1 Corinthians 10:5-10 ~ 20140504 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org
05/04 1 Corinthians 10:5-10 The Deadly Dangers of Desire; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20140504_1cor10_5-10.mp3
1 Οὐ θέλω γὰρ ὑμᾶς ἀγνοεῖν, ἀδελφοί, ὅτι οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν πάντες ὑπὸ τὴν νεφέλην ἦσαν καὶ πάντες διὰ τῆς θαλάσσης διῆλθον, 2 καὶ πάντες εἰς τὸν Μωϋσῆν ἐβαπτίσαντο ἐν τῇ νεφέλῃ καὶ ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ, 3 καὶ πάντες τὸ αὐτὸ πνευματικὸν βρῶμα ἔφαγον 4 καὶ πάντες τὸ αὐτὸ πνευματικὸν ἔπιον πόμα, ἔπινον γὰρ ἐκ πνευματικῆς ἀκολουθούσης πέτρας, ἡ πέτρα δὲ ἦν ὁ Χριστός· 5 ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἐν τοῖς πλείοσιν αὐτῶν ηὐδόκησεν ὁ θεός, κατεστρώθησαν γὰρ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ. 6 Ταῦτα δὲ τύποι ἡμῶν ἐγενήθησαν, εἰς τὸ μὴ εἶναι ἡμᾶς ἐπιθυμητὰς κακῶν, καθὼς κἀκεῖνοι ἐπεθύμησαν. 7 μηδὲ εἰδωλολάτραι γίνεσθε, καθώς τινες αὐτῶν· ὥσπερ γέγραπται· Ἐκάθισεν ὁ λαὸς φαγεῖν καὶ πεῖν, καὶ ἀνέστησαν παίζειν. 8 μηδὲ πορνεύωμεν, καθώς τινες αὐτῶν ἐπόρνευσαν, καὶ ἔπεσαν μιᾷ ἡμέρᾳ εἴκοσι τρεῖς χιλιάδες. 9 μηδὲ ἐκπειράζωμεν τὸν Χριστόν, καθώς τινες αὐτῶν ἐπείρασαν, καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ὄφεων ἀπώλλυντο. 10 μηδὲ γογγύζετε, καθάπερ τινὲς αὐτῶν ἐγόγγυσαν, καὶ ἀπώλοντο ὑπὸ τοῦ ὀλοθρευτοῦ. 11 ταῦτα δὲ τυπικῶς συνέβαινεν ἐκείνοις, ἐγράφη δὲ πρὸς νουθεσίαν ἡμῶν, εἰς οὓς τὰ τέλη τῶν αἰώνων κατήντηκεν. 12 ὥστε ὁ δοκῶν ἑστάναι βλεπέτω μὴ πέσῃ, 13 πειρασμὸς ὑμᾶς οὐκ εἴληφεν εἰ μὴ ἀνθρώπινος· πιστὸς δὲ ὁ θεός, ὃς οὐκ ἐάσει ὑμᾶς πειρασθῆναι ὑπὲρ ὃ δύνασθε, ἀλλὰ ποιήσει σὺν τῷ πειρασμῷ καὶ τὴν ἔκβασιν τοῦ δύνασθαι ὑπενεγκεῖν.
1 Corinthians 9-10 [ESV2011]
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
These warnings are serious. Paul mentioned the potential for his own disqualification. He brings up the example of Israel in the wilderness to warn us that flirtation with idolatry can be lethal. All the Israelites shared in the blessings of being part of God's people. They all were under the protection of God, were being led by God, had experienced rescue from slavery, their enemies were destroyed by God, they were continually being sustained and provided for by God, and yet with most of them, with most of them God was not pleased. Out of 603,550, only 2 entered the promised land. Joshua and Caleb. Two. The rest were overthrown in the wilderness. 23,000 fell in a single day. Some were destroyed by serpents. Some were destroyed by the Destroyer. 603,448 Israelite corpses were strewn across the wilderness over their 40 years of wandering.
