Scripture Rightly Divided

In our Friday night Bible study at Calvary Chapel Sydney, we discussed how Satan is well-versed in the Scripture.  After Jesus defused a temptation from the devil by quoting the word of God, Satan employed a verse from the Psalms to encourage Jesus to do his will rather than the Father's will.  The devil used a tactic people can use as well, to hijack passages from the Bible they do not believe or accept as true to condemn, guilt or manipulate other people.  Though Satan knew the words of Scripture it is evident he did not understand it, for had he considered the full passage he wrenched out of context he would have been confronted with his own ruin.

Matthew 4:5-6 tells us, "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.'"  Let us consider the passage the devil quoted with verses before and after in Psalm 91:9-13:  "Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, ¹⁰ no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; ¹¹ for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. ¹² In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. ¹³ You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot."  The passage holds forth the Most High God as a safe refuge from harm, the one who gives deliverance and victory to His people over all enemies.

The Bible compares Satan to a roaring lion in 1 Peter 5:8, and he is also identified as that old serpent or dragon in Revelation 12:9 and 20:2.  Jesus had no need to jump off the pinnacle of the temple to affirm His identity as the Son of God or to prove the Bible is true--being the Author of Scripture who cannot lie.  God foretold of His victory over the serpent when he was cursed in Genesis 3:15.  The proud devil was conversing with the LORD who had created him, will bind him and shall destroy him forever.  In his pride Satan refuses to admit defeat even in the face of God, but before he knows it God's word shall be accomplished.  Jesus did a far greater thing than jumping from the temple and being spared death by angels who bore Him up when He died on the cross for the sins of the world and rose again.  The obedience of Jesus to the will of the Father ushered in salvation and deliverance for all who believe.

The devil does not lay the truth of Scripture to heart and cannot rightly divide it with his forked tongue, but the child of God ought to hold fast to the truth of God's word come what may.  Jesus overcame the temptations of Satan with His feet firmly on the word of God by faith, and we are to follow Christ's example.  Jesus Christ is our faithful refuge, the Most High who keeps us in all our ways, God who tramples the lion and serpent underfoot.