"There hath no temptation that taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it!" (I Corinthians 10:13, KJV)
In last week's lesson on I Corinthians 9:19-27, the apostle Paul continued to write about his calling from God to preach the gospel, and to do it without requiring, or expecting, wages from anyone for his ministry! He claimed that "although he was free from all men, he had made himself a slave to all, so that he might win more"! To the Jews--those under the Law--he put himself in the position of being under the Law, even though he was free from it, that he might win those who were under the Law"! To "those without the Law (speaking of Gentiles), he became a man without the law (even though he could not be a lawless man, since he was bound by the law of Christ), so that he might win those who had no law"! And "to the weak, he became weak" (stooping to make the gospel clear for those with less understanding), "so that he might by all means win some"!
And so, Paul writes that "he became all things to all men, so that he might by all means win some"! But doing so, as MacArthur notes, required a great deal of self-denial as well as personal discipline and self-control! Likening the Christian life to one "running a race" in one of the athletic events of that day, known to them as the "Isthmian games" (and to us in our day as the "Olympic games")! And so Paul reminds us, as he did the Corinthians, that we all run a race, figuratively speaking, and thus need to exercise self-control in all things, that we might run well, and win! Noting further that although the winner of an athletic event received only a perishable wreath, those who run the race for Christ will receive rewards that are imperishable! And so Paul noted how he "disciplined his body and made it a slave, so that after he preached to others, he himself would not be disqualified (not speaking of salvation but of continuing to be an effective servant of God, and mounting up eternal rewards)! And we were reminded, that if the "great" apostle Paul was so concerned about being "disqualified," how much more should we!
And that set the scene for our lesson last night on I Corinthians 10:1-13, where Paul begins with a sobering reminder of how the Israelites of old--"our fathers"--who, despite having experienced a miraculous deliverance, and a new-found freedom, after being rescued after having spent 400 years of bondage in Egypt, soon fell into all kinds of sin, including idolatry and immorality and rebellion, on their "wilderness journey"--in effect, "disqualifying" themselves from much of God's blessings! (He writes that "he doesn't want them to be unaware of these things" because a large part of the believers in the church of Corinth were Gentile converts, who had little awareness of Jewish history!)
And so writes how they were "all under the cloud and all passed through the sea (the Red Sea); and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 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! Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness"! Wow!
"Under the cloud"? Signifying the Lord's presence! Exodus 13:21 says, "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"! And so this was the means by which the Lord led the people out of Egypt and through the wilderness! They were guided by God's presence every hour of the day, and the cloud also provided a covering that screened them from the intense heat of the sun in the Arabian desert! How could they have felt more comfortable and secure? And particularly after having seen, up close and personal, the miraculous hand of God in opening up the Red Sea, and closing it down and drowning the Egyptian army which followed them! Delivering them from bondage in Egypt!
Then, "for them all to be baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea"--MacArthur notes, "indicating their oneness, or solidarity, with Moses as their leader"! And for them "all to eat the same spiritual food"--the manna, or "bread from heaven"! Psalm 78:25 calls it "the bread of angels"! And "for all to drink the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ"! The pre-incarnate Christ appearing in Old Testament times to provide "life-giving water" to sustain them through their journey! (MacArthur notes that the spiritual food and drink "was actual food and drink provided by the spiritual power of God." Benson (not Joel!), in his commentary, says it was called "spiritual food and drink" because it "pictured and typified the spiritual blessings of the Lord's Supper"! Matthew Henry writes that the manna which they ate "was a type of Christ crucified, the bread which came down from heaven to give eternal life"!)
And yet, as Paul notes, and as the book of Exodus records, the Israelites "forsook the God who delivered them and actually (would you believe?) turned to worshipping idols--and became involved in orgies and all kind of sexual immorality, and then grumbled and complained of God's provision! All of which tried God's patience, and led to His hand of judgment!
And so the apostle Paul writes, in verse 6, that "these things happened as examples for us so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved..."! And he gets specific in verse 7 where he writes, "Do not be idolaters, as some of them were..." and in verse 8 where he add, "Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did"! And includes a quote from Exodus 32 that says, "the people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play"! Referring to the time when the Israelites camped at the base of Mt. Sinai, while Moses was up on the mountain, receiving the ten commandments from God! But after he was delayed in coming back down, Aaron, at the urging of the people set up a golden calf for the people to worship, after which, it's written, that "they sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play" (referring to their participation in an orgy, and in other "lewd behavior")! Greatly angering the Lord who, in verse 34, vowed to "punish them for their sin"!
