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First Corinthians 10:1-5

As we come to the tenth chapter in our letter, its important to remember that Paul was responding to some
questions from the assembly in Corinth about eating foods offered to idols.
The libertines in the assembly had attempted to make their case with Paul for doing this at the pagan
temples, partaking of the cultic meals there, based on their knowledge that an idol is nothing in the world.
In fact, we have surmised that they never seem to have discontinued this practice. In chapter 8, Paul
pointed out that this is a stumbling block to new converts and to any believer who is not well established in
the faith.
Then, as Paul defended his position as an apostle and his conduct in ministry, he emphasized the
relinquishing of his rights, and the limiting of his freedom whenever and wherever necessary, for the sake
of the gospel. This stood in contrast to the position these Corinthians were taking, of exercising their
supposed freedom, at the expense of others.
And finally, we saw last time how Paul used the example of a contender in the games to bring out the idea
that a Christ One does not indulge his bodily desires, but overrules them, in the life of the faith. Pauls last
statement about this carried a note of warning, which Id like to read again.
[First Corinthians 9:27] Paul was using himself as an example to show that if he didnt bring his body into
subjection - that is, if instead his bodily desires ruled over him - this might suggest that he was not a
genuine contender in the life of the faith - that he had never really believed into the Lord, in the first place;
that he was a rebel, and therefore, still subject to the wrath of God - and His judgment.
Now, as we continue into chapter 10, we find that Paul cites examples from Scripture which vividly
illustrate this. The particular circumstances mentioned by Paul have unique bearing on the case in Corinth,
especially in the language he uses to frame them. Im going to read through verse 12, but well be looking
at just the first five verses today.
[First Corinthians 10:1-12]
So Paul draws from the OT record to bring forth a historical account that reflects the current situation in
Corinth remarkably. Paul emphasizes how the rebellion of the children of Israel led to their judgment which he intends as a dire warning to those in Corinth who are following in their footsteps.
Lets return to verse 1.
v. 1 Paul begins with moreover, meaning he is continuing with what he has been saying, explaining it
further. Paul will be showing how someone who might seem to be a contender in the race - the life of the
faith - can become disqualified - should it be proven that he is not a genuine believer.
Such a one might appear to be part of the people of God -like being a member of the assembly in Corinth but when tested, revealed to be an imposter. Paul finds support for this in the historical account of the
nation Israel.

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Paul says he does not want the Corinthians to be unaware; ignorant. Now, when Paul was in Corinth, he
would have taught from the OT Scriptures, and it is likely he would have related many or all of the things
mentioned in this passage; but what Paul wants the Corinthians to be aware of is how these things pertain to
them, particularly regarding their current issue, in the assembly.
When Paul speaks of our fathers, what fathers is he referring to? Who would these fathers be? Looking
at the context, Israel. But here, Paul means Israel not just as the fathers of the Jews, such as himself; he is
including the mostly Gentile Corinthians, too - our fathers.
In what sense was Israel their fathers, as well? In the sense of both Israel and the church being the people
of God. Israel was Gods first called-out assembly; called out of the world, for His purposes, to become
His sons.
And the church, including the believers in Corinth, is Gods second called-out assembly - the new people of
God; also called to become Gods sons. So fathers is meant here simply in the sense of predecessors, as
the ones who came before; the first assembly.
We can see that Paul is beginning with Israel from their inception, as a nation - when the LORD led the
children of Israel out of Egypt, delivering them from Pharaoh and his army through the Red Sea. Were
going to take a closer look at this account in Exodus. Well begin in chapter 13.
The LORD had executed ten judgments on Egypt and their so-called gods. Following the tenth plague - the
death of all the firstborn in Egypt - Pharaoh finally let the children of Israel go.
