“We should not commit sexual immorality,
as some of them did—and in one day 23,000 of them died.”
(1 Corinthians 10:8)
These days, some people may call me negative for highlighting this scripture verse. However, I remind myself of its importance as much as I would anyone else, especially if it means saving one’s life.
This verse is related to the Apostle Paul’s warning to the Corinthian church about those events that happened to the Israelites that later served to show God’s people the consequences of setting their hearts on doing ungodly things.
Paul reminded them that their ancestors, all baptized as Moses’ followers, ate the same spiritual food, but God wasn’t pleased with most of them. As a result, their bodies ended up scattered in the wilderness.
They reaped fatal results because they gave themselves to the following behaviors:
a. idolatry – the act of worshipping idols or placing anything other than God as the primary focus of one’s devotion, essentially putting something else in the place of God,
b. revelry – excessive, uncontrolled partying or celebration, often associated with pagan worship practices, including feasting, drinking, and dancing,
c. sexual immorality – sexual activity outside of marriage, including adultery, fornication, and other sexual acts considered morally wrong,
d. testing Christ – the act of deliberately putting God’s power and faithfulness to the test by engaging in risky or questionable behavior, and
e. grumbling – complaining or murmuring against God.
Sexual immorality not only killed 23,000 of them in one day, but putting God to the test caused deadly snake bites, and grumbling caused them to be destroyed by the angel of death.
Paul then goes on to tell them to be careful not to fall by thinking they are so strong; that the temptations in their lives were no different from what others experience. However, God being faithful, wouldn’t allow them to be tempted more than they could stand, and would show them a way out so that they could endure.
He also warned them regarding sacrifices offered to demons, that he didn’t want them participating with demons; that they could not eat at the Lord’s table and the table of demons at the same time and not arouse the Lord’s jealousy.
Where in another instance Paul advises people to flee fornication, here he says to flee the worship of idols. In fleeing, I imagine someone running. Also, he continues with, though one may say they are allowed to do anything, everything isn’t beneficial.
Finally, an important reminder is that even though these things occurred in the Old Testament of the Bible, we are told in 1 Corinthians 10:11, “These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.” So, we’d all be wise to pay close attention to these crucial lessons.
Ms. Rita's Minute 