Catacomb Resident Blog

Childish Shortcuts

19 September 2023

I've gotten some more questions and comments.

Most of you understand how I link the Temptation in the Garden with the Temptation in the Wilderness and with John's comments about the three basic temptations.

  1. "When the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it" (Genesis 3:6 NET).
  2. Turn stones into bread, leap from the pinnacle of the Temple Plaza terrace, and seize political control (Matthew 4:1-11).
  3. "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world" (1 John 2:16 NASB)

They all follow the same pattern in sequence. The Lust of the Flesh is easy to understand.

The tricky part for most of you is the Lust of the Eyes. We have no cultural equivalent that seems to explain how "attractive to the eye" and "leaping from the plaza terrace" are related. It's more than the spectacle of showing off for the Jewish audience how Jesus could avoid injury in a 70-foot drop onto a rocky hillside. There's something in there that I've already explained.

It represents the human obsession with ontology, i.e., with knowing the root nature of Creation. As one commentator noted, it's the human demand to see the code so as to hack the way reality works. Eve was tempted to eat the fruit in part because it promised to let her grasp that source code for reality. With Jesus, who already had that code, it was the temptation to give the Jews the miraculous powers that amount to hacking that source code. Wouldn't that be so beautiful, answering all our questions and curiosities?

It's similar with the "make one wise" (the Hebrew image of proud accomplishment) being equivalent to political dominance. It's the question of what kind of wisdom we are referring to here. In this case, it's the wisdom of competence, so that everyone is perfectly willing to let you run the show.

Another reader noticed that, in yesterday's post, there was a parallel between the elohim opposition and the Rebellion of Korah at Mount Sinai. You'll recognize how Korah insisted that all the Hebrew people were just as "chosen" as Moses, and if he would only reveal to them the secrets he kept to himself, they could perform the same miracles.

This is the talk of someone who feels butt-hurt because they didn't get to choose the role they were assigned by God. It's the petulant childishness of someone who lacks a full understanding of the context. They want the goodies and none of the work. It's the Devil carping because he can't nab what he sees as his share of Jehovah's glory.

This is where the language of "rights" comes from. "I'm just as good as you!" It's pursuing the wrong question. If you could have the "rights" you demand, they wouldn't be in your best interest in the first place. The one thing that will answer all your needs is to know what God wants from you and for you. There is nothing better possible for you.

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