1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 10:1-11:
“Learn The Lessons Of The Israelites”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study we looked
at how Paul gave us two analogies, ‘running in a race’ and ‘boxing in a boxing
match’, in order to teach us that we Christians must view ourselves as
spiritual athletes and our Christian life similarly to competing in sporting
events. Thus, we must be careful in our
Christian life to train and to compete in such a way that we will win our race
or match.
1.1.1. We saw then that training and running a race so that we will win
requires primarily two things:
1.1.1.1.Bodily Discipline
1.1.1.2.Being careful not to
disqualify yourself
1.2.
In our study today we are going to look at the exhortation that Paul
gave to the Corinthians to learn the lessons of the Israelites (from their
failures) during their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness after being led
out of slavery in
1.2.1. That 40 years in the
wilderness was designed by God for the Israelites in order to see if they would
truly keep His commandments and keep Him first in their lives
1.2.1.1.That time tested whether or
not they truly loved the Lord
1.2.1.2.God performed miracles each
and every day in the lives of the Israelites in providing for their needs, and
yet in spite of all that God did for them they didn’t trust Him and His love
for them, and they insisted on rebelling and going on their own way apart from
the Lord
1.2.2. In the context of where we
find this chapter, we see that as Paul has been exhorting the Corinthians to
run the race of their Christian life and calling in such a way as to win, that
he now desired to reveal to them some of the pitfalls which they should avoid
so as to not fall away from Him and completing that race
1.2.3. As I mentioned to our
Tuesday night Bible study group this past week concerning history, I believe
that God has given us the Old Testament, which contains much history of God’s
dealings with His people and the rest of the nations, in order that we might
learn from their mistakes and be encouraged by their victories. Plus, the popular saying concerning history is
true, “If you do not study history, you are destined to repeat it.”
1.2.3.1.The Israelites themselves
failed and fell away from God because they forgot to remember what God had done
in history past. In the Old Testament we
read that over time the nation fell away from God largely because they forgot
to teach their children, as they were commanded to do, about all of the ways in
which God dealt with them in the Old Testament accounts, and events such as
God’s leading the people out of slavery in Egypt, etc.
1.2.3.2.Likewise, in the Old
Testament the prophets were constantly giving the people the commandment to
remember what God had done, and not only so but to be sure to tell their
children about these things. Some of the
things that the Old Testament commanded the Israelites to be sure to tell to
the children, grandchildren, etc. were, for instance:
1.2.3.2.1.Exodus 12:26: tell them about what the Passover means
1.2.3.2.2.Exodus 13:8: tell them about why they eat unleavened bread
during the Passover
1.2.3.2.3.Exodus 13:15: tell them about why the the firstborn of
every creature belongs to the Lord
1.2.3.2.4.Deut. 4:9: tell them about the commandments and statutes
of the Lord
1.2.3.2.5.Etc., etc.
1.2.3.3.It is rare though to find a
church these days that teaches the Old Testament, especially one which teaches
verse by verse through all of the books of the Old Testament. However, in the
1.2.3.3.1.We also teach the New
Testament verse by verse from Matthew through Revelation
1.2.3.4.So, in our study today we are
going to remember some of the stories of the Old Testament so that we can be
sure to learn the lessons of the Israelites
2.
VS 10:1-2 - “10:1
1 For
I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the
cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 and all were baptized into Moses in
the cloud and in the sea;” - Paul tells the Corinthians that all of the
Israelites who came out of Egypt were under God’s cloud and were baptized into
Moses
2.1.
When Paul speaks of their ‘fathers’ in verse 1, he is speaking of the
Israelites during the Old Testament times, particularly during their wanderings
in the wilderness after being led by the Lord out of Egypt and slavery.
2.2.
Paul speaks then in this chapter of the Israelites as being the
spiritual fathers of all Christians.
2.3.
Paul speaks here of the tremendous privileges that the Israelites as
God’s people partook of. They were
constantly seeing God work in such incredible ways.
2.3.1. For instance, he says that
they were all under that divine cloud which led them though each day, and which
turned into a fire by night.
2.4.
In Exodus 13:20-22, Moses writes about the divine cloud and the
pillar of fire that led the Israelites through all of their 40 years of
wandering in the desert after leaving Egypt, “20 Then they set out from Succoth
and camped in Etham on the edge of the wilderness. 21 And the LORD was going before them
in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by
night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 He did not
take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from
before the people”.
2.5.
