March 9, 2007
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Here is another thing I wanted to get done. No multi-tasking! I listened to a Nishida tape on I Corinthians 10 and some of the thoughts are sooo good that I want to cement them into my own mind by writing them down. Pastor Nishida is a stickler for context, and very good about tying the Old and New Testaments together. I will not write the entire sermon down, but basically Paul is encouraging his readers not to repeat bad history.
The history referred to is Israel's wanderings in the wilderness. The people probably could have reached the Promised Land very quickly, but they were not taken directly there because God had some things to teach them about Himself first. He wanted to show them His greatness and His provision. He wanted to make a contract with them, that He would be their God and they would be His people. He wanted to teach them about His holiness, His righteousness and His love. (Is there anything I forgot?) They were led to the threshold of the Promised land, but then turned away from all that God had promised them because it looked to hard. They preferred to turn back into the wilderness where God still provided for them.
They had experienced the miracles that brought them up of Egypt, yet they still turned to idols and immorality, testing God and murmuring. They had a very short memory of all that God had done for them. (Exodus 32, Numbers 25, Numbers 21) Pastor Nishida pointed out that there are two Greek words for "test." One is to give a test with the expectation that the testee will pass. The other expects failure, as in "I just knew you couldn't do it." The people in the wilderness declared that God a total, miserable failure and that He could neither keep them alive nor get them to the Promised Land, and that Moses was leading them on a path of death. When we complain, we are declaring that our leader, Jesus, is also a miserable failure who is leading us on a path to death and destruction, not the abundant life that He promised. This is a truly fearful accusation to make.
The people in the wilderness fell to temptations because they had no endurance when trials came. They simply couldn't wait, and always looked for an immediate, easy way out of their problems. Paul understood that trials and temptations would come. He also knew that God will absolutely help us. Most of the time there is some endurance involved, so it isn't an immediate "here's the trial, where's the door?" type of situation. It is our job to believe that the door is there, even if we don't find it right away. Maybe God is teaching us to "stick with it."
