Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.
1 Corinthians 10:6
Our passage today is written in the context of a summary of the events that took place when the children of Israel were wandering in the wilderness. This account, which has a such a glorious beginning with the exodus from Egypt, ends sadly in death for all but a couple of the adult Jews that God initially rescued. Their story is preserved for us, not so that we could get our Jewish history straight, but so we would not follow in the footsteps of their error. They were all delivered from slavery by the mighty hand of God, and yet many died in their own sins!
Some today are caught up in seeking signs and miracles. After all, if God would part the Mississippi today like He did the Red Sea back then, we would surely have a lot more believers, right? I don’t think so, and I say that based on the example of the children of Israel. They all saw the mighty signs done by God in Egypt! Ten plagues were unleashed upon Pharaoh and his people while the Israelites were untouched! These people saw the bloody waters along with the flies and the frogs. They witnessed the fiery meteorites, and they heard the groans of the Egyptians mourning the loss of their firstborn. They not only saw the Red Sea part, they actually walked through it! After leaving Egypt, when they were hungry, God rained bread from heaven. When they were thirsty, God brought water out of the rock. And yet, in spite of all these miracles, “with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness”! (1Co 10:5)
I don’t want to sugar coat what the Israelites went through in the wilderness. They had some tough trials. It wasn’t long after crossing the Red Sea that they began to run out of water. For three days, they hoped to see an oasis on the horizon, and for three days they were disappointed. I can imagine the fear creeping into the hearts of mothers who were afraid their young children were going to thirst to death. But, this lack of water was not by accident. Exo 15:25 says, “there He tested them”. God was testing their trust in Him. It was the first of many failures as they murmured against Moses and therefore God. Expect trials, Christian. They are the norm, not the exception. The question is: how will we respond when they come? “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (1Co 10:13) Do we believe God’s promise?
It’s not miracles that we need. It’s faith! In Heb 3:8, God warns, “Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness…” (Heb 3:8) They fell in the wilderness and were not permitted to enter into the Promised Land. Why? “So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” (Heb 3:19) Unbelief was the issue!. We don’t need signs and wonders; we need to take God at His word! They had the same word of God preached to them, and yet, after seeing these mighty miracles, they perished. “For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.” (Heb 4:2) Don’t get caught up in the excitement of those seeking outward signs. Faith is not about seeing with the natural eye. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb 11:1) What pleases God is when, in spite of how everything looks around us, we believe Him anyway! Remember, “without faith it is impossible to please Him…” (Heb 11:6)
Jamie