The Nugget:
Matthew 4:7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
My Comment:
The Scriptures should be used against our spiritual enemies. Notice that when Jesus resisted Satan during the temptation in the wilderness, Jesus appealed to Scripture. He quoted the Scripture against the devil. Notice that Satan quoted Scripture to justify the point of his temptation (Matthew 4:6), quoting Psalm 91:11, 12. Therefore we can conclude that Satan is familiar with the Bible and can quote Scripture too. When Satan quotes Scripture we can be sure that he is misapplying it. He apparently does not believe in applying the rules of interpretation that I laid out in the October 2010 archives here. In this instance, Satan misquoted Psalm 91:11, 12 by leaving out the essential words “to keep Thee in all Thy ways,” and by adding “at any time.” Satan violated the rules of interpretation when he did this. Satan can come as an “angel of light” and make a good case for his false doctrines too (2 Corinthians 11:14). He has messengers whom he has deceived who carry out his purposes (2 Corinthians 11:3, 4, 13). Their work of deception becomes a test for us to show we truly belong to Christ (1 Corinthians 11:19). It ought to be obvious that many are deceived and led astray from the truth by others who fail to interpret Scripture accurately, or who add to Scripture by appealing to what is not found in the Bible but what is supported by their tradition or their reason. Jesus did not appeal to tradition, but to Scripture. Beware of anyone who does not follow His example. Satan has many counterfeits that seem right but are very wrong (Proverbs 14:12, 15). That would suggest that we must be prepared by knowing the Bible. We must learn the answers to mistaken views that are not correct in the light of the Bible. I have tried to do that here on this site regularly and in depth. We must learn how to put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-12). James tells us to resist the devil and he will flee from us (James 4:7-8). James tells us to draw near to God and He will draw near to us. Jesus demonstrated how to resist the devil: confront him with Scripture.
For those who desire to DIG DEEPER into this subject:
(1) Consult the cross references given in Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible on page 1017 for Matthew 4:7.
(2) Consult the cross references given in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge on page 1036 or in Logos 5 Bible software for Matthew 4:7.
(3) Lacking access to those two resources, consult the cross references for this passage as I have developed them as given below:
Matthew 4:7. It. ver. Mt 4:4, 6, 10. Mt 21:16, 42. 22:31, 32. Ps 17:4. +*Is 8:20. *Ep 6:17. Thou. FS92F3. Gnome; or, Quotation F/S 796: where the words are changed in number. In Dt 6:16 it is: “Ye shall not tempt.” If the command is given to all in general, then surely it applies to each individual in particular: and so the Lord applied it in reply to the Tempter. For other instances of this figure see Ro 4:7. 10:15. shalt not. +Ex 17:2, 7. Nu 14:22. >Dt 6:16. 1 S 4:3-11. Ps 78:18, 41, 56. 95:8-10. 106:14. +*Pr 22:3. Ml 3:15. Lk 4:12. 10:25. Ac 5:9. 1 Cor 10:9. He 3:9. tempt. +Mt 16:1. Is 7:12. Lk 10:25. *Ac 15:10.
mt 4.7 Jesus said to him, On the other hand, it is written, You shall not tempt the
Lord our God.
encouraging cross refs.( the best commentary on the bible is the bible)
1. mt 21.16 And said to Him, Do You hear what these are saying? And
Jesus said to them, Yes; have you ever read, Out of the mouth of infants and
Nursing babes Thou Hast Prepared Praise for Thyself ?
2 mt 21.42 Jesus said to them, Did you never read in the Scriptures, The Stone
which the builders rejected, This became the Chief Cornerstone; This came about
from the Lord, And it is marvelous in our eyes?
3. mt 22.31 But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that
which was spoken to you by God, saying,
4. mt 22.32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?
God is not the God of the dead but of the living.