Numbers 20:1-9 records how the Israelites "joined themselves in the idolatrous practices of Baal of Peor, engaging in acts of immorality with the women of Moab, since this was part of the pagan cult," resulting in God sending "a plague that killed 24,000 of the sons of Israel"! (These accounts and other reveal that one of the most enticing things about pagan worship was its connection with sexual practices!)
In verse 9 Paul adds, "Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents"! "Nor grumble as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer"! Referring first to the account in Numbers 21:4-5, where "the people" (again speaking of the Israelites) became "impatient because of their journey and spoke out against God and Moses," questioning "why He brought them out of Egypt to die in the wilderness..." Resulting in God "sending fiery serpents" to bite them, and kill many of the people!
And more "grumbling" recorded in Numbers16:1-4, in what's known as "Korah's rebellion"! Where Korah, a Levite, along with Dathan and Abiram, and others, "assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron," questioning their leadership! Leading, verse 32 says, "to the ground opening its mouth and swallowing them, and their households, and their possessions"!
But more "grumbling," recorded in Numbers 20 where, again, the sons of Israel "grumbled" about the manna, which they "hated," and because of their lack of water in the wilderness; and the sad story of how Moses improperly responded (perhaps out of anger) in "striking the rock"! Twice! Resulting in lots of water, but also in God's anger toward Moses for his disobedience, and (would you believe) God's vowing to prohibit Moses, of all people, from entering the "promised land"! He was apparently "disqualified"! Wow!
"Now all these things happened to them as examples (for us!), and were written for our instruction, verse 11 says, upon whom the ends of the ages have come!" (Sounds like he talking about our day!)
Then, in verse 12, Paul gives another highly thought-provoking warning! "Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall!" Constable reminds us that the Bible is filled with examples of people who are, or became, "overconfident"! One thinks of Peter, the apostle, who in Luke 22: 31-34 claims that he would never "deny" Christ! And we all know what happened there! Another example, in Revelation 3, where the church of Sardis, having a name which means "alive" were actually "dead"! "Wake up!" (says verse 3)
Well, our lesson ends with the comforting words of I Corinthians 10:13, a verse to remember (and memorize, and have handy)! And I'm going to write as it appears in the KJV, which is where I learned it (and memorized it, as part of my involvement in the "Navigators")! "There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man; but God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted beyond what ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way of escape that ye may be able to bear it!"
So, don't do "as they did"!
What more can (or need) I say?
Lowell
In last week's lesson on I Corinthians 9:19-27, the apostle Paul continued to write about his calling from God to preach the gospel, and to do it without requiring, or expecting, wages from anyone for his ministry! He claimed that "although he was free from all men, he had made himself a slave to all, so that he might win more"! To the Jews--those under the Law--he put himself in the position of being under the Law, even though he was free from it, that he might win those who were under the Law"! To "those without the Law (speaking of Gentiles), he became a man without the law (even though he could not be a lawless man, since he was bound by the law of Christ), so that he might win those who had no law"! And "to the weak, he became weak" (stooping to make the gospel clear for those with less understanding), "so that he might by all means win some"!
And so, Paul writes that "he became all things to all men, so that he might by all means win some"! But doing so, as MacArthur notes, required a great deal of self-denial as well as personal discipline and self-control! Likening the Christian life to one "running a race" in one of the athletic events of that day, known to them as the "Isthmian games" (and to us in our day as the "Olympic games")! And so Paul reminds us, as he did the Corinthians, that we all run a race, figuratively speaking, and thus need to exercise self-control in all things, that we might run well, and win! Noting further that although the winner of an athletic event received only a perishable wreath, those who run the race for Christ will receive rewards that are imperishable! And so Paul noted how he "disciplined his body and made it a slave, so that after he preached to others, he himself would not be disqualified (not speaking of salvation but of continuing to be an effective servant of God, and mounting up eternal rewards)! And we were reminded, that if the "great" apostle Paul was so concerned about being "disqualified," how much more should we!
And that set the scene for our lesson last night on I Corinthians 10:1-13, where Paul begins with a sobering reminder of how the Israelites of old--"our fathers"--who, despite having experienced a miraculous deliverance, and a new-found freedom, after being rescued after having spent 400 years of bondage in Egypt, soon fell into all kinds of sin, including idolatry and immorality and rebellion, on their "wilderness journey"--in effect, "disqualifying" themselves from much of God's blessings! (He writes that "he doesn't want them to be unaware of these things" because a large part of the believers in the church of Corinth were Gentile converts, who had little awareness of Jewish history!)
And so writes how they were "all under the cloud and all passed through the sea (the Red Sea); and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 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! Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness"! Wow!
