Lesson 20 – 1 Corinthians Chapter 10:3-12

Last week I just gave you a little tease into chapter 10. As we start exploring chapter 10, we will see Paul pull the nation of Israel on to the scene. In verses 1 and 2, Paul makes the connection between the Corinthian believers and Israel. There’s one person who brings this bond together, and that’s Abraham. With that, the bonding agent is “faith,” just as Abraham believed what God told him, all believers in Christ possess the same faith. Scripture declares that Abraham is the spiritual father of all who believe.

Paul makes the correlation between Israel and believers, in that, Israel saw Moses as the Lord’s appointed leader over them, and with Christians, Jesus is head over all who believe. There was a supernatural guidance taking place with Moses, because God was working through him, and believers similarly experience God’s guidance as well.

In Proverbs 3:5-6, believers are instructed:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

This holy guidance from above is for all who are willing to apply this to their lives.

James 1:5 encourages us:

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

Psalm 119:105 declares God’s guidance:

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Let’s continue to observe as Paul weaves this unique tapestry for us.

1 Cor. 10:3-4:
“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.”

God provided sustenance for Israel, food and drink, all through supernatural means.

Exodus 16:14-15:
“When the layer of dew evaporated, behold, on the surface of the wilderness there was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground. When the sons of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.”

Mana from heaven… holy frosted flakes; Tony the Tiger would have been all over this.

Exodus 17:6:
“Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.”

This was all done supernaturally from the Lord. If Israel was left to just natural resources in the wilderness, their future would have been pretty bleak.

The Corinthians and all followers of Jesus Christ have also eaten of God’s “Wonder Bread” from heaven.

John 6:31-35:
“Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”

Bread is such a basic food item that it becomes synonymous with life-sustaining food in general, and water is also essential for life. If bread and water is all you have, you can exist on them for quite some time.

By Jesus equating Himself with bread, Jesus is saying He is essential for life. To be clear, Jesus isn’t referring to physical life, but eternal life.

In John chapter 4, we have the story of the woman at the well, where Jesus and the woman have been conversing for a while…

John 4:10:
“Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

Notice that Jesus doesn’t say that He is the living water, but that He would give living water to her. It would be His gift to her, and when she received it, she would never thirst again. Jesus was speaking of a spiritual truth, whereas the woman’s thoughts were fixed on physical water, the type that could only be obtained with a bucket down a well. As the conversation between them progressed, the woman began to understand what Jesus was saying to her about the living water He would give.

To receive this living water is to receive God’s free gift of salvation. To never thirst again means salvation is complete, there’s no being saved over and over again, it is salvation in all its fullness, including the forgiveness of sin and the ability and desire to live an obedient life that glorifies God, which is quite wonderful when you think about it.

Bread of life and living water = a transformed life.

For they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ…

Baptized in the Red Sea, led by the Lord as they had it made in the shade, and being fed with heavenly “corn flakes” every morning, Israel drank water from the Rock… Jesus Christ… the perpetual source of refreshment and life.

Isaiah 12:3:
“Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation.”

Thinking about this spiritual rock… the Jews had a popular legend still known and believed by many in Paul’s day, that the actual rock that Moses struck followed Israel throughout her travels in the wilderness, providing water everywhere they went. Paul is relating to the Corinthians, that there were “two” rocks, a physical rock and a spiritual rock.

The Greek term for rock is the word petra and not petros. Petra is defined as a massive rock or cliff. We could say that God used a boulder to bring water to Israel.

Numbers 20:11:
“Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank.”

When Paul talks about the spiritual rock which followed them throughout all their travels in the wilderness, it wasn’t just any kind of bolder, but the greatest rock of all, Jesus Christ our solid Rock.

Deut. 32:4:
“The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He.”

Psalm 19:14:
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.”

The preincarnate, supernatural Rock, watched over, protected and sustained Israel… God would not allow harm to come to them… that is, unless it was from His hand.

1 Samuel 2:2:
“There is no one holy like the Lord, indeed, there is no one besides You, nor is there any rock like our God.”

Jesus is our Rock, our great sustainer…

John 7:37b-38:
“Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”

This internal river, or stream, is suggestive of the Holy Spirit, that He would come to live inside all who come to faith in Christ.

