20
Confrontation
their unreasonable murmurings. God said to Moses, “Behold, I send
an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into
the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice,
provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my
name is in him.”
When Christ, as the guiding, guarding angel, condescended to
lead the armies of Israel through the wilderness to Canaan, Satan was
provoked, for he felt that his power could not so well control them. But
as he saw that the armies of Israel were easily influenced and incited to
rebellion by his suggestions, he hoped to lead them to murmuring and
sin which would bring upon them the wrath of God. And as he saw that
his power was submitted to by men, he became bold in his temptations,
inciting them to crime and violence. Through Satan’s devices, each
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generation was becoming more feeble in physical, mental, and moral
power. This gave him courage to think that he might succeed in his
warfare against Christ in person when He should be manifested.
A few in every generation from Adam resisted his every artifice and
stood forth as noble representatives of what it was in the power of man
to do and to be, while Christ should co-operate with human efforts, to
help man in overcoming the power of Satan. Enoch and Elijah are the
correct representatives of what the race might be through faith in our
Lord Jesus Christ. Satan was greatly disturbed because these noble,
holy men were untainted amid the moral pollution surrounding them,
perfecting righteous characters, and accounted worthy for translation to
heaven. As they had stood forth in moral power, in noble uprightness,
overcoming Satan’s temptations, he could not bring them under the
dominion of death. He triumphed that he had power to overcome
Moses with his temptations, and that he could mar his illustrious
character and lead him to the sin of taking to himself glory before the
people which belonged to God.
Christ resurrected Moses, and took him to heaven. This enraged
Satan, and he accused the Son of God of invading his dominion by
robbing the grave of his lawful prey. Jude says of the resurrection of
Moses, “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil
he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a
railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.”