Outline - Chap. 10
10:1-5 - Our Ancestors
10:6-11 - Examples for Us
10:12-13 - Temptation is Normal
10:14-22 - Idols Are Not All that Important
10:23-33 - Do All to Glory
Paul is addressing questions from the Corinthians, and problems in the church of Corinth. He moves the discussion from support of his ministry (ch. 9:1-11) and serving the Lord as a calling - not just apostles, preachers and missionaries but all believers. In this chapter, he is warning them against over-confidence. He takes them all the way back to the Exodus.
***1 Corinthians 10:1-5 - Our Ancestors
1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea;
2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
3 and all ate the same spiritual food;
4 and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.
5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness.
V. 1 - “For I do not want you to be unaware” - This sentence makes sense for both the Jews and Gentiles to whom Paul was writing. To the Jews, Paul was reminding them of their history. To the Gentiles, he was helping them see that Christianity did not pop out of the blue fully formed - Christianity has a history, a foundation going back to the earliest Jewish history - Genesis and Exodus.
Do you need to know about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc., to believe that Jesus can take away your sin? No, you do not need know all that. But it can help understand some facets of our faith. Does knowing about Moses, David, or Solomon make accepting Christ as Savior ‘automatic’? Absolutely not!
“our fathers were all under the cloud… through the sea” - Two primary images of Jewish history are crossing the Red Sea (Exo. 14ff), and the Lord speaking to the Israelites from a cloud (Exo. 16:10; 19:16-20; 24:18-18; 33:9-10; 40:34-38). The trip through the Red Sea - on the dry seabed, walls of water to the right and left - was the capper of the miracles the Lord provided to free the Israelites from bonds of slavery in Egypt. That was not the only miracle God provided to them. He fed them for forty years on their travels through the Sinai Desert - manna, quail, and water.
V. 2-4 - “all were baptized into Moses… same spiritual food… same spiritual drink” - All the people of Israel went through the same experiences in Egypt, in the desert, and crossing into the promised land. The sacrament of baptism had not been instituted yet, not until Jesus Christ, our Lord commanded it. (See: Matt. 28:18-20, et. al.) (See note 1, below)
Paul is not referring to the Christian church ordinance, but to going through the same experience - similar to ‘trial by fire’ or ‘baptism under fire’. Jesus also used this same idea in response to a request by James and John. “They said to Him, ‘Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.’ But Jesus said to them, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?’ They said to Him, ‘We are able.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.’ “ (Mark 10:37-39)
The Israelites witnessed the same miracles as Moses - the 10 plagues visited upon Egypt, (Exo. 7:20-12:32) the parting of the Red Sea, (Exo. 14:10-31) clothes that never wore out, shoes that never fell apart, etc. The Israelites ate the same manna as Moses (Exo. 16:4-12), ate the same quail (Exo. 16:13-16). They drank the water that miraculously came out of the rock (Exo. 17:6ff). These miracles are amazing, but without being flippant they are not vitally important.
What is important is that the power and protection of the Lord Almighty was demonstrated. The Jews had done nothing to deserve salvation. It might not be a stretch to say they deserved the opposite. Their complaints were ridiculous! They were freed from drudgery and slavery and yet they longed for ‘the good old days’!
“the rock was Christ.” - The tribes saw the same miracles Moses and Aaron saw. Little did they know, and seems that little did they care, it was Jesus Christ acting for them under the direction of God the Father, and by the power of the Holy Spirit to work these miracles. (See devotion book “The Songs of Jesus” [Keller] for Sep 27th)
V. 5 - “Nevertheless” - How could you become “Ho hum” about the display of God’s power, daily. Imagine standing on the sea shore, watching the impending doom coming toward you. They were defenseless against the Egyptian war machine! And then, that mighty army - cavalry and chariots - was swatted away like you would a fly. It was there, and then it wasn’t. This kind of thing happened over and over for 40 years.
“with most of them God was not well-pleased” - Over 600,000 men came out of Egypt, with their families and household goods. For the next two years or so, God supported them by His grace and power. They vexed Him to the point He said He was ready to wipe them out and start over. (See: Num. 14:11-23) Moses appealed to God, who relented. The adults who rebelled were denied entrance to the promised land.
Note 1: Bible dictionaries designate ‘Baptism’ as an ordinance of the Christian faith, along with communion. Moses, Aaron and some of the priests washed themselves and their clothing before performing some of the Jewish ordinances. It seems these were to cleanse the person and clothes before the ceremony. Followers of John the Baptist were immersed as a show of confession of sins in preparation for the coming of the promised Messiah. (See: Matt. 3:6, 13; Mk. 1:5, 9, et. al.) And, as noted before, our Lord Jesus Christ commanded baptism in His ‘Great Commission’. Baptism is a physical announcement that you have accepted and believed in Jesus Christ and His saving work - death on the cross for our sins, resurrection and ascension into glory.
Some churches insist that “if you aren’t baptism you aren’t saved”. (Likewise, there are churches that believe if you don’t take communion, your sins cannot be washed away and you could be lost…) I do not hold to either of those positions. Baptism is a one-time demonstration of your faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ. Communion is an ongoing celebration of that same life saving sacrifice - body and blood of Christ. In almost every instance in Acts two things happened when someone heard the Gospel and believed: they confessed (spoke) of their faith and belief in Jesus; they were baptized to demonstrate that belief. (See: Matt. 16:16; Acts 1:5; 2:38, 21; 8:12-13, 36-38; 22:16, et. al.)
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