It is said that no human can survive without food for more than seven days and seven nights. Yet Moses went without food and water for forty days and forty nights (Exodus 34:27-28; Deuteronomy 9:9) Elijah went without food for forty days and forty nights (1 Kings 19:8) Jesus went without food for forty days and forty nights (Matthew 4:2) These rare examples were intended for a specific purpose, were carried out by prophets, required special divine aid, and are not intended to be used as a type of fast for the average person today.
In Exodus 34:27-28 and Deuteronomy 9:9, we are told that Moses went without food and water for forty days and forty nights (two separate instances). How Moses was able to go without food and water for forty days and forty nights is unclear. Given the fact that no human can go without food for more than seven days, it would seem as though Moses was able to survive through divine aid
In 1 Kings 19, the angel of the LORD tells Elijah to eat. Elijah looks around and eats “a bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water.” The angel then “touched him and said, “Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you.” We are then told that Elijah “ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.” It seems as though Elijah had enough strength to survive forty days and forty nights by simply eating a bread cake and jar of water prior to his journey. However, there is no way that the sustenance of a bread cake and jar of water can keep a person alive for forty days/nights. Thus (1) the bread cake and water must have been empowered by God supernaturally (2) God gave Elijah’s body the physical requirements needed to go without food and water for forty days and forty nights (the fact that the angel intentionally “touched” Elijah suggests that God is doing something to Elijah’s body)
In Matthew 4, we are told that Jesus “had fasted forty days and forty nights, He [a]then became hungry.” When the Devil tells Jesus to turn stones into bread, Jesus quotes scripture and says, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” How Jesus was able to go without food for forty days and forty nights is unclear. However, the Bible does tells us that angels ministered to Jesus while He was in the wilderness (Mark 1:13) and that He was “led up by the Spirit” (Matthew 4:1). Thus, Jesus was able to go without food for forty days and forty nights because (1) He depended on the word of God (2) was strengthened by angels and the Holy Spirit
The point here is this; fasting for forty days and forty nights is something that only occurred to three different people in the Bible; all of whom were prophets, and required divine aid (without divine aid, no human can possibly fast and go without food for forty days and forty nights)
HydroMan: I think you will agree with this the only thing im thinking about is, if Jesus received divine aid while fasting, then doesn't this defeat the purpose of His trials and temptations in the wilderness?
HydroMan: also do you agree with this, is God guilty of the genetic fallacy?
In the Old Testament, many things were forbidden because of their origin. For example, God’s people were forbidden to shave their heads or trim the edges off their beards because these things were practiced by pagans. God’s people were also forbidden to make cuts on their bodies and get tattoos because these things were practiced by pagans. As a result, some Christian’s use the same principals today eg It is wrong to use heavy metal music for Christian songs because heavy metal derives from Satanic culture. So is this true, do Christians need to abstain from things that derive from pagan or satanic influences? No. This is known as Genetic Fallacy; determining something as either good or bad on the basis of where it came from or from whom it came from. God does not care about where things have originated from because ultimately, God looks at a persons heart, not the origin of what is practiced by people today. Yes, God commanded His people not to engage in certain things because they were practiced/originated from pagans. But this was because He did not want His people to be influenced by the sins of the surrounding pagan nations (eg shave heads or trim beard as an act of worship to a foreign god) This is different today (a person shaves their beard because they like the look – not because they are submitting to a pagan god)
TheDoctor394: I would certainly agree with what you've said on the genetic fallacy. If we were to abstain from everything pagans did, that would include walking and talking. God forbade those things in the Old Testament because of the prevalence of pagan religions of the time and how important it was for the Jews to set themselves apart from those people. That doesn't mean there aren't still some practices today that we should not avoid now due to what they might represent, but to go back umpteen years and use guilt by association every time is not really the way to go (I should also point out that heavy metal never derived from a Satanic culture, unless one defines such a culture as anything that has some kind of evil in it, which would include everything in existence).
The parts about the fasting are interesting, and it's still not a subject I'm sure on. How Jesus survived for so long without food or water, and yet divine help meaning He mightn't have actually been fasting, is something I've never thought about before. You must be one of the few people who thinks too much even more than I do. 🤔
HydroMan: i would be interested in knowing what your dad has to say on the matter of Jesus fasting - did He receive divine aid? I do believe that He received divine aid, as no human can go without food for 40 days. And although this might seem to defeat the purpose of going without food, it actually shows that Jesus is still trusting in God to take care of His needs
I started a conversation on this as well. Zanjan and chronology replied, I certainly don't agree with chronology's view, which he claims that the 40 days is intended to be a metaphor. Hopefully other Christians will give a response.