[Exodus 13:17-22, 14:1-31]
v. 17 The quickest route to Canaan would be through the land of the Philistines, but the LORD knew the
people were not at all ready to fight enemies; first they had to learn to be led by the LORD; the Commanderin-Chief.
v. 18 This route would have taken the children of Israel southeast, approaching the wilderness of the Sinai
Peninsula. Orderly ranks refer to armies.
v. 19 Why did Joseph want the children of Israel to take his bones with them out of Egypt? Because they
are going to the promised land. Joseph was anticipating his resurrection, and so he desired to be raised up
in the land that God had promised to His people.
v. 20-22 Now, in verse 18, it had said that God led the people. This is how He was doing it. His Presence
was visibly manifested to the children of Israel as a pillar of cloud - smoke - in the daytime, and a pillar of
fire at night.
This towering, massive pillar could be seen by all the people. The pillar was always right before their eyes,
so that they could follow God, whenever and wherever He was leading them.
14:1-4 Instead of having the children of Israel proceed directly east into the wilderness, the LORD told
Moses that they are turning to the south, and camping by the sea.
In that day, the Red Sea extended further north than it does today, which means that the people would be
separated from where they were going by the Red Sea. In addition, the mountainous land features meant
that there was only one way in and out of the area in which they camped. So what would happen if an
enemy were to come that way? It would seem that the children of Israel would be closed in - trapped.

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And thats exactly what the LORD intended. The LORD knew that Pharaoh would change his mind about
letting the people go, so the LORD gave Pharaoh the opportunity to exercise his freedom of choice - to
harden his heart, and go after them. Pharaoh would do so, but to his own destruction. All of this the LORD
tells His servant Moses, ahead of time.
v. 5-9 Pharaoh had garrisons of soldiers along the frontiers of Egypt, and from them the report reached him
of the movements of the children of Israel. When he realized the people had seemingly entrapped
themselves, he decided to pursue them.
Notice in verse 6 that Pharaoh went with his men, in the pursuit; and it was usually the case that the
pharaoh would position himself in the vanguard, as the leader of the army.
v. 10-12 Now, it would certainly be scary for the children of Israel to see that whole Egyptian army,
bearing down on them - and no doubt they quickly saw next that they had no way of getting out of their
predicament. And we read that they cried out to the LORD.
What do you think they cried out, to Him? Help! Save us! But did they really believe that the LORD
would deliver them? No. Thats why they said what they did, to Moses. They believed that they were
going to die. They believed Moses made a mistake, delivering them out of Egypt. And they believed that
they had made a mistake, following Moses.
But who was it who had led them? The LORD - the all-powerful, covenant-keeping God of their fathers,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And if they had just looked up, they would have seen that He was right there
with them - His Presence manifested in that pillar of cloud and fire, which He did not take away from
before the people (13:22) - so that they could know that He was real, and that He was with them.
But they had lifted their eyes only high enough to see the Egyptian army, and then looked right down at
their circumstances - and panicked. And that would be their pattern throughout their entire wilderness
experience. Fearful. Uncertain. Dissatisfied. The heart of unbelief.
v. 13-14 What a contrast, between Moses and the children of Israel! Now, look back at what the LORD said
to Moses in verses 3-4. Did the LORD tell Moses the specifics of what He was going to do? No; just that
Pharaoh would pursue them, and the LORD would gain honor over Pharaoh.
But because Moses believed in the LORD, he understood that the LORD must deliver His people; and that to
do so, the LORD Himself must fight and defeat Pharaoh and his army. Thats the heart of faith - to trust God
for deliverance.
Did the people hold their peace? Probably not; but Moses interceded for them with the LORD, who then
answered him.
v. 15-18 So the LORD instructed Moses as to his part - using the rod that represented Gods authority, he
was to part the waters of the Red Sea, so that the children of Israel could go through it - on completely dry
ground.
That would be a miracle; so its to be a supernatural deliverance. Do you think Moses had any idea that
this was how the LORD would resolve the dilemma? Probably not; but we will see that Moses took God at
His word; he believed the LORD, to accomplish this great work that would result in deliverance for the
children of Israel.