Moses wrote in Exodus 14:26-31 about how the Lord allowed the
people to walk through the Red Sea yet brought the waters back and drowned the
pursuing Egyptian army, “ 26 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch
out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians,
over their chariots and their horsemen." 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over
the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the
Egyptians were fleeing right into it; then the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in
the midst of the sea. 28 And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the
horsemen, even Pharaoh's entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not
even one of them remained. 29 But the sons of Israel walked on dry land
through the midst of the sea, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 30 Thus the
LORD saved
2.6.
Paul writes in verse 2 that they were all ‘baptized into Moses in the
cloud and in the sea’, referring to everyone in the wilderness wanderings,
however there are a few questions that are begging to be asked concerning
what Paul means in speaking of ‘baptism’ in this way:
2.6.1. The scripture does not
record that the divine cloud gave rain on the Israelites, so in what sense
could they have been baptized by or into that cloud? Did it rain on them?
2.6.2. The Israelites all passed
through the
2.6.3. Paul writes that the
Israelites were ‘baptized into Moses’, yet how could they have been baptized
into Moses since we normally think of baptism as being dunked in a tank of water
or sprinkled with water, and this being associated with membership or
involvement in a New Testament church?
2.7.
These questions can all be answered by having a proper understanding of
what the Greek word used here, ‘baptidzo’, really means.
2.7.1. This word is always
translated ‘baptism’. Baptism is a word
that can have a genereal usage and does not always refer to something
associated with water. But, contrary
to the fact that some denominations endorse a method of ‘sprinkling’ for
baptism with water, the word ‘baptidzo’ actually means ‘immersion’.
2.7.2. Thus, though it was somewhat
rare to do so, in Paul’s day this word sometimes had a generic usage. Paul is speaking then of being ‘immersed’
into the divine cloud, the
2.7.3. The use of the word
‘baptism’ in these verses refers not to water but to the fact of what that the
Israelites experienced. They all partook
of Moses, being God’s people, which experience involved the tremendous
privileges of being under a divine cloud that led them, of miraculously walking
through the
2.7.4. Thus, Paul even mentions
that the Israelite people were all baptized into Moses.
3.
VS 10:3-4 - “3 and all ate the same spiritual food; 4 and all
drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock
which followed them; and the rock was Christ.”
- Paul tells the Corinthians in effect
that all of the Israelites during that wilderness wandering shared the same
incredible privileges
3.1.
Paul writes in verse 3 that all of the Israelites ‘ate of the same
spiritual food’, and there are two senses in which we can look at this:
3.1.1. In a physical sense this
referred to the manna which God caused to fall every evening; and manna is ‘spiritual food’ since it was
divinely created:
3.1.1.1.Moses writes of how the Lord
provided the manna for the people:
3.1.1.1.1.Exod. 16:4-6, “4 Then the
LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and
the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test
them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction. 5 "And it will come about
on the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as
much as they gather daily." 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the sons of
3.1.1.1.2.In Exodus 16:35,
Moses writes that the Lord provided the manna for the Israelites for the entire
40 years that they wandered in the wilderness, “35 And the sons of Israel ate the
manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate the manna
until they came to the border of the land of Canaan”.
3.1.2. In a spiritual sense, Paul
clearly implies here that the manna was “symbolic” of Christ:
3.1.2.1.In John 6:47-51,
Jesus referred to Himself as being ‘the bread of life’, “47 “Truly,
truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.48 “I am the bread of
life.49 “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.50 “This
is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.51
“I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this
bread, he shall live forever; and the bread also which I shall give for the
life of the world is My flesh.””
3.1.2.2.In John 6:54-56,
Jesus taught His disciples that a disciple must “eat His flesh and drink His
blood” in order to partake of eternal life with Him, which means just to
partake of Him in the truest and greatest sense of the word, “54 “He who
eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on
the last day.55 “For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.56 “He
who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.”
3.2.
In verse 4, Paul says that all of the Israelites ‘drank of the same
spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock’, and we can look at this also in
two senses:
3.2.1. In a physical sense the
drink refers to the water that came from the rock when God miraculously caused
water to flow out for the Israelites to drink:
3.2.1.1.In Exodus 17:1-7,
Moses wrote about how that the Lord provided water for the people to drink
during their wanderings in the wilderness, “1 Then all the congregation of the
sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the
command of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the
people to drink. 2
Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water
that we may drink." And Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with
me? Why do you test the LORD?" 3 But the people thirsted there for water; and
they grumbled against Moses and said, "Why, now, have you brought us up
from
3.2.1.2.We read in the Old Testament
about how God miraculously provided water for the people wherever they
went.
