Digging Deeper Days
Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
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The Questions
1) Who is doing the talking and who is the audience?
2) What is the purpose of the history lesson given in verses 1-5?
3) What warnings are we given in this passage?
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Now I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless God was not pleased with most of them, since they were struck down in the wilderness.
6 Now these things took place as examples for us, so that we will not desire evil things as they did. 7 Don’t become idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to party.8 Let us not commit sexual immorality as some of them did, and in a single day twenty-three thousand people died. 9 Let us not test Christ as some of them did and were destroyed by snakes. 10 And don’t complain as some of them did, and were killed by the destroyer.11 These things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 So, whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall.13 No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide a way out so that you may be able to bear it.
Original Intent
1) Who is doing the talking and who is the audience?
The name of the book is Corinthians for a reason. The audience for this letter is the Corinth church. The author of this letter is Paul (1 Corinthians 1:1) and he was writing to the church to correct several issues that weren’t properly being addressed in Corinth. Greed, gluttony, sexual immorality, puffing themselves up with super-spirituality, and on and on goes the list for the Corinthian Church who weren’t addressing their sinful issues with a gospel focus.
2) What is the purpose of the history lesson given in verses 1-5?
At the beginning of the passage, Paul says the reason for the history lesson of the nation of Israel is to give a reminder and an awareness of bad choices. He wanted to give the history lesson so that history would not be repeated.
3) What warnings are we given in this passage?
The first five verses of this passage recount the history of the nation of Israel for the express purpose of turning a mirror on the church at Corinth. Paul’s desire is to provoke self-reflection and compare the Corinthian church behavior with the Israelites to see if there were similarities. The warnings in this passage are numerous, but the most important warning is, “do not test Christ” by thinking more highly of yourself than you ought. This mindset will cause you also to fall into the pit and find yourself worshipping and serving idols as the Israelites did.
Everyday Application
1) Who is doing the talking and who is the audience?
It is important when you read a book in the Bible that you remember these are real stories about real people living a very real life. This was a letter written to believers in the 1st century church who struggle though everyday life and needed to be reminded to hold fast to the one true faithful God. He will not fail you or tempt you beyond what He can handle. He will always provide a way for you to walk according to His plan and purpose, but you have to be willing to make that choice. God wants us at our limits so we will realize our need for Him.
2) What is the purpose of the history lesson given in verses 1-5?
Have you ever heard the expression “learn from the past so as not to repeat it”? That is a theme throughout Scripture where we see Paul and many other writers of the New Testament recall the unfaithfulness of the Israelite people, while at the same time, pointing them to the faithfulness of God. The Israelite’s history is our history as believers. We read and recount history so we can learn from it and not repeat it. God uses our history to tell others how amazing He is. Our redemption story may become the catalyst for someone else to come to Christ, it may spark repentance in someone’s life, or it may bring about healing in a broken relationship. When we remember where we have come from and tell others, then the brilliance and glory of where we are going is that much sweeter! Those who hear our story have opportunities to see God’s handiwork. History becomes the teacher that lays the foundation for an eternal future.
3) What warnings are we given in this passage?
Paul is very clear – don’t think more highly of yourself because you will fall! That is what we call PRIDE. If we think we are too good for sin, we have sinned. If we think we can stand apart from Christ, we can’t. There is nothing, absolutely nothing of value that we can accomplish apart from Christ. He will guide us, but we must submit. He will provide a way, but we must die to our way. He wants us weak, because in our weakness He gets the glory, He gets the fame, He gets the worship! And rightly so! When we are tempted, tired, weary, and at our wit’s end that is the moment of vulnerability and brokenness where we die to pride and realize we can’t, but HE can! (2 Corinthians 12:10)
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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!
1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!
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Why Dig Deeper?
Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.
In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!
Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.
Study Tools
We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.
Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!
Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))
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