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Notice that once again, the LORD told Moses ahead of time what Pharaoh and his army would do; that they
would pursue the people; but the LORD did not tell Moses what would happen after that.
v. 19-20 So now the pillar of cloud had moved from before the children of Israel, to behind them; from the
vanguard, where it was leading them, to the rear guard - to do what? To protect them - from their enemies,
the Egyptians.
The same pillar that was light to the children of Israel - so they could see - was darkness to the Egyptians so they could not see. The pillar created an impenetrable separation between the Egyptians and the
children of Israel.
And did you notice that the pillar of cloud is associated with a new name? What is it? The Angel, or
Messenger, of God.
This pillar of cloud, this visible manifestation of Gods presence, is a picture of Israels Messiah, the Christ
- who makes the unseen God seen. He would come speaking the words of God, and doing the works of
God - to lead Israel in the way of salvation, and to deliver them from their enemies.
So Israel was protected by the pillar of cloud, and meanwhile, Moses carried out the LORDs instructions.
Now, as we read the next part, I want you to think about where Moses is.
v. 21-22 So the children of Israel were camped by the sea. The pillar of cloud was protecting them from
the Egyptians, to their rear. And where is Moses? He stretched out his hand over the sea, implying he is
right at the edge of it.
After the waters were divided, where was Moses? The account doesnt tell us; but certainly, he would have
led the people forward, through the parted waters; their fear would have held them back, without him to
lead them! And in fact, as the account continues in verse 26, we will find Moses on the other side of the
sea.
So Moses would have led them through the midst of the sea, with the waters like a wall on their right and
their left. And what is directly behind them? The pillar of cloud is behind them, protecting them from the
Egyptians. If the pillar of cloud was not behind them, the Egyptians, who were riding chariots, would
certainly have overtaken them.
So the children of Israel, then, were completely surrounded, on all sides, with Gods protection. God had
them covered, you might say. And here we see Moses as a type of Christ, as the deliverer of the people.
v. 23-25 Now, the pillar of fire and cloud is protecting the children of Israel. But as the LORD looks down
from heaven through it, He sees the Egyptian army, and they are outside of that protection, which brings the
LORDs judgment upon them.
His judgment is retributive; the Egyptians, who sought to trap the children of Israel, find themselves
entrapped, instead - and they cannot escape.
v. 26-29 The same waters which meant deliverance for the children of Israel brought death for Pharaoh and
his armies.

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v. 30-31 In what respect did the children of Israel now believe in the LORD? They believed in the great
work He did; the miracle of their deliverance, through the Red Sea - and that God worked the miracle
through Moses. They believed what they saw with their eyes - but nothing more.
The miracle was a sign designed to point Israel to the LORD and His Christ. Israels Messiah would deliver
them out of the world, saving them from sin and death, and set them apart as the people of God. But in
order for that spiritual deliverance to be realized, Israel must believe into their Messiah - entrusting their
souls into His possession - submitting themselves to Him, as Lord.
The children of Israel saw the miracle, but refused to see its meaning. So theirs was just a physical
deliverance - from the land of Egypt - not a spiritual deliverance - from sin and death. Therefore, there was
no real separation for Israel; the world remained firmly entrenched in their hearts.
[Return to First Corinthians 10]
Having refreshed our memories with the account in Exodus, we can see what Paul was saying about our
fathers being under the cloud, and having passed through the sea.
The children of Israel were under the protection of the pillar of cloud, which kept their enemies from
getting to them; and when Israel passed through the sea, they were completely and permanently delivered
from the Egyptians.
But look at what Paul says next, in verse 2: all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. Did
you see anything about a baptism, in the account? No; nor is it in any account in the OT, concerning this
deliverance. This terminology is unique to Paul, here.
Now, the term baptism simply means to dip, or immerse. We know that it can refer to physical baptism,
immersion into water. Jesus had commanded His apostles to make disciples of all the nations, wherever
they go, and to baptize them (Mt 28:19), referring to water immersion. This physical baptism was to be
their witness to others of the spiritual baptism that had taken place, when they placed their faith in Christ.
