“1 Corinthians 10:1-12”

Friday, April 13, 2018

“For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness.

“Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, ‘THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY.’ Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.”

---End of Scripture verses---

“Let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall” (verse 12). Paul was an inspired Apostle of Jesus Christ, and yet he knew that even he could be “disqualified” from the “Christian race” if he did not “discipline” himself and bring his body under control (1 Corinthians 9:27). In today’s reading, he used several (bad) examples of the disobedience and misbehavior of God’s covenant people and their subsequent and consequent fall, to teach the Corinthian brethren that they needed to change their lax attitude and sinful behavior.

“I do not want you to be unaware” (verse 1). God has preserved the Old Testament for us so that we will not be “ignorant” of how He abhors and punishes the irreverent, sinful behavior of His people. Every story we read in the Old Testament was “written for our instruction” so that we will learn from the “example” of God’s covenant children of old. Of course, we should imitate the good examples, but in today’s reading Paul wants us to learn to avoid the same mistakes that Israel made throughout their history, and not follow their bad examples.

Verses 1-4 suggest that the brethren in Corinth were overconfident about their status of privilege and condition of safety with God through their covenant in Christ. They had been baptized into Christ and they all partook of the Lord’s Supper, and they thought that made their salvation secure. But Paul warned them that Israel had been figuratively “baptized into Moses” and they partook of the “same spiritual food” (manna), and “spiritual drink” (water from the rock) with Christ. And yet, “with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness” (verse 5).

“Do not be idolaters, as some of them were” (verse 7). Idolatry was a huge problem in Corinth and a source of “double trouble”. They combined the worship of idols with the act of sexual immorality, steeping themselves in both spiritual and physical adultery. Paul quoted Exodus 32:6 to show them that Israel committed the very same “spiritual suicide” at Mount Sinai with the golden calf when they, “SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY.” Three thousand people were killed on that dreadful day (Exodus 32:28).

“Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day” (verse 8). This is a reference to the incident recorded in Numbers 25 when Israel “played the harlot” with Moabite women. We learn in Numbers 31:16 that it was because of Balaam’s counsel that the women of Moab enticed the men of Israel, through fornication, to worship their false Gods. Numbers 25:9 says that a total of 24 thousand people died by the plague that followed. But Paul’s reference to 23 thousand was the number of men that died “in one day”.

“Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents” (verse 9). The children of Israel were always “putting the Lord to the test” by their frequent impatience and distrust of Him and His providence. When they complained about having no water and hating the food that the Lord provided (Numbers 4-5), God sent “fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died” (Numbers 21:6).

“Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer” (verse 10). Israel continually put God to the test with their persistent “grumbling” or “murmuring” as well. Verse 10 is likely a reference to the incidents surrounding the rebellion of Korah recorded in Numbers 16. 14,700 people were killed because they grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and blamed them for “the death of the Lord’s people” (Numbers 16:41, 49).

Idolatry, sexual immorality, dissatisfaction, grumbling and complaining. These were all sins that plagued the brethren in Corinth to one degree or another, and these are still the same types of problems that God’s children are faced with today. The heart of mankind has not changed over the generations. Paul used 1,500 year old examples to teach the brethren in Corinth to behave right, and God is using the 2,000 year old examples of the Corinthians to train us to control our behavior today.

But the problem does not originate with behavior. “Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved” (verse 6). It is not just the outward action that is condemned but the inward attitude. The lust behind the action is actually the heart of the issue. If we make little or no effort to curb our lust for evil things, we will inevitably yield to the temptation of the sin that will destroy us.

But God will help us if we are determined to try to resist and fight the bad attitudes and fleshly lusts that creep into our hearts and minds. God has the power to take negatives and turn them into positives. He can use the bad examples of rebellious people to teach us to life faithful and obedient lives. Please choose to learn the easy way and not the hard way!

Please read 1 Corinthians 10:13 for tomorrow and we will dedicate a whole segment to this one, remarkable verse of Scripture.

Have a blessed day!

-Louie Taylor

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