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Lent 1 – Entering the Wilderness
Rev. Doug Floyd
The Temptation of Christ; Simon Bening (1525–1530)
Lent 1 2025
Rev. Doug Floyd
Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Romans 10:4-13, Luke 4:1-13
We are following Jesus into the wilderness, into the haunts of the desert, among the wild beasts, and facing the devil. As we walk through the seasons of Lent, we meet all sorts of pilgrims. Abraham sent forth and leaving his world behind as he journeys into the great unknown. Moses running from Egypt and into the emptiness where his titles and power are stripped away.
As we follow alongside these wandering pilgrims, we meet others. The children of Israel following Moses across the wilderness and into the Promised Land. The prodigal son wearied from his reckless life, turning toward home. David running from the death threats of King Saul.
In the desert, our distractions come to light. In the desert, we might actually learn how to let go. In the desert, we might just discover an oasis of love.
As we sit with our readings today, we find that Lent is not about God’s harsh requirements but rather about God’s overwhelming generosity. When all is stripped away, we finally realize the riches of God surround us.
In Deuteronomy 26, Moses gives instructions to the children of Israel as they enter the promised land. First, they must tell and retell their story. “A wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. 6 And the Egyptians treated us harshly and humiliated us and laid on us hard labor. 7 Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror, with signs and wonders. 9 And he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”[1]
As they tell their story of deliverance, they rejoice in the generosity of God in this new land. They also offer thanks to God in tithes and offerings and gifts to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. Their story turns into a celebration. God’s generosity overflows through His people to those in need. Now God’s generosity doesn’t start with the Promised Land.
If we go back to Deuteronomy 8, we hear Moses exhorting the children of Israel to remember how God has been providing for them all along. He declares,
“The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. 2 And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. 6 So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, 9 a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. [2]
The wilderness becomes of place of testing. In the midst of it, God is caring for them, their clothes and even their feet. It becomes a path that prepares them to enter the fulness of God’s blessing.” Listen again,“For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.” After a time of great testing, they beheld the overwhelming goodness of God.
It has been said that times of testing and difficulty can enlarge the heart to know more of God’s love. That has been true in my own journey. At the end of college, I went through a year-long period of darkness where it seemed as though God was absent. At the end of that period, I came to know the love of God in a fuller way than I had ever imagined. That encounter with the heights and depths of God’s love prepared me for many trials that were yet to come.
Let’s move to Paul’s exhortation in Romans. We just visited this passage a couple weeks ago. Now I want to consider this passage in light of the Lenten journey. Paul says, “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim).”[3] Hans Urs Von Balthasar reminds us that “this word is basically Christ himself, yet it is also a word that the believer himself—and he alone—can voice.”[4]
In the middle of the wilderness, we are not alone. Christ walks with us, before, and behind us. He is near us, in our mouth, and in our heart. In the midst of the struggle, we can utter, “Jesus is Lord.” This becomes a statement of faith and joy. He has not forsaken us. He will not forsake us. We will not be put to shame, but we will partake of His generosity. “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.” [5]
Now with all this talk of God’s Presence and God’s Generosity, let us consider the temptation of Jesus. The devil follows Jesus through the wilderness. Jesus walks where Adam and Eve walked, where Abraham walked, where Moses walked. He knows the dusty wilderness path. He knows the thorns and thistles of a world gone wrong. He also knows the Father’s love, the Father’s Presence, the Father’s kindness. He will not do what he doesn’t see the Father do. When the devil comes with offers of food and power and rule, He knows these offers are but cheap trinkets compared to the vast riches of the Father.
As we walk with Jesus through the wilderness way, we discover the empty promises of this world as well as the heights and depths of His glorious love.
During Lent, we rehearse this journey into the wilderness, even as we rehearse these ancient stories. But the truth is that Lent may not come for during Lent. You may be in the middle of the Christmas feast, when your whole world comes crashing down. Even in the middle of Easter joy, pain may come. The struggle of difficult seasons and painful places can come suddenly without warning or may grow and grow over time.
As Kelly and I have shared our stories of loss and struggle, we’ve discovered many other people who have suffered in ways that should seem to crush anyone. Yet, these people clung to the joy of the Lord in the midst of the pain and struggle.
The Lenten journey prepares us for those times we will walk through pain, loss, and even death. We’ve walked this path so often with saints of old that we know our God has not, will not forsake. Jesus walks with us. He will provide for us and he will eventually lead us to a table prepared for us in the presence of our enemies. He will rejoice over us. He will anoint us. Our cup will overflow.
So let us go joyfully into the journey before us even as we trust our Lord to prepare us those times of struggle.
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Dt 26:5–9.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Dt 8:1–10.
[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 10:8.
[4] Hans Urs von Balthasar, Light of the Word: Brief Reflections on the Sunday Readings, trans. Dennis D. Martin (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1993), 283.
