In discussing the question regarding “things offered unto idols,” Paul was led to speak at large of Christian liberty – a subject to which he was always drawn. And partly to encourage the Christians of Corinth to consider their weaker brethren, and partly for other reasons – he had reminded them how he himself surrendered his own just and lawful rights, in order that the Gospel which he preached might find readier acceptance. At the end of the last chapter, he also referenced a temptation that all Christians are more or less liable to – namely, to rest in the fact that they are Christians, and to shrink from the arduous life which gives that name its meaning. By means of two illustrations, Paul fixes this idea in their minds – first by pointing them to their own Greek games, in which they saw that not all who entered for the race obtained the prize; and then by pointing them to the history of Old Testament Israel, in which they might plainly see that not all who began the journey to the Promised Land actually entered into it. The latter of these illustrations is what opens the verses of this chapter.
The Israelites who participated in the Exodus from Egypt are here introduced as exemplifying a common experience. They accepted the position of being God’s people, but they failed in its duties. They understood the advantages of being Jehovah’s subjects, but they shrank backwards from much of what this implied. They were willing to be delivered from bondage, but they found themselves overweighted by the responsibilities and risks of a free life. They were in contact with the highest advantages which human beings could ever possess, and yet they failed to make a proper use of them.
These outward blessings of the ancient Israelites had very much the same nature as the Christian sacraments to which Paul compares them. They were intended to convey greater gifts, and to be the channels of a grace that was more valuable than themselves. But to most of the Israelites, they were viewed as nothing more than mere manna and water. They brought no firmer assurance of God’s presence, and they did not secure a fruitful acceptance of His purpose. The majority of the people took the husk and threw away the kernel; they were so distracted by the wrapping that they forgot to examine the gift which it en-closed; they accepted the physical nourishment, but they rejected the spiritual strength which it contained. Their entire wilderness-experience ought to have taught them the sufficiency of Jehovah. But instead of learning this lesson, and instead of gathering courage to fulfill His purposes, they began to murmur and lust after evil things, and they were destroyed by the destroyer. They had been “baptized unto Moses,” so to speak; they pledged themselves to his leadership and committed themselves to the new life which he opened to them; they were sustained by manna and water from the rock, which plainly told them that all nature would work for them if they pressed forward to their God-appointed destiny. But sadly, the majority of them shrank from the hardships and hazards of the way; they would not lift their hearts to the glory of being led by God, and of being used to fulfill His greatest purposes. “And such may also be the case with you,” Paul tells his readers. It is possible that you may have been baptized, and that you may have made a public commitment to the Christian life. It is possible you may have partaken of the elements of the Lord’s Supper, which convey undying life and energy to believing recipients; and yet you may have failed to use these as spiritual food, which enables you to fulfill all the duties of the life that you are pledged to. If it had been enough to merely show a readiness to enter upon the more arduous life, then all of the Israelites who left Egypt would have been saved; for all of them, without exception, passed through the Red Sea and committed themselves to life under God’s leadership. If it had been enough to only outwardly participate in that which actually links men to God, then all the Israelites would have been inspired by His Spirit and strength; for all of them, without exception, partook of the spiritual food and the spiritual water. But the disastrous and undeniable result was that the great majority of these people – in fact, all except two of them! – were overthrown in the wilderness, and never set foot in the land of promise.
To all Christians living in a world of sense and feelings, it is difficult to live by faith in the unseen. The temptations which draw them aside from their reasonable decision are as various as the persons themselves. Paul names the temptations to which the Corinthians, in common with the Israelites, were exposed: idolatry, fornication, murmuring, and tempting Christ. He clearly saw how difficult it was for them to discard all heathen customs. Apparently some of them seemed to imagine that after partaking of Christ’s sacrament, they might still be able to eat and drink in the idolatrous festivals. Against this vain attempt to combine the incompatible, Paul warns them! “Do not tempt Christ,” says he, “by experimenting how far He will bear with your conformity to idolatry. Some of the Israelites did so, and they were destroyed.” Every person must make up his mind to serve either Jesus or the world, and he must go through with it. He must consider and choose; and having made his choice, he must not lament what he loses as he strives for the prize that he considers to be best, and he must not greedily try to have “the best of both worlds.” He may win one prize, or he may win the other; but he cannot win both – and if he tries to do so, he will win neither.
Lord, as we pass through the wilderness of this world, give us strength and grace from Your fullness to serve You alone! Amen.
Prefer to listen?
Join other families all around the globe and receive the full-color, freely downloadable format of these Family Bible Guides in your email every day!
Follow on your favorite social and podcast platforms!
0 Comments