Reflection
on Exodus 2:1–10
In response to Pharaoh’s plan to kill the newborn Hebrew
boys, God put into motion the selection of Moses as a deliverer. God had
promised that the Israelites would return to the promised land (see Genesis15:13–16), and whatever he promises, he accomplishes.
God promises us many things that may seem remote or unlikely.
But if God makes a promise, he will fulfill it, regardless of how bleak
circumstances look now. He is working out his purposes in our lives, conforming
us to the image of his Son, giving us opportunities to bear much fruit and
answering our prayers. He has spoken all of these things, and he will do them.
God will always honor his word.
SATAN'S
THREEFOLD TEMPTATION
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the
lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is
from the world.
You will be better prepared to resist temptation in your life
when you realize that, according to the Scriptures, there are only three
channels through which Satan will entice you to act independently of God. They
are summarized in John's instructions to believers concerning our relationship
to this world: "Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone
loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the
world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of
life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing
away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides
forever" (1 John 2:15-17).
The three channels of temptation are the lust of the flesh ,
the lust of the eyes , and the pride of life . The lust of the flesh preys on
our physical appetites and their gratifications in this world. The lust of the
eyes appeals to self-interest and tests the Word of God. The pride of life
stresses self-promotion and self-exaltation. Satan confronted both the first
Adam and the last Adam through each of these three channels of temptation.
Notice how Satan used precisely those three channels to
deceive Eve: "When the woman saw that the tree was good for food [lust of
the flesh], and that it was a delight to the eyes [lust of the eyes], and that
the tree was desirable to make one wise [pride of life], she took from its
fruit and ate" (Genesis 3:6).
The first Adam failed miserably and we still suffer the
results of his failure. But the last Adam--Jesus Christ--met Satan's threefold
temptation head-on and succeeded triumphantly. In Him we have the resources and
the power to conquer every temptation Satan throws at us.
Prayer:
Dear God, please tear down any pride or self-deception I may have concerning
Satan's strategies of temptation. I know I can never become complacent about
spiritual warfare.
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