Heed The Warnings

I Corinthians 10:1-13

It is always wise to pay attention to warnings.  It’s the beginning of tornado season around where I live, and when one hears the tornado sirens going off, it is important to pay attention and get to a safe part of the house.  Warnings on railroad crossings, on medications, and on power tools are important to heed for one’s own safety. As children we are often taught to follow the good examples of others, and taking warning from their bad examples.  In today’s Scripture passage from Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church, he instructs us to take warning from the examples of the people in Israel’s past.

As our passage begins, Paul reminds the readers of how God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, parting the Red Sea for them to escape, leading them through the wilderness by the pillar of cloud, and miraculously providing them with both food and water (vs. 1-4). Every day they had food to eat and water to drink. Their clothes did not wear out (Deuteronomy 29:5), and the Lord protected them from all of their enemies. However, as Paul warns, the Israelites actions and behavior displeased God (vs. 5). After being freed from several centuries of slavery, being led to the promised land, and having all of their needs provided for, the people immediately fell into rebellion against God. They began worshipping idols, engaged in immoral practices, and were extremely ungrateful.  Other than Joshua and Caleb, everyone who was an adult when they left Egypt would not enter the Promised Land, but died in the wilderness.

What were these sins that the Israelites so quickly fell into after they left Egypt, and ones we need to be careful to avoid?  There were four major ones that Paul highlights in this passage: idolatry, sexual immorality, testing God, and complaining. The people were barely out of Egypt when they started worshipping idols (vs. 7-8).  They provoked Aaron into making the golden calf to worship (Exodus 32:1-28), and throughout the wilderness wanderings there was much sexual immorality (Numbers 25:1-9). God’s judgment fell upon them for these sins.

A short while later the people of Israel started complaining against God and testing Him, questioning His goodness (vs. 9).  As a result the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people as a punishment (Numbers 21:5-9). When a group of people complained against the leadership of Moses (vs. 10), God opened the earth up beneath them and swallowed them down alive (Numbers 16:1-32).  Then immediately afterwards, rather than taking warning, many more people complained against Moses about what had just happened, and the wrath of God fell upon them, as well (Numbers 16:41-50).

Paul told his readers, and to us today, that these weren’t just written down to be a history lesson.  They were written down to be a warning to us on how to live, and to not follow their bad example (vs. 11).  Do not forget the lessons of the past. We need to remember them so we can avoid repeating their errors. Everything in God’s Word exists for our example, warning, and admonition (Romans 15:4).  Paul warns that we need to be careful to not think this could never happen to us. He knew that anyone can easily fall (vs. 12). Paul knew he could, and we certainly can, as well, so we need to heed the warnings of the past.

Wrong desires and temptations happen to everyone (vs. 13).  No one is singled out with extra-strong temptations. Others have resisted temptation, so we can, too.  God will help us resist them, so turn to Him for help. If we have asked Jesus to be our Savior, then we have the Holy Spirit living in us.  He will give us power and wisdom to overcome our sinful impulses so we can obey Him. God will help us when we’re tempted to keep running back to the mud puddles of life.

The power of sin was defeated at the Cross.  As we pray to God for His help, He will help us run from what we know is sin (II Timothy 2:22).  As we study the Bible regularly, we remember the lessons of the past and are reminded of how God wants us to live.  Worship only the Lord God. Keep ourselves pure. Be grateful to God for His blessings. Don’t make the same mistakes that the Israelites did!