God led them through the wilderness for forty years guiding them and protecting them. They were a chosen and redeemed people, redeemed both by blood and by power. "The first four verses reinforce the point that Israel was God's nation in full possession of a covenant of salvation by grace. Yet as the story unfolds it reveals a sad picture of sin, unbelief, ingratitude, immorality and idolatry, which resulted, not in a loss of personal salvation but with the loss of the privilege of entrance into the Promised Land and participation in its ownership. Just as the Jews in the story...sinned and fell in the wilderness, short of Canaan, so a Christian can be saved, but, through unbelief and sin, lose his reward in the coming Messianic kingdom" (Yeager, p. 551, 552).
2, 3 In verse 2 Paul writes how the Israelites "were all baptized (ebaptisanto) unto or into (eis ton) Moses (that is, a sign of their allegiance to Moses) in the cloud and in the sea." They experienced what the Christian does today when he undergoes the rite of baptism. They were engulfed, covered, overwhelmed, and totally surrounded by water; the cloudy (nephele) pillar overhead, the Red Sea (thalasse) in front, and on each side and behind them as they marched through the Sea. "Meyer takes the sea on both sides, and the clouds over them, as together constituting the one act of baptism" (Gould, p. 84). They followed Moses, making a commitment to him, as their leader and savior. Then verse 3 states, "and did all eat the same spiritual (pneumatikon) meat (broma) or food. Exodus 16:4 says, "Then said the Lord, I will rain bread from heaven for you." As if manna was not enough Psalm 78:24 - 29 reads, "And (God) had rained down manna upon them to earth, and had given them of the grain of heaven. Man did eat angel's food; he sent them food to the full. He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he brought the south wind. He rained flesh also upon them like dust, and feathered fowls like the sand of the sea; and he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitation. So they did eat, and were well filled; for he gave them their own desire." So the bread and flesh were divinely supplied and supernaturally nutritious and unknown in chemical composition. The Israelites called it manna meaning what is it? (Yeager, p. 553). Fourteen hundred years later Jesus stated that He was the bread of life; the bread that came down from heaven (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51).
4 Paul, furthermore, states that the Israelites drank from the spiritual rock, and that Rock was Christ. As Moses smote the rock in Rephidim (Exodus 17:6), at Kadesh (Numbers 20:11) and at the well of Beer (Numbers 21:16) water gushed forth, enough to quench the thirst of all Israel and all their animals. What did Paul mean by the statement "for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ?" In His pre-incarnate state and His pre-Messianic nature the second Person of the Godhead did follow them throughout their wilderness wanderings giving them bread and meat all along their journey. Robertson says of this passage, "(Paul) definitely states here in symbolic form the pre-existence of Christ" (p. 152). Jesus the Christ gave them protection and guidance in the cloud, safe passage through the Red Sea and manna and water in the wilderness. The Israelites drank physically from the rocks in the wilderness and repeatedly of the spiritual water of everlasting life from the Rock, Who is Christ. The Rock typified Christ, as did the manna and the living water. The Corinthians drank from that same Rock during Paul's day, and we do so today because Jesus is our Savior just as much as He was Israel's Savior in those days. Grosheide writes, "Three things stand out: (1) the entire nation received the benefits of God; (2) those benefits had a spiritual character; (3) those benefits came from Christ" (p. 222).
Kistemaker says, "In the Old Testament the word rock appears frequently as a description of God: 1. Jacob declares him 'the Rock of Israel' (Genesis 49:24), 2. Moses portrays him as a rock (Deuteronomy 32:4, 15, 18, 30, 31); 3. Psalmists call him a rock (Pss. 18:31; 62:2; 78:35; 89:26; 95:1)...The word rock in the Song of Moses and the Psalter is often qualified with words that apply directly to Christ's redemptive work: the Rock is (my) salvation (Deut. 32:15; Pss. 62:2; 95:1) Savior (Ps. 89:26), Redeemer (Ps. 78:35) Begetter (Deuteronomy 32:18)" (p. 325). Of course, Paul calls that rock, Christ.