Here is an update on what I previously wrote
In Matthew 4, we are told that Jesus “had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.” When the Devil tells Jesus to turn stones into bread, Jesus quotes scripture and says, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” How Jesus was able to go without food for forty days and forty nights is unclear. However, the Bible does tell us that angels ministered to Jesus while He was in the wilderness (Mark 1:13) and that He was “full of the Holy Spirit…led by the Spirit” (Luke 4:1). Thus, Jesus was able to go without food for forty days and forty nights because (1) He depended on the word of God (2) was strengthened by angels and the Holy Spirit (similar to when He was strengthened by an angel before His death) The point here is that Jesus was trusting and depending on God (to know that His Father would keep him alive while being tempted by the Devil) Some might argue that divine aid would defeat the purpose of Jesus’ trial/temptation (if Jesus is receiving supernatural aid in order to be kept alive without food, then it defeats the purpose of going without food so that the Devil can tempt Him) However, the purpose of Jesus’ trial was to show the world that He was able to resist temptation by trusting and depending on God His Father. So even if Jesus aquired divine aid, it only emphasizes the point that He was trusting in God
It is said that no human can survive without food for more than seven days and seven nights. Yet Moses went without food and water for forty days and forty nights (Exodus 34:27-28; Deuteronomy 9:9) Elijah went without food for forty days and forty nights (1 Kings 19:8) Jesus went without food for forty days and forty nights (Matthew 4:2) These rare examples were intended for a specific purpose, were carried out by prophets, required special divine aid, and are not intended to be used as a type of fast for the average person today.
In Exodus 34:27-28 and Deuteronomy 9:9, we are told that Moses went without food and water for forty days and forty nights (two separate instances). How Moses was able to go without food and water for forty days and forty nights is unclear. Given the fact that no human can go without food for more than seven days, it would seem as though Moses was able to survive through divine aid
In 1 Kings 19, the angel of the LORD tells Elijah to eat. Elijah looks around and eats “a bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water.” The angel then “touched him and said, “Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you.” We are then told that Elijah “ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.” It seems as though Elijah had enough strength to survive forty days and forty nights by simply eating a bread cake and jar of water prior to his journey. However, there is no way that the sustenance of a bread cake and jar of water can keep a person alive for forty days/nights. Thus (1) the bread cake and water must have been empowered by God supernaturally (2) God gave Elijah’s body the physical requirements needed to go without food and water for forty days and forty nights (the fact that the angel intentionally “touched” Elijah suggests that God is doing something to Elijah’s body)
In Matthew 4, we are told that Jesus “had fasted forty days and forty nights, He [a]then became hungry.” When the Devil tells Jesus to turn stones into bread, Jesus quotes scripture and says, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” How Jesus was able to go without food for forty days and forty nights is unclear. However, the Bible does tells us that angels ministered to Jesus while He was in the wilderness (Mark 1:13) and that He was “led up by the Spirit” (Matthew 4:1). Thus, Jesus was able to go without food for forty days and forty nights because (1) He depended on the word of God (2) was strengthened by angels and the Holy Spirit
The point here is this; fasting for forty days and forty nights is something that only occurred to three different people in the Bible; all of whom were prophets, and required divine aid (without divine aid, no human can possibly fast and go without food for forty days and forty nights)
the only thing im thinking about is, if Jesus received divine aid while fasting, then doesn't this defeat the purpose of His trials and temptations in the wilderness?
In the Old Testament, many things were forbidden because of their origin. For example, God’s people were forbidden to shave their heads or trim the edges off their beards because these things were practiced by pagans. God’s people were also forbidden to make cuts on their bodies and get tattoos because these things were practiced by pagans. As a result, some Christian’s use the same principals today eg It is wrong to use heavy metal music for Christian songs because heavy metal derives from Satanic culture. So is this true, do Christians need to abstain from things that derive from pagan or satanic influences? No. This is known as Genetic Fallacy; determining something as either good or bad on the basis of where it came from or from whom it came from. God does not care about where things have originated from because ultimately, God looks at a persons heart, not the origin of what is practiced by people today. Yes, God commanded His people not to engage in certain things because they were practiced/originated from pagans. But this was because He did not want His people to be influenced by the sins of the surrounding pagan nations (eg shave heads or trim beard as an act of worship to a foreign god) This is different today (a person shaves their beard because they like the look – not because they are submitting to a pagan god)
The parts about the fasting are interesting, and it's still not a subject I'm sure on. How Jesus survived for so long without food or water, and yet divine help meaning He mightn't have actually been fasting, is something I've never thought about before. You must be one of the few people who thinks too much even more than I do. 🤔
I started a conversation on this as well. Zanjan and chronology replied, I certainly don't agree with chronology's view, which he claims that the 40 days is intended to be a metaphor. Hopefully other Christians will give a response.
Here is an update on what I previously wrote
In Matthew 4, we are told that Jesus “had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.” When the Devil tells Jesus to turn stones into bread, Jesus quotes scripture and says, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” How Jesus was able to go without food for forty days and forty nights is unclear. However, the Bible does tell us that angels ministered to Jesus while He was in the wilderness (Mark 1:13) and that He was “full of the Holy Spirit…led by the Spirit” (Luke 4:1). Thus, Jesus was able to go without food for forty days and forty nights because (1) He depended on the word of God (2) was strengthened by angels and the Holy Spirit (similar to when He was strengthened by an angel before His death) The point here is that Jesus was trusting and depending on God (to know that His Father would keep him alive while being tempted by the Devil) Some might argue that divine aid would defeat the purpose of Jesus’ trial/temptation (if Jesus is receiving supernatural aid in order to be kept alive without food, then it defeats the purpose of going without food so that the Devil can tempt Him) However, the purpose of Jesus’ trial was to show the world that He was able to resist temptation by trusting and depending on God His Father. So even if Jesus aquired divine aid, it only emphasizes the point that He was trusting in God