When they believed into Jesus as their Savior and Lord, they were united to Christ by faith - baptized into
His death, buried with Him, and raised with Him in newness of Life - as a new creation, in Christ Jesus - a
born-again son of God (Rm 6:3-4).
So then, why does Paul use this term baptized concerning the children of Israel, with Moses? He is
pointing to the similarity of their experiences. The children of Israel may not have gotten wet - after all,
they went through the sea on dry ground - but in following Moses through the sea, they united themselves
to him, to obtain deliverance.
Moses led; the cloud followed; the walls of the sea were on either side of them. For all intensive purposes,
the children of Israel were immersed!
And here we see the inspiration of the Spirit, in drawing this parallel through Paul. All of Israel
experienced this baptism - but were all of them delivered from sin and death? No. From the world? No
again. In the end, their baptism would be of no eternal benefit to them.

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And that is Pauls point to the Corinthian church, for presumably, all of those in the assembly had been
water baptized. Having professed to believe into Christ, they were accepted by the others, in the church;
and they reaped the benefits of a member - from the teaching and from other ministries; from fellowship all temporary benefits.
But unless their water baptism pictured a true change of heart, of being baptized into Christ, they would
have no eternal benefit; they were not saved, and would ultimately incur the judgment of God.
Paul continued to recite the experience of the children of Israel in the wilderness.
v. 3-4 All of them ate the same spiritual food; what is Paul referring to? Manna. As the children of Israel
journeyed, they became hungry, and began to complain against Moses and Aaron. Moses let them know
that the LORD heard their complaints, and that He recognized it was against the LORD Himself.
Despite this, the LORD provided for His people, raining down bread from heaven for them. The people were
the ones who named it Manna, which means What? - what is it? For they did not initially recognize it to
be the LORDs provision for them; nor would they obey Him, in how to obtain it.
But they learned to do so - they had to; they were hungry. And they ate manna for forty years; through all
their wilderness wanderings, the LORD provided for them (Ex 16).
The manna was also a sign, to the children of Israel. What did the manna picture? Christ, as the Bread of
Life.
Turn to John chapter 6. After Jesus miraculously multiplied the loaves of bread and the fish to feed the five
thousand, He revealed Himself to be the Bread of God, who came down from heaven to give life to the
world. The Jews objected to His claim, but Jesus affirmed it.
[John 6:47-51] Their fathers - the children of Israel - ate the manna in the wilderness, and died. It
sustained their physical life for a time. But because they did not take in the meaning of the sign - that
Messiah - God in a flesh body - was the heavenly provision by whom they could live forever - that
generation of Israel ultimately perished. And most of the generation listening to Jesus that day did
likewise.
For the spiritual drink, well return to the account in Exodus. Turn to Exodus chapter 17. The children of
Israel had already complained against the LORD once concerning no water (Ex 15:22-27). Then following
their complaint due to their hunger, they encountered another lack of water.
[Exodus 17:1-7]
v. 1-2 Even though the LORD had already miraculously provided them with water, showing Himself able,
the children of Israel once again contended with Moses, the LORDs representative. Moses makes it clear to
them that what they were really doing was testing the LORD, by their lack of trust in Him.
v. 3 Always the children of Israel return to what they had in Egypt. What they had in Egypt was bitter
bondage; now they are free to live by faith, trusting in the LORD to provide for them - the One who has
proved Himself faithful, over and over again. But they had never trusted Him, and therefore never
separated themselves to the LORD. So Egypt remained in their hearts.

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v. 4-7 Was the LORD among them, or not? Indeed He was. His presence was always manifest, in the pillar
of cloud and fire.
And here, the LORD stood right before them on the rock; the rock that He had Moses strike, with the rod of
His authority.
And when Moses struck the rock, it was apparent that the LORD was among them, as water miraculously
flowed from the rock - spiritual drink to quench their thirst; to save them from perishing.
And it did save them - as long as they drank of it - another physical deliverance. But there was eternal
deliverance to be had in it - by believing in the meaning of the sign.
Paul points out in our account that the Rock was Christ - Israels Messiah, who would be struck with the
divine judgment of God on the cross, on behalf of sinners.
