In today's passage Paul uses the example of Israel's history as a warning to his readers. The Gentile believers are free to eat and drink what they please, even food that was previously offered to idols, but they must not develop a casual attitude toward idolatry. Now that they are in Christ they know that idols are meaningless, and that the gods the idols represent do not exist, but there is always the danger of falling back into the wrong kind of thinking. It happened to Israel after they left Egypt, and it can happen to the believers of Corinth.
"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. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea." (1 Corinthians 10:1-2) He warns his readers, "Don't be overconfident in yourselves. Remember that the nation of Israel was overshadowed by the glory of God in the cloud, yet they rebelled against Him. Remember that the nation of Israel followed Moses on dry land through the Red Sea, yet they doubted He would take care of them. Israel witnessed miracles and enjoyed a covenant relationship with God that no other nation had, but they still fell into idolatry. You have believed in Christ and have been baptized in His name, but this doesn't mean you don't need to be vigilant about sin creeping into your lives. Your city is filled with idols. You live among people who still bow down to idols. Be careful that you don't get seduced back into your old ways of living."
"They ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness." (1 Corinthians 10:3-5) God provided manna and water in the wilderness to sustain the nation of Israel. Yet for all His goodness toward them, many grumbled against Him. Paul reminds the believers of Corinth that God has been good to them. God has ensured that the people of Corinth heard the gospel of His Son, who gave His life for them. They must be on guard for anything inside them that longs for the old days of sinful living. In Numbers 14 we find the people of Israel rebelling against the Lord and threatening to stone Moses to death so they can go back to Egypt. Because of their rebellion the Lord sentenced all of them who were over the age of twenty to die in the wilderness without ever reaching the promised land, all except the faithful Caleb and Joshua. Paul says, "Don't long for "Egypt", the old life of sin and idolatry you once had. The Lord has been faithful to you. Stay faithful to Him!"
"Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 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.' We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did---and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test Christ, as some of them did---and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did---and were killed by the destroying angel." (1 Corinthians 10:6-10) Paul quotes Exodus 32:6. The nation of Israel had already been delivered from bondage in Egypt and had already passed through the Red Sea which parted miraculously for them. Yet while Moses was on the mountain they cast an idol in the shape of a calf, held a festival for the idol, brought offerings to the idol, and indulged in drunkenness and sexual immorality. They gave credit to the calf for bringing them out of Egypt, when it was God who had displayed His awesome power to them in the land of Egypt, in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness. Israel had just come out of bondage in a land filled with idols and they had trouble following a God whose face they could not see. The Gentiles at Corinth are in the same danger. There are idols and pagan temples everywhere they look. They must not fall back into their old ways or yearn for their old lives of immorality. The gods of the Gentiles did not require holy living, and it would be easy to for them to long for the days when they could indulge their carnal natures with drunkenness and orgies. But the one true God says, "Be holy, for I am holy."
Just as God judged the unfaithful ones in the wilderness, He has the right to judge the people of Corinth if they forsake Christ and slip back into idolatry. "These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" (1 Corinthians 10:11-12) This is a warning to us all. We can't trust ourselves to live holy lives; we have to depend on Christ to help us live holy lives. We have to remain closely connected to Him, for He is the source of our power. Just as my coffee pot this morning won't do what it's supposed to do unless I plug it in to a power source, we can't be who we are supposed to be unless we are plugged in to Christ. Overconfidence is our enemy. Pride is our enemy. Self-righteousness is our enemy. When we think we are too strong to fall for a particular temptation, we won't pray for strength against that particular temptation. Then Satan comes along and tempts us with the very sin we thought we'd never commit. We are not prepared to fight it. We are not "prayed up" against that particular sin, and the next thing you know we may find ourselves in the very act of committing it.
Believe me, I've fallen for some things I never thought I'd fall for. I had confidence in myself that certain things would never tempt me. I wasn't on guard against those things. I wasn't "prayed up" about those things. I have shocked myself several times by falling for lies of Satan that I never dreamed I'd fall for. So Paul says, "Be careful if you think you're strong! Watch out if you believe certain things will never look tempting to you! Pray for strength in all areas of your life, or else you will fall into shocking sins just as Israel did in the wilderness."
Lest anyone believe he is being tempted more than anyone else, and lest anyone think the temptation is more than he can take, Paul gives the following assurance, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." (1 Corinthians 10:13) Paul exposes the lie of Satan that that a person can't help sinning because the temptation is greater than any human being can resist, "The things that tempt you are the things that tempt all people. You are not powerless to resist sin. Put your trust in the Lord and lean on Him and depend on Him for the strength to say 'no' to the temptation. He is faithful and will make a way for you to endure the situation without sinning against Him. If you let Him help you, you will make it through the period of temptation victoriously."
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