1Corinthians 10
Let us explore 1Corinthians 10 to gain a proper understanding of Paul’s message to the Corinthians.
To help us understand this message we must know who Paul is speaking to....
1Corinthians 10:1-5
For I do not wish you to be ignorant, brothers, that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,
In verse 1 Paul refers to these Corinthians as brothers. Are they brothers in the faith of messiah or literally brothers in the sense of belonging to the people of Ysrael? Lets gain a more perfect understanding with some background...
Acts 13:14 But passing through from Perge, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. 16 And Sha’ul, standing up and motioning with his hand said, “Men, Yisra’ĕlites, and those fearing Elohim, listen:
Acts 17:1 And having passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonike, where there was a synagogue of the Yehuḏim. 2 And according to his practice, Sha’ul went in unto them, and for three Sabbaths was reasoning with them from the Scriptures,
Acts 17:16 But while Sha’ul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred up within him when he saw that the city was utterly idolatrous. 17 Therefore, indeed, he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Yehuḏim and with the gentile worshippers, and in the market-place daily with those who met there.
Acts 18:1 And after this Sha’ul left Athens and went to Corinth. 4 And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath, and won over both Yehuḏim and Greeks.
We clearly see that Paul is primarily teaching the Yehudites and the Ysraelites in dispersion that is why he refers to them as brothers and as having a common father in verse 1.
Lets begin.....
Paul begins by comparing the Corinthians to the people of Ysra’el coming out of bondage. He teaches them out of the Tanakh that they should turn from certain problems that must have been occurring at the time.
1Corinthians 10:1-5
For I do not wish you to be ignorant, brothers, that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2and all were immersed into Mosheh in the cloud and in the sea, 3and all ate the same spiritual food, 4and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed, and the Rock was Messiah. 5However, with most of them Elohim was not well pleased, for they were laid low in the wilderness.
6And these became examples for us, so that we should not lust after evil, as those indeed lusted.
It appears that the Corinthians may have been subject to some of the same earthly desires as the people of Yisra’El when they were coming out of slavery in Egypt. Lets look further.
7And do not become idolaters as some of them, as it has been written, “The people sat down to eat and to drink, and stood up to play.”
Exodus 32:1-6
And when the people saw that Mosheh was so long in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aharon, and said to him, “Arise, make us mighty ones who go before us. For this Mosheh, the man who brought us up out of the land of Mitsrayim, we do not know what has become of him.” 2And Aharon said to them, “Take off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3“And all the people took off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aharon. 4And he took this from their hand, and he formed it with an engraving tool, and made a moulded calf. And they said, “This is your mighty one, O Yisra’el, that brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim!” 5And Aharon saw and built an altar before it. And Aharon called out and said, “Tomorrow is a festival to YHWH.” 6And they rose early on the next day, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
Paul’s first warning is against idolatry. This was a common problem amongst the gentile nations. He warns the readers against creating or worshiping the created instead of the Creator.
8Neither should we commit whoring, as some of them did, and in one day twenty- three thousand fell,
Numbers 25:1-9
1 And Yisra’ĕl dwelt in Shittim, and the people began to whore with the daughters of Mo’aḇ, 2 and they invited the people to the slaughterings of their mighty ones, and the people ate and bowed down to their mighty ones. 3 Thus Yisra’ĕl was joined to Baʽal Peʽor, and the displeasure of יהוה burned against Yisra’ĕl. 4 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Take all the leaders of the people and hang them up before יהוה, before the sun, so that the burning displeasure of יהוה turns away from Yisra’ĕl.” 5 And Mosheh said to the judges of Yisra’ĕl, “Each one of you slay his men who were joined to Baʽal Peʽor.” 6 And see, one of the children of Yisra’ĕl came and brought to his brothers a Miḏyanite woman before the eyes of Mosheh and before the eyes of all the congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl, who were weeping at the door of the Tent of Meeting. 7 And when Pineḥas, son of Elʽazar, son of Aharon the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation and took a spear in his hand, 8 and he went after the man of Yisra’ĕl into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Yisra’ĕl, and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague among the children of Yisra’ĕl came to a stop. 9 And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.
The second warning is against placing foreign Elohim against the Eternals face. Which is worshiping other Elohim either in conjunction with or instead of the Eternal.
9neither let us try Messiah, as some of them also tried, and were destroyed by serpents,
Numbers 21:4-8
4And they departed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Sea of Reeds, to go around the land of Edom. But the being of the people grew impatient because of the way. 5And the people spoke against Elohim and against Mosheh, “Why have you brought us up out of Mitsrayim to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our being loathes this light bread.” 6And YHWH sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people. And many of the people of Yisra’el died. 7Then the people came to Mosheh, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against YHWH and against you. Pray to YHWH to take away the serpents from us.” So Mosheh prayed on behalf of the people.
In the third warning we see the Corinthians are admonished not to follow the ways of those who were destroyed. Those who perished because they trusted not in the Eternal or His trusted servant Moses. This warning was also a current warning for them at the time. They were admonished not to speak or think badly against YHWH Elohim or Messiah Yah’shua regardless of their situation.
10neither grumble, as some of them also grumbled, and were destroyed by the destroyer.
Numbers 16:41-49
41