1 Corinthians 10:1-13 (NRSV)
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Chapter 10I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, Verse 2and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, Verse 3and all ate the same spiritual food, Verse 4and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Verse 5Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.
Verse 6Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. Verse 7Do 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." Verse 8We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. Verse 9We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. Verse 10And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Verse 11These 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. Verse 12So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. Verse 13No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.
Devotion
In verse 4, Paul writes that those who followed Moses in the desert were themselves followed by a rock – an amazing detail that is not frequently discussed. Paul refers here to a later legend that told of a supernatural Rock from which people were able to drink in the desert. How amazing is that: a rock that follows you around relentlessly through your most trying of times, ready at an instant’s notice to meet your needs. Paul, who had seen that sort of amazing thing before, clarifies it simply: “And the Rock was Christ.”
Prayer
Relentless God, thank you for following us into our varied deserts of temptation. Be with us that we may endure. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.