1 Corinthians 10:1-5, 11-13

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

August 16, 2009

1 Corinthians 10:1-5; 1 Corinthians 10:11-13 (New International Version)

Warnings From Israel's History

¹For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. ²They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. ³They all ate the same spiritual food ⁴and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. ⁵Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.
¹¹These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. ¹²So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! ¹³No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. 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 stand up under it.

It is mid-August. The weeks of summer are swiftly passing, even if July didn’t always feel like it. College students are preparing to leave home. Stores are having sales—yes, I’m going to say it: back-to-school sales. (One of our families recently commented, “We’re not allowed to say the s-word in our house.”) Today Paul takes us back to school and tells us

TAKE A LESSON FROM HISTORY

I. Appreciate God’s blessings v1-4

II. Learn from past mistakes v5, 11-13a

III. Rely on God’s help v13b

The first lesson Paul teaches us from history is to appreciate God’s blessings. He led a review of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. In that review he spoke about a cloud. As His people left Egypt and throughout their journey, Moses reported, “By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.” That pillar was a sign of God’s presence and a reassurance that He was the source of care for them. He would be with them every step of the way.

There was one exception to the cloud’s presence in front of them. When the Israelites got to the edge of the Red Sea and the Pharaoh’s army was pursuing them, the cloud went behind them and protected them through the night. That’s when God had Moses raise his staff and stretch his hand over the sea. As he did so, the Lord divided the waters and dried a route through the Sea for His people to cross to safety. Then He closed the waters to drown the Egyptian army, removing their threat to the journey. Paul referred to the events with Moses and the cloud and the sea as a baptism. It was not our baptism, for the water didn’t touch them. There are some similar aspects between baptism and the deliverance from Egypt. The act was entirely God’s doing. He made it happen. Israel was delivered from slavery. They were separated from the world around them to be God’s people. The event connected them with God’s leader Moses and encouraged them to a faithful following of him. Our baptism rescues us from slavery to sin, calls us out of the world to be God’s people, and attaches us to Christ.

The text mentioned the food that God provided Israel in the desert. There was manna and quail, as we heard in the First Lesson. It sustained them for their journey. A rare commodity in the desert is water. The Lord provided it even from a rock at times and also turned bitter water drinkable. These elements supplied more than physical strength. They were constant reminders in that inhospitable terrain that God was taking care of them. Such assurance sustained their faith. That is why Paul noted, “They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink.” There were other blessings along the way as well. God caused it that their clothes and sandals did not wear out. He gave them victories over opposing forces even though they were not a military force. Ultimately He brought them to the land He had promised.

The real source of their blessings was not a physical rock. A legend later developed that a hunk of the rock from Kadesh from which water miraculously flowed broke loose, traveled along with them, and supplied water for the remainder of the trip. In reality all came “from the spiritual rock that accompanied them.” To remove any uncertainty as to the identity, Paul explained, “That rock was Christ.” He was the source of all the good things that they enjoyed.

It is the same for us. We are not on a journey to Canaan, but we are heading for the Promised Land of heaven. That we will one day reach it is 100% God’s doing. Jesus obtained it for us by His life and His death. He did it all in His grace or undeserved love. He also takes care of us along the way as He provides our daily needs. Sometimes we fret and fear whether it will happen, but like His provision of manna to Israel, we can rely on Him day by day. He supplies food, clothing, and safety. Spiritually He feeds our faith through Word and sacrament. The text contained that allusion to baptism that brought about our relationship with the Savior. We also think of the Lord’s Supper when Paul mentioned spiritual eating and drinking. Both sacraments receive their power from the Word. Learn to appreciate God’s blessings as you study this lesson from history.

One more item from the opening portion of this text that I wish to note: Paul spoke of the Israelites as our forefathers. Few of us can trace our roots back to that nation and neither could the Corinthian members, but we are part of the same spiritual family, united in a common faith with the people Paul served and with those who were traveling to Canaan.

II.

As we view history, not everything we see is great. Paul calls on us to learn from past mistakes, in particular, the disobedience of Israel. “Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.” That point we see vividly illustrated. Early in the journey, before the nation left Mt. Sinai, God commanded a census of the men eligible for fighting, those age twenty and over. The total came to 603,550. Of that number only two entered Canaan, and they were Joshua and Caleb. That meant 603,548 bodies of adult men were scattered in the desert, plus any women and children who died during those forty years. The Sinai Peninsula was a vast burial ground.

