1 Corinthians 10:1-5 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.
Their bodies were scattered over the desert. Whose bodies were scattered? The chosen, the people God delivered from Egypt, did not make it to the Promised Land because of disobedience to God who had miraculously delivered them from slavery. God had provided a way out of bondage for them through the blood of lambs sprinkled over the sides and tops of their door frames. This blood prevented the Angel of Death from entering their houses to kill the firstborn in their families. The Angel of Death, the judgment for sin, spared them that first Passover night because they were protected by the blood of the lambs. However, this visitation of death to the Egyptian households caused great trauma for the Egyptians when they discovered the death of their firstborn. Yet, the blood of the sacrificed lambs freed the Jewish people from Pharaoh's hands. Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead. During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.” (Exodus 12:30-32) Pharaoh finally told the Children of Israel to leave Egypt for they were a scourge on his people. Consequently, the chosen left Egypt, crossing the Red Sea on dry land; then they traveled through the wilderness toward the Promised Land. However, even though God had delivered them from slavery, brought them safely through the Red Sea, provided manna from heaven and quail to satisfy their desire for meat, and supplied water from the rock, they refused to serve God with their whole hearts. Some of them even carried the gods of Egypt with them as they crossed the wilderness. This spiritual amnesia and willful sinning brought great judgement upon them. Finally, their cowardice to enter the Promise Land because of their lack of faith and trust in the God caused them to die in the wilderness. They had rejected Caleb and Joshua's account of God favoring them to take the land. Therefore, God sent them back into the wilderness to die. He would not bring a faithless, sinful people into the Land of Plenty. He chose judgment for them, not deliverance. Except for Caleb, Joshua, and the young, God left their dead bones in the wilderness.
Paul expresses to the Corinthians this account of the Children of Israel and their wilderness experience to implant an understanding that they must continue in faith, believing in the new work that God has created in them. They are to leave behind the old life of sin and debauchery. They too were delivered from the land of slavery by the blood of a lamb, CHRIST JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD. Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross delivered them from death, the just consequence of their sins. He made them righteous, freed them from Satan's power. As the Children of Israel experienced the Red Sea, they experienced a water baptism, separating them from their old lives in Egypt. As the Israelites experienced the cloud by day and the pillar of fire at night, representing God's presence with them; the Corinthian Christians experienced the infilling of the Holy Spirit. As the cloud and pillar directed the journey of the Children of Israel in the wilderness, so does the abiding Spirit of God direct Christians in their daily walk. The Children of Israel survived by eating and drinking that which God provided; Christians eat and drink of Christ Jesus himself, receiving sustenance to walk out this life. However, the Jews experienced all these wonderful acts and interventions of God, yet oftentimes were faithless and sinful in their daily lives. They chose their old lifestyles and beliefs over God's dominion, his authority. They chose their idols of self-will, self-desires, fulfilling the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. Paul says God did not set you free from the slavery of sin, so that you might indulge yourself in fleshly pursuits, fulfilling the desires of sinful flesh. The flesh and its desires are contrary to the will of God and to citizenship in the Promised Land. He asks them what he asked the Romans: How can people saved by grace continue in sin? How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (Romans 6:2) If you continue in sin willingly, God has no choice but to place his hand of judgment upon you. You will not end your life in the Promised Land: you will end up in the desert, feeding off the dusty refuse of this world. The fruit of the world will never sustain the spiritual man or woman. Paul tells the Corinthians they cannot tempt the Lord God with their wayward lifestyle and escape retribution. God knows every action in their lives, every intent of their hearts. He will not tolerate open, sustained sin when such a great price has been paid for their salvation. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. (Galatians 6:7)
We who are IN CHRIST are present with him because of faith in his works, not ours. This means we are walking this life with and in his presence. The Children of Israel had the pillar of fire at night and the cloud during the day to direct them, guide them. We have the Holy Spirit IN US to oversee us. But just as the Children of Israel could choose to do their own thing even though they were constantly in the presence of God, we also have that freedom. We can be negative towards God and others if we choose. We can please ourselves and our wills by placing ourselves in preeminence, consequently, placing God and his will as secondary or as an afterthought. We are still free-willed individuals, made completely in God's LIKENESS. As new creatures in Christ we have tremendous freedom: “Everything is permissible” — but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible” — but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. (1 Corinthians 10:23-24) Now, the choice is ours whether we choose God's perfect will or our will. Are we free from slavery yet still choosing to sin, still looking back to Egypt for our satisfaction in the flesh? Are we seeking the comforts of this world or are we willing to be servants to others? Are we looking for what we can get out of the world: our bucket list? Or is our bucket list for others? Is our bucket list, God's list for us? Is our bucket full with the words we want to tell others about God or is our bucket filled with longing for what we can get out of this place called Earth? We heard a well-known pastor say, "The only thing a Christian should have on their bucket list is the will of God." Paul tells the Corinthians to beware of the ways of the flesh, for the flesh and its desires will lead to destruction. The way of the flesh is death; the way of the Spirit is eternal life. If your desires are to see everything you can see in this world; to experience everything you can experience; to be satiated by every entertainment that can be consumed; beware, for tomorrow you will die and meet your MAKER. He will ask you what you did with the lifespan you were given. Did you focus on his concerns, desires, and wants for your life, or did you focus on your concerns, desires, and wants? Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, "WHERE ARE YOU?" (Genesis 3:8-9)
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