Three Men and a Fast

Three men and a forty day fast~

Moses fasted forty days and nights on top of Mt. Sinai
and received the law of the LORD.
When he came back down the mountain
and saw the chaos the LORD had already warned him about,
he became extremely angry and threw down the tablets of stone
and broke them.
You can read more about this in Exodus 32.
My point is this:
after Moses had a mountain top experience with God Almighty
and had fasted 40 days and nights,
he encountered a great crisis in the midst of God's chosen people.
He had to regroup, go back up the mountain,
and intercede for the sins of God's people.
He went on to lead them to the Promised Land,
although his anger got the best of him again
sometime later, and because of his disobedience,
he was not allowed to enter the Land himself.
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Elijah ran.
Jezebel was after him because he had
executed all of her prophets with a sword.
After a day of running,
he laid down under a juniper tree in the wilderness
and prayed to die.
As he slept, and angel touched him and said,
"Arise and eat."
By his head lay a cake that had been baked
in the coals and a jar of water.
He ate and drank and slept some more.
The angel of the LORD woke him up
and told him to eat and drink again.
He ate and drank and on the nourishment
of that angel food cake and living water
he lived for 40 days and nights
as he travelled 200 miles to Mt. Horeb,
also known as Mt. Sinia-
the very place where God had revealed Himself
to Moses and the Children of Israel.
There, in a cave, God visited Elijah
in His gentle quiet way and encouraged
the old, despondent prophet
to get back to work.
He gave him three jobs to do
and Elijah returned back to his calling
as a prophet with renewed zeal and boldness
and as far as we know, was never depressed again.
Read more about him in 1 Kings 19.
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Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness
after His baptism,
and there He fasted 40 days.
He was tempted by the devil during His fast
and after His fast was over,
He was very hungry.
The devil tempted him in three specific ways
and Jesus responded to him with the Word of God
and told him to get lost.
After He came out of the wilderness
and out of His fast,
He returned to Galilee,
full of the power of the Spirit,
and began teaching in the synagogues,
which made the religious leaders quite angry.
You can read more about this in Luke 4.

If Jesus was tempted to give into the lust of the flesh-
"command this stone to become bread;"
the lust of the eyes-
"the devil showed Him all the kingdoms;"
and the pride of life-
"throw yourself down from here;"
we should be aware that the devil
will tempt us also.

He tempted Adam and Eve in a similar way.
The lust of the flesh-
"the tree was good for food."
The lust of the eyes-
"It was pleasant to the eyes."
The pride of life-
"a tree desirable to make one wise."

Satan is not creative like God.
His temptations to us will come
under similar categories.

When one is fasting,
one is more alert to the anatomy
of a temptation.
It is after the fast,
when one's guard is down,
when we must watch and pray all the more.

We also see that after these three fasted,
their ministries continued with power
and influence.

I like what Romana Dean Chatman says in
her book about fasting.

"The reward for right fasting is in the future,
in contrast with the reward the hypocrites
have already received.
The reward is not earned by fasting,
but is bestowed because of God's goodness.
Wimmer gives a beautiful explanation
of this New Testament concept of reward:
'The disciple of Jesus was a slave,
not a hireling,
and as such had no right to a reward:
Luke 17:7-10.
But as a slave he belonged to the household,
and if he still received a reward,
it was not strictly due to him,
he did not "earn" it,
it was a gift.'"

Jesus taught that three things should be done
in secret; praying, giving to the poor, and fasting.
The reward for doing these things
is a gift given in grace
and is not to be looked upon
as a gift we have earned.

The same three men who went on a 40 day fast
were the same three men who were on top of another
mountain with Peter, James, and John.
Jesus was transfigured before them
and they saw Him as God.

Moses, the lawgiver, -finally
on top of a mountain in The Promised Land.

Elijah, the Prophet, whose life is tied
in closely to that of John the Baptist.

And Jesus-the fulfillment of both the law
and the prophets, shining in glorious light whiteness.

There is so much here-
I cannot wrap my mind around it.

What can we learn about fasting from these three men,
one of whom was the Son of God?

From Moses:
Be prepared for what is hidden to be revealed
among God's children.
The children of Israel did not become idolatrous
overnight; or should I say 40 days.
When you see things you'd
rather not see among the people of God,
remind Him that these are His
children and not yours,
and intercede for them.
Also remember that a fit of anger may cause
God and you some extra work.

From Elijah:
When you've run away and are hiding in a cave,
listen for the still small voice of God.
He is a comforter to those who are weary.
Be prepared to return to the ministry
He's called you to with renewed strength
and vigor.

From Jesus:
Be led by the Spirit to a time away
and to fasting.
Do not fast on a whim or because someone
told you to.
Be prepared to be tempted by the devil
and be ready to overcome the temptation
with the Word of God.
Be prepared to be full of the Spirit
and ready to minister
and be aware of the fact that the religious
people might not like you.
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Do not stir people up to look for fasting's great rewards.
Settle people down to seek His face
and hear His voice.
For He Himself
is our very great reward.
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(Scriptures and some thoughts were taken from The New Spirit Filled Life Bible-NKJV-
and the book "Fasting" by Romara Dean Chatham.)
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Psalm 25:14-Amp.

The secret of the sweet,
satisfying companionship
of the Lord
have they who fear,
revere, and worship Him,
and He will show them His covenant
and reveal to them
its deep, inner meaning.