5 Although some of the Israelites enjoyed the blessings of Jehovah God daily in their wilderness wanderings, there were unbelievers in the crowd. "Though granting His blessings to the entire nation at the beginning of the wilderness journey, in the end gave that kind of blessings to only a few...Nearly all of those who departed from Egypt died in the desert" (Grosheide, p. 222). In their rebellion and murmuring God was not well-pleased (eudokesen) or displeased with them. Because of God's displeasure He (did) overthrow (katestrothesan) many of them in the desert. The word "overthrow" means God scattered them thoroughly and indiscriminately in the wilderness or "to lay low (Euripides) as if by a hurricane. (A) powerful picture of the desolation wrought by the years of disobedience and wanderings in the desert by this verb quoted from (Numbers 14:16) (Robertson, p. 152). In Numbers 14:29 God told disobedient Israel, "Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness." God was true to His word; all above the age of twenty years who came out of Egypt except Caleb and Joshua perished in the wilderness. Furthermore, a plague came upon Israel because of their disobedience and 14,700 died "besides them who died about the matter of Korah" (Numbers 16:49). These suffered physical death because they disobeyed God's servants, Caleb and Joshua, and would not go in to possess the Promised Land. "The defeated Christian will not be lost (I Corinthians 3:15) but he will lose his chance to be rewarded in the kingdom reign of the Messiah" (Yeager, p. 556).
6 Why were the Corinthians told these things about Israel; most of them were not the fleshly descendants of Israel. "These things were related for examples (tupoi) or figures, to the intent we should not lust after (epithumetas) or desire evil things, as (the Israelites) also lusted." The word "ensamples" originally meant an impressions stamped on a seal; then any image, form, example, or pattern of a thing. This is Paul's warning to the Corinthians that they not take God's grace and mercy for granted. God hates sin especially in the lives of His children who ought to know better; whether it is the Israelites, the Corinthians or in the Christians of the twenty-first century.
7 - 10 Idolatry is again condemned by Paul; he then gives another Old Testament illustration, "(The Israelites) sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play (paizein) or sing and dance." They didn't play like a little child; they lusted, worshiped idols, fornicated and tempted the Jehovah God, the Lord Who lead them out of Egypt (Exodus 32:6); some of the Israelites "...indulged in sports, dancing, etc. in honor of the golden calf which they had made to worship during Moses' absence in the mountain" (Gould, p. 85).
Paul says to the Corinthians, "don't, under the threat of death, do what Israel did." In one day 23,000 fell under the chastening hand of God. At Baal-Peor the anger of the Lord was kindled and in Numbers 25:9 it is recorded, "And those that died in the plague were 24,000." There is no contradiction here, a total of 24,000 fell, but 23,000 fell in one day.
"Neither let us tempt (ekpeirazomen) or make trial of the Lord God (Christ), as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents" (verse 9). To tempt Christ is to presume on His goodness or patience, to challenge Him, as it were, by our sin, to show His justice and power. Some may have done evil with the purpose of seeing what God's reaction would be. The reference to the Israelites being destroyed by serpents because of their disobedience is Numbers 21:6, "And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many people of Israel died." Of course when Israel and Moses called upon the Lord to remove the serpents, God instructed Moses to elevate a brazen serpent on a pole and those who looked upon the brazen serpent lived. Jesus referred to this incident in John 3:14, 15 when he said, "And, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." So the brazen serpent is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, as He was lifted up upon a Cross those who look to Him in faith can live eternally. Paul must have seen in "the Corinthians a 'hankering for the flesh pots of Egypt,' in their desire for the forsaken pleasures of the old heathen life; but as he generalizes the particular sin of the Israelites here, he vary likely meant to have his warning a general one against any temptation of the Lord" (Gould, p. 86). "The Corinthian's pride, their abuse of Christian liberty, their glorying in their knowledge, all that is, well considered, a making trial of God" (Grosheide, p. 224).
