Epistles (written)

Sunday, 5 October 2014

Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 1 Corinthians 10:11

“Now all these things” is referring to the examples that Paul has cited from verse1-10. But it is also certainly referring to all of the body of Scripture which comprises the age of the law. God chose examples from the life of Joshua, Samson, David, and others as well as from the time during the captivity with Esther and Mordecai, from the post-exilic times with Nehemiah and Ezra, and so many more examples for our learning and instruction. Ellicott notes that, “The verb “happened” is plural, referring to the multiplied occurrences which the Apostle has just mentioned; but ‘written’ is singular, referring to the sacred record in which the historical facts are handed down.”

The lessons to be found in the Old Testament serve “as examples” for our instruction and edification, and “they were written for our admonition.” We are to read them and learn from them, not simply ignore the Old Testament nor to read it as a mere curiosity of times gone by. God selectively chose these stories to teach us. It needs to be understood though that this was not the sole purpose of why “these things happened to them.” Rather, they literally happened to the people as they lived out their own lives. A zillion other things happened to them as well, but these were selectively chosen for our learning. Therefore, there is the reality that God used the events of real people’s lives to assist later people in how to conduct their own lives.

The word “happened” is in the imperfect tense to show the slow and successive unfolding of those events in history in order to reveal exactly what God determined we should know. And there is another, unstated, reason for these selected moments. They are given to reveal Christ. Paul alluded to that earlier and Jesus says it explicitly in John 5:39 –

“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.”

Lastly Paul notes that these things occurred and were then recorded and given to us “upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” This phrase shows us that the Church Age is the last age before the end times will be ushered in. The previous dispensations were leading to Christ; Christ has been revealed; and now that He has been revealed, we are living in His age of grace. Everything has worked in the past to bring us to this point in history, after which will come the tribulation period. Paul goes to great lengths in the book of 2 Thessalonians to show us this is true.

The sequence of events then is 1) the rapture which ends the church age; 2) the tribulation period where the world will be judged for rejecting the grace of Christ; and 3) the millennial reign of Christ. The fact that the church age has lasted 2000 years shows us the great harvest which has been on-going during all of that time. When it ends, the world will be ripe for judgment. Why? Because they have rejected the very words that we are looking at now – examples for our learning and admonition.

Life application: Don’t just pick up the Bible and flip through the pages for something curious to read. Rather, pick it up and read it with fervent desire to know Christ and to learn from the past!

Lord, You have chosen specific people and events of the past and recorded the details of their lives in order to instruct us on how to live rightly and how to avoid the terrible pitfalls of being outside of Your favor. Help me Lord to think on these wonderful passages and to apply them to my life, looking for Christ in every detail and also looking for the moral lessons that You would have me to learn. What a great God You are for having given us such a precious word! Praises be to You. Amen.

Saturday, 4 October 2014

…nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 1 Corinthians 10:10

The word used by Paul for “complain” is the Greek word gogguzó. It means to whisper, murmur, or grumble. He is asking his readers to not engage in this type of activity, which they clearly had been as they divided into factions. Rather than building one another up, factions that arise inevitably work to tear one another down. In the case of those in the wilderness, there were complaints against Moses. Because he was the one chosen by God to lead them, it was an indirect complaint against the Lord. This is evident because they “were destroyed by the destroyer.”

There is no one incident which involved this complaining, but a series of complaints which seemed to arise any time that things got a little bit tough. Instead of seeing the tough times as a chance for God to reveal His glory, they saw them as chance to complain. When they did, the destroyer would reveal God’s glory in another way. This destroyer is certainly the same one who killed the firstborn at the Passover and who continued to destroy pockets of resistance throughout their wanderings.

He further brought destruction to Israel and against Israel’s enemies after they entered Canaan. This is recorded time and time again throughout the Bible. Paul’s words show that this hard and unrepentant attitude against God is not just some “Old Testament” concept, but something that we need to watch out for as well. Were it not so, he would not have included the words here in 1 Corinthians. His words in the next verse will confirm this.

Life application: There is a difference between idle grumbling and calling out erroneous doctrine. Just because we don’t particularly like a precept from the Bible or a teacher of the Bible, this no excuse for grumbling against them. However, if someone is actively teaching a falsehood, they need to be called out for it. Too often, followers of an unsound Bible teacher will accuse his detractors of attempting to “divide Christ.” This terminology is used to get the detractors to remain quiet, as if they have done something wrong when the opposite is true. The teacher of false doctrine is the divider of Christ. Never be afraid to uphold the purity of God’s word above all else.

