the children of Israel, to do the work of the tabernacle. ⁹ And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are given entirely to him from among the children of Israel. ¹⁰ So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall attend to their priesthood; but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

-Num. 3:5-10

Why does Israel “war”? The context would suggest that what is at stake is primarily the things of God – His tabernacle, presence, holy things. The 12 tribes fought external threats, and the Levites fought internal threats from “outsiders” without & within Israel.

Which, further, made me reconsider the fact that what may at first seem detached from the “holy things” of God, is not. While the 12 tribes were not functioning explicitly in a spiritual sense, they were still protecting the spiritual/holy things of God as they fought at the peripheries of Israel.

To sum all this up:

Redemption is central to the two groups of laborers. Therefore, whatever I do – whether camping at the edges of Israel, or camping around the things of God – is first and foremost about God (i.e. His presence, His glory, and His holy things).

-h.

One Temple, Two Mountains & Seven Beatitudes December 1, 2009

¹ Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. ³ Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
⁴ But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
⁵ Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:

‘ He shall give His angels charge over you,’
and,

‘ In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”
⁸ Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”
¹¹ Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

Have you ever noticed  that after coming up from the waters of baptism,  Jesus is immediately led into the wilderness? That after hearing God the Father proclaim “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17), we hear the devil tauntingly tell Him “If you are the Son of God…“?

And that after the Holy Spirit descends upon Him, He is “led up” by the Holy Spirit into a place of testing?

The text is riddled with opposites. Why?

We also read that:

• The Lord is taken up to the Temple’s pinnacle, then the devil tells Him to throw Himself down so that the angels would bear Him up.

• The Lord is taken to the top of an exceedingly high mountain and told to fall down and worship the devil, in order to be raised to political prominence by the devil.

Is this simply a literary device? Or is there something we can glean from these opposites?

What do we make of them?

When stripped of the crowds of people gathering at His baptism, dwelling in solitude in the wilderness – no crowds, no prophet, and the absence of God the Father’s mighty voice thundering from heaven – what did the Lord face?

Satan presented Christ with opportunities to lift Himself up to (1.)spiritual and (2.)political Messianic power. Satan brought Christ quick fix alternatives to His present situation. Jesus could wait for the Father or take matters into His own hands…

But what did He do?

He waited, in the Spirit and in the Word and in faith, for the Father.

I thought a bit about this passage today.

…about how the enemy’s desire is for us to fall one way or another (either by presumptuously sinning in order to gain the attention of God or by elevating worldly riches and glory above God and, thereby, worshiping His enemy)

…about how sometimes it seems to me that God is absent from the wilderness, when in fact He has “led me up” by His Holy Spirit into the wilderness

…about how God wants me to wait for Him and not accept sinful alternatives

…about how the enemy can tempt us to perform religious deeds while in the wilderness in order for us to gain the attention of God, or prove our sonship to ourselves (or others)

…about how the enemy sought to replace God’s approval with the approval of men

And I thought about what our Lord’s outcome was…

Matthew 5:1

¹ And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.

After these literal “ups and downs,” the Lord is ministered to, and raises Himself and lowers Himself for others, teaching:

³ “ Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matt. 5:3-9

Those who are blessed aren’t those who take up into their own hands what is only God’s to handle and give, but those who know they have nothing in themselves – those who must wait upon God, who hunger and thirst after righteousness, and not temporal satisfaction.

To summarize all this, I learned something profoundly simple:

Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD! (Ps. 27:14)

God will bring me/you/us out of the wilderness in His own time.

-h