Paul warned the Corinthians in verse 10 to discontinue their repeated murmurings, for God can send the destroyer, probably a reference to the destroying angel (Exodus 12:23), as He did in Israel. This is probably a reference to Numbers 14 or Numbers 16:41 - 49 where the children of Israel murmured at Kadesh-Barnea against the leadership of Moses and rebelled against him and Jehovah God or where God told Moses that He would destroy Israel; Moses, however, fell on his face and pleaded for God not to destroy Israel completely. Paul concludes examples of Israel's disobedience with verse 10. Spurgeon wrote, "As the fluttering of a snared bird holdeth her faster than before, so our struggling and murmuring against God in our afflictions availeth us nothing" (B. I. Volume XLII pp. 9, 10).
11 - 15 Paul does write that these examples in verses 6 - 10 should make the Corinthians take heed and not commit the same mistakes that Israel did. He repeats the statement of verse 6. These incidents were given for ensamples (tupikos) or warnings (R. S. V.) for their admonition (nouthesian) and instruction. The ends of the ages to come probably "mean the ages of world history and the apostle means that we belong to the Last Dispensation, or the Gospel Age" (Gould, p. 86).
To those who think that they are above temptation or think they cannot fall, Paul writes, "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." All Christians, even the Corinthians, are capable of falling when tempted by the Devil. "The thought here is 'Take care.' You are saved and have a good record - up to this point. But you can lose it all except your salvation (Hebrews 6:4 - 6)" (Yeager, p. 564). "Spurgeon says, 'Nothing has hurt religion one thousandth part so much as the fall of God's people'" (B. I. Volume XLIII, p. 13).
Verse 13 makes the point that "God is faithful," while this may not be said about even the most mature Christian. His faithfulness involves the promise to keep all His true children, which would be broken if He allowed them to be tempted beyond human strength. Because He is faithful, He "will not suffer (easei) or permit you to be tempted or put to the test above that ye are able; but will with the temptation (peirasthenai) or test also make a way to escape (ekbasin) or egress, that ye may be able to bear (hupenegkein) or endure it." It must be kept in mind that God does not tempt His children to do evil; He may permit the flesh or Satan to tempt or try us in order to strengthen us. Even in those times of trial and temptation that come from man's circumstances God will permit us to escape if we call upon Him.
Paul now comes back to that former subject of "idolatry." "Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry (eidololatrias) or the worship of idols and pagan deities" (verse 14). Paul felt that the Corinthians were exposed to idolatry because of the sinfulness of the city. Idolatry was on every hand and contributed to the grossest of sins. An idol is faithless; God is faithful. He concludes this portion of scripture by admonishing the Corinthians that he is writing as a wise (phronimois) or intelligent man, and they should judge what he has written. Grosheide thinks the Greek word peirasmos has a double meaning: trial and temptation. A trial comes from God who wants to purify His children, a temptation comes from the devil to seduce the people to sin. 'Flee from implies a staying away from something as far as possible'...The weak should not eat any sacrificial meat. The strong ought to abstain because of the weak and also in order to avoid becoming an idolater himself by causing others to sin (cf. II Corinthians 6:14f; Jude 23b" (p. 227, 230).
Verse 17 reads, "For we being many are one bread, and one body; for we are all partakers of that one bread." Although there were many members of the church at Corinth, they were one in unity and purpose. To look at the one body as every believer throughout the world is to distort the beautiful picture of the Lord's Supper. Paul was writing to the church at Corinth; the communion service was confined to the church members at Corinth. They partook of one loaf or "one round large biscuit" of bread. The bread of which they partook resembled a western "large biscuit;" it was a custom for the Oriental to break the bread by pulling it apart. It was contrary in customs to cut the bread with a knife as we do today.
18 - 22 Paul writes, "Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?" In Israel the priests derived their living from a portion of the animal and grain sacrifices which were brought to the tabernacle or the Temple. Speaking specifically of the trespass offerings Moses writes in Leviticus 7:6, "Every male among the priests shall eat thereof; it shall be eaten in the holy place; it is most holy."
