Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Corinthians 10:6
Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
6. Now these things were our examples ] Literally, types of us. In figure of us, Wiclif. The word here used is derived from , to strike, and signifies (1) a mark, stroke of any kind, impressed or engraven, ‘ print,’ St Joh 20:25; (2) an image, figure, as in Act 7:43; (3) an example, pattern, Act 7:44 (where the word is rendered fashion), cf. Heb 8:5; (4) type, in the recognized sense of the word, that of a person or circumstance designed by God to foreshadow some other person or circumstance in the future, Rom 5:14; (5) as equivalent to purport, substance of a letter or address, Act 23:25; (6) form, outline, substance, as of a system of doctrine or morals (like the derived word in 2Ti 1:13); Rom 6:17; (7) Example in the matter of conduct, for imitation or warning, Php 3:17; 1Th 1:7; 1Ti 4:12, &c. Either this, as in our version, or (4) is the meaning here, or it may include both meanings. God impressed such a character upon the Jewish history or rather perhaps it was the natural result of the similar position in which Christians now stand to that occupied by the Jews under the law that it foreshadowed the history of the Christian Church. This idea is carried out more fully than in this Epistles in reference to the Old Testament generally, in the Epistles to the Galatians and Hebrews. Here it is simply used to point out the way in which the warnings of the Jewish history are valuable to Christians.
as they also lusted ] St Paul gives five instances of the Israelites’ sin. First the desire for food other than God had given them, Num 11:4; Num 11:33-34.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Now these things – The judgments inflicted on them by God for their sins.
Were our examples – Greek: types ( tupoi). Margin, figures. They were not designed to be types of us, but they are to be held up as furnishing an admonition to us, or a warning that we do not sin in the same way. The same God directs our affairs that ordered theirs; and if we sin as they did, we also must expect to be punished, and excluded from the favor of God, and from heaven.
Lust after evil things – Desire those things which are forbidden, and which would be injurious. They lusted after flesh, and God granted them their desires, and the consequence was a plague, and the destruction of multitudes Exo 11:4. So Paul infers that the Corinthian Christians should not lust after, or desire the meat offered in sacrifice to idols, lest it should lead them also to sin and ruin.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. These things were our examples] The punishments which God inflicted on them furnish us with evidences of what God will inflict upon us, if we sin after the similitude of those transgressors.
We should not lust after evil things] It is most evident that the apostle refers here to the history in Nu 11:4, c.: And the mixed multitude fell a lusting, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? Into the same spirit the Corinthians had most evidently fallen they lusted after the flesh in the idol feasts, and therefore frequented them to the great scandal of Christianity. The apostle shows them that their sin was of the same nature as that of the murmuring rebellious Israelites whom God so severely punished; and if he did not spare the natural branches, there was no likelihood that he should spare them.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Our examples; our types or patterns (as the Greek word signifies): we may, by Gods dispensations to them, learn what God will be to us: as they were patterns to us, of persons enjoying great spiritual privileges; so they are also examples or patterns to show us what we may expect from God, and to deter us from such practices, as brought the vengeance of God upon them; which were their sinful lustings or desirings of things which God had forbidden, as they did the flesh-pots, and onions, and garlic of Egypt, and to return thither again, Num 11:4,5,33; 14:2-4.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. wereGreek, “cameto pass as.”
our examplessamples tous of what will befall us, if we also with all our privileges walkcarelessly.
lustthe fountain ofall the four other offenses enumerated, and therefore put first(Jas 1:14; Jas 1:15;compare Ps 106:14). Aparticular case of lust was that after flesh, when they pined for thefish, leeks, c., of Egypt, which they had left (Num 11:4Num 11:33; Num 11:34).These are included in the “evil things,” not that they areso in themselves, but they became so to the Israelites when theylusted after what God withheld, and were discontented with what Godprovided.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Now these things were our examples,…. Or “types”; that is, these punishments which were inflicted on these persons for their sins, were designed as instructions for others to avoid the like sins, that they may escape the same punishment; just as the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, being condemned with an overthrow, as these men were, were made ensamples to all that should hereafter live such vicious lives and conversations; and in a very lively manner, as in a type or print, these exhibited the displeasure of God against sin, what such must expect who commit it; so men are called out of Babylon, lest, partaking of her sins, they also receive of her plagues. The Jews have a common saying s
“that what happened to the fathers is a sign unto the children”; to which the apostle may have respect:
to the intent that we should not lust after evil things. The apostle proceeds to enter into particular instances, in which these things were examples, teaching us to avoid sin, and so punishment; and begins with lust, which is the root and foundation of all sin; all the evil in the world arises from it, and the world itself is full of it, and is in God’s account the same as action: and here he particularly strikes at those Corinthians, that lusted after the feasts in the idols’ temples; and hints that that arose rather from a carnal sensual appetite, which ought not to be indulged, than from any other principle:
as they also lusted; that is, after evil things, the fish, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, onions, and garlic of Egypt, Nu 11:4 which though they were not evil in themselves, yet the Israelites sinned in lusting after them, in not being content with the manna, the food which God had prepared for them; and besides, their desire after these things did not arise from want, but from a sensual appetite, and was attended with murmuring against the Lord and his servants, and was highly resented; for though the Lord gave them flesh according to their desire, yet while it was between their teeth, he sent a plague among them, by which multitudes were taken off, and the name of the place was called , “Kibroth Hataavah, the graves of lusts”; the people that lusted being buried there, Nu 11:34.
s Tzeror Hammor, fol. 77. 4.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| Admonitions and Warnings. | A. D. 57. |
6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 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. 8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. 9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. 10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
The apostle, having recited their privileges, proceeds here to an account of their faults and punishments, their sins and plagues, which are left upon record for an example to us, a warning against the like sins, if we would escape the like punishments. We must not do as they did, lest we suffer as they suffered.
