You can read the original post on what I mean by “echo-location” here

Sometimes, the echoes of the Old Testament in the New aren’t obvious. Then again, sometimes they’re plain as day. Every so often, a character in the gospels or a New Testament writer will quote the Old Testament directly, from either the Hebrew text or its Greek translation (known as the Septuagint), prefacing the quote with the declaration, “It is written.” Some of these quotes are easy to locate in the Old Testament, while others… well, not so much. But the passage we’re looking at today tells a cautionary tale: we need to remember that the devil can quote Scripture too, to mislead rather than to guide.

The passage in question is from Matthew’s account of the temptation of Jesus in chapter 4. Matthew’s Jewish readers would have heard an echo of the Old Testament even in the story itself. Jesus spends forty days and nights in the wilderness, echoing the forty years God’s people spent wandering in the wilderness because of their disobedience. Would Jesus as God’s chosen one, standing in for the people of Israel, get it right this time?

Satan tries three times to lure the famished Jesus from the way of humility, to choose the way of power and fame instead. He starts with the most basic of desires: Hungry? You can have bread, right now. Just make these stones into…what, a nice challah? You know you can do it. Aren’t you the Son of God? By the third temptation, the ruse is clear. Satan promises everything anyone could want in this world, but there’s a catch: the Son of God has to worship the devil. But Jesus responds to each temptation by quoting Scripture, specifically, three texts from Deuteronomy (8:3; 6:16; 6:13). No deal, Jesus says, and Satan leaves.

But again, it’s worth noting that the devil quotes Scripture too, in the second temptation:

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ” (Matt 4:5-6, NRSVUE)

The quote is from a much-loved psalm about the trustworthy protection of God:

For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
    so that you will not dash your foot against a stone. (Ps 91:11-12)

The phrase “all your ways” uses the Hebrew word that appears throughout the Psalms to contrast the “way” of the righteous with the “way” of the wicked (see especially Ps 1:6). Today, we would use the metaphor that “life is a journey.” Similarly, the psalmist portrayed the life of faith as walking the path of righteousness.

And the road, naturally, was not a modern, paved one; it was rocky, rough, and often dangerous, especially in the wilderness. This, like the rest of the psalm, is poetic imagery for the way God protects the faithful as they seek to follow his path. The imagery is rich and suggestive, describing possible threats in the broadest of terms, and using a variety of metaphors of protection (e.g., refuge, fortress, shield). The psalm promises, for example, that God will cover us with his feathers (vs. 4) — but this doesn’t mean that God literally has feathered wings.

So, do verses 11 and 12 promise us our own personal guardian angels?

Honestly, I don’t know. But here’s my caution. Remember that Satan used this verse to tempt Jesus to put God to the test. He takes Jesus to the highest point of the temple, and starts whispering in his ear like a scheming PR manager: You’re the Son of God, right? Listen, let’s make it easy for you. I know you believe in the Scripture. Hasn’t God promised that angels will protect you, to keep you from even stumbling over a stone in your path? Then just throw yourself down from here; the angels will bear you up. Everyone will see the miracle, and everyone will have to believe. Boom. Done.

Jesus doesn’t take the bait. He knows that the path God has chosen for him ends in a cross. He trusts his Father, and knows he can count on his protection when needed. But there can be no shortcuts on his rocky road.

Jesus’ wilderness temptation echoes the wanderings of God’s disobedient children from centuries before. In their stead, Jesus is the obedient one, the one who gets it right. He does not call upon guardian angels to help him sidestep the Father’s plan.

And that’s really the point, isn’t it? We must believe that God is trustworthy, however difficult the road. But we should not presume upon God’s protection if we choose our own path instead. What we need is to keep cultivating the wisdom to know the difference.