"Under the cloud"? Signifying the Lord's presence! Exodus 13:21 says, "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"! And so this was the means by which the Lord led the people out of Egypt and through the wilderness! They were guided by God's presence every hour of the day, and the cloud also provided a covering that screened them from the intense heat of the sun in the Arabian desert! How could they have felt more comfortable and secure? And particularly after having seen, up close and personal, the miraculous hand of God in opening up the Red Sea, and closing it down and drowning the Egyptian army which followed them! Delivering them from bondage in Egypt!
Then, "for them all to be baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea"--MacArthur notes, "indicating their oneness, or solidarity, with Moses as their leader"! And for them "all to eat the same spiritual food"--the manna, or "bread from heaven"! Psalm 78:25 calls it "the bread of angels"! And "for all to drink the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ"! The pre-incarnate Christ appearing in Old Testament times to provide "life-giving water" to sustain them through their journey! (MacArthur notes that the spiritual food and drink "was actual food and drink provided by the spiritual power of God." Benson (not Joel!), in his commentary, says it was called "spiritual food and drink" because it "pictured and typified the spiritual blessings of the Lord's Supper"! Matthew Henry writes that the manna which they ate "was a type of Christ crucified, the bread which came down from heaven to give eternal life"!)
And yet, as Paul notes, and as the book of Exodus records, the Israelites "forsook the God who delivered them and actually (would you believe?) turned to worshipping idols--and became involved in orgies and all kind of sexual immorality, and then grumbled and complained of God's provision! All of which tried God's patience, and led to His hand of judgment!
And so the apostle Paul writes, in verse 6, that "these things happened as examples for us so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved..."! And he gets specific in verse 7 where he writes, "Do not be idolaters, as some of them were..." and in verse 8 where he add, "Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did"! And includes a quote from Exodus 32 that says, "the people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play"! Referring to the time when the Israelites camped at the base of Mt. Sinai, while Moses was up on the mountain, receiving the ten commandments from God! But after he was delayed in coming back down, Aaron, at the urging of the people set up a golden calf for the people to worship, after which, it's written, that "they sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play" (referring to their participation in an orgy, and in other "lewd behavior")! Greatly angering the Lord who, in verse 34, vowed to "punish them for their sin"!
Numbers 20:1-9 records how the Israelites "joined themselves in the idolatrous practices of Baal of Peor, engaging in acts of immorality with the women of Moab, since this was part of the pagan cult," resulting in God sending "a plague that killed 24,000 of the sons of Israel"! (These accounts and other reveal that one of the most enticing things about pagan worship was its connection with sexual practices!)
In verse 9 Paul adds, "Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents"! "Nor grumble as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer"! Referring first to the account in Numbers 21:4-5, where "the people" (again speaking of the Israelites) became "impatient because of their journey and spoke out against God and Moses," questioning "why He brought them out of Egypt to die in the wilderness..." Resulting in God "sending fiery serpents" to bite them, and kill many of the people!
And more "grumbling" recorded in Numbers16:1-4, in what's known as "Korah's rebellion"! Where Korah, a Levite, along with Dathan and Abiram, and others, "assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron," questioning their leadership! Leading, verse 32 says, "to the ground opening its mouth and swallowing them, and their households, and their possessions"!
But more "grumbling," recorded in Numbers 20 where, again, the sons of Israel "grumbled" about the manna, which they "hated," and because of their lack of water in the wilderness; and the sad story of how Moses improperly responded (perhaps out of anger) in "striking the rock"! Twice! Resulting in lots of water, but also in God's anger toward Moses for his disobedience, and (would you believe) God's vowing to prohibit Moses, of all people, from entering the "promised land"! He was apparently "disqualified"! Wow!
"Now all these things happened to them as examples (for us!), and were written for our instruction, verse 11 says, upon whom the ends of the ages have come!" (Sounds like he talking about our day!)
Then, in verse 12, Paul gives another highly thought-provoking warning! "Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall!" Constable reminds us that the Bible is filled with examples of people who are, or became, "overconfident"! One thinks of Peter, the apostle, who in Luke 22: 31-34 claims that he would never "deny" Christ! And we all know what happened there! Another example, in Revelation 3, where the church of Sardis, having a name which means "alive" were actually "dead"! "Wake up!" (says verse 3)
Well, our lesson ends with the comforting words of I Corinthians 10:13, a verse to remember (and memorize, and have handy)! And I'm going to write as it appears in the KJV, which is where I learned it (and memorized it, as part of my involvement in the "Navigators")! "There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man; but God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted beyond what ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way of escape that ye may be able to bear it!"
So, don't do "as they did"!
What more can (or need) I say?
Lowell