I. Several of their sins are specified as cautions to us; as, 1. We should shun inordinate desires after carnal objects: Not lust after evil things, as they lusted, v. 6. God fed them with manna, but they must have flesh, Num. xi. 4. They had food for their supply, but, not content with this, they asked meat for their lusts, Ps. xvi. 14. Carnal desires get head by indulgence, and therefore should be observed and checked in their first rise: if once they prevail, and bear sway in us, we know not whither they will carry us. This caution stands first, because carnal appetites indulged are the root and source of much sin. 2. He warns against idolatry (v. 7): Neither be you idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. The sin of the golden calf is referred to, Exod. xxxii. 6. They first sacrificed to their idol, then feasted on the sacrifices, and then danced before it. Though only eating and drinking are mentioned here, yet the sacrifice is supposed. The apostle is speaking to the case of the Corinthians, who were tempted to feast on the heathen sacrifices, things offered to idols, though they do not seem to have been under any temptation to offer sacrifice themselves. Even eating and drinking of the sacrifices before the idol, and as things sacrificed, was idolatry, which, by the example of the Israelites, they should be warned to avoid. 3. He cautions against fornication, a sin to which the inhabitants of Corinth were in a peculiar manner addicted. They had a temple among them dedicated to Venus (that is, to lust), with above a thousand priestesses belonging to it, all common prostitutes. How needful was a caution against fornication to those who lived in so corrupt a city, and had been used to such dissolute manners, especially when they were under temptations to idolatry too! and spiritual whoredom did in many cases lead to bodily prostitution. Most of the gods whom the heathens served were represented as patterns of lewdness; and much lewdness was committed in the very worship of many of them. Many of the Jewish writers, and many Christians after them, think that such worship was paid to Baal-Peor; and that fornication was committed with the daughters of Moab in the worship of that idol. They were enticed by these women both to spiritual and corporal whoredom; first to feast on the sacrifice, if not to do more beastly acts, in honour of the idol, and then to defile themselves with strange flesh (Num. xxv.), which brought on a plague, that in one day slew twenty-three thousand, besides those who fell by the hand of public justice. Note, Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge, in whatever external relation they may stand to him, and whatever outward privileges he may bestow upon them. Let us fear the sins of Israel, if we would shun their plagues. 4. He warns us against tempting Christ (as some of them tempted, and were destroyed of serpents, v. 9), or provoking him to jealousy, v. 22. He was with the church in the wilderness; he was the angel of the covenant, who went before them. But he was greatly grieved and provoked by them in many ways: They spoke against him and Moses, Wherefore have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for which reason God sent fiery serpents among them (Num 21:5; Num 21:6), by which many of them were stung mortally. And it is but just to fear that such as tempt Christ under the present dispensation will be left by him in the power of the old serpent. 5. He warns against murmuring: Neither murmur you as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer (v. 10), by a destroying angel, an executioner of divine vengeance. They quarrelled with God, and murmured against Moses his minister, when any difficulties pressed them. When they met with discouragements in the way to Canaan, they were very apt to fly in the face of their leaders, were for displacing them, and going back to Egypt under the conduct of others of their own choosing. Something like this seems to have been the case of the Corinthians; they murmured against Paul, and in him against Christ, and seem to have set up other teachers, who would indulge and soothe them in their inclinations, and particularly in a revolt to idolatry. Rather let them feast on idol sacrifices than bear the reproach, or expose themselves to the ill-will, of heathen neighbours. Such conduct was very provoking to God, and was likely to bring upon them swift destruction, as it did on the Israelites, Num. xiv. 37. Note, Murmuring against divine disposals and commands is a sin that greatly provokes, especially when it grows to such a head as to issue in apostasy, and a revolt from him and his good ways.
II. The apostle subjoins to these particular cautions a more general one (v. 11): All these things happened to them for ensamples, and were written for our admonition. Not only the laws and ordinances of the Jews, but the providences of God towards them, were typical. Their sins against God, and backslidings from him, were typical of the infidelity of many under the gospel. God’s judgments on them were types of spiritual judgments now. Their exclusion from the earthly Canaan typified the exclusion of many under the gospel out of the heavenly Canaan, for their unbelief. Their history was written, to be a standing monitor to the church, even under the last and most perfect dispensation: To us, on whom the end of the world is come, the concluding period of God’s gracious government over men. Note, Nothing in scripture is written in vain. God had wise and gracious purposes towards us in leaving the Jewish history upon record; and it is our wisdom and duty to receive instruction from it. Upon this hint the apostle grounds a caution (v. 12): Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. Note, The harms sustained by others should be cautious to us. He that thinks he stands should not be confident and secure, but upon his guard. Others have fallen, and so may we. And then we are most likely to fall when we are most confident of our own strength, and thereupon most apt to be secure, and off our guard. Distrust of himself, putting him at once upon vigilance and dependence on God, is the Christian’s best security against all sin. Note, He who thinks he stands is not likely to keep his footing, if he fears no fall, nor guards against it. God has not promised to keep us from falling, if we do not look to ourselves: his protection supposes our own care and caution.
III. But to this word of caution he adds a word of comfort, v. 13. Though it is displeasing to God for us to presume, it is not pleasing to him for us to despair. If the former be a great sin, the latter is far from being innocent. Though we must fear and take heed lest we fall, yet should we not be terrified and amazed; for either our trials will be proportioned to our strength, or strength will be supplied in proportion to our temptations. We live indeed in a tempting world, where we are compassed about with snares. Every place, condition, relation, employment, and enjoyment, abounds with them; yet what comfort may we fetch from such a passage! For, 1. “No temptation,” says the apostle, “hath yet taken you, but such as is common to man, what is human; that is, such as you may expect from men of such principles as heathens, and such power; or else such as is common to mankind in the present state; or else such as the spirit and resolution of mere men may bear you through.” Note, The trials of common Christians are but common trials: others have the like burdens and the like temptations; what they bear up under, and break through, we may also. 2. God is faithful. Though Satan be a deceiver, God is true. Men may be false, and the world may be false; but God is faithful, and our strength and security are in him. He keepeth his covenant, and will never disappoint the filial hope and trust of his children. 3. He is wise as well as faithful, and will proportion our burden to our strength. He will not suffer us to be tempted above what we are able. He knows what we can bear, and what we can bear up against; and he will, in his wise providence, either proportion our temptations to our strength or make us able to grapple with them. He will take care that we be not overcome, if we rely upon him, and resolve to approve ourselves faithful to him. We need not perplex ourselves with the difficulties in our way when God will take care that they shall not be too great for us to encounter, especially. 4. When he will make them to issue well. He will make a way to escape, either the trial itself, or at least the mischief of it. There is no valley so dark but he can find a way through it, no affliction so grievous but he can prevent, or remove, or enable us to support it, and in the end overrule it to our advantage.
IV. And upon this argument he grounds another caution against idolatry: Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. Observe, 1. How he addresses them: My dearly beloved. It is out of tender affection to them that he presses this advice upon them. 2. The matter of his advice: “Flee idolatry; shun it, and all approaches towards it.” Idolatry is the most heinous injury and affront to the true God; it is transferring his worship and honour to a rival. 3. The ground of this advice: “Seeing you have such encouragement to trust God, and to be faithful, do you approve yourselves men, be not shaken by any discouragements your heathen enemies may lay before you. God will succour and assist, help you in your trials, and help you out of them; and therefore be not guilty of any idolatrous compliances.” Note, We have all the encouragement in the world to flee sin and prove faithful to God. We cannot fall by a temptation if we cleave fast to him.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Were our examples ( ). More exactly, examples for us (objective genitive , not subjective genitive, of us). The word (our types) comes from , to strike, and meant originally the mark of a blow as the print of the nails (Joh 20:25), then a figure formed by a blow like images of the gods (Ac 7:43), then an example to be imitated (1Pet 5:3; 1Tim 4:12; 1Thess 1:7; 2Thess 3:9), or to be avoided as here, and finally a type in a doctrinal sense (Rom 5:14; Heb 9:24).
To the intent we should not lust after ( ). Purpose expressed by with the articular infinitive and the accusative of general reference with (lusters) in the predicate.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Examples [] . See on 1Pe 5:3. The word may mean either an example, as 1Ti 4:12, or a type of a fact or of a spiritual truth. Heb 9:24; Rom 5:14.
We should not lust [ ] . Lit., should not be desirers. Epiqumhthv desirer, lover, only here in the New Testament. Frequent in the classics. The sins of the Israelites are connected with those of the Corinthians.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Now these things were our examples. (tauta de tupoi hemon egenethesan) “Now these were our examples, or types, “for us to learn. One generation is charged to consider God’s blessings and judgments on previous generations to their profit, Deu 8:2; Deu 32:7.
2) To the intent we should not lust after evil things.(eis to me einai hemas epithumetas kakron) “So that we should not be longer after wrong things.” To long, covet, or selfishly lust after by-gone material things is a sin of and in the flesh, 1Jn 2:15-17. Saints of God should flee, seek to suppress, or overcome these lustful temptations, Tit 2:12.
