The Commands of Christ - Matthew 4:7

“Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”” –Matthew 4:7

Who is the command to?

Spoken to Satan, but it is a general command for all mankind, repeated from Deuteronomy 6:16

What does the command require?

Do not tempt the Lord. To tempt God means to try His power, goodness, or the will of God. It means don’t throw yourself into voluntary dangers and then appeal to God for protection.

“To claim a promise in an act of disobedience would be tempting God.” –The Believer’s Bible Commentary

“It is true, indeed, that God aids those of his people who are placed by him in trial or danger; but it is not true that the promise was meant to extend to those who wantonly provoke him and trifle with the promised help.” – Albert Barnes

So, by committing to obeying this command, we commit to not acting unless God leads us.

What truths do we learn through this command?

We learn that we can tempt God with our rash actions. It sounds very similar to Paul’s warning in Romans 6:1-4.

We learn an important truth about the character of Satan and the methods of Satan and how to combat both. Satan stands in direct opposition to God. He questions all that God has said. Satan twists God’s words and he manipulates the Bible to say whatever he wants it to. In these few verses, we see that Satan manipulates the promises of God to try to put Christ in an unnecessary danger. Satan is called the tempter for a reason. We must combat Satan through speaking the truth of Scripture and obeying Christ’s commands.

What are the consequences for not following this command?

Unnecessary risks and dangers. We provoke God. Disobedience to this is, in effect, living outside the will of God.