They

 Were Struck Down

 

 

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,…

 

1 Corinthians 10:1

 

Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.

 

Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come.

 

1 Corinthians 10:5-11

 

First Corinthians 10 describes a spiritual disaster we can avoid. After the people of Israel were delivered from slavery in Egypt, they continued to turn away from the Lord. Recounting their recurring self-indulgence and its disastrous results Paul tells us to let their examples be our examples of what not to do. The story of their failure has been preserved so we can avoid the same disaster of disobedience.

 

If there are warning signs in our lives today, it is time to run from self-destructive sin to the high ground of God’s forgiving grace.

 

A warning heeded is a disaster avoided.

 

Our Daily BreadMay 3, 2006