[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 10:12.
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By Rev. Doug FloydRev. Doug Floyd
The Temptation of Christ; Simon Bening (1525–1530)
Lent 1 2025
Rev. Doug Floyd
Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Romans 10:4-13, Luke 4:1-13
We are following Jesus into the wilderness, into the haunts of the desert, among the wild beasts, and facing the devil. As we walk through the seasons of Lent, we meet all sorts of pilgrims. Abraham sent forth and leaving his world behind as he journeys into the great unknown. Moses running from Egypt and into the emptiness where his titles and power are stripped away.
As we follow alongside these wandering pilgrims, we meet others. The children of Israel following Moses across the wilderness and into the Promised Land. The prodigal son wearied from his reckless life, turning toward home. David running from the death threats of King Saul.
In the desert, our distractions come to light. In the desert, we might actually learn how to let go. In the desert, we might just discover an oasis of love.
As we sit with our readings today, we find that Lent is not about God’s harsh requirements but rather about God’s overwhelming generosity. When all is stripped away, we finally realize the riches of God surround us.
In Deuteronomy 26, Moses gives instructions to the children of Israel as they enter the promised land. First, they must tell and retell their story. “A wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. 6 And the Egyptians treated us harshly and humiliated us and laid on us hard labor. 7 Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror, with signs and wonders. 9 And he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”[1]
As they tell their story of deliverance, they rejoice in the generosity of God in this new land. They also offer thanks to God in tithes and offerings and gifts to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. Their story turns into a celebration. God’s generosity overflows through His people to those in need. Now God’s generosity doesn’t start with the Promised Land.
If we go back to Deuteronomy 8, we hear Moses exhorting the children of Israel to remember how God has been providing for them all along. He declares,
“The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. 2 And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. 6 So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, 9 a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. [2]
The wilderness becomes of place of testing. In the midst of it, God is caring for them, their clothes and even their feet. It becomes a path that prepares them to enter the fulness of God’s blessing.” Listen again,“For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.” After a time of great testing, they beheld the overwhelming goodness of God.
It has been said that times of testing and difficulty can enlarge the heart to know more of God’s love. That has been true in my own journey. At the end of college, I went through a year-long period of darkness where it seemed as though God was absent. At the end of that period, I came to know the love of God in a fuller way than I had ever imagined. That encounter with the heights and depths of God’s love prepared me for many trials that were yet to come.
Let’s move to Paul’s exhortation in Romans. We just visited this passage a couple weeks ago. Now I want to consider this passage in light of the Lenten journey. Paul says, “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim).”[3] Hans Urs Von Balthasar reminds us that “this word is basically Christ himself, yet it is also a word that the believer himself—and he alone—can voice.”[4]
In the middle of the wilderness, we are not alone. Christ walks with us, before, and behind us. He is near us, in our mouth, and in our heart. In the midst of the struggle, we can utter, “Jesus is Lord.” This becomes a statement of faith and joy. He has not forsaken us. He will not forsake us. We will not be put to shame, but we will partake of His generosity. “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.” [5]
Now with all this talk of God’s Presence and God’s Generosity, let us consider the temptation of Jesus. The devil follows Jesus through the wilderness. Jesus walks where Adam and Eve walked, where Abraham walked, where Moses walked. He knows the dusty wilderness path. He knows the thorns and thistles of a world gone wrong. He also knows the Father’s love, the Father’s Presence, the Father’s kindness. He will not do what he doesn’t see the Father do. When the devil comes with offers of food and power and rule, He knows these offers are but cheap trinkets compared to the vast riches of the Father.
As we walk with Jesus through the wilderness way, we discover the empty promises of this world as well as the heights and depths of His glorious love.
During Lent, we rehearse this journey into the wilderness, even as we rehearse these ancient stories. But the truth is that Lent may not come for during Lent. You may be in the middle of the Christmas feast, when your whole world comes crashing down. Even in the middle of Easter joy, pain may come. The struggle of difficult seasons and painful places can come suddenly without warning or may grow and grow over time.
As Kelly and I have shared our stories of loss and struggle, we’ve discovered many other people who have suffered in ways that should seem to crush anyone. Yet, these people clung to the joy of the Lord in the midst of the pain and struggle.
The Lenten journey prepares us for those times we will walk through pain, loss, and even death. We’ve walked this path so often with saints of old that we know our God has not, will not forsake. Jesus walks with us. He will provide for us and he will eventually lead us to a table prepared for us in the presence of our enemies. He will rejoice over us. He will anoint us. Our cup will overflow.
So let us go joyfully into the journey before us even as we trust our Lord to prepare us those times of struggle.
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Dt 26:5–9.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Dt 8:1–10.
[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 10:8.
[4] Hans Urs von Balthasar, Light of the Word: Brief Reflections on the Sunday Readings, trans. Dennis D. Martin (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1993), 283.
[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 10:12.