Why did it happen? Paul cited their disobedience. The verses between the portions of today’s text refer to some examples. The nation was constantly guilty of grumbling. They turned against God and against their leaders Moses and Aaron. They honored other gods. First there was the golden calf. There was Baal as they got closer to Canaan. Included in many pagan rituals were acts of sexual immorality, an attraction for the Israelites, who had a strict moral code from God. Paul’s warnings fit the climate in Corinth, for it was a city filled with false worship and a wild lifestyle. Temptations surrounded the Christians in that environment. The words strike a contemporary chord. Our day madly pursues other gods, both in other religions and the secret idols of materialism. Sexual sins are rampant. I recently read an article claiming it is unrealistic to expect our young people to remain pure before marriage, that it is denying basic biology, especially when the average age of entering marriage is rising. I wonder if people are writing such things so they can soon add a similar excuse for their own sins at an older age.

The mistakes of the past provide warnings for us. Paul referred to living in “the fulfillment of the ages.” Everything that happens is pointing to the end of our present world. We are even closer to it than the Corinthians. It is said that a smart person learns from his or her mistakes. A wise person learns from the mistakes of others. Others point out that if we fail to learn from history we are bound to repeat it. The Apostle warned, “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” Self-confidence overlooks our own makeup, the fact that we have a sinful nature. We might be overconfident if we use history to point to our family and its faithful church participation as a reason for security. We might rely on our past Christian training to indicate we don’t need any more study of the Word. Or maybe we successfully withstood Satan’s attacks before so we figure we can handle it again. Faithful ancestors, solid training and past victories are good, but each day brings new battles. If we let down our guard we will fail. We will fall flat on our faces. Be vigilant and alert!

Yet we should not consider ourselves worse off than everybody else. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.” We do not meet superhuman challenges. Others have faced the same before us and continue to do so. There is no room for self-pity. Heed Paul’s warnings. Learn from past mistakes.

III.

As you face those common temptations, rely on God’s help. He promises it. “And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.” He knows us and everything about us. He knows what we can handle and does not let temptation exceed that level. We may think we are unable to meet life’s challenges. Alone that is absolutely correct. But we are not alone. The limit refers to what God knows He can enable us to endure. He is almighty. With Him, our limit is much higher.

Paul continued, “But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” Temptations will come. We never escape them in this sinful world. God provides the way out. The text here tells us one way out. He gives us the strength to stand up under it. We can bear it faithfully. You can face it and deal with it even if it never quits. Satan keeps at us. God provides His spiritual food and drink to supply the needed strength. His power is channeled to us through the gospel, which comes to us in word and sacrament. We receive it as the Word points us to Jesus’ victory for us. Remember how He defeated the devil. He quoted the Bible. The more we study it, the more we grow in our ability to recall its truths and apply them to our situations. The Bible reveals God’s will as His commandments state what is right and wrong. We read of examples, both good and bad, and learn from them what to follow and what to avoid. It brings us forgiveness for our failures and renews our desire to keep fighting sin. There are other ways out as well. Sometimes the temptation is eventually removed from us. Satan is limited by God in what he can attack us with. All temptation will be removed in heaven. Truly we can say, “This too shall pass.”

“God is faithful,” Paul declared. He will do what He has said. He never lets us down. He is not like us. We can rely on His promises.

Why, then, do we fail at times? It is because we don’t use the resources available to us. We stray from God’s Word. We try to be self-reliant and handle everything on our own. That’s why we need to take a lesson from history, even in the summertime. This schooling never ends. Many careers require lifelong learning to keep current and to grow in ability. We Christians definitely need lifelong learning. In fact, we dare not take a vacation or break for a recess. We need God’s help every moment of every day. He offers it. Use it and rely on it.

Will we be perfect students of history and followers of Jesus? Not on this earth. That is why Christ’s forgiveness is so great. Be ever growing: in faith, in glorifying your Savior through your behavior, and in peaceful security and confidence as you live under the blessing and care of your marvelous God and Savior.