1 Corinthians 10:1-13 - Old Testament Warning Examples

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

1 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

6 Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. 7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” 8 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; 9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; 10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

We have been given many examples of warning from all of scripture since the beginning in the Old Testament accounts.  Paul reminded his fellow countrymen of Israel of how their forefathers had been protected by the Lord as they were led out of bondage from Egypt under the protective cloud of God’s very presence (Exodus 13:21-22, Psalm 105:39) and were led through the parted waters of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21-22, Nehemiah 9:11) towards the promised land.  There they were baptized in that cloud and sea, immersed in the leading and deliverance of the hand of God in Moses.  They all ate the spiritual manna from heaven to sustain them for forty years by God’s providence and provision (Exodus 17:5-6) as from the Rock who followed them that we now know was Christ, their Messiah and ours.  But he reminded them of their sin which clouded their salvation by doubting God’s word and being fearful to enter the land of milk and honey that was promised to them and lay in front of them to obtain the promise by faith.  This is a good example for us to learn to avoid; we should not doubt the deliverance in Christ and the promised blessings of obedience so that we do not repeat their mistakes of disbelief and disobedience in all we have been given in Christ for us to do in response as prepared beforehand for us (Ephesians 2:10) to walk into.  These bad examples looked away from following the Lord and satisfied their own sensual desires for the evil of immorality and idolatry instead of worshiping and listening to the Lord to guide their lives and actions.  Not only did they run after sexual immorality, they also tempted Christ as in Exodus 17:2, 7 where they tested the Lord saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?” instead of realizing and acknowledging His presence and provision in the desert by that Rock who provided all they needed for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), just as He continues to do for we His people of Christ’s kingdom today.  May we not repeat the sin of tempting God by doubting and refusing to follow and be bitten by symbolic serpents of the devil’s original temptation (Genesis 3:1, 4-5) in questioning God’s clear word and not taking Him at it as we are meant to do.  When we do fail, may we then look on the cross of Christ in faith for fo as we have for salvation which we see symbolized in Numbers 21:5, 8 and explained in John 3:14-15 as a warning and a hope to look to the work of God in Jesus with trust as we take God at His word by observing it, not only for deliverance from God’s wrath, but also for ongoing course correction of confession of our sins (1 John 1:9) of disobedience and disbelief as we are conforming to the image of Godmin Christ.  May we learn from the bad examples of failure that we might not repeat their complaints and walk to trust and obey willingly and for God’s glory.  These events were recorded in the scriptures for our admonition to warn us what to avoid and point us to the right direction for our lives in pursuit of Christ as Paul wrote to the Philippian church in Philippians 3:12-14 for us to heed.  Humility demands that we face the fact that we will fall because we are still in sin-scarred flesh.  The key is first to recognize our weakness in facing temptation and then to turn in faith to avoid it according to the instructions of the Bible as we trust His providence and provision leading us from the bond of sin through baptism into Christ and onward through the sanctification of life.  We are always given a way out of temptation when we are faced with it as we call to mind the warning explained in James 1:13-15 where we are urged to not give in to temptation as God’s people did in the journey out of the bondage of Egypt which is symbolic of our deliverance from sin’s penalty in the salvation of Christ.  We should learn from these examples that we do not fall into the same traps but respond in trusting God’s word to follow it for our good and work the works planned for us to His glory, honor, and praise.