In verse 19 Paul writes here, "What say I then? That the idol is nothing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols are anything?" The Lord's Supper was a communion with the saints in commemoration of the Lord's death. Offering to idols are as nothing, for idols are of no significance. Paul desires to place in juxtaposition the Lord's Supper with the sacrifices of the pagan temple, but he wants to show the outstanding differences between the two. The God of the Israelites is the God we worship at the Lord's Supper; we commemorate a real Christ (God), while the pagan sacrifices are to gods of no significance.
If you desire to know whom the pagans worship and to whom they sacrifice (thuousin); they worship and serve devils (diamoniois) or demons in their worship and sacrifice. There is only one Devil, but he has many demons. His demons are spirits, inferior to God but superior in power to men. "Idols can safely be treated as nothing more than blocks of wood and stone. The devils make use of men's readiness to worship idols. Thus, when men sacrifice to idols, it cannot be said that they are engaging in some neutral activity that has no meaning. They are in fact sacrificing to evil spirits, like the people spoken of in Deuteronomy 32:7. To share food is to establish fellowship. Thus they are entering into fellowship with devils" (Morris, p. 147). Not only did the Gentiles worship and serve other gods, the Jews were at times guilty of the same. In Deuteronomy 32:17, 18 Moses wrote, "(Israel) sacrificed unto devils (demons), not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods who came newly up, whom your fathers feared not. Of the Rock, who begot thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God who formed thee." "Demonology is a deep and dark subject here pictured by Paul as the explanation of heathenism which is a departure from God (Romans 1:19 - 23) and a substitute for the worship of God. It is a terrible indictment which is justified by the licentious worship associated with paganism then and now" (Robertson, p. 156).
"The idol is nothing but the Christian is lending his personal support to that which is designed to commune with demons" (Yeager, p. 572). The Christian is to have nothing to do with the pagan worship. "Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils; ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and the table of the devils" (verse 21). The Lord's table is divine, while the pagan idol, sacrifices and temple is demonic. At the Lord's table the participants share with others the symbols of the body and blood of Christ and are participants of the body of Christ. There can never be a detente between the two; the Christians have chosen God and the pagans have chosen Satan. In verse 22 Paul hints that to try to bring the two together would incur and provoke the wrath of Jehovah God. He is a jealous God and will not tolerate a competitor. "The person who would eat sacrificial meat without having renounced idols completely would be an idolater and arouse God's wrath" (Grosheide, p. 237). Isaiah 42:8 reads, "I am the Lord: that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to carved images." To go into the temple of idol gods is an insult to Jehovah God.
Lest we think of false gods as something material; men do worship things that may not be represented with idols. The sun, the moon, the stars and other objects may be worshiped as Job points out (Job 31:24 - 28), "If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence; if I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much; if I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness; and my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand, this also was an iniquity to be punished by the judge; for I should have denied the God who is above." "Supreme loyalty in our heart to anything other than God is idolatry. Every person is tempted with ambition, desires, possessions, recognition, and a host of other such things that easily can become idols. 'Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also,' Jesus said (Matthew 6:21). The greatest heart treasure, or heart idol is self" (MacArthur, p. 236).
23 - 26 Although eating in the temple of idols may not break a law of the land, it is never expedient (sumpherie), good or profitable to try and worship at conflicting tables. The Corinthians were free, but not free to disobey God. They were to do only those things that were expedient and things that will edify (oikodomei), make strong or build up. Although grace liberates from legal rules, it calls us to the highest possible Christian ethics. Every man should seek the welfare of others; this principle is called the Golden Rule which is in essence, "Do unto others as you want them to do unto you." The King James Version supplies the word wealth which can be misleading. Everyone is ordered to be always looking after the best interests or the affairs of others than him own. Every Christian should consider his brother (Romans 14:19; 15:2).
