Basic HTML Version
Chapter 4
1, 2 (
Exodus 34:28
;
Deuteronomy 9:9
;
Luke 4:2
). Moses’
Fasting Not Like Christ’s
—In the wilderness of temptation Christ
was without food forty days. Moses had, on especial occasions,
been thus long without food. But he felt not the pangs of hunger. He
was not tempted and harassed by a vile and powerful foe, as was the
Son of God. He was elevated above the human. He was especially
sustained by the glory of God which enshrouded him (
The Signs of
the Times, June 11, 1874
).
1-4 (
Luke 4:1-4
). The Power of Debased Appetite
—All was
lost when Adam yielded to the power of appetite. The Redeemer, in
whom was united both the human and the divine, stood in Adam’s
place, and endured a terrible fast of nearly six weeks. The length of
this fast is the strongest evidence of the extent of the sinfulness and
power of debased appetite upon the human family (
The Review and
Herald, August 4, 1874
).
A Lesson to Take to Ourselves
—Christ was our example in all
things. As we see His humiliation in the long trial and fast in the
wilderness to overcome the temptations of appetite in our behalf, we
are to take this lesson home to ourselves when we are tempted. If
the power of appetite is so strong upon the human family, and its
indulgence so fearful that the Son of God subjected Himself to such
a test, how important that we feel the necessity of having appetite
under the control of reason. Our Saviour fasted nearly six weeks,
that He might gain for man the victory upon the point of appetite.
How can professed Christians with an enlightened conscience, and
Christ before them as their pattern, yield to the indulgence of those
appetites which have an enervating influence upon the mind and
[1080]
heart? It is a painful fact that habits of self-gratification at the
expense of health, and the weakening of moral power, are holding in
the bonds of slavery at the present time a large share of the Christian
world.
13