Conditional Security – 1 Corinthians 9:24-10:22 – C
1 Corinthians 10:6-13
6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil 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 rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
In our last passage we noted that all that were of the nation of Israel had experienced the salvation of God through the escape out of Egypt, and travels through the wilderness, yet most failed to please God, and were overthrown in the wilderness. Two men of the original people who left Egypt actually made it to the promised land, along with the children born in the wilderness.
In this passage Paul continues to describe the failings of the nation of Israel, specifically idolatry, sexual immorality and grumbling.
Those three actions are brought forward to the first century church as failings of the nascent church in the wilderness. They were overthrown, scattered in the wilderness, as Paul describes in the previous passage, and in this set of verses, he continues to teach of the end result of these three sins. Notice that Paul shifts to describing the end result of these three specific sins as destruction.
Idolatry
Paul refers to Exodus 32 when he writes.
Exodus 32:6 And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.
Check out the context. Moses was on the mountain, receiving the law of God, while Aaron was at the base camp, being manipulated by the people. They demanded gods to worship, and Aaron provided. The result was the old worship of Egypt with the name of God tacked on.
Get the import of this. The people assigned the idol to the god who rescued them out of Israel, and Aaron made a formal announcement – “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord”.
The people wanted it. The leader wanted it. What could go wrong? Given they had the smell of Egyptian idol worship lingering in the camp, they did what came naturally – they ate and drank, then rose up to play.
The eating and drinking describes a sacrificial offering to the idol, of which the idolaters would consume. This feast also speaks of the complete loss of self control in eating, for many students of the word understand this to be a gluttonous feast in front of this idol.
Was it not just a few verses earlier, in chapter 9, that Paul spoke of the importance of self control in the winning of the reward? The link between self control and victory is again shown to us, though through the failure of the people of Israel.
Sexual Immorality
Out of this idolatrous feasting, what little self control left for the people was jettisoned in favor of sexual immorality. Once the dam broke, the flood waters of licentiousness drowned the people. Destruction came into the camp, with twenty three thousand falling in ONE DAY.
Grumbling
Grumbling. When I first realized this sin was grouped with idolatry and sexual sin, it was a bit of a surprise. After all, grumbling seems like a minor sin, a sort of acceptable sin, something “everybody does”.
Consider. To grumble is to murmur, to say anything against something, or someone, in a low tone. Could this have been the beginning of this entire debacle, this release of self constraint, that allowed a people to seek what they wanted instead of what God wanted. To begin to grumble eats away at a thankful heart, allows a rebellious spirit, opens up a spirit of judgement against an authority. It provides a medium to grow a discontented, argumentative and hateful people. To grumble against an authority allows for a law to be created, another way to live, a create a law unto themselves, for the grumbler surely knows better.
My friends, grumbling is a serious sin, and after considering grumbling in light of the first two sins Paul describes, I have a better understanding why these three sins are grouped together. Paul refers to the destruction of some in relation to grumbling. Grumbling is an acid that will eat you up, and tear you down.
Thankfully, we have the promise that temptations such as grumbling can be overtaken by the believer. The way of escape you ask? The way of escape is a humble spirit of reliance on the God we serve, a willingness to accept His leading and not to challenge His wisdom. The way of escape is to be led, or controlled by the Spirit of God, and to endure hard times by His strength and grace. It is not to “get up and play” but to abide in the self control God has provided through a reliance on Him. After all, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
My friends – we are to have a humility of spirit before the Lord, a submissive heart, for we cannot think we have ever arrived, that we know better or that we ever could have thought of a better way.
… let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.
Take heed my friends.
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