Verses 25, 26 read, "Whatsoever is sold in the shambles (makello), market place or supermarket, that eat, asking no questions for conscience sake; for the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof." "In order to understand these words we must keep in mind the conditions in Corinth. Every animal that was killed was a sacrifice inasmuch as the butchers burnt at least a few hairs of every animal they slaughtered by way of a sacrifice to the gods. Furthermore, the priests, who received their portion of the sacrifices, often had more than they could use and so they sold a part of their portion in the meat market. It could therefore happen quite easily that a Christian, who went to the market to buy meat, received sacrificial meat. If that meat was really different from any other meat, or if there were no Christian liberty, then the Christian would have to abstain religiously from any such meat, yea it would be better for him if he did not buy any meat. But such an attitude need not to be taken, as Paul already pointed out" (Grosheide, pp. 240, 241).
The latter portion of verse 26 is also found in Psalm 24:1. "Some overly scrupulous Christian who thought it sin to eat meat previously involved in idol worship might wish to enquire about particular cut of meat for sale - 'Has this meat been offered to an idol?'...Paul says, 'Don't do it.' Buy the meat, take it home, cook and eat it and ask no questions" (Yeager, p. 577). God has created everything; everything belongs to Him (is of divine origin) and His creation can partake of it for it is good. Some things of which we may have questions today, possibly man has not found what some things are good for as yet.
27 - 29 If a believer is invited to be a guest at the home of an unbeliever who serves meat, ask no questions (anakrinontes) for conscience sake. If, however, the guests or the hostess say that the meat was once offered in sacrifice to a pagan god, eat (esthiete) no more of it or refrain from eating it for conscience sake. Although it means nothing to the Christian to eat the meat; however, if it causes a weaker Christian or someone to stumble, refrain from eating the meat because it offends another's conscience. A Christian might be invited to the home of an unbelieving mother-in-law or to the house of other in-laws (a brother-in-law or a sister-in-law); therefore, the above conduct (verses 27, 28) should be observed. Yeager relates an incident where a church member asked the evangelist and the pastor to be guests at her home. When the hostess asked if either of them wanted a cup of coffee, the evangelist replied, 'No, I am a Christian. I do not drink coffee.' The pastor rescued the situation by saying gruffly, 'I am a Christian, too, but I am not a fool about it. I would like a cup of coffee, please. Thank you.'" (p. 579). Although the mature Christian is at liberty to do some things, that does not mean he has a license to do so.
30 - 33 The Christian is saved by grace and kept by grace; however, we should live out his liberties so as not to offend another or that God's name be not blasphemed (blasphemoumai) or evil spoken of. Whether the Christian eats or drinks or whatever he does, he should do it in such a way that God's name would be glorified. Verses 32, 33 read, "Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God; even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved." In Paul's defense before Felix (Acts 24:16), he said, "And in this (that is, confessing Christ as the way of salvation) do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward men." The Christian should live his life so no one would be offended whether they are Jews or Gentiles, believers or unbelievers. He should seek to live a life that is profitable so that others may be saved. Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). Paul was living by this verse; he would always strive to please all men in every situation, not seeking his own advantage but that of his fellow-men. "If Paul could travel, preach, make tents to pay his own bills, get thrown into a Philippian jail and beaten, get stoned until his enemies thought he was dead, narrowly escape drowning at sea, survive snake bite and finally lose his head in a Roman arena, surely a Corinthian Christian could forego the pleasure of a bite of meat in order to help a weak brother. This statement of self-denial is the essence of Christian love" (Yeager, p. 585).
11: 1 It is unfortunate that the chapter breaks with verse 33 for 11:1 seems to go with chapter 10 instead of chapter 11. Paul wrote, "Be ye followers (mimetai) or imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ." Paul never asked his followers to do something that he was not willing to do. Of course, the proper order is Christ, the Leader, followed by Paul, the Apostle, followed by his Corinthian brethren and sisters. Kistemaker says of this verse, "Paul sets the example and implores his readers to follow him. He himself emulates Christ, in whose footsteps every believer must walk (I Peter 2:21). We follow Christ not in the sense of enduring agony and pain in Gethsemane and at Calvary. Rather, we obediently walk in his footsteps by showing our love and thankfulness to him and by keeping his precepts" (p. 359).
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