An Old Lesson
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I would guess that very few of you have ever heard of Benjamin Keach. Yet, all of you were impacted by his work today. In 1673, Benjamin Keach introduced the concept of congregational hymn-singing at the Horselydown Baptist Church in Southwark, London, England. This was a big thing. Prior to Keach and a few others at this time congregants did not join in any singing. However, Keach saw the command to speak “to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord” as an imperative ordinance for the church. This movement led to the first hymnals. It also led to at least one church split as Maze Pond Baptist Church split from Horselydown in 1691 over the issue.
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,
and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.
They all ate the same spiritual food,
and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ.
Nevertheless God was not pleased with most of them, since they were struck down in the wilderness.
Now these things took place as examples for us, so that we will not desire evil things as they did.
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.
Let us not commit sexual immorality as some of them did, and in a single day twenty-three thousand people died.
Let us not test Christ as some of them did and were destroyed by snakes.
And don’t grumble as some of them did, and were killed by the destroyer.
These things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come.
So, whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall.
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 the way out so that you may be able to bear it.
So then, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.
I am speaking as to sensible people. Judge for yourselves what I am saying.
The Old Testament is full of examples and lessons for us.
Paul first connects the church, Jew and Gentile, to OT Israel.
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,
and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.
They all ate the same spiritual food,
and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ.
Nevertheless God was not pleased with most of them, since they were struck down in the wilderness.
Paul warns the Corinthians about the sins of:
Idolatry
Now these things took place as examples for us, so that we will not desire evil things as they did.
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.
When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make gods for us who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!”
Aaron replied to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me.”
So all the people took off the gold rings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron.
He took the gold from them, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into an image of a calf. Then they said, “Israel, these are your gods, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!”
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it and made an announcement: “There will be a festival to the Lord tomorrow.”
Early the next morning they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented fellowship offerings. The people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to party.
Paul warns the Corinthians about the sins of:
Idolatry
Sexual Immorality
Let us not commit sexual immorality as some of them did, and in a single day twenty-three thousand people died.
While Israel was staying in the Acacia Grove, the people began to prostitute themselves with the women of Moab.
The women invited them to the sacrifices for their gods, and the people ate and bowed in worship to their gods.
So Israel aligned itself with Baal of Peor, and the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.
The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the Lord so that his burning anger may turn away from Israel.”
So Moses told Israel’s judges, “Kill each of the men who aligned themselves with Baal of Peor.”
An Israelite man came bringing a Midianite woman to his relatives in the sight of Moses and the whole Israelite community while they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
When Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he got up from the assembly, took a spear in his hand,
followed the Israelite man into the tent, and drove it through both the Israelite man and the woman—through her belly. Then the plague on the Israelites was stopped,
but those who died in the plague numbered twenty-four thousand.
The Lord spoke to Moses,
“Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the Israelites because he was zealous among them with my zeal, so that I did not destroy the Israelites in my zeal.
Therefore declare: I grant him my covenant of peace.
It will be a covenant of perpetual priesthood for him and his future descendants, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.”
The name of the slain Israelite man, who was struck dead with the Midianite woman, was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family.
The name of the slain Midianite woman was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, a tribal head of a family in Midian.
The Lord told Moses,
“Attack the Midianites and strike them dead.
For they attacked you with the treachery that they used against you in the Peor incident. They did the same in the case involving their sister Cozbi, daughter of the Midianite leader who was killed the day the plague came at Peor.”
Flee sexual immorality! Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the person who is sexually immoral sins against his own body.
Paul warns the Corinthians about the sins of:
Idolatry
Sexual Immorality
Testing Christ
Let us not test Christ as some of them did and were destroyed by snakes.
Then they set out from Mount Hor by way of the Red Sea to bypass the land of Edom, but the people became impatient because of the journey.
The people spoke against God and Moses: “Why have you led us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!”
Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit them so that many Israelites died.
The people then came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede with the Lord so that he will take the snakes away from us.” And Moses interceded for the people.
Paul warns the Corinthians about the sins of:
Idolatry
Sexual Immorality
Testing Christ
Let us not test Christ as some of them did and were destroyed by snakes.
Then they set out from Mount Hor by way of the Red Sea to bypass the land of Edom, but the people became impatient because of the journey.
The people spoke against God and Moses: “Why have you led us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!”
Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit them so that many Israelites died.
The people then came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede with the Lord so that he will take the snakes away from us.” And Moses interceded for the people.
Paul warns the Corinthians about the sins of:
Idolatry
Sexual Immorality
Testing Christ
Grumbling
And don’t grumble as some of them did, and were killed by the destroyer.
These things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come.
So, whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall.
We must not think that just because we are Believers that we are no longer susceptible to the temptation to commit these sins!
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 the way out so that you may be able to bear it.
The Church God Desires Us to Be:
Flees Idolatry and takes the way out
What temptation are you facing today?
What way out is God providing you?
What is keeping you from taking it today?