3) As they also lusted. (kathos kakeinoi epethumesan) “Just as those of Israel longed and murmured for wrong, bad, or evil things.” Murmuring, complaining, or faultfinding with holy men and holy things stirs the wrath of God which often brings divine acts of chastening and judgement on the murmurers, Exo 16:2; Exo 17:3; Num 14:2; Num 14:29-33; Num 16:1-3; Num 16:11; Num 16:31-35; Num 16:41-48; Psa 106:24-26.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
6. Now these things were types to us. He warns us in still more explicit terms, that we have to do with the punishment that was inflicted upon them, so that they are a lesson to us, that we may not provoke the anger of God as they did. “God,” says he, “in punishing them has set before us, as in a picture, his severity, that, instructed by their example, we may learn to fear.” Of the term type I shall speak presently. Only for the present I should wish my readers to know, that it is not without consideration that I have given a different rendering from that of the old translation, (540) and of Erasmus. For they obscure Paul’s meaning, or at least they do not bring out with sufficient clearness this idea — that God has in that people presented a picture for our instruction.
That we might not lust after evil things. He now enumerates particular instances, or certain examples, that he may take occasion from this to reprove some vices, as to which it was proper that the Corinthians should be admonished. I am of opinion, that the history that is here referred to is what is recorded in Num 11:4, etc., though others refer it to what is recorded in Num 26:64. The people, after having been for some time fed with manna, at length took a dislike to it, and began to desire other kinds of food, which they had been accustomed to partake of in Egypt. Now they sinned in two ways, for they despised the peculiar gift of God, and they eagerly longed after a variety of meats and delicacies, contrary to the will of God. The Lord, provoked by this lawless appetite, inflicted upon the people a grievous blow. Hence the place was called the
graves of lust, (541) because there they buried those whom the Lord had smitten. (Num 11:34.)
The Lord by this example testified how much he hates those lusts that arise from dislike of his gifts, and from our lawless appetite, for whatever goes beyond the measure that God has prescribed is justly reckoned evil and unlawful.
(540) The rendering of the Vulgate is — in figura — ( in figure.) Wiclif (1380) reads the clause thus: “But these thingis ben don in figure of us.” — Ed.
(541) Our Author gives here the literal meaning of Kibroth-hatta-avah. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Butlers Comments
SECTION 2
Immorality (1Co. 10:6-13)
6 Now these things are warnings for us, not to desire evil as they did. 7Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to dance. 8We must not indulge in immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.9 We must not put the Lord to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents; 10nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11Now these things happened to them as a warning, but they were written down for our instruction, upon whom the end of the ages has come. 12Therefore let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
1Co. 10:6 Imperative Instruction: The actual, historical experiences and divine judgments upon Israel in the wilderness became (Gr. egenethesan, aorist verb) warnings for us, not to ardently desire (Gr. epithemetas) evil as they did. The word warning is tupos in Greek. It is the word from which we get the English word type. A type is the imprint left when a die or other instrument is struck. Johns gospel uses the word tupos when reporting Thomas statement that he would not believe in the resurrection of Jesus unless he saw the print of the nail in Jesus hand. Paul is saying that God recorded the history of Israels forfeiture of its privileges and its fall in the wilderness to strike an indelible tupos (imprint or image) of the consequences of presumptuousness and overconfidence. The lesson is historicalnot mythological, or allegorical, or theoretical.
Israels divine judgment in the wilderness is separated from us by more than three thousand years. Israels circumstances, technologically and culturally, differed from ours today like light and darkness. Our privileges, both spiritual and physical, surpass theirs. However, human nature and the human predicament are exactly the same. Man still cannot come to virtue and goodness without the grace of his Creator. Man still is tempted to be presumptuous, overconfident and independent of his Creator. So, man still refusing to learn from history, dooms himself to repeat it.
1Co. 10:7 Idolatry: Idolatry is immoral. Moral means, that which is right and immoral means, that which is wrong. It is wrong and immoral to worship other gods. The first commandment of the Decalogue is, Thou shalt have no other gods before me (Exo. 20:3; Exo. 20:23; Deu. 5:7). No object, thing, creature, human being, angel or spirit (except the Holy Spirit of God) is to be revered, worshiped, adored, exalted, prayed to, trusted in, or looked to for eternal life. To do so is idolatry. That which a man trusts and serves or puts first or gives the essence of his life to is his god. Jesus stated an unequivocal truth: No man can serve two masters. No man can obey contradictory orders from two masters. No man can continue that way; sooner or later a mans motives and goals force him to choose which master he wishes to please. Then he will despise the other for interfering. The issue is: Man is so created that he takes on the nature of that which he worships (see Hos. 9:10; Psa. 115:3-8; Rom. 1:18-32).
1Co. 10:8 Illicit Intercourse: The Greek word porneuomen is translated immorality (RSV) and fornication (KJV) and is the word from which we get the English word pornography. It probably refers to illicit sexual intercourse. The Israelites apparently indulged in fornication and adultery as they worshiped the golden calf (see Exo. 32:1-35 and Deu. 9:1-29); Paul may be referring to their fornication at the time of Balaam and Balak (see Num. 24:1-25; Num. 25:1-18).
We have already learned from this letter (ch. 57) that all forms of illicit sex were commonplace in Corinth, and that the Christians had a difficult time overcoming what was so socially acceptable by their heathen contemporaries. The seven churches of Asia Minor were also beset with this temptation to sexual perversion (cf. Rev. 2:14-15; Rev. 2:20-23). The Roman empire is characterized or symbolized in the early centuries (100500 A.D.) as the great harlot (Rev. ch. 1718). The Gnostic cult within the first and second century church taught that since all matter or all that is physical is evil, and all that is mental or spiritual is holy, so long as you did not think evil you should never be concerned about misusing your body. One could only sin with the mind, according to the Gnostics, not with the body. Gnostics said as long as you know or think what is right you are righteous no matter what you do with your body. Ancient Gnosticism has crept into the twentieth century Christian church under the guise called situation ethics. Situation ethics says whenever a person does the most loving thing in any situation he has acted morally. Classic illustrations of this principle have pictured sailors, having been deprived of sexual release for months at sea, being loved by prostitutes because they have done a good thing in satisfying the sailors sublimated sexual urges when he has come ashore on liberty. Some Christians have rationalized illicit sexual relations with persons other than their spouses by declaring they are helping their illicit partners find love and tenderness and relief from frustration for the first time in their lives.
Sexual intercourse with a person outside the bonds of matrimony, or with a person other than ones singular spouse, is immoral in any circumstance. It is immoral because God has declared it to be so in his Word. No amount of human reasoning or feeling can change or temper that divine edict!
1Co. 10:9 Incredulity: Unbelief is immoral. Paul warns, Do not put the Lord to the test. The Greek word translated test is ekpeiradzomen, which is literally, overtest, or, test beyond what is acceptable. God does want us to put the promises he has revealed to us in his Word to the test. At least as far as reason and propriety will allow. He does want us to test his Word to confirm its historicity and accuracy.
But to keep asking God to prove himself and his promises beyond the Word is to put him to the test! The Israelites did this when they asked for more proof than the Lord had already given of his presence among them (cf. Exo. 17:7; Deu. 6:16; Num. 21:4-6; Heb. 3:7-19).
