May 24
“Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now those things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted,” 1 Corinthians 10:1-6.
Holy Scripture records much history, and it is done for a specific purpose. In his Epistle to the Romans, Paul wrote, “Whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope,” Romans 15:4. The history that centers around the message of the Gospel is recorded to bring us hope through faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. History recorded in Scripture tells us that God promised to send a Savior, and it reveals how, when, where, and why God fulfilled His promises to send the Savior.
In the Scripture text quoted above, the apostle reveals some of the history from the lives of the children of Israel, and we are told why this is revealed: “Now those things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.” These historical facts are recorded so that we take them to heart and avoid making the same mistakes that were made by others in the past. God expects us to learn from history. It has been said that there is one lesson from history which we learn well – namely, that we do not learn well from history!
The apostle Paul refers to God’s miraculous deliverance of the children of Israel at the Red Sea. Moses lifted up his rod and stretched out his hand over the waters, and God parted the waters of the Red Sea so that the children of Israel crossed over on dry land. The pillar of fire and the cloud, which miraculously led the children of Israel by day and by night, kept the Egyptians separated from the children of Israel.
Journeying in the wilderness, God miraculously provided manna for food every day. The manna nourished their bodies, but the miraculous provision by God each day touched their souls, and thus it was also a spiritual food. Twice they were given water from a rock. It satisfied their physical thirst, but its miraculous provision from a rock touched their souls, and it gave them a spiritual drink. Spiritually, they were refreshed through their faith in the promised Savior, the Rock of Salvation.
However, the children of Israel soon forgot the goodness and the love of God. They continued to complain against God in spite of all of His miraculous dealings and provisions through which they were blessed. The consequence? All of the adult, older generation, except Jacob and Caleb, died in the wilderness! What a warning to all people since that day not to make the same mistakes!
We pray that God would strengthen our faith to avoid lusting after evil things. We are spiritually refreshed in our faith when we take God’s Word to heart and put our hope in the Savior for the forgiveness of our sins and trust in Him for our eternal salvation. With His holy, precious blood, Jesus has washed away our sins. God has declared us forgiven. Jesus is the Rock of our Salvation. “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the Word of reconciliation . . . (God) made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him,“ 2 Corinthians 5:19, 21.
“Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood
From Thy riven side which flowed
Be of sin the double cure:
Cleanse me from its guilt and pow’r.
Not the labors of my hands
Can fulfill Thy Law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone:
Thou must save, and Thou alone.” Amen.