Learning from Israel’s history and keep away from idolatry: (chap.10):
In chapter-9, The Apostle gave his own example devotion and strict self discipline. But in chapter-10, he put emphasis on following good and not to commit the same mistakes which Israel has committed and closes with forbiddance of idolatry.
Learn from the failures of Israel: (10:1-5):We can put them as:
- The Pass-over celebration was a symbol of Israel’s salvation. God saved Israel and demonstrated a mighty miracle through the Pass-over where the blood of animal was smeared on the doors and windows and the angel of death has passed over but caused the death to Egyptian’s first born.
- Then Israel crossed the Red sea when the Egyptian army was chasing them. It was God’s incredible power in holding up the walls of the sea so Israel could cross over on dry ground, and then God’s work of sending the water back to drown the Egyptian army (14:21-31).
- It was not only an amazing demonstration of God’s power and love, but also a picture of baptism by “passing through water.” All Israel were identified by “passing through water,” just as a Christian is identified with Jesus Christ through the Baptism. (6:3-4).
- They ate the heavenly Manna (Ex. 16:15) supplied supernaturally which is a type of spiritual bread the Christians eat in Lord’s communion.
- They drank water at Rephidim and Kadesh gushed from a rock (Ex. 17:6, Num. 20:11). The rock did not itself supply water to them, but the Power behind the rock that is Christ. That “spiritual Rock” followed them and provided their necessities whenever they were in need. As the rock of Rephidim became a fountain, so Christ is the fountain of living waters to the world. Jesus Christ was present with Israel in the wilderness, providing for their needs miraculously. The food and the drink is figuring believers remembering the Lord’s crucifixion at the Lord table. What blessing and privilege, the people of Israel had!
- Despite all the blessings and spiritual privileges, the Israelites in the wilderness did not please God. Most of them is a hard-hitting understatement. Without exception, many fell in the wilderness because of their sins; a startling warning to Christians on the journey. Only two men from the adult generation which left Egypt came into the Promised Land i.e. Joshua and Caleb.
Despite all blessings, all were baptized, all were fed heavenly manna, all did drink water provided by Christ yet they failed to reach the promised land. Paul makes the point that the Corinthian Christians were probably taking all sorts of liberties (like feasting in pagan temples, stumbling their brothers), thinking that they were safe because of their past blessings and spiritual experiences especially baptism and communion. So, Paul warns them just as Israel was blessed and had spiritual experiences, they still perished so some of the Corinthian Christians might also!
The apostasy committed by Israel: The 2nd warning: (10:5-10):
Some of the sins committed by Israel again displeased God. They are:
- Idolatry: (10:6-7): They were engaged in pagan revelry and this displeased God. Some of the Corinthian Christians insisted on eating meat sacrificed to idols and also forcing other Christians into the sin (the lust of flesh). They were getting the meat which was sacrificed to idols at good bargain They could not say no to this. Some of the Corinthian Christians were not only getting too close in their association with idols, they were also making an idol out of their own “knowledge” and their own “rights.” This is an outright immorality.
- Immorality: (10:8) Immorality was found in Corinthian Christians just it was found in Israel people when Israel worshipped Baal of Peor and God’s fierce anger came upon them and 23000 people were killed. (Num. 25:1-9). Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest turned God’s anger away from Israel. Israel, in their idolatry, surrendered to the temptation of sexual immorality. The verb translated in Hebrew suggests it as sex-play. They have lusted after adultery and immorality. The quotation from Exodus 32:6 sets the context there, and in Exodus 32:28 tells us about three thousand men of the people fell that day. Perhaps there were more who died which the Scriptures do not record, or there were 20,000 women who died in the aftermath of the golden calf incident. Or, some think Paul has jumped ahead to another time when Israel’s sexual immorality during the Exodus brought God’s judgment upon them (Num.25:9). In the Numbers passage, we are told that 24,000 died from the judgment of God, but perhaps it was 23,000 who died in one day.