3.2.1.3.Interestingly, there is a
legend not recorded in scripture (which makes it unverifiable, of course) that
says that the rock from which they drank literally followed them wherever they
went, and then in this verse we read that the ‘rock which followed them’ was
Christ. Can you imagine now that not
only did the Lord have His presence among them in a cloud by day and a fire by
night, but possibly there was this water emitting rock which also followed them
everywhere they went so that their thirst could be satisfied.
3.2.2. In a spiritual sense, Paul
clearly tells us that this rock “symbolized” Christ:
3.2.2.1.Paul says that the rock was
actually ‘Christ’, which means that the rock symbolized Christ, and we know
that salvation and refreshing is provided for God’s people only through Christ.
3.2.2.2.Jesus said in the seventh
chapter of John that the one who believed in Him, from his innermost being
would flow rivers of living water. So,
you see Jesus was symbolized by that rock from which water miraculously flowed
and satisfied the people’s thirst.
3.2.2.3.Christ, being divine, is
also the ‘rock’ for God’s people to stand upon and be protected by, as many
scriptures reveal.
3.3.
What I believe then that Paul is above all else
attempting to do in this chapter is to remind the Corinthians that the
Israelites had tremendous privileges provided them wherever they went, however
as he goes on to say, nevertheless they rebelled and turned away from God and
He was not pleased with most of them.
3.3.1. The Israelites enjoyed
tremendous privileges in seeing God work in such a mighty way in providing for
their needs day and after day, and yet in spite of this they refused to truly
believe the Lord and to obey His commands and will for their lives.
3.3.2. As a result of their lack of
obedience and faith they were disqualified from inheriting His promises.
3.4.
For application of these verses, we Christians must realize that at a
certain point in our Christian walk, we must take a step back and realize that
God is and has always been faithful to us.
He never changes. He is always
faithful to keep every one of the promises that He makes to His people.
3.4.1. We are always going through
trials and difficulties in our lives, as were the Israelites, however there are
some questions that we ought to ask ourselves concerning how we are going to
respond to those trials and difficulties when they come:
3.4.1.1.Are we going to allow the
Lord to be our Lord, or master, in the midst of them?
3.4.1.2.Are we going to pray in
faith for God’s provision and deliverance in the midst of them, and look to Him
alone for our help?
3.4.1.3.Are we going to obey the
Lord whether or not we know how God is going to work out His will and keep His
promises in the midst of them?
3.4.1.3.1.It would be so easy to obey
the Lord if we knew the future and how He was going to be our help and bless
us, however that would not require faith.
We must believe without knowing how He will work everything out for
us.
3.4.1.4.Are we going to keep the
Lord first in our life and our priorities, and let Him be our first love in the
midst of them?
4.
VS 10:5 - “10:5
Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness.” - Paul tells
the Corinthians that God was not pleased with most of the Jews
4.1.
Moses brought a great company out of
4.1.1. Even Moses was rejected from
being allowed into the promised land because of the incident that occurred
where he sinned by striking a rock in anger in order to cause the water to come
out of it when the Lord had told him to speak to the rock in order for the
water to come out of it.
4.1.2. Quoting from Isaiah
10:20-23, Paul wrote in Romans 9:27-28 about how that only the faithful
remnant of God’s people were truly His people and would thereby be saved, “27 And
Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, "Though the number of the sons of
Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved; 28 for the
Lord will execute His word upon the earth, thoroughly and quickly. " 29 And just as
Isaiah foretold, "Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left to us a posterity,
We would have become as
4.1.2.1.Only a remnant of church
goers will likewise enter heaven because just going to a church does not grant
or guarantee anyone eternal life. You
have to come to a saving relationship to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior
to inherit eternal life.
4.2.
We need to realize that it is the case today, as in every day in this
age, that the path is broad that is leading to destruction, as Jesus told His
disciples, and that there are many that are on that path today. We need to enter by the narrow gate, the path
which has few traveling on it. Jesus
said this in Matt. 7:13-14, “13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate
is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who
enter by it. 14
"For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life,
and few are those who find it”.
4.2.1. If God was not pleased with
the people in Moses’ day because of their rebellion against the Lord in spite
of His abundant blessings in their lives, and thus they were cut off from being
His people, then how could He be pleased with those today who think of
Christianity as being primarily a fire insurance policy, or who think that they
can be Christians yet live their lives doing their own selfish will instead of
doing God’s will?