This same unbelief appears to have been a problem with the Corinthians. It is demonstrated by their clamoring for the continuance of miraculous gifts which were given exclusively to create belief and were to pass away (see I Cor. ch. 1214). At the same time the Corinthians shunned the gifts designed to edify and which were to abide. When the evidence is sufficient, demanding more from the Lord is to put him to the test and is immoral. Jesus warned the Jewish rulers who kept asking him for more signs that they were committing the unpardonable sin.
The Israelites in the wilderness had every opportunity and privilege God could offer to create faith and commitment in their hearts. But they asked for more. The Corinthians had every opportunity and privilege Christ could offer to give them liberty and freedom. They seemed to be demanding more. Paul warns them they are putting the Lord to the test. The New Testament is Christs final and complete Bill of Rights for the church. Any Christian who presumes to demand more is putting the Lord to the test.
1Co. 10:10 Ingratitude: Christians are not to grumble. The Greek word is egongusan (Eng. gong) and is an onomatopoeic word, i.e., a word which represents the significance by the sound of the word, like the English word murmur. In the papyri the word is used of the impudent complaining of a gang of workmen. The word is almost always used with the connotation of private or nearly inarticulate complaining. The Israelites were inveterate complainers (Num. 14:1-3; Num. 14:27; Num. 16:41; Num. 17:5; Num. 17:10; Num. 20:2-13; see also Mat. 20:11; Luk. 5:30; Joh. 6:41; Joh. 6:43; Joh. 6:61; Joh. 7:32; Act. 6:1; Php. 2:14; 1Pe. 4:9). It often appears that those most blessed and privileged are the most presumptuous and complaining. Ingratitude is the mother of all manner of wickedness (see Rom. 1:21 ff.). Moses warned the Israelites against ungrateful presumption (Deu. 8:11-20). Paul is here warning all Christians about presuming upon the Lords grace by complaining. Grumbling is immoral!
1Co. 10:11-13 Indolence: Paul repeats his use of the Greek word tupos, type or imprint, in reference to Gods historical dealings with the presumptuous Israelites. The RSV translates tupos with the word warning because the Christian age was the ultimate purpose for Gods dealing with Israel as he did. The judgments and redemptions God worked upon Israel were recorded ultimately for the Bride of Christthe New Testament church. Paul says they were written (Gr. egraphe, Eng. graph, engraved, graphically) for our instruction (Gr. nouthesian, combined word from nous, mind, and tithemi, to put; literally, a putting in mind). Our instruction is to be more than teaching, it is indoctrinationwe are to have it put into our minds so that it becomes a part of our mentality or way of thinking.
The next phrase is, in Greek, eis hous ta tele ton aionon katenteken, or in English, upon whom the end of the ages has come. It is an extremely significant phrase because it is so decisive in stating apostolic eschatology in one declaration! It clearly declares the Christian age as the goal of all past ages. The Greek word katenteken is a perfect tense verb and may be translated, has come down in the past with a continuing result. The decisive word in the whole phrase, however, is the Greek word tele, translated, end. It is the word from which we get the English prefix, tele, or telo, meaning, end, perfect, final, complete. The Greek word teleios means having reached its end, finished, completed, perfected or final. The Christian age, begun on the Day of Pentecost (Act. 2:17 ff.), is the final age. There will be no more ages or eras or dispensations. The only great event in the framework of time yet to come is the end of time, at which point Jesus will come again visibly to deliver the faithful living and dead to glory and to judge and deliver the unfaithful living and dead to Hell. The church age is the kingdom age. There is no kingdom dispensation yet to come. Pauls use of the perfect tense verb katenteken and his use of the noun tele settles the issue of Christian eschatology once for all. All the previous dispensations or ages of history were pointing toward the Christian age as their goal. The coming of the Christian age means that the goal has been reached, that the last phase of redemption has begun. So Paul is urging the Corinthians that self-discipline is now imperative. God has no other plan of redemption than the one in the New Testament. God has no other revelation than that written down in the New Testament. God has no other time or age in which he will work with mankind than this age. Behold, now (in the Christian age) is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day (or age) of salvation (2Co. 6:1-2). To wait for or hold out to others any hope of another time-frame (or dispensation) after this age in which God will offer salvation to any group of people is presumptuous. This phrase has behind it inspired, apostolic authority. It is in complete harmony with all the rest of the Bible in teaching that the Christian age (the church age) is the last age of time. There is no millennium (in the sense of a latter dispensation) yet to come. If there is any millennium at all in the framework of time, we are now in it.
Pauls purpose in making his unequivocal statement about the Christian dispensation being the last of Gods dispensations in time is to prove his argument about the necessity for Christian resistance to temptation in this earthly phase of life. There is no other probationary or proving phase of life. We are becoming what we shall be. Therefore, let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. Let anyone who thinks privilege secures his standing before God, take heed lest he be indolent toward the responsibilities involved. To be indolent is to be lazy, to deliberately avoid responsibility or exertion; indolence is slothfulness. The Corinthians were prone to be slothful in exercising Christian charity and brotherhood toward weaker brethren. They were arrogant in their liberty supposing such privileges secured their spiritual superiority. They presumed they stood while the weaker had fallen.
Some Corinthians had clearly rationalized their arrogant disregard for weaker brethren by claiming they were participating in things they just could not quit. They probably argued that their old habit of eating at the feasts honoring idols was just too ingrained to be given up. They plead, our temptation is uniqueno one knows how strong this temptation is. Besides, they knew an idol was no god so they were free to participate. Let the weaker brother look out for himself. He should get rid of his scruples and grow up to our level of spirituality, they probably argued. Pauls answer was that any temptation may be resisted; any test endured.
The Greek word eilephen, translated overtaken you, is third person, singular, perfect tense, indicative mood, active voice. It means Paul is indicating these Corinthians had already been taken in the temptation of presumptuous arrogance and it was continuing in their lives. The apostolic revelation is that every temptation is common to mankind. The Greek phrase ei me anthropinos is translated that is not common to man. Anthropinos literally means is human. Now the devil may use different tools or agents in different cultural milieu or in different historical times, but his temptations to rebel against God generally fall into three or four general categories (the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, 1Jn. 2:16). Jesus was tempted in the wilderness (Mat. 4:1-11; Luk. 4:1-13) essentially in these three categories; Eve and Adam were tempted in the Garden of Eden in these three categories (Gen. 3:1-7). The Corinthians could not excuse their weaknesses by claiming their temptations were unique. No man can!
On the positive side, every human being who wishes may have the help of God for every temptation he faces. God will not permit any man to be tempted beyond the availability of help. Notice that the Bible does not promise any man (especially Christians) that they will have no temptation. As a matter of fact, temptation is one of Gods ways of disciplining his children. God does not want his children to do evil, nor does he push them in that direction (Jas. 1:13-15). But he does want them to develop spiritual maturity and strength and this can only be done as his children wrestle with and conquer temptation (see Heb. 10:32-39; Heb. 12:1-17; Jas. 1:2-11; 2Co. 1:3-11; 2Co. 12:1-10). Jesus, fully human as he was fully divine, proved in the flesh that all temptation is common to mankind and that every temptation may be overcome if human beings will avail themselves, by total faith, of the help of God. Jesus never used his divinity nor his miraculous power to extricate himself from a temptation. He always relied on the word of God in total commitment to Gods faithfulness (see Mat. 4:1-11, et al.).
