There are many themes shared throughout history and one source in particular which shares multiple themes is the Bible.
One particular theme to compare and contrast with other stories is temptation. What is Temptation? It is an act that looks appealing to an individual. The theme of temptation is universally talked about in the Bible. It is also shared in movies and is prevalent in every person’s day to day life.
A few stories to discuss that share the theme of temptation in the bible are the book of Genesis, the second book of Samuel, the book of Judges and the books of Luke and Matthew.Although there are so many other stories outside of the Bible and movies that portray the theme of temptation, the stories below really capture the underlying theme of temptation. First let’s take a look at those who did not respond well to temptation. The most famous of all is the book of Genesis, The Fall. Eve was lured by the serpent who symbolized Satan, to eat the forbidden fruit. Genesis 3:6 says, "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.
She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it."Because Eve yielded to temptation and shared the forbidden fruit with her husband, they were thrown out of the Garden of Eden and our struggle with sin began. Another story portraying the theme of temptation is shown in Genesis 37, 39-46, The story of Joseph. Joseph was bought to be a slave by an officer of the pharaoh named Potiphar. Potiphar had Joseph oversee every duty in his house.
Joseph was handsome in appearance so Potiphar’s wife was attracted to him. She attempted to seduce him every day by telling him to “lie with me” but Joseph refused to give in, in this case overcoming the power of temptation.Joseph understood the power of temptation and the repercussions it could bring. She becomes angry due to his rejection, so in spitefulness one day she runs out of her house in tears, yelling out that Joseph had raped her.
Joseph is then thrown into prison. Though he did not commit the acts brought upon him and did what was hard but right, he was still punished because of the wicked lie told against him. Sexual temptation is one of the strongest temptations there are to man as well as to women, but more so to man. Unlike Joseph who overcame the temptation in the second book of Samuel it talks about King David and how he gives into temptation.Women were a tempting lure to men such as King David.
We read that he saw the bathing beauty, Bathsheba, and committed adultery. Then in an attempt to cover his sin, David planned to have Bathsheba's husband killed. Another story that shares the theme of temptation is in the Book of Judges where Samson was lured by the deceiving Delilah and the deception led to his imprisonment by the Philistines, who also blinded him. The story of The Odyssey displays the theme of temptation as well. Odysseus and his men were desperate to return home, but this desire was constantly in conflict with the many temptations and pleasures that the world offered.
The temptations they encountered throughout their journey can coincide with the temptations experienced by individuals during this present day and time. The first example is the temptation of the Lotos Eaters. The Lotos Eaters did not desire ill will or harm toward Odysseus and his men, but simply offered them the Lotos flower. If eaten, this flower caused the men to forget all their hardships and their voyage home. It simply gave them a feeling of peace and contentment. This temptation is the equivalent of the temptation of today’s drugs.
Many people use drugs to experience a “high” that allows them to escape from reality.It gives them a temporary feeling of peace and contentment. However, this temptation usually holds its victims in bondage through its power of addiction. The abuser loses his sense of reality and constantly seeks and desires a feeling of fantasy. Another example is the temptation of stubbornness and pride.
There were many times when Odysseus succumbed to this temptation, but perhaps it was most evident in his encounter with the Kyklops. Odysseus had used his uncanny wit to escape the wrath of the Kyklops, but at the very end let his stubbornness and pride dictate his actions.Had Odysseus kept quiet, he may have been able to leave the island without any major obstacles and return home quickly. However, his stubbornness and pride overcame him and he insisted on provoking the Kyklops.
To his own detriment, he had to have the last word and proclaim his glorious name. There are many occasions in today’s society when individuals yield to pride and stubbornness. Perhaps they have made some great accomplishment, but through their boastful attitude their true character is revealed. Maybe they insist on getting the last word and destroy a lifelong friendship.
Pride and stubbornness are dangerous temptations. Another temptation to be discussed is that of the Sirens. While sailing home, Odysseus and his men had to purpose in their hearts not to surrender to the sweet lullaby of the Sirens. They knew that if they were persuaded, they would lose sight of their goal and never reach their homeland.
The temptation was pleasant and enticing, but they were steadfast to their ultimate goal. Many times through life’s journey individuals are offered second best before they reach first best. Yielding to the sirens would have been pleasant and enjoyable, but it would have been second best.Situations in which individuals settle for second best include relationships, job opportunities, and education. They settle for second best because they are fearful, impatient, and unwilling to make necessary sacrifices.