4.2.2. Are we really seeking to do
His will? Jesus said in Matt. 7:21-23
that only those who do His will shall be saved, “21 "Not everyone who says to
Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of
My Father who is in heaven. 22 "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord,
Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and
in Your name perform many miracles?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never
knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness'”.
4.2.3. If our life does not stand
out in contrast from the rest of the masses of the people because of our being
salt and light to them, then we ought to consider whether or not we are really
on that narrow path and see where it is that we need to repent in our life!
5.
VS 10:6-7 - “10:6
Now these things happened as examples for us, that we should not crave
evil things, as they also craved. 7 And 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."” - Paul tells the Corinthians that the things
written about the stubborn and rebellious Israelites were written so that they
could serve as examples for us to learn from
5.1.
God gave us the Old Testament so that we might study it and learn from
all of the examples that the people set, both good and bad.
5.1.1. A few were faithful and
courageous and were thus blessed by the Lord, and we see part of this list
written about in Hebrews chapter 11.
However, the great majority of them turned away from the Lord, disobeyed
Him, refused to hear or heed His word, persecuted His prophets, worshipped the
gods of the other nations, looked to the arm of man to be their provision and
help, etc.
5.2.
Paul writes in this verse that since we have the examples of the
Israelites in the Old Testament, we should not ‘crave evil things, as they also
craved’ that which God had forbidden.
5.2.1. The Israelites had no sooner
been rescued out of their slavery in
5.2.1.1.We read in Numbers 11:1-6
about how that the people of Israel grumbled because they missed the onions and
leeks of Egypt and got tired of the miraculous provision of the manna for them
each day, “1 Now the people became like those who complain of adversity
in the hearing of the Lord; and when the Lord heard it, His anger was kindled,
and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts
of the camp.2 The people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the
Lord, and the fire died out.3 So the name of that place was called Taberah,
because the fire of the Lord burned among them.
4 And the rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the
sons of Israel wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat?5 “We
remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the
melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic,6 but now our appetite is
gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna.””
5.2.1.2.I personally am shocked how
so many times I have had Christians complain to me about their life now that
they are Christians. They seem to think
that somehow things were better before they became a Christian, and God just
hasn’t come through for them, or given them enough in their life. I think that their memories have become faulty.
If they had to go back into the world and be outside of Christ, under
the devil’s dominion again, and headed to hell, I think that they would suddenly
wish that they could once again go and count their blessings as Christians.
5.3.
Likewise, Paul tells the Corinthians, ‘do not be idolaters, as some of
them were’.
5.3.1. The idolatry of which he
speaks is described as sitting down to eat and drink, and standing up to
play. This is a reference to what the
Israelites did when Moses went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of the
law of God. Aaron made a golden calf
from the gold earrings of the women, so that they could worship God through a
golden calf. Then, the people feasted
and when done, they danced around and had a big orgy.
5.3.2. What has idolatry ever done
for a person? What did it do for the
Israelites?
5.3.2.1.When we place things in our
lives above the Lord, and refuse to submit them to the Lord, what good do they
do in our lives? None.
5.3.2.2.As Christians, those things
that we place above God just steal away our peace and joy in the Lord, and we
find ourselves worrying and fretting about everything, our emotions going wild,
our tempers sometimes reaching the boiling point, and suddenly we find that no
one likes to be around us. No one can
please us, nothing brings us lasting joy and contentment, and we are just a
pain to be around.
5.4.
We need to learn from the Old Testament scriptures which God has given
to us. If God judged people for certain
acts in the past, surely He will judge and discipline us today if we do the
very same things.
5.5.
We Christians must be very careful not to crave the evil things of this
world which are all around us. This is
an admonishment to squelch our sinful desires, which we must accomplish with
God’s help.
5.5.1. We must make no provision
for the flesh in regard to its lusts, as we saw last week. See Rom. 13:14.
5.6.
We Christians need to be very careful not to allow idolatry into our
lives.
5.6.1. Idols are not just made of
clay and metal, rather they can be idols of the heart. Again, what things constitute idols in our
life?
5.6.1.1.Whatever we put in our lives
over and above God.
5.6.1.2.If there is anything in our
life which we allow that God has forbidden.
5.6.1.3.If there is anything in our life
that God does allow but which we do not look to Him as to how to handle it in
our lives.
5.6.1.3.1.There are many things which
in and of themselves are a good thing, however if we do not look to the Lord
and obey Him concerning our involvement with them, they become idols to
us.
