In the first temptation of Jesus, the Lord answered Satan’s attack with “it was written” and goes to the book of Deuteronomy to say that He would live by God’s Word.
In the second temptation (Matthew 4:5-7) Satan counters and says, “if that is true that you live by every Word of God, here is a passage to live by: Psalm 91:11.” The temptation was if Christ will not use His divine prerogative to turn stones into bread and will only trust in God, then He should prove it. Satan quotes a Psalm that describes the blessedness of trusting in God. The Psalm declares that God is our refuge and our protector. Trust the Father, Jesus. Jump off 450 foot tall roof and trust in God’s promise to protect you. By slightly twisting the interpretation of the Psalm, Satan has changed the meaning. Psalm 91 is not a challenge to the Father to be faithful to us, but a call for God’s people to be faithful to the Father.
Satan “proof-texted” the point he was trying to make by taking one verse out of context. Satan had an idea in his mind, something he wanted, so he went to the Bible to find part of a passage that agreed with his notions. That is not how you sit under God’s Word. We are to submit ourselves to God’s Word; not to find passages or verses here and there that agree with what we believe. We can’t start with our idea, then go looking for God to agree with us.
Secondly, Satan omits parts of the passage that is inconvenient to his plans. This is the whole verse of Psalm 91:11 “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” In Matthew, the Devil left of the part of God keeping Christ in his ways. Satan was tempting Jesus to walk out of the will of the Father. Satan also leaves out the verse that follows his quote, Psalms 91:13 “Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.” I think we can figure out why Satan wouldn’t want to quote a verse about treading on the dragon and the snake (Genesis 3:15). Psalm 91 meant that the Father would protect the life of Jesus as He lived in accordance to the Father’s will. To read the Bible like the Devil is to look for passages that agree with you, instead of being under the authority of the Word of God. It is to take what you want and leave out what you don’t like. It is to misapply and strip the original and true meaning of the text. The true interpretation of the Bible is the true meaning of the Bible. The Devil quoted the words, but with the wrong interpretation, which twisted the Scripture. We should desire to hear what God actually said, not what we wanted Him to say.