At the time Jesus spoke these words, it was during the Feast of Booths, or the Feast of Tabernacles. On the eighth and final day, according to some sources, the water-pouring ceremony with the priests was not repeated. It was during this time, the one day when there was no water, that Jesus stood up in the temple and shouted the news that He Himself was the source of living water. The effect on everyone there would have been profound to say the least. Here was the Messiah offering “water,” obvious in its absence, that stood for the Holy Spirit (innermost being) and eternal life, and all that was needed was to come to Jesus in faith.

1 Cor. 10:5:
“Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness.”

God took care of Israel time after time, performing miracles on numerous occasions. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased… this is an understatement from Paul to be sure. After everything was said and done in Israel’s exodus experience, there were only “two” out of about three million people who would enter the Promised Land – Joshua and Caleb.

For they were laid low in the wilderness…

No, this isn’t when the quail were flying overhead and they were ducking for cover. Laid low in the wilderness has a more macabre meaning, it literally means “to strew or spread over.” It took 40 years, but all of Israel died off in the wilderness, so we could say their bodies were strewn all over the place; not bodies decaying out in the open, but they were buried everywhere.

Looking back to chapter 9, one might come to the conclusion that Israel became “disqualified” in the race they were running, perhaps as a result of self-centeredness and misusing their new found freedom from slavery.

1 Cor. 10:6:
“Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.”

Israel became one big “negative” example for God to use. The way they behaved is something we can all learn from in our own personal applications for the race that we are running.

Paul will give us four things that caused their disqualification: idolatry, sexual immorality, trying God, and complaining.

At the end of chapter 9, Paul showed us the value of bringing our bodies into subjection as he did. The result to doing this is mastering the art of self-control… Israel fell short here. In fact, they did the very opposite, they indulged their every desire.

If the Corinthians were paying attention to what Paul was saying, this would have been a “gut punch” to their sensibilities, because they were complacent when it came to self-discipline.

“So that we would not crave evil things as they also craved” …the fact that Israel was unashamedly giving into self-indulgence meant immediate action was needed.

1 Cor. 10:7:
“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.”

(NLT) – “As the Scriptures say, “The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.”

A casual reading of this text could cause one to overlook what is really going on here.

Do not be idolaters…

Just as we have learned about the availability of meat being sacrificed to idols, the Corinthians were all too familiar when it came to idol worship. Society as a whole in Corinth was inundated with idol worship, whether religious, political, or even among their businesses, it was everywhere.

Idolatry, what exactly is it? It is, “the worship of idols or excessive devotion to something, also having a reverence for some person or thing.” An idol is anything that replaces the one, true God.

Humans have a God given intrinsic desire to worship, it’s in our DNA. It is the need to connect with something greater than oneself and can manifest in various ways. This is why God commands us to only worship Him. God knows how weak we are, and given to going off in unholy directions.

This is what happened to Israel. When Moses was up on God’s holy mountain speaking with Him, the people became impatient. The people of Israel pressured Aaron to fashion a calf out of gold from all the jewelry they had. They weren’t trying to make their own god, but they needed something that was visible, something that was a tangible symbol of God.

To give you the background about the calf, many cultures at that time considered a cow to represent deity.

Jon Courson writes, “The cow is a gentle yet powerful animal that provides milk for its young. But here’s the problem with idolatry: If I allow anything or anyone to represent God to me, it will, at best, be only a partial representation of the full nature and character of the Father. You see, if I look at God as only being a cow in the sense of gently providing for His young, I need not fear if I act immorally in His sight. Yes, God is gentle. Yes, He provides graciously… but He is also lionlike in His holiness and purity. Therefore, I err greatly when I ignore this aspect of His nature.”

Do we have any “golden calves” in our lives? Don’t let anything gain your worship, not a church, a pastor, a spouse or even your children.

The people sat down to eat and drink…

What Paul is referring to is the excessive feasting that would take place.

Stood up to play… what in the world does that mean?

Play, (paizō) is a synonym for sexual relations, we see a similar word “caressing” in Gen. 26:8. When Moses came down from the mountain there were consequences for Israel, for those who were “just playing around” as it were.

