It Is Written

Mat 4:1-2
(1) Then Jesus was led by the Spirit up into the wilderness, to be tempted by the Devil.
(2) And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterwards hungry.

After reading this passage, it is very easy to surmise that Jesus was weak and hungry after fasting in the wilderness for forty days. What a time to meet the most devious of all beings - the devil. Jesus 'entertained' the devil for a while. When the devil would tempt Him, He always replied with 'It has been written'.

Mat 4:4
(4) But answering, He said, It has been written: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every Word going out of the mouth of God."

for it has been written: "He shall give His angels charge concerning You, and they shall bear You on their hands, lest You strike Your foot against a stone."

For it has been written: "You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve Him only."

Still, few of us take much stock in learning what has been written. Our reasoning is that we no longer need to memorize the text because it's legalistic to do such. Or, it's not applicable to our walk today. Or, we might even say that Jesus had it easy, seeing as He was the living Word it was natural for Him to quote it.

It is also easy to skim quickly over the fact that Jesus fasted - often. It could be said that this was what made Him strong - not weak. Perhaps the devil sees things from a fleshly nature - how ironic. The worst possible time to tempt the Son of God, hungry or not, was at the conclusion of forty days with His Father. Do we utilize this weapon of fasting against the enemy? Fasting... committing the Word to our hearts...

For those of us who like excuses, it really doesn't matter which one we choose. It's possible we just aren't ready for an encounter with the enemy.