With every temptation God allows he makes available an attendant way of escape. The Greek text has the definite article ten before the noun ekbasin. In other words, Paul says, . . . with the temptation will also provide the way of escape. It is not a way of escape, but the way of escape. Every temptation has its own way of escape. The temptation and the way of escape come in pairs. God sees to it that one does not occur without the other. No man can plead not guilty by saying the way of escape was not made available because Paul says God sends with every temptation the escape that you may be able to endure. If a Christian sins it is not because he did not have the way to escape it; it is because he did not avail himself of the way of escape. Sin cannot overpower a person unless the person allows it. God expects all men to resist temptation (Pro. 1:10; Pro. 4:14; Rom. 6:13; Eph. 6:13; 2Pe. 3:17). God encourages all men to seek his help (Heb. 2:18; 2Pe. 2:9; Heb. 4:14-16, etc.). Great men of faith have resisted (Abraham, Gen. 14:23; Joseph, Gen. 39:1-9; Job, Job. 2:9-10; the Rechabites, Jer. 35:5-6; Daniel, Dan. 1:8; Christ, Mat. 4:1-11; Luk. 4:1-13; Peter, Act. 8:20). Spiritual indolence is inexcusable!
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(6) Now these things were our examples.Better, Now these things were types of us. Now introduces the contrast between the physical Israel and the spiritual Israel, between the physical death which befell the majority of the former, and the spiritual death which, if privileges be neglected or abused, must befall the latter.
To the intent.St. Paul regards everything that has happened in history as having a divine purpose of blessing for others. All this material suffering on their part will not be in vain if it teaches us the spiritual lesson which God would have us learn from it.
We should not lust after evil things.The Apostle now sets forth the causes with which the majority of the Israelities neutralised the great advantages in which all had shared. The lusting after evil things must be taken as applying to their general conduct (evidenced especially in the circumstances mentioned in Num. 11:4; Num. 11:18). As they also directly connects the sins which the Corinthians were in danger of with the sins which led to the overthrow of the Israelites. The idolatry and eating and drinking and committing fornication all refer to kinds of sin which the Corinthians were liable to commit if they did not keep themselves perfectly distinct from the heathen. (See 1Co. 6:12.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6-13. Thus far the apostle has typically endowed the Old Church with the sacraments, from Christ, of the New; he will now warn the New to beware of the typical sins, apostasies, and deaths, of the Old. Here note, 1. The sins specified by Paul are, first, that general lust from which proceed 1) idolatry, 2) fornication, 3) presumption, 4) murmurs. 2. This enumeration of sins is rightly interpreted as those peculiarly besetting the Church at Corinth. 3. They are to be interpreted as sins through which apostasy and destruction were likely to result. Hence Paul warns them (1Co 10:12) against a fall, yet assures them (1Co 10:13) that God ever makes apostasy unnecessitated. 4. For all their sins, falls, and deaths, the Corinthians may find in the wilderness-history of Israel, as in a mirror, the warning types.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
6. Examples Literal Greek, types. Yet not divinely-established types, to which we are to conform; but figures of wrongs which we should avoid.
Lust As the mental source whence sins, especially of the sensuous kind, proceed. Literal Greek, That we be not lusters of evil things. It was to these sensuous sins, especially, that Christians in the licentious, idolatrous, and heaven-daring city of Corinth were liable.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.’
So these things were examples for us, given as a lesson so as to prevent us from doing the same, that is, preventing us from setting our minds on evil things, idolatry, fornication, trying God and murmuring. ‘These things’ (compare 1Co 10:11) looks ahead to the verses that follow, for what came earlier would not have been examples that prevented the desire for evil things in the Corinthians.
‘We should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.’ This may refer to the cry of the people for ‘the flesh pots of Egypt’ (Exo 16:3 compare Num 11:4-6) and stresses the danger of looking back, and regretting the loss of the past. This was the precise nature of the problem that could arise from knowingly eating food sacrificed to idols, a regretting of the past and a looking back, but his use of ‘we’ shows that it went wider than that. All, (Paul included), had to be aware of the danger of human desires and longings, and a looking back to the things of the world (1Jn 2:15-16).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
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.
v. 9. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
v. 10. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. 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, Exo 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, Num 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, Exo 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. ” Undoubtedly there were such also in the Corinthian congregation has 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, Num 25:1-18. In accordance with the malicious advice of Balaam, Num 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.
A third offense: Neither let us tempt the Lord, as some of them tempted and were destroyed by the serpents, Num 21:5-6. By saying of the bread which the Lord gave them daily from heaven that their soul loathed that light bread, they dared God, they committed the sin of presumption, they challenged His judgments. Their dissatisfaction with the food furnished by God was due to their unbelief, and this unbelief was punished through the fiery serpents sent by God. The same sin, that of presuming upon the divine forbearance and patience, is committed by Christians that are not satisfied with the solid and nourishing food given them in Gospel-preaching, but insist upon frequenting the places of the world’s idolatry in the hope of obtaining food which suits their jaded appetites better. Such a conduct is tempting Christ and will be punished accordingly. A fourth offense: Neither indulge in murmuring, even as some of them murmured, and perished by the destroyer, by the angel of God that executes the commands of God, 2Sa 24:16; Isa 37:36. The entire history of the journey in the wilderness is one of murmurings, but several occasions stand out most prominently, notably the revolt of Korah and his friends, and the subsequent uprising of the entire congregation, Num 16:1-50. If it had not been for the standing of Moses between the dead and the living at that time, the entire people might have been wiped out. The lesson should be applied by the Corinthians in time, for they were disposed to manifest opposition against the teachers given them by God, an opposition which struck directly at the Lord Himself. And in our days we need but refer to the general discontent and dissatisfaction with God’s ways and government in both Church and State. It is time that we recall what the Lord says Lam 3:39.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
1Co 10:6. Evil things The fault of the Israelites here referred to seems to be, their longing after flesh, Numbers 11 which cost many of them their lives; and therefore that which he guards the Corinthians against must be, their great propensity to the pagan feasts upon their sacrifices. See Psa 78:30-31. Locke and Clarke.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
1Co 10:6 . The typical reference of what is adduced in 1Co 10:1-5 to the Christians: These things (while they so fell out) became types of us, i.e. historical transactions of the O. T., guided and shaped by God, and designed by Him figuratively to represent the corresponding relation and experience on the part of Christians. See regarding , on Rom 5:14 .
] The plural is by attraction from the predicate . See Khner, II. p. 53 f.; Krger, lxiii. 6. Hofmann (comp 1Co 6:11 ) takes the Israelites as the subject: “ They became this as types of us ;” but the recurrence of the in 1Co 10:11 should have been enough of itself to preclude such a view.
. ] quite general in its reference: desirers (Herod. vii. 6; Dem. 661 ult ., and often in Plato) of evil things (Rom 1:30 ). To restrict it to the “Corinthios epulatores ” (Grotius) is arbitrary; for it is equally so to confine the . which follows solely (Rckert, de Wette, Osiander, Neander), or particularly (Hofmann), to the desire of the Israelites for flesh (Num 11:4 ), whereas in truth the words refer generally to the evil lusts which they manifested so often and in so many ways upon their journey, that particular desire not excluded.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
Ver. 6. Were our examples ] Worthily are they made examples, that will not take them. Alterius perditio tua sit cautio. The destruction of others should be a terror to us, that we may wash our feet in the blood of the wicked, Psa 52:6 . It is a just presage and desert of ruin, not to be warned.
