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Friday 19 June 2020

Matthew 4:9,10 - Be gone Satan!

4:9
“All this I will give you if you bow down and worship me”. First there is a lie and a half truth here. Satan probably could have given Jesus something. Various dictators and tyrants have been given some sort of kingdom. Hitler was, Stalin was. But it is a kingdom that will crumble. The Father would give Jesus an everlasting kingdom. He will give us an everlasting name. On a lesser scale wicked people are given some sort of power or wealth, but it is power and wealth that will fade away, often in dramatic fashion. Then notice that the truth of Satan’s plans are revealed, “if you bow down and worship me”. This reveals the true intent of the devil. And we must never go along with his line.

4:10
In making his highest demand (that Jesus worship him) Satan had utterly blown it. There was no way that Jesus was going to bow down and worship the devil! The devil, the prince of the air, is at work in the world, and his work has many very serious harmful and evil effects. But at the same time, we need to recognise that he will also always overreach himself. “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only Him”. This comes from Deut 6:13 and this should be the overriding principle in all that we do, and guard against many a wrong path.

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