Exodus 32:27-28 (NLT):
“Moses told them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Each of you, take your swords and go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other. Kill everyone – even your brothers, friends, and neighbors.” The Levites obeyed Moses’ command, and about 3,000 people died that day.”

There are many man-made religions and cults in the world today, some new, some very old, claiming they worship the God of Scripture. Israel was proud of their shiny gold calf, claiming they were worshipping God. God cannot be reduced to any earthly image, no matter how well meaning the designer might be.

1 Cor. 10:8:
“Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day.”

Numbers 25:1-9:
“While Israel remained at Shittim, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. For they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the Lord was angry against Israel. The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you slay his men who have joined themselves to Baal of Peor.” Then behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his relatives a Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, while they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting. When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he arose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand, and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the body. So the plague on the sons of Israel was checked. Those who died by the plague were 24,000.”

I don’t know if you caught it or not, Paul wrote 23,000 and in Numbers 25:9 it says 24,000. An explanation of the 24,000 compared to the 23,000 is that the former included the leaders, whereas the latter did not. There’s differing opinions on this.

Our focus needs to be on Nor let us act immorally…

Practically speaking, how can we look at this? It could be as simple as what movie am I watching? What activity am I taking part in? What’s that on my computer, maybe I’ll click on it. Immorality is evil, immorality quite frankly kills, it kills our marriages and our families, it also kills our witness and our joy.

John MacArthur writes, “Many Christians fall into moral problems simply because they are overconfident in themselves. They enter into and continue relationships that may not be wrong in themselves but which offer strong temptations. And when temptations come, they think they can handle it, often finding out too late that they could not. Or they go to places and do things that are closely associated with immorality, stopping short of doing anything immoral themselves. But even if a person never commits an immoral act in such situations, his mind is filled with vulgar ideas and images, and his spiritual life and testimony are seriously weakened.”

1 Cor. 10:9:
“Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents.”

Maybe when you were a kid you heard your parents say more than once, “You’re trying my patience.” What does it mean to try God? We can add two other words, “test” and “tempt,” none of which we should ever do to God. Perhaps you got away with testing your mother’s patience, but doing that to God is dangerous.

Numbers 21:5:
“The people spoke against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.”

God had proven Himself over and over again to Israel, always watching over her, taking care and providing for her, but it just wasn’t good enough. Israel was very good at complaining and questioning God’s goodness (how foolish). Moses didn’t like what they were doing and God didn’t… they were trying God’s patience to the max. Israel was all about herself, what’s in it for Israel, they didn’t care about pleasing God just themselves. Sound familiar? The Corinthians were rolling the same way, in it for themselves and what will satisfy them.

We’ve talked about the Corinthian’s freedoms and liberties, and the fact that they were always dancing on the edge of what they could get away with… that is never pleasing to God. To take advantage of God’s grace in a negative way is never a wise thing to indulge in. It’s not okay to say, “I can do this or that and God will forgive me,” or, “We can’t lose our salvation so why not get everything out of life we can.” Dangerous statements to be sure.

Israel found out the hard way. They were trying God and wanting to go back to their old ways… consequences followed.

Numbers 21:6:
“The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.”

What’s our take away? Don’t ever tempt Jesus by saying to ourselves, “Ah, the good ’ol days, I miss the parties, and the “playing around,” or, “Why do I have to be with him or her?” or “I hate this situation I’m in.” These might sound innocent on the surface, but when we complain about what’s going on in our life, we’re directly complaining about Jesus, the One who knows all things, and the One who has allowed me in this situation in the first place. Our God is much bigger than our thoughts!

1 Cor. 10:10:
“Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.”

Grumble, grumble, grumble… complain, complain, complain. This can get us in trouble. Who here has never complained?

Grumble or grumbling, (gong-good’-zo) is defined as to murmur, mutter, or those who discontentedly complain.

It’s not wise to whine against God. If we go back to the book of Numbers we’ll see the story about Korah, Dathan, Abriam and the rest of the rebels who had stirred up the entire community against Moses and Aaron.