As they also lusted ] As at Kibroth Hattaavah, where by a hasty testament they bequeathed a new name to the place of their burial.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
6. ] Now ( transitional; the contrast being, between the events themselves, and their application to us) these things happened as figures (not ‘types’ as we now use the word, meaning by type and antitype, the material representation , and the ultimate spiritual reality , but figures , as one imperfect ceremonial polity may figure forth a higher spiritual polity, but still this latter may not itself be the ultimate antitype) of us (the spiritual Israel as distinguished from the literal), in order that we might not be (God’s purpose in the : of course an ulterior purpose, for they had their own immediate purpose as regards the literal Israel) lusters [the use of the substantive forcibly depicts the habit] after evil things ( generally: no special reference yet to the Corinthian feasters, as Grot. supposes. So Theophyl. rightly: , . . Similarly Chrys.) as they also ( , i.e. supposing us to be like them) lusted . The construction ( ) may be a verb substantive attracted into the plur. (or sing.) by the predicate, one often found: so Herod. i. 93, , : and ii. 15, : so in Latin, Ter. Andr [42] iii. 3. 23, ‘Amantium ir amoris integratio est:’ see many other examples in Khner, 429: or, which is perhaps better, as in 1Co 10:11 , where see note.
[42] Andreas of Crete, 635
The rendering, ‘ Now in these things they were figures of us ’ (I know not by whom suggested, but I find it in Dr. Peile’s notes on the Epistles), is inconsistent both with the arrangement of the words, in which has the primary emphasis, and with , which should be .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
1Co 10:6-14 . 32. THE MORAL CONTAGION OF IDOLATRY. The fall of the Israel of the Exodus was due to the very temptations now surrounding the Cor [1423] Church to the allurements of idolatry and its attendant impurity (1Co 10:6 ff.), and to the cherishing of discontent and presumption (1Co 10:9 f.). Their fate may prove our salvation, if we lay it to heart; the present trial, manifestly, is nothing new; and God who appoints it will keep it within our strength, and will provide us with means of escape (1Co 10:11 ff.). The whole is summed up in one word, “Flee from idolatry!” (1Co 10:14 ).
[1423] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
1Co 10:6 . may mean ( a ) “These things have been made our examples,” typi nobis (Cv [1424] ) sc . exx. for our use; ( b ) “In these things (acc [1425] of specification ) they proved types of us” figur nostri (Vg [1426] , Bz [1427] , Mr [1428] , Bt [1429] , R.V. marg.); or ( c ) “As types of us they became such” (so Hf [1430] : cf. , 1Co 6:11 ) a construction clashing with that of the parl [1431] 1Co 10:11 . ( a ) best suits the application of in the sequel ( cf. 1Pe 5:3 ); to make the fallen Israelites prophetic “types” of the Cor [1432] would be to presume the ruin of the latter! is pl [1433] despite the neut . pl [1434] subject , through the attraction of the predicate: so in Xenophon; the incidents included are distinctly viewed. For the deterrent “example,” cf. Heb 4:11 . With . cf. , Rom 1:30 : the double recalls Num 11:4 (LXX); in alluding to the old “lusting” for the diet of Egypt, the Ap. hints at the attraction of the Cor [1435] idol-feasts; but his dehortation applies to all ( cf. 2Co 13:7 , 1Th 5:15 , etc.). The general admonition is specialised in four particulars, with repeated idolatry, fornication, tempting of the Lord, murmuring based on the analogy furnished by 1Co 10:1-5 .
[1424] Calvin’s In Nov. Testamentum Commentarii .
[1425] accusative case.
[1426] Latin Vulgate Translation.
[1427] Beza’s Nov. Testamentum: Interpretatio et Annotationes (Cantab., 1642).
[1428] Meyer’s Critical and Exegetical Commentary (Eng. Trans.).
[1429] J. A. Beet’s St. Paul’s Epp. to the Corinthians (1882).
[1430] J. C. K. von Hofmann’s Die heilige Schrift N.T. untersucht , ii. 2 (2te Auflage, 1874).
[1431] parallel.
[1432] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.
[1433] plural.
[1434] plural.
[1435] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 1Co 10:6-13
6Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. 7Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play.”8Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. 9Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. 10Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. 13No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
1Co 10:6 “Now” The NRSV, TEV, and JB also mark a paragraph division at this point to show the transition from historical analogies to present application.
“these things happened as examples for us” The Greek term tupoi, “examples,” (singular tupos) has a wide semantical field. It was the mark left by a blow. This can refer to a physical beating (cf. Mat 24:49; Mat 27:30) or a metaphor for it (cf. 1Co 8:12).
It came to be used for an imprint left by a blow of a hammer (cf. Joh 20:25). This imprint could refer to a physical image-an idol (cf. Act 7:43) or a printed image (cf. Act 23:25; Rom 6:17). From this it came to stand for a pattern (cf. Act 7:44; Php 3:17; 1Th 1:7; 2Th 3:5; 1Ti 4:12; Heb 8:5; 1Pe 5:3).
The best parallels to this term’s use in this text (i.e., “type” 1Co 10:6) are 1Co 10:11 and Rom 5:14, where it refers to (1) a foreshadowing type; (2) a figurative counterpart; or (3) a symbolic example.
1Co 10:6; 1Co 10:11 remind NT believers that the OT has spiritual relevance for them (cf. Rom 4:23-24; Rom 15:4; 1Co 9:10; 1Co 10:6; 1Co 10:11). The revelations of God are eternal and the principles are relevant.
“so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved” Notice that Paul is comparing OT covenant people and NT covenant people. Evil is a recurrent problem. It can rob a human of eternal life, of intimate fellowship with God. Evil corrupts every level of mankind’s existence. Salvation does not free us of the struggle (cf. Romans 7; Eph 6:10-19). The Corinthian church was in danger in the areas of both orthodoxy and orthopraxy! Godliness, not information, is the goal!
The term “crave” (used twice) reflects the strong compound Greek term epithume, which is made up of the preposition “upon” and “to rush.” It refers to a strong feeling or emotion overtaking and controlling the mind and heart of a person. It can be used in a positive sense as in Php 1:23, but usually is used in a negative sense (cf. 2Ti 2:22). Paul may be reflecting the strong desire and disobedience of the Israelites recorded in Num 11:31-35, because he alludes to Num 25:9 in 1Co 10:8 and Num 16:4-5; Num 17:5; Num 17:10 in 1Co 10:10.
1Co 10:7 “Do not be idolaters” This is a present middle (deponent) imperative with the negative particle, which usually means stop an act already in process. This OT quote refers to the idolatrous orgy of Exodus 32.
The exact idolatrous practice that Paul is referring to in Corinth is uncertain. Somehow the believers were in danger of offending God. From chapter 7 and the historical situation at Corinth it might have been pagan sexual worship practices or from chapter 8 pagan idolatrous sacrifices.
“The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play” This is an allusion to Aaron’s making the golden calf in Exodus 32 and the children of Israel feasting before it and committing sexual acts (cf. Exo 32:6; Exo 32:19). The sexual aspect of the term “dancing” is seen in the same Hebrew word used in Gen 26:8 of Isaac making love to Rebekah.
1Co 10:8 “Nor let us act immorally” This shows the pagan setting of Corinth and also the tendency of pagans, even redeemed pagans, to be prone to immorality in the name of religion.