5.6.1.3.2.Our favorite hobby, our
favorite sport, our favorite pastime, our favorite meal, our career, our car,
even having a good marriage, can all be idols in our life if we do not submit
our lives to God’s control concerning these things.
5.6.1.4.Whatever we refuse to submit
to Him and seek His will in.
6.
VS 10:8 - “8 Nor let us act immorally, as some of
them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day.”
- Paul tells the Corinthians that they
must not allow immorality in their lives
6.1.
The word translated ‘Immorality’ here is the Greek word ‘porneuo’, from
which we get our word pornography. It
means any sex that is outside of monogamous marriage.
6.2.
Immorality can become an idol in a person’s life if they are not
willing to give it up for Christ’s sake.
6.3.
Paul warns the people that they should not commit sexually immoral acts
of any form as the Israelites did, and he cites a time when twenty-three people
were killed by the Lord for committing immorality. The passage Paul is referring to was written
by Moses in Num. 25:1-8, “1 While
6.3.1. The discrepancy between
23,000 and 24,000 in this verse seems to be that the 23,000 died the first day,
and another 1,000 died sometime after that.
6.4.
Christians of all times must be careful not to fall into the sin of
immorality, as so many people have a propensity to do, for this is a sin that
Satan has used in Christians’ lives as a snare to cause them to fall completely
away from the Lord.
7.
VS 10:9 - “9 Nor let us try the Lord, as some of
them did, and were destroyed by the serpents.”
- Paul tells the Corinthians not to try
the Lord as some of the Israelites did
7.1.
In Exodus chapter 17, verses 3 and 4, we read that the Israelites
grumbled against the Lord because they and their cattle were thirsty. This was only one of many instances where the
Israelites had no faith in the Lord and therefore grumbled against Him. Because they had no faith they were
constantly grumbling, and they tested to the limit the Lord’s patience because
of their grumbling.
7.2.
The particular instance of being bitten by fiery serpents and dying
because of their grumbling against God and Moses, of which Paul is referring in
this verse, is recorded in Num. 21-4-9, “4 Then they set out from Mount Hor
by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became
impatient because of the journey. 5 And the people spoke against God and Moses,
"Why have you brought us up out of
7.3.
When we Christians are trying to live our life on the edge of that
which is evil, then we are putting the Lord to the test just as the Israelites
did who perished in the wilderness. We
Christians must be careful not to put the Lord to a test as the Israelites
did.
7.4.
We must not grumble against the Lord’s provision and protection of us
as they did.
7.5.
Grumbling shows a real lack of faith in our lives, and thus we
Christians must also not grumble against the Lord.
7.5.1. We must for instance never
grumble because of what we have had to give up in order to become Christians.
7.5.2. We must not be complaining
against the Lord because this is done because of lack of faith in the Lord.
7.6.
I have even heard it said that depression is really rebellion against
the Lord.
7.6.1. I saw a cute cartoon the
other day, and I wished I would have saved it.
In the cartoon we see a father sitting in a chair in his living room
reading the paper, and then his son walks up.
He tells his son, “Well son, I thought you were too bummed out and
depressed to come out of your room? Oh,
and, what changed that dismal look you had on your face?” The son answered, “Mom told me that if
I didn’t snap out of it that she was going to give me a reason to be depressed.”
7.6.2. When we Christians are
walking in faith and thus trusting in the incredible promises of the word of
God for us, those which give us such hope (confident expectation), how can be
we depressed? We can’t.
7.6.3. When we’re depressed, our
focus and perspective has to have been taken off of the Lord and the promises
of His word. Thus, we need to just be
redirected to the Lord during those times.
7.7.
We must learn to be content in every circumstance, as Paul says of himself
in the book of Philippians.
8.
VS 10:10 - “10 Nor grumble, as some of them did,
and were destroyed by the destroyer.” - Paul warns the Corinthians not to grumble
against the Lord
8.1.
‘The destroyer’ was the angel of death which passed over the Egyptians
and caused all of their first born to die before the Lord led the Israelites
out of
9.
VS 10:11 - “11 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.” - Paul tells the Corinthians that the things
that happened to the Israelites in the wilderness as a result of their
rebellion were recorded for the sake of the church in this age
9.1.
Paul repeats basically what he said in verse 6 of this chapter. He says here that those things in the Old
Testament were written for the instruction of God’s people all through the ages,
and particularly Christians who are living in the last days before Christ’s
return. However, here he is speaking
specifically of the judgments and hardships that the people endured as a result
of their rebellion and sinning against the Lord.