Numbers 16:32 (NLT):
“The earth opened its mouth and swallowed the men, along with their households and all their followers who were standing with them, and everything they owned.”

After this happened, we see in verse 41, “But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You are the ones who have caused the death of the Lord’s people.”

This made God very mad, because what the people were doing was complaining about His divine justice.

Question: How often do we complain against God? Murmuring is dissatisfaction with God’s sovereign will. How can we ever complain against God’s will? We see from Scripture that complaining is something that God doesn’t take lightly. Shortly after the congregation’s complaining, God sent a deadly plague upon them and that day 14,700 people died.

And were destroyed by the destroyer…

No, this isn’t a scene from a Marvel action movie, the destroyer is real. The destroyer was the same angel who had slain the firstborn of the Egyptians.

The destroyer was also working during David’s time…

2 Sam. 24:15-16:
“So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel who destroyed the people, “It is enough! Now relax your hand!”

In 2 Chronicles, it also tells of this angel who destroyed the entire Assyrian army.

So, what is the opposite of grumbling? That would be contentment.

Phil. 4:11:
“Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.”

2 Cor. 11:25 (why should Paul be content):
“Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent adrift at sea.”

There was more that happened to Paul than what we see here, but even though these trials took place in his life, he could still say, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.”

From a human point of view, we might be tempted to say, “If anyone had a right to complain it would be Paul.”

In our flesh, it’s easy to justify our complaining, but we need to be aware of the wider scope of things. Meaning, whatever circumstance we find ourselves in, absolutely nothing takes place in our life that God doesn’t know about.

For us to complain about any circumstance, no matter how intense it might be, is to challenge God’s wisdom, righteousness, goodness, grace, and His love. If you want to learn about tough circumstances, just take a look at the life of Job.

So, the next time you catch yourself whining, remember God doesn’t like it.

1 Cor. 10:11:
“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.”

Lesson learned? Aren’t you glad that God didn’t have a discussion with satan about how good of a person you are? Then all of a sudden you would find yourself in Job’s sandals.

As we read and study the Scriptures, we find so many examples of things people have done that got them into trouble, and with their mistakes, we get to learn from them, that is, if we’re willing.

It’s true that experience is the best teacher, but it doesn’t have to be our experience… thank God!

How many times have we read where Jesus said, “Let him who has ears, let him hear.” In the New Testament alone there are at least seven occasions He says that.

Jesus is saying, “Listen up! Pay close attention!” there so much to learn, so much wisdom to gain through the Spirit. We could say, Israel is God’s main teaching tool, and we can learn from all their mistakes… they already did it, why should we repeat it?

Their mistakes become our instruction, Paul says. The word instruction is more than ordinary teaching, it means admonition and carries the connotation of a warning.

Upon whom the ends of the ages have come… this knowledge and wisdom about Israel’s experiences will carry on to the last days of world history, before the messianic kingdom comes.

1 Cor. 10:12:
“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.”

(NLT) “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.”

The one who thinks he stands or the one who thinks he’s standing strong is a reference to overconfidence, and overconfidence is a very dangerous position to find yourself in. You might also agree that overconfidence and pride seem to go hand in hand.

Proverbs 16:18:
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.”

For example, Peter being a disciple of Jesus felt he was strong and would never fail Jesus.

Luke 22:33:
“But he said to Him, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!”

It wasn’t long after Peter said this that he denied Jesus three times.

Bible Commentary adds, “Christians who become self-confident become less dependent on God’s Word and God’s Spirit and become careless in their living. As carelessness increases, openness to temptation increases and resistance to sin decreases. When we feel most secure in ourselves, when we think our spiritual life is the strongest, our doctrine the soundest, and our morals the purest, we should be most on our guard and most dependent on the Lord.”

We’ll close with this…

God freed Israel from slavery, and in the process she witnessed numerous works of God. I don’t know about you, but if I had seen just one of God’s miracles, it would have left an everlasting impression on me.

We can’t ever judge Israel for the things she did, but we can certainly learn from her. This is where God’s kindness comes in. There are so many life lessons in God’s Word to be had. He put them there so we might learn from others’ mistakes. It takes wisdom on our part to do this, and we know if we pray for wisdom God will give it.