.png)
You may listen to this devotion in audio form via podcast here.
1 Corinthians 10:6-13 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. - 1 Corinthians 10:11-13 I had a hard time in high school understanding why I should bother to study history. Other than for a game of Trivial Pursuit, there seemed little benefit from memorizing dates and locations of so many events and people of the past. I remember being told, “We can learn from history,” but I didn’t know what I was supposed to learn beyond the material for the next test. Of course, there is much to learn from history. We can look back on the wisdom and mistakes of the past. Comparing historical situations to current ones can help us discern what sort of results we might expect from our choices. We might learn why we have some of the challenges and strengths that exist today. This could inform what sort of action might be necessary to face those challenges and build those strengths. In order to do anything with the gems of history, we must first mine for them. We must look at history with an eye for our present and future. This is the sort of thing Paul encourages the Corinthian church to do in his letter to them. Twice in our reading, he tells his readers that those things that occurred in Israel’s history were written down to serve as examples and warnings for us—“to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did” (verse 6). Paul reminds the Corinthians of Israel’s history. He recounts their time coming out of Egypt through the sea; he reminds of God’s provision in the desert for both food and water; he reminds them of Israel’s grumbling (which he calls a test against Christ) and the resulting snakebites; he reminds them how so many were killed because of their complaining. All of this served not simply for the sake of knowledge. Paul wasn’t concerned with the Corinthians memorizing dates and names and locations for the sake of a trivia game. Israel’s history served a purpose for the Corinthians, as it still does for us. Those times when Israel forsook the covenant and their God, instead choosing to “indulge in revelry” (verse 7), they ultimately met pain and strife. Evil begets evil. Let us not think we are immune from such a pattern. Paul warns, “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” If we forsake God and his covenant, Israel’s history shows us what to expect. But, as we mine Israel’s history for lessons, we will also learn that God is faithful. Even when Israel was faithless, God stood by. He continually provided a way out. As we approach the cross in Lent, getting closer and closer to Good Friday, may we see more clearly the way God has provided a way for us. The Way. The Truth. The Life. If history has taught us anything, let us be assured that our God is always faithful.