The Bible is precious and altogether pure
It gives us guidance for our daily walk
And so on it’s precepts I remain confident and sure
And of it’s doctrines I will constantly talk

When someone teaches it in a way which is not right
I know it is my duty to ensure their error is noted
It is too precious to be treated with contempt or spite
And it should never be mishandled or misquoted

It is our guide and the book which is given to instruct us
It is the wondrous gift of God to reveal His heart in Jesus

Lord, too often people attempt to defend the indefensible. When a famous teacher or preacher goes against Your word, they need to be corrected for it. And yet, because of the fame of a name or out of being star-struck, Your word is ignored and bad doctrine is allowed to take root. Which is more important to me? Lord, give me wisdom to rightly handle Your word and the strong will and desire to defend it, even above all else. It is far too wonderful to be treated with scorn. I will always stand on what I believe is the truth of Your word. Amen.

Friday, 3 October 2014

…nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; 1 Corinthians 10:9

The words in this verse continue to refer the wilderness wanderings of the Old Testament between the exodus and the arrival of the Israelites in Canaan. During that time, this is recorded in Numbers 21 –

“Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. ⁵ And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” ⁶ So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.” Numbers 21:4-6

God had time and again provided for the people and demonstrated His care of them. He had sent the Angel of the Lord before them to lead the way and to ensure their care. However, the people “spoke against God and against Moses.” In this they were showing a willful disregard of God’s care for them. Paul’s words though tie this account to Christ. “Nor let us tempt Christ.” It is another implicit reference to the deity of Jesus. His presence was there with Israel in the wilderness. If this was Jehovah, and yet Paul now identifies Him as Christ, then the connection is obvious – Jesus is Jehovah incarnate.

Paul uses two different words for “tempt” here, the first being ekpeirazōmen. It is an important compound which means “to tempt out.” In other words, “to try to the utmost.” It is used only three other times in the Bible – in Matthew 4:7, Luke 4:12, and Luke 10:25. Each of these was a tempting related to Christ, twice it is quoted by Jesus during Satan’s tempting of Him and once by a lawyer of the law.

To “tempt” when applied to man involves inducing him to sin. When it is applied to God, it carries a different signification, that of trying his patience and provoking Him to anger. This is what is being conveyed here by Paul. The people tried the Angel of the Lord’s (Christ’s) patience and suffered the consequences of their attitudes. We are instructed to not so tempt the Lord’s patience now. He is the same Lord, eternal and unchanging. Our rebellion can only be met with His hand of discipline.

Life application: The warnings of the New Testament aren’t given for us to ignore. How often do we hear Christian friends around us complain about how their life is going and yet we see that they have not been faithfully following the Lord. Should discipline be unexpected in such a case? Of course not. Our acts of disobedience will suffer consequences. Let us learn from those times and resolve in our hearts to be obedient to the word God.

Lord, how often trials come my way. When they do, I wonder “Why is this happening to me.” And then I hear a preacher instructing me from Your word and showing me that the wounds were actually self-inflicted. In my failure to adhere to Your word, I walked down my own path of disobedience and right into Your needed correction. When I think it’s Your lack of care for me, I find it’s actually my lack of attention to Your word. Help me in this Lord. Give me wisdom to stick to Your wonderful blueprint for my life. I know that things will go so much better when I do. Amen.

Thursday, 2 October 2014

We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 1 Corinthians 10:8

Paul is quite clear here, as he is throughout his writings, that sexual immorality is unacceptable. And this isn’t just Paul, but it is a precept which permeates Scripture, even to the very last page of the Bible. Revelation 22:15 says that the sexually immoral will be excluded from entrance into the gates of the New Jerusalem. There, they are lumped together with dogs (those who are unclean and who would go after their own vomit), people who practice magic arts, murderers, idolaters, and those who love and practice falsehood.

In other words, sexual immorality is not an acceptable part of a Christian’s walk. In today’s world, this seems almost foreign to us. Even churches allow the most sexually depraved of people to participate in their services and excuse it by saying that God would “want them to be happy.” Happiness is irrelevant. What matters is obedience to the Lord. As an example of this, Paul goes back to the account of the Baal of Peor in Numbers 25:1-9. There it says “the Lord’s anger burned against them.”

