Deal or No Deal
By Grant Gaines
Do you remember how excited you were anticipating Christmas morning as a child? The thought of tearing off the paper from that perfectly wrapped Christmas present was almost too much too bear. You’ve been waiting for this moment for 364 days, and the moment has finally arrived.
This is the feeling the Israelites must have had at the beginning of Exodus 33. They had recently escaped the shackles of slavery from Egypt and had just received the 10 Commandments at Mount Sinai. They were on the cusp of entering the Promise Land which they had heard about for many generations. The anticipation must have been unbearable!
But because the Israelites created an idol (the golden calf) while Moses was receiving the 10 Commandments from the Lord, God changed up the travel itinerary. “Go up to this land that flows with milk and honey. But I [the Lord] will not travel among you, for you are a stubborn and rebellious people. If I did, I would surely destroy you along the way.” (Exodus 33:3, NLT).
The Promise Land was still theirs for the taking, but as we see from Exodus 33:3, the Lord removed His name from the Israelites’ travel plans.
Jesus found Himself in a similar situation in Matthew 4. For 40 days and 40 nights Jesus fasted in the desert (Matthew 4:1-2). As you could imagine, Jesus was awfully hungry and probably rather tired. So of course, seeing Jesus’s weakened physical and mental state, Satan came to tempt Him with a little game of “Deal or No Deal”.
Satan’s first two “offers” involved food (Matthew 4:3) and the opportunity to go “crowd surfing” with some angels (Matthew 4:5). But even after pushing the limits of His physical body, Jesus overcame these temptations by using the Word of God (kind of makes you want to memorize more Scripture, huh?).
But Satan saved his best (or worst) temptation for last. “…The devil took [Jesus] to the peak of a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ‘I will give it all to you,’ [Satan] said, ‘if you will kneel down and worship me.’” (Matthew 4:8-9, NLT).
Much like the Israelites in Exodus 33, Jesus had the opportunity to seize a great deal of blessings, but not without cost. Had Jesus accepted Satan’s offer, He would have forfeited God’s blessings. Deal or no deal?
We have similar opportunities every day. We could hit the snooze button or stay late at work at the cost of missing out on our daily quiet time with the Lord. We could indulge on that “little” temptation at the cost of sinning against God’s commands. Or we could keep that 10 percent of our pay check that belongs to the Lord (Leviticus 27:30-32), but it would require us to forfeit God’s promise of Malachi 3:10 (NIV), “’Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.’”
Just like the Israelites and Jesus, we too have the opportunity to say “deal” or “no deal” to those situations in life that offer us momentary pleasure at the cost of injuring our relationship with the Lord. And we would be wise to learn from their example on how to handle these situations.
After hearing that God would give them the Promise Land but would not enter with them (Exodus 33:3), the Israelites quickly sent their spokesperson, Moses, to talk to God. Moses understood what was at stake here. The long-awaited Promise Land was on the line and all he had to do was say, “Thanks so much God! We’ll take it!”
But Moses knew that no prize was big enough to supplant the, “…surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus as [their] Lord…” (Philippians 3:8, NIV). Therefore, “…Moses said to [God], ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that You are pleased with me and with Your people unless You go with us? What else will distinguish me and Your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?’” (Exodus 33:15-16, NIV). No deal.
Jesus had a similar response to Satan – rejecting his offer to give Jesus the kingdoms of the earth and their glory at the cost of His relationship with the Father. No deal.
So what was their secret to standing firm in their faith during these times of temptation? Both Moses and Jesus knew that the pleasures of this world weren’t the ultimate prize. Instead, running through their minds was the promise God had spoken to Abraham many years earlier when He declared, “I Am your…very great reward” (Genesis 15:1, NIV).
It’s not the extra sleep, the extra money, or even all the kingdoms and riches of this world that are going to satisfy you. It is the Lord who is your very great reward! The sooner we understand that, the sooner we too will be able to confidently say alongside Jesus and Moses, “No deal!” the next time a temptation arises.
Comments? Questions? Suggestions?
©Grant Gaines 2013