Idolatry is serious. Idolatry is deadly. Idolatry can separate you from God forever. Idolatry is not to be taken lightly. We tend to think of idolatry only as bowing to a little statue or attending a pagan temple, and I doubt that many of us do those things. But idolatry is so much deeper and more prevalent than that, as we will see in this passage. Idolatry can take many different forms. At its core, idolatry is loving anything more than God. Jesus told us that the most important commandment is:
Mark 12:29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
God is to be loved more than anything else because God is infinitely more deserving of our allegiance and affection. To value something or someone higher than God is to lie and overestimate the value of that person or that thing, and to dishonor and lie about God. For God to allow any idolatry would be unrighteous and unloving, encouraging us in the idea that there is something greater, something better, something more worthy, something more satisfying out there than God himself. God tells us that his name is Jealous (Ex.34:14), that he is a jealous God , not in the petty self-centered ways that we usually think of jealousy, but because he knows there is no true joy, true satisfaction, true fulfillment outside of a relationship with himself. He is jealous of our affection for our eternal good. The danger of idolatry is grave. God will not tolerate idolatry because in idolatry we turn away from the only source of true joy and look elsewhere.
Do Not Desire Evil
Our text says:
1 Corinthians 10:5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.
God was not pleased with most of them. They were overthrown in the wilderness. That happened as an example for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Their corpses strewn in the wilderness are a warning to us. What do you desire? What is it that you want? Human desire is a powerful thing. Advertising seeks to influence our desire. If we can be shown that we lack something, if we can be convinced that we need something, that life will go better if we have something, if we are persuaded that we will be happier and more fulfilled with that something, our desire will be stirred, and we will go after that something, spending our hard earned money, time, and energy to satisfy that desire. Many desires are good and healthy. Hunger, thirst are important desires. Without proper food and drink, we will die. Desire for comfort and safety is normal. Extreme temperatures are lethal for humans. But even good desires can be elevated in unhealthy ways. We need to eat, we need fuel to keep our bodies functioning, but often we don't stop when we are full. It tastes so good – I want just one more bite. Or we are very particular about what we eat. It has to be prepared just so. These are different forms of gluttony, and the bible calls gluttony sin. In our desire for comfort we can become discontent with our house or our car or our job or our climate or our health. It's too hot or too cold or too dry or too humid or too much snow or not enough, the seasons are too extreme, there's no change in seasons, it's too busy, there's nothing to do. The desire for satisfying relationships is good and natural, but we often place undue weight on those relationships. I wish I had a husband or a wife, I wish my husband or wife was different than they are, I wish I had a different husband or a different wife, I wish I didn't have a husband or a wife. I wish I had children, I wish I could spend more time with my children, I wish my children were better behaved, more responsible, more respectful, I wish they would leave. I wish I had friends, I wish my friends would be more thoughtful, I wish they would invite me to more things, I wish they would stop inviting me to things, I wish they would leave me alone.
We have so many competing desires. Desires are a powerful force in our lives. Desire determines so much of what we think about, what we spend our time and energy and resources on, how we feel, what our attitude is, and what we do. This is why God warns us about the dangers of our desires. Secondary desires can become primary, and when a secondary desire is elevated to first importance, it it becomes evil. Our primary desire must be for God and God alone. Other desires, even good desires, become evil when they compete with our desire for God. The Psalmist says:
Psalm 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
God is my portion. I desire nothing besides you. Actions result from desires. Desires flow out of the heart. Only a heart transformed by Jesus treasures God above all else.
1 Corinthians 10:6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.
This word 'desire' is taken from Numbers 11.
Numbers 11:4 Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 6 But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”
...10 Moses heard the people weeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the LORD blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased.
Listen. Words like 'ruthless' and 'bitter' described their slavery in Egypt. They groaned and cried out for rescue. God supernaturally rescued his people from cruel slavery in Egypt. He rained down supernatural bread from heaven to provide for their every need. Now they complain about God's good provision, their memories are distorted, and they long for the food they ate back in the bad old days of Egyptian slavery. We are appalled at their ingratitude, but how often do we do the very same. We are discontent with what God has given to us, with the lot he has assigned to us. We want something else. Anything else.
It is interesting how God responded to their ungrateful craving.
Psalm 106:14 But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness, and put God to the test in the desert; 15 he gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them.
He gave them what they asked for. Be careful what you ask for.
