“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” in the Complete Jewish Bible translation reads “And do not lead us into hard testing, but keep us safe from the evil one” (Matt 6:13).

Whilst there is overlap in the meaning of these two interpretations, ‘hard testing’ does give different connotations to ‘temptation’. I think that in accepting both interpretations together, a fuller understanding of this prayer may be gained. I have personally found the coming of times of hard testing to result from falling into temptation and I think the following scriptures bear this out.

Times of hard testing would have been all too familiar to Jesus’ listeners. They were currently under the heavy yoke of Rome and would have known their Tanakh (Old Testament) history which recounts many other such times of subjugation.

When Israel entered the Promised Land, God promised them safety from their surrounding enemies, in return for their trusting obedience (Deut 12:10). The books of Joshua and Judges recount Israel’s partial obedience and the limited times of rest and safety that they gained from their enemies. They also tell of the times that Israel back-slid and were taken into times of hard testing. From the crisis they found themselves in they cried out to God, who then sent a Judge to deliver them from the enemy and set them on the path of seeking God again.

Gideon

The story of Gideon might have been a favourite.

In Judges 6:1, “…the people of Israel did what was evil from Adonai’s perspective, so Adonai handed them over to Midian for seven years”, a falling into temptation resulting in a time of hard testing.

Then in v6, from their place of discouragement Israel cried out to Adonai, who responded first by sending a prophet who told them why God had set the Midianites on them - because they were fearing the gods of the land instead of paying attention to Adonai. In v11, the angel of Adonai raised up Gideon, a timid young man, and there follows the story of how Gideon learned to trust and obey God, bringing deliverance to Israel from the Midianite enemy.

Saul

Although the story of Saul ended in tragedy, he started well, giving us an enactment of both the hard testing and deliverance parts of this prayer.

Again, Israel were in a time of back-sliding. During that bit of time in 1 Samuel 11 between when Saul had been appointed king and his actual coronation, is the account of Israel’s Ammonite neighbour besieging Jabesh Gilead, a part of Israel east of the Jordan. Their King Nachash’s condition for a treaty with the Jabesh Gilead men was that all their right eyes be gouged out, bringing disgrace on all Israel. Saul, filled with the Spirit, was Adonai’s instrument of deliverance from the enemy, from evil.

Messiah

With the deliverance part of the prayer in mind, Jesus’ listeners would also have been asking the question ‘Is Jesus the prophesied Deliverer, the awaited Messiah?’

Before Jesus’ birth Zechariah had prophesied: “Adonai…has visited and made a ransom to liberate his people by raising up for us a mighty Deliverer (Yeshua)…that we should be delivered from our enemies and from the power of all who hate us” (see Luke 1:68-71).

Later Paul identifies the Deliverer: “…although I want to do what is good, evil is right there with me!...What a miserable creature I am! Who will rescue me from this body bound for death? Thanks be to God (he will)! – through Yeshua the Messiah, our Lord!” (Rom 7:21-24).

Temptation, Testing and Deliverance

So, where does this lead me?

As years pass by I have become more aware of my own weaknesses. I call them my ‘Achilles’ heels’. I have been aware many times that if not for my Heavenly Father’s protection, I would have walked willingly into such temptations, just like a lamb to the slaughter. I have also gone through times of hard testing.

A daily prayer that has grown from these times is that my Heavenly Father will protect me and my family, both from the attacks and deceptions of the enemy and also from our own foolish, sinful ways.

Another relevance that I see from this prayer is that for a number of years several of us have sensed, from God we believe, that times of hard testing are drawing near to our nation, for which we need to prepare. For this the Complete Jewish Bible interpretation might be written “Protect us if we find ourselves in such times of hard testing, keeping us safe from the evil one.”

Author: John Quinlan

N.B. I just found out this morning that it was the men of Jabesh Gilead who, upon the deaths of Saul and his sons, risked their own lives to retrieve and give an honourable burial for the bodies, no doubt in gratitude to their deliverers. May our own gratitude to our great Deliverer Jesus lead each of us to risk all for Him!