1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 10.
A Warning against Carnal Security. 1 Cor. 10, 1—13.
Warning against the corruption of idolatry and related sins: V. 6. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. V. 7. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. V. 8. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.
The apostle substantiates his warning by referring to a number of incidents that happened in the wilderness, showing why the displeasure of God struck the children of Israel: Now these things, these judgments, are recorded in Scriptures as types or examples of warning; they represent to us our lot if we do not heed the voice of God in the history of the wilderness.
We should not be lusters after evil things, we should not be eager to perform that which displeases the Lord, as they also lusted. Hardly had the Israelites been saved from the hands of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, when they were dissatisfied with their journey in the desert and longed after the flesh-pots of Egypt, Exodus 16, 3. Ever and again, as they continued their journey, they would raise their voices in rebellious murmurings and demand further gifts from the kindness and goodness of the Lord, Numbers 11, 5–20. And ever and again their revolt took the form of special sins of unfaithfulness, of offenses peculiarly hateful in the eyes of God.
A few of the occasions coming under this heading are now enumerated: And do not become idolaters as some of them, as it is written, The people sat down to eat and to drink and arose to sport in dancing. This behavior was but an outward manifestation of the apostasy of their hearts, Ex. 32, 18. 19. They deliberately prepared a sacrificial meal for the golden calf which Aaron had made upon their demand, and they gave expression to their idolatrous feelings by their singing and dancing around the idol fashioned by a man's hands. "It was a scene of wild, careless merriment, shocking under the circumstances and most perilous, that Moses witnessed as he descended, bearing the tables of the Law." 52)
Undoubtedly there were such also in the Corinthian congregation as tried to excuse their partaking of banquets in the heathen temples with the plea that they had in mind only the honor of God; but by the very fact that they placed themselves on a level with the idolatrous enjoyments, they had become guilty of idolatry.
A second offense: Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed fornication, and fell in one day twenty-three thousand, Numbers 25. In accordance with the malicious advice of Balaam, Numbers 31, 16, the Moabites and Midianites invited the Israelites to their festivals, at which the most shameless immorality was practiced in honor of their gods. The result was a corruption and pollution which spread throughout the children of Israel and resulted in God's punishment upon them, with twenty-three thousand slain in one day.
Note: There is no discrepancy between this passage and the text in Numbers, since Paul expressly gives the figures for one day, while the historical account mentions the total number of dead. The warning was especially appropriate in the case of the Corinthians, who were exposed to the shameless practices connected with the cult of Venus in their city. Let none of them think that he was immune against such immoral vices, if he deliberately joined the heathen in their festivals.
And let none of the Christians of the present time think himself secure against the blandishments and wiles of the world, if he makes it a practice to sit in the places where the sins of immorality are presented in a more or less hidden form.