It was an incident they were reminded of later in Numbers and then in Deuteronomy before entering Canaan. They will continue to be reminded of it in the books of Joshua, the Psalms, and Hosea. Likewise, Paul reaches back to it to show the severity of the judgment for what occurred. He says that “in one day twenty-tree thousand of them died.” It was a huge price to pay for the faithless actions of the people.

As a note concerning this, Numbers 25:9 places the number at 24,000 instead of 23,000. There have been several suggestions as to how the numbers can be reconciled. It is possible that 23,000 were killed by the plague which resulted, and the other 1000 were killed by those who defended the Lord’s honor by using the sword against their own countrymen. Another view is that the number could have been a round number. If it were 23,600, then it could be rounded up or down. Another explanation is that 23,000 fell “in one day” as Paul says and the other 1000 died the next day.

The most probable is that Paul was referring to those killed by the plague only and not those killed by the sword, thus showing the severity of the Lord’s judgment. If this is the case, then it was a tradition handed down in the society and not something specifically recorded in Scripture. The main issue though is in regards to sexual immorality. It is considered unacceptable and the Lord will judge those who violate this precept.

Life application: The Lord intends for those who engage in sex to be married – a male to a female. Any other sexual contact is considered immoral.

Lord, You have granted to man that He can take a wife
Someone to share their walk together all of their days
You would have them to remain together till the end of life
Living in holiness and bringing You honor and praise

Help us in our weakness to be stout and strong
To be faithful to one another as the years go past
Yes Lord, help us in this all our life long
To be obedient to You until You call us home at last

Heavenly Father, I know that Your word is clear on the issue of sex. It is intended for the state of marriage and it is to be between a man and his wife. Your word shows that any other sexual contact is considered immoral and that You will judge the sexually immoral. This may not be popular, but I didn’t write Your word and so I will proclaim this truth because You have ordained it. And Lord, help me in my weakness to be pure in this regard. The world is filled with temptation and so I ask for strength, wisdom, and fortitude concerning this issue. Amen.

Wednesday, 1 October 2014

And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” 1 Corinthians 10:7

In the previous verse, Paul spoke of lusting after evil things. Continuing on, he next warns against becoming “idolaters as were some of them.” The very people who had been redeemed from the bondage of Egypt, and who had seen the marvelous works of the Lord, fell into idolatry. Rather than honoring the Creator, they worshipped before the created. This account is found in Exodus 32:1-6 –

“Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

² And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” ³ So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf.
Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
⁵ So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.” ⁶ Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”

Paul, citing this account and saying “As it is written” is intended to show that it was specifically recorded for our learning and our instruction. The people failed to conduct themselves in a manner which was in accord with the glory of the Lord which they had beheld. A question that could be asked then is “What was wrong about the people sitting down and eating and drinking and rising up to play?” The answer is not that the actions were specifically wrong, but the context of their actions was. They directed them towards the golden calf, not towards the Lord.

People need to sit down, people need to eat and drink, and the Bible shows that properly directed worship can be brought to a very emotional state. A great example of this last category is found in 2 Samuel 6. David danced and leapt before the Lord as the Ark of the Covenant was brought into the City of David. His wife Michal didn’t approve of his conduct and rebuked him. His response was that, “It was before the Lord, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the Lord. And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight.” 2 Samuel 6:21, 22

This verse which Paul is citing cannot be used as a reason to forbid dancing. There are churches that do forbid dancing and they use verses like this one to justify that stand. However, this is not the intent of what Paul is saying here. Rather, that is a manipulation of Scripture which cannot be justified.

Life application: There is nothing wrong with rejoicing and praising before the Lord. There are abundant examples given in Scripture which show people praising the Lord with their voices and in dancing. If our hearts and souls are directed toward the Lord, then we are given the freedom to jump and shout praises to Him or beat on drums as we praise Him. Surely the Lord is worthy of our praise.

I will praise You, O God, with my voice and with my heart. I will praise You with my actions and in my deeds. I will praise You with music that glorifies You and with twirling dances of joy. Lord, how can I withhold the praises? You have done wondrous things for me and I will surely pop if I don’t return thanks and praise to You. You are great, O God. Surely You are worthy of praise. Hallelujah and amen.