“twenty-three thousand fell in one day” This is a reference to Num 25:1-9. There is an obvious discrepancy between this and the Hebrew text of Num 25:9, which has twenty-four thousand. This does not seem to be a copyist error. This discrepancy is in all Greek manuscripts. It could be a lapse of memory on Paul’s part. This does not mean to imply a lack of inspiration or trustworthiness, but the ancient world was not as precise in their use of numbers as modern western people.
In Archer’s Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, pp. 141, 401, he asserts that the OT passage Paul is referring to is not Num 25:1-9, but Exodus 32. He makes a good point in that 1Co 10:7 quotes from Exo 32:4 and that Exo 32:35 mentions the Lord’s smiting of the people apparently even beyond the 3,000 of 1Co 10:28. This is surely a viable contextual option.
1Co 10:9 “Nor let us try the Lord” This is the term peiraz with the preposition ek, which intensifies it (cf. Mat 4:7; Luk 4:12; Luk 10:25). See Special Topic: Greek Terms for Testing at 1Co 3:13. The Corinthian Church was acting in a similar manner to the Israelites in the wilderness (cf. Num 21:5-6). God does use temporal judgment to correct His people.
The term “Lord” (cf. NASB, TEV, NJB, and NIV) is found in the ancient Greek manuscripts , B, C, P, and the Armenian translation. It would fit the OT allusion best, referring to YHWH in Numbers 21.
The term “Christ” (cf. NKJV, NRSV) is found in manuscripts P46, D, F, G, and the Vulgate and Peshitta translations. It fits Paul’s immediate audience best.
While the UBS4 favors “Christ” with a “B” rating (i.e., almost certain), a strong argument for “Lord” is made by Bart D. Ehrman in The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture, pp. 89-90.
See Special Topic: Greek Terms for “Testing” and Their Connotations at 1Co 3:13.
“were destroyed by the serpents” This is a reference to Numbers 21. See Special Topic: Apollumi at 1Co 8:11.
1Co 10:10 “Nor grumble, as some of them did” The first phrase is a present active imperative with the negative particle, which usually means to stop an act in process. This refers to Num 16:41-50, which is referred to in Num 17:5; Num 17:10. The Corinthian church was grumbling just like Israel of old.
“the destroyer” This alludes to the plague in Num 16:49. It was a theological way of showing that death was in the hands of YHWH (cf. Exo 12:23; Exo 12:29; 2Sa 24:16; 1Ch 21:15; Heb 11:28). There is no “grim reaper”! There is no chance, fate, or luck! There is God, the God of Israel, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. He and He alone is in control of life and death!
1Co 10:11 “to them” This is referring to the people in the OT who died at the Destroyer’s hands.
“example” See note at 1Co 10:6. See SPECIAL TOPIC: PAUL’S VIEWS OF THE MOSAIC LAW at 1Co 9:9.
“ends of the ages have come” This is a perfect active indicative. It is a metaphor for the prophesied new age (similar phrase in Heb 9:26). Believers live in the Kingdom of God, inaugurated at Jesus’ first coming, to be consummated with His Second Coming. We live in the tension of the “already and the not yet”!
See SPECIAL TOPIC: THIS AGE AND THE AGE TO COME at 1Co 1:20.
1Co 10:12 “let him who thinks he stands take heed” The self assurance and arrogant pride of the Corinthian factions were a major problem, as the same attitude is today (cf. Rom 11:20; 2Pe 3:17). God has and will judge His own people (cf. Jer 25:29; 1Pe 4:17). Self deception is a curse of religious people! Those in Christ must continue to exercise diligence (cf. 1Co 9:24-27)!
1Co 10:13 “temptation” This word is used three times in this verse and means to tempt with a view toward destruction (see Special Topic at 1Co 3:13). There are three sources of temptation in the NT:
1. fallen human sin nature
2. personal evil (i.e., Satan and the demonic)
3. the fallen world system (cf. Eph 2:1-3; Jas 4:1; Jas 4:4; Jas 4:7)
NASB”but such as is common to man”
NKJV”except such as is common to man”
NRSV”that is not common to everyone”
TEV”the kind that normally comes to people”
NJB”none. . .is more than a human being can stand”
Other humans have faced the same temptation as the Corinthian believers. Jesus also has experienced and overcome all temptation which is common to human beings (cf. Heb 4:15).
“God is faithful” This is such a crucial descriptive statement! Biblical faith rests on the character of God. Our hope is in His gracious character, sure promises and redemptive acts.
This aspect of God’s character is first stated in Deu 7:9, which is an amplification of Deu 5:9-10. God’s justice moves through time to three and four generations, but His lovingkindness (i.e., covenant loyal love, hesed) to a thousand generations. This same affirmation is continued in Isa 49:7.
This is a major theme in the Corinthian letters (cf. 1Co 1:9; 1Co 10:13; 2Co 1:18, as well as 1Th 5:24 and 2Th 3:3). Believers are to faith God’s faithfulness; to trust God’s trustworthiness. This is the essence of biblical faith!
NASB”but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it”
NKJV”but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it”
NRSV”but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it”
TEV”at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out”
NJB”with any trial will also produce a way out by enabling you to put up with it”
This Greek word was used of a way of escape for a trapped military unit. Believers do not face temptations alone!
The problem in this text is how one relates “provide the way out” with “be able to endure it.” Do some get a way out and others bear it or is God’s way out really a means of enduring? Does the testing stop or do believers work through the testing by faith? Although this ambiguity cannot be settled, the good news is that God is with us in the problems (cf. Psa 23:4). God will not leave us or forsake us. The exact mechanism of victory is not clearly revealed, but the victory is!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
were = became.
our. i.e. for us.
examples = types. Greek. tupos. Same word as “ensample” (1Co 10:11). See first occurance: Joh 20:25.
to the intent. Greek. eis. App-104.
lust after. Literally be desirers of. Greek. epithumetes. Only here.
evil. Greek. kakos. App-128.
lusted. Greek. epithumeo, to desire. Occurs sixteen times, not always in a bad sense. Compare Mat 13:17. Luk 17:22; Luk 22:15. The reference is to Exo 32:6-25. App-107.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
6.] Now ( transitional; the contrast being, between the events themselves, and their application to us) these things happened as figures (not types as we now use the word, meaning by type and antitype, the material representation, and the ultimate spiritual reality,-but figures, as one imperfect ceremonial polity may figure forth a higher spiritual polity, but still this latter may not itself be the ultimate antitype) of us (the spiritual Israel as distinguished from the literal),-in order that we might not be (Gods purpose in the : of course an ulterior purpose, for they had their own immediate purpose as regards the literal Israel) lusters [the use of the substantive forcibly depicts the habit] after evil things (generally: no special reference yet to the Corinthian feasters, as Grot. supposes. So Theophyl. rightly: , . . Similarly Chrys.) as they also (, i.e. supposing us to be like them) lusted. The construction ( ) may be a verb substantive attracted into the plur. (or sing.) by the predicate,-one often found: so Herod. i. 93, , : and ii. 15, : so in Latin, Ter. Andr[42] iii. 3. 23, Amantium ir amoris integratio est: see many other examples in Khner, 429: or, which is perhaps better, as in 1Co 10:11, where see note.
[42] Andreas of Crete, 635
The rendering, Now in these things they were figures of us (I know not by whom suggested, but I find it in Dr. Peiles notes on the Epistles), is inconsistent both with the arrangement of the words,-in which has the primary emphasis,-and with , which should be .