Out of the pierced side of Christ came blood and water (Jn 19:34) - His death, bringing forth eternal life,
which He provides to all who are willing to come to Him, and bow down - humble themselves, and take
Him in: If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink, he who believes in Me; for out of Christs
innermost being flows rivers of living water (Jn 7:37-38).
Was the LORD among them, or not? He was; but did they see Him, in the sign?
[Return to First Corinthians 10]
Paul indicates that this water was spiritual drink, from that spiritual Rock, Christ. A supernatural flow
sustained them in the wilderness, from a divine source.
It is curious that Paul says that the Rock followed them. We do not find this in any of the OT record.
Certainly the water continued to flow from the rock, and it continued to sustain them, as they drank from it.
But I believe that Paul chose this phrase to tie in the imagery of the Rock with the pillar of cloud and fire,
which did follow them. The idea is both protection and provision.
But how does it relate to the assembly in Corinth? They too took in spiritual food and drink, didnt they?
That can be used to refer to the elements of the Lords Supper - the bread and the wine. Jesus had
commanded that His disciples eat the bread and drink the cup in remembrance of Him (1 Cor 11:24-25).
This then was a second ordinance Jesus had given to the church, along with water baptism.
Of course, the significance of the Lords Supper is not in the eating and drinking, but in the reminder of
what it represents - that the Lord gave His life for us, and that His Life is what now sustains us, through our
earthly course - in the wilderness of this world. But that is only true for one who has received His Life through believing in Him.
Paul now recalls for the Corinthians what became of this first generation of the nation Israel.
v. 5 Paul is guilty of understatement, here! most of them is all but two people from the first generation
of Israel - Joshua and Caleb. To be not pleased means that God disapproved of them; this is speaking of
being proved, like a metal in the fire - similar to the idea of disqualified in 9:27.

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The children of Israel were put to the test, and they failed. What exactly was it that failed? Their faith; it
failed because it was not genuine. These were not the people of God; these were imposters. They had
never trusted in the LORD for His Christ, to be saved. Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb
11:6).
But could they really know of the Christ? The LORD had shown Him to them, through signs and symbols.
The writer to the Hebrews makes it clear that that the children of Israel could have known Him as well as
anyone could, in his day - with Christ having come.
Turn to Hebrews chapter 3. The writer was using Israel as an example - one which they should not follow.
He quotes the words of the Holy Spirit concerning the first generation of Israel, as recorded in Psalm 95.
[Hebrews 3:7-4:2]
v. 7-15 The writer is warning this assembly hes addressing against unbelief. True faith will stand the trials
of this life; it will endure to the end. The children of Israel heard the LORDs voice, they saw His works, but
their strong desires for self caused them to harden their hearts against Him, in rebellion.
v. 16-19 Because the first generation of Israel would not believe in the LORD, they could not enter into the
land - the promised rest He had for them.
4:1-2 The gospel was preached to them, through all the signs that the LORD did, and of course He would
have made sure that they could understand them; they were taught. The gospel is the power of God unto
salvation - but only for those who believe (Rm 1:16). Israel never believed to see the One represented in
the signs - their Messiah; their Savior.
How does all this pertain to the church in Corinth? All of the members of that assembly had likely been
water baptized, and they would also likely have participated in the Lords Supper.
But is there anything in those ordinances that can save them? Not any more than for the children of Israel,
being baptized into Moses, eating the manna, and drinking the water from the Rock.
Without faith, all of those things would just be going through the motions; futile works. Paul would have
that the assembly in Corinth not be deceived into thinking they have a standing with God, based on these
things (10:12).
Next time, well see that Paul goes on to show how Israel lusted after evil things - a demonstration of their
evil heart of unbelief. It was Pauls hope that these parallels with Israels case would help the assembly in
Corinth to see that there were some among them who were following in Israels footsteps.
Reading: 1 Cor 10; Ex 32; Num 25:1-9; Num 21:1-9; Num 13-14:38.