LEARNING FROM OUR PAST
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Opening Prayer
Lord God, thank you for the firm foundation of faith you offer me in your Word. As I study, continue to teach me, helping me live a life of faithfulness that is a testimony to your love and grace.
Read 1 CORINTHIANS 10:1–13
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Warnings From Israel’s History
10 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.”[a] 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test Christ,[b] as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.
11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation[c] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted[d] beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,[e] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 10:7 Exodus 32:6
- 1 Corinthians 10:9 Some manuscripts test the Lord
- 1 Corinthians 10:13 The Greek for temptation and tempted can also mean testing and tested.
- 1 Corinthians 10:13 The Greek for temptation and tempted can also mean testing and tested.
- 1 Corinthians 10:13 The Greek for temptation and tempted can also mean testing and tested.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice … pleasing to God’ (Romans 12:1).In the TV series Who Do You Think You Are?, a celebrity is helped to delve into their genealogy and discover some of their heritage. The Corinthian Christians and Paul were family (‘brothers and sisters’), and their spiritual ancestors were the children of Israel (v. 1) whom God rescued from Egypt.
There was so much for the Corinthian Christians to learn from their heritage. Under Moses, God had blessed the family wonderfully. He had saved them, sustained them, watched over them, and accompanied them (vv. 2–4). But things had gone wrong too (vv. 5–10). Some of their ancient predecessors had allowed misdirected desires to lead them into forbidden territory: idolatry, debauchery, or immorality, with far-reaching consequences. ‘God was not pleased’(v. 5)—to put it mildly.
‘These things … were written down as warnings for us’ (v. 11), says Paul. The Corinthians, like their predecessors, had been much blessed. So, beware! If we are blessed, we, too, can fall (v. 12). Any Christian, however much respected or ‘successful,’ can fall calami- tously. No one is not tempted. But don’t despair. God is faithful. He knows our limits. Look for the way out that God provides (v. 13).
Apply
Imagining ourselves in the shoes of someone in the story can help us learn what the Lord is saying to us now. Keep this in mind as you read.
Closing prayer
Lord, as I consider all you have given me, I ask how can I best please you today.
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