Fuente: The Greek Testament
1Co 10:6. , these) benefits, which the people received, and the sins which they at the same time committed.-, examples) by which we may be instructed, from which we may learn, what punishments, we must expect, if, receiving such benefits, we should sin in a similar manner.- , that not) The benefits are put down in the order, in which they are arranged by Moses, in the different chapters of Exodus; the offences, with their punishments, in a different order. The fundamental principle, from which the offences proceed, is concupiscence: afterwards, the mention of idolatry most of all serves his purpose, 1Co 10:7; 1Co 10:4 : fornication was usually joined with idolatry, 1Co 10:8 : temptation with murmuring; see the following verses. Those offences are chiefly mentioned, which relate to the admonition of the Corinthians.-) The LXX. have this verbal noun.-, after evil things) Rom 14:20.-, lusted) Num 11:4.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
1Co 10:6
1Co 10:6
Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.-The Israelites and the facts of their history are examples to us. The same Lord directs our affairs that ordered theirs; and if we sin as they did, we also must expect to be punished and excluded from his favors and from heaven. [In the case of Israel, the punishment was directly and visibly connected with the sin, and it is recorded so that their history might be used to instruct future generations; for in this life punishment is not, as a rule, summarily and immediately meted out to sinners. In fact, if we judge by appearances only, we might sometimes even think that God rewarded crime and set a premium on sin. The Scripture records show that such appearances are deceptive, and that Gods punishments are sure, though they may be long delayed. Israel lusted after flesh, and God granted them their desires, and the consequence was a plague, and the destruction of multitudes. (Num 11:4; Num 11:33-34). This is a perpetual warning against the indulgence of inordinate desires for forbidden things. It was especially appropriate as a warning to the Corinthians not to desire participation in the sacrificial feasts of the heathen in which they had been accustomed to indulge.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
these: 1Co 10:11, Zep 3:6, Zep 3:7, Heb 4:11, 2Pe 2:6, Jud 1:7
examples: Gr. figures, Rom 5:14, Heb 9:24, 1Pe 3:21
lust: Num 11:4, Num 11:31-34, Psa 78:27-31, Psa 106:14, Psa 106:15
Reciprocal: Num 11:34 – Kibrothhattaavah Num 26:10 – they became a sign Num 26:65 – They shall Deu 14:26 – thy soul Deu 24:9 – Remember Jos 22:20 – General Jdg 16:4 – he loved Psa 78:18 – by asking meat Pro 5:14 – General Pro 21:10 – soul Pro 21:11 – the scorner Pro 24:32 – I looked Eze 23:48 – that Luk 17:32 – General Rom 4:23 – General Col 3:5 – evil 1Jo 2:16 – the lust of the flesh Rev 18:14 – thy soul
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Co 10:6. These things refers to the judgments sent upon the Israelites, and they were to serve as punishments for them, and a warning for Christians not to lust after evil things as they lusted.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
1Co 10:6. Now these things were our exampleshistorical types or figures permitted to occur, as beacons divinely held forth for all timeto the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Some of these evil things, fitted to come specially home to the Corinthian converts at that time, are now specified.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, 1. The sin charged upon the Israelites in the wilderness: They lusted; that is, after the flesh-pots of Egypt, and to return thither again. They had manna for forty years together; but being tied to it, (though angels’ food, that is, most excellent food,) they grew weary of it.
Lord! how exceedingly indebted are we to thy liberality and bounty, in that plenty and variety of creature refreshments which thou affordest us! The beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, and the fishes in the sea, are freely given us, not barely for necessity, but delight, and do all administer to our support and comfort.
Observe, 2. How the apostle calls upon us to improve examples that we may not be made examples. These things, that is, their sufferings, were our examples; they were for our caution to receive warning by them, not to walk in those soul-defiling ways in which they have walked, fallen, and perished.
A wise Christian may receive much good by observing the dealings of God with them that are evil; for God is unchangeable, just, and holy, and will not favour that in one person which he punishes in another: These things were our examples.
As if the apostle had said, O ye Corinthians, look upon the dead bodies of the Israelites which are cast upon the shore of the scriptures for a warning to you; follow not the same course, lest you meet with the same curse; if you tread the same path, expect the same punishment, for God is as righteous now as he was then; he hates, and will punish sin in you, as much as he did in them: These things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they lusted.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Vv. 6-11. From these facts the apostle derives this lesson: The greatest blessings may issue in the greatest judgments.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. [Having shown that the Israelites lost their inheritance despite the fact that they were prepared, sustained and strengthened by the same Christ and practically the same ordinances enjoyed by the Christian, Paul proceeds to show their perfectness as examples to the Corinthians in that they fell by the five sins, viz.: lust, idolatry, fornication, tempting Christ, murmuring, which were the besetting sins of the Corinthians–and of all succeeding generations. In the case of Israel the punishment was directly and visibly connected with the sin, that their history might be used to instruct future generations; for in this life punishment is not, as a rule, summarily and immediately meted out to sinners. In fact, if we judge by appearances only, we might sometimes even think that God rewarded crime and set a premium on sin. The Scripture records show that such appearances are deceptive, and that God’s punishments are sure, though they may be long delayed. Israel lusted for what God withheld and murmured at what he provided (Num 11:4, 33-34). As Israel looked back with regret on the flesh and the fish, the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic which they had left behind in Egypt, so the Corinthians were disposed to go back into the old life and heap up to themselves philosophical teachers, attend idolatrous feasts, etc.]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
6. And these things became our types, that we should not covet evil things as they also lusted after them. The national life of Israel, from Egypt to Canaan, typifies the experience of individual Christians in our dispensation.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
10:6 {3} Now these things were our {h} examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
(3) An amplifying of the example against those who are carried away with their lusts beyond the bounds which God has measured out. For this is the beginning of all evil, as of idolatry (which has gluttony as a companion), fornication, rebelling against Christ, murmuring, and such like. And these things God punished most sharply in that old people, to the end that we who succeed them, and have a more full declaration of the will of God, might by that means take better heed.
(h) Some read “figures”: which signified our ordinances. For circumcision was to the Jews a seal of righteousness, to us a symbol of baptism, and so in the other ordinances.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The application of Israel’s example 10:6-13
Though idolatry was the cause of Israel’s failure and the focus of Paul’s warning to this church, four other evil characteristics of Israel also seem to have marked the Corinthians. These characteristics also resulted in the Israelites dying in the wilderness.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The experiences of the Israelites provide lessons for us. Their baptism and partaking of spiritual food and drink did not protect them from God’s discipline when they craved evil things. Participation in baptism and the Lord’s Supper will not protect Christians either. We should never regard participation in these ordinances as immunizing us against God’s discipline if we sin against Him. The Israelites had sometimes felt immunized against God’s judgment because they were His chosen people.
The Greek word translated "examples" is typos from which we get the English word "type." The experiences of the Israelites in the wilderness are types. They were early examples of situations that would recur later in history that God designed to teach His people lessons. [Note: For further information on types, see Bernard Ramm, Protestant Biblical Interpretation, pp. 196-219; Milton S. Terry, Biblical Hermeneutics, pp. 334-46; Patrick Fairbairn, The Typology of Scripture; and Elliott E. Johnson, Expository Hermeneutics: An Introduction, pp. 126, 208-9.]