Numbers 11:18 And say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the LORD, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was better for us in Egypt.” Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19 You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, 20 but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the LORD who is among you and have wept before him, saying, “Why did we come out of Egypt?”’”
They wanted meat. God gave them meat to eat. Meat so abundant that it came out their nostrils. God gave them over to their own desires to demonstrate that what they thought would satisfy would only become loathsome to them. They had rejected not just manna, they had rejected the LORD and his salvation.
Numbers 11:33 While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck down the people with a very great plague. 34 Therefore the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had the craving.
Idolatry
This root sin of desiring, or craving, led to four other symptomatic sins. In verse 7 idolatry, in verse 8 sexual immorality, in verse 9 putting Christ to the test, and in verse 10 grumbling.
7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.”
One of the symptoms of wrong desires is idolatry. Our desire for something we don't have becomes so strong that we want it more than we want God. That is idolatry.
Exodus 32:1 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. 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.”
The people had seen a manifestation of God so real, so awesome, so terrible that they begged Moses to mediate between them and God for fear that if God were to speak to them again directly they would die. Moses is up on the mountain 40 days, receiving instruction from God for them. God is manifest in cloud and consuming fire at the top of the mountain. While this is going on, in their ignorance they become so impatient that they demand a substitute god. Having experienced the reality, they quickly settle for a substitute.
Exodus 32:4 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” ...6 And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.
They prefer something 'real', something tangible, something material, something they can contribute to, something they can see and touch rather than the unseen supernatural reality of the true God.
Immorality
If you think back to the context of the culture that Paul is addressing, the Corinthians are arguing for the right to eat meat in pagan temples. These idolatrous temples often offered immorality as a part of the worship. Paul makes that connection here. “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” The phrase 'rose up to play' has sexual connotations. Idolatry often leads to immorality. Unfaithfulness to God leads to sexual unfaithfulness.
8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.
At the suggestion of Balaam (Num.31:16), who was unable to curse Israel for pay, the Moabites sent their daughters to lead astray the men of Israel so that God would be displeased with them.
Numbers 25:1 While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.
Twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. God takes unfaithfulness, our unfaithfulness to him, seriously.
Putting Christ to the Test
9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents,
This refers back to Numbers 21.
Numbers 21:5 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 we loathe this worthless food.” 6 Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.
This is near the end of the 40 years in the wilderness. God had consistently and repeatedly provided for their needs. Psalm 78 links this testing God with food and their desire for things other than what God had provided.
Psalms 78:18 They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved. 19 They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
They tested God's patience by rejecting what God gave and demanding what they craved. Here we have yet another clear affirmation that Jesus Christ is God.
Grumbling
Last but not least, grumbling.
10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer.
This is a tough one. We don't know exactly what event Paul is referring to here, because the people seemed always to be grumbling. They grumbled about food, they grumbled about water, it seems grumbling was the sound they made. On hearing the report of the spies who reported giants in the promised land, we are told in Numbers 14:
Numbers 14:1 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”
This grumbling is grumbling against God's chosen leaders. Grumbling is the sound of discontent. I don't like what I have been given.
Numbers 14:26 And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 27 “How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. 28 Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the LORD, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: 29 your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, 30 not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.
We might tend to think that grumbling is not really that bad. Murmuring. Complaining. Everyone does it. God takes it personally. He is the giver of all good gifts. When we grumble, we express our discontent with what he has given. It was the grumbling of the congregation that caused the Lord to sentence a whole generation to fall in the wilderness. Paul says this is a warning for us. Grumbling is the opposite of worship. Grumbling is the opposite of wonder. Grumbling is the opposite of gratitude. Saved from slavery. Through the midst of the sea on dry ground. Manna falls from heaven. Water gushes from the rock. Wonder, worship, gratitude. God promises to give the land, including the giants, into your hand. Be amazed, give thanks, worship. Receive the good gift from his gracious hand.
The cure for idolatry, the cure for lust, the cure for grumbling is to be so satisfied in God that there is honestly nothing else you desire.
Psalm 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Gorge yourself on the riches of Christ. Sit at the Lord's table and feast on the gospel. Let him be your portion. Be so satisfied with who he is that you begin to see the pleasures of this world as the cheap imitations that they really are.