1 Corinthians 10:1-11

I don't know about any of you, but it seems like I am one to open up the New Testament about 5 times as often as the Old. I have often wondered why that is. It's not that it's wrong. I'm just curious, and I haven't really come up with any reason except that I might have this misperception that the Old Testament is boring and you really have to search in order to find something meaningful to you. Well, while that may or may not be true, we can thank God for people like Paul, who did the searching for us and directly interpret some of the stories in the Old Testament! That's exactly what Paul does in chapter 10:1-11.

Paul practically explains why the Old Testament was written the way it was. Verse 11 says: "Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come." There are many stories in the Old Testament, and they are meant to be real life examples showing us how to live and act toward God. It actually amuses me a little when I think about it: isn't that the way Jesus taught while he was here? What a coincidence... Apparently God really likes telling stories.

Paul gives us five examples from the story of Israel in the desert:
The first is not to lust as they lusted (v.6). This in context is not restricted to just lusting after people of the opposite gender, it could be any form of sin that we actually desire to do. The verses that this one is referencing (Numbers 11:4,34) speak of people yielding to a craving. We should not yield to a fleshly craving, but seek God's righteousness (Matthew 6:33).

The second admonition is to not become idolaters as they were. Paul is referring to the story of the golden calf, and the little fiesta they had around it. They worshiped the calf as the one who brought them out of Egypt. I'm not sure what they were thinking - maybe it was just so easy for them to worship something they could constantly see and have control over. But we don't worship a God that we control. I don't even want to worship something like that - it would negate it's worthiness of my worship if I was greater than it. It's interesting though how quickly something that shouldn't have control over us can gain it. Videogames are a great example - some people can't put them down - gotta play 1 more level! Who really has control there? Ironically it's not the one with the controller. Again, it could be anything. Money, a significant other, AIM, food, etc. God wants us to be free to devote our lives to something that's actually worthy of being worshiped by us: Himself! (Exodus 20:3,4) The story of the golden calf can be found in Exodus 32.

The third admonition is to stay away from sexual immorality. God takes this very seriously, seeing as 23,000 people died because of this sin. Compare that to 9/11 to get a more lifelike picture of indeed how serious it was. If you check out Exodus 32 and don't find any references to this type of sin, keep in mind the phrase "and rose up to play" is a euphemism. Now, if we want to stay away from the "bigger" sins, it follows that we would stay away from the "smaller" sins as well - lusting in the mind and heart, flirting, or talking about sex in inappropriate ways and out of the context it was meant to be kept in. If we live a lifestyle of purity and void of compromise in this area, it will be impossible for something like what the israelites did to "just happen so fast."

The fourth admonition is to keep from tempting Christ. The Israelites questioned the goodness of the one who was leading them through the wilderness. They mocked God and acted like being in Egypt was better than being miraculously provided for by God every day. They even described the manna as "worthless bread." We do not have to wonder whether God will be good to us - that is guaranteed for those who trust Him and fear Him (Psalm 31:19).

The last example Paul uses from this story of the Israelites is to not complain! At survival camp recently we memorized Philippians 2:1-15. Verse 14 says "Do everything without complaining or arguing." I love when the Old and New Testaments so obviously connect to eachother like this! It's good to know that the Bible was written by just one God. In any case, concerning complaining: I definitely don't have that under my complete control yet. It seems like if anyone other than my parents asks me to do something for them, I'm overjoyed to oblige, but if my parents ask, it's the hardest thing in the world. It doesn't make sense, and I need to strive to be consistent in my obedience.

Well, that's all I have time for today, I've got to get to work on these wonderful A-sheets, but I'll strive to do them without complaining and without envying the life that my peers have, free from summer reading. I hope this post encouraged you to see that the Bible is one Bible, just as God is one God!