The major reasons individuals settle for second best is because they have not purposed in their hearts to wait for first best. Found within the books Matthew and Luke the bible accounts of Jesus being led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness. Here in these books their stories are almost the same, however the stories are written down slightly different from one another.Here with the book of Matthew Jesus spends 40 days without any food and during that time he is tempted by Satan himself. This temptation helped insure our salvation because Jesus did not fail. Of the three accounts of Jesus’ temptation, the first of the three can be found in Matthew 4:1-11.
Here we are told that Jesus was lead out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit so that he could be tempted by the devil. It says that he became very hungry because he had no food. The devil soon came at began to tempt him to use his Godly power to turn stones into bread.Jesus replied with the answer, “No, the scriptures say that people need more than bread, they must feed on every word of God. ” I personally see this as a very difficult test because hunger is something that seems only quenchable by food, but every temptation including hunger is quenchable by the power of God. Then Satan tempted Jesus by taking him to the highest point of the temple and told him to jump off, possibly to make Jesus question if God was actually there and would rescue his son.
Within this temptation Satan even used scripture to aid his temptation.To paraphrase what he said, “if you are the son of God, you can jump and your father would save you. ” With that temptation Jesus replied by saying “the scriptures also say not to test the Lord your God. ” Then the final temptation Satan offers him the control over the whole world, the power to do anything he wanted here on earth.
The only catch was that Jesus would have to bow down and worship Satan himself. Jesus replied by saying “The scriptures say that we are only to serve and worship one God and that is the Lord your God. ” Every one of the temptations tested different aspects of Jesus’ character.They tested his physical willpower, his emotional willpower, and his mental willpower. Every temptation we face with our lives test those aspects as well. This gives us a better understanding of how human Jesus really was.
His temptations had the same pulls as our own temptations do but we can learn by example. The last account of the Temptation of Jesus can be found within the book of Luke. It starts by telling us that he left for the wilderness from the Jordan River, where if you read through the third chapter of the same book you see that it is in the Jordan were Jesus was baptized.This shows that it is right at the beginning, when Jesus knew that he must begin his ministry, he was called into the wilderness to be tempted. While spending forty days in the wilderness, it says that he is tempted. It eludes to the fact that he was not only tempted but he was tempted during his whole time in the wilderness.
As in Matthew, it stats that Jesus began to get hungry and the Devil tempted him by telling him that he should turn stone into bread, if he is the son of God. Jesus’ reply is the same as it was in Matthew, “No!The scriptures say that People need more than bread for their life. ” Then Satan tempted Jesus by Offering him the Kingdoms of the world if Jesus only bows down and worships Satan. Again we see Jesus use scriptures to say, “You must only worship the lord your God; serve only him.
” Then as in Matthew, we see that Satan tempts Jesus by taking him up to the highest point on the temple and tells him to jump. Here we see that Satan is using scriptures now to try and test Jesus, but Jesus replies, “The Scriptures also say, Do not test God.”It is possible that the writer of Luke thought it would be more dramatic to order the temptations in this way, since they are ordered differently in Matthew. If so, then it would seem that he would want it to end with the last temptation being the one where Satan tries to use scripture to tempt Jesus. It is also a possibility that Matthew changed the order of the temptations.
That is an unknown, but it is refreshing to see that there is some human aspect to the bible, even though it is the word of God. Something else to notice in how Luke differs from Matthew is how different aspects of how the story is told differ.For example, in Matthew we see emphasis on Jesus’ reply’s to Satan. They are somewhat more elegant but yet the detail of the story is not as deep in comparison to Luke. In Luke we see a much more in depth and detailed presentation of how the events of this particular account unfold. Also in Luke we see that Jesus’ replies are a little shorter and seem much more to the point.
Each view helps freshen our understanding of how God works through multiple people and gives us a sense that if he can work through them, then he can work through us as well.In stories there’s always a more meaningful tale to be told and usually can be identified as a general theme. The stories above are examples that share the same theme of temptation respectively. No matter how many times the superficial story changes through history, the themes of honor, perseverance, duality, adversity, love, jealousy, etc. resurface if given the chance to look at it on an in-depth view. The stories in the Bible are the best examples I believe to look upon at an in-depth view so one can learn from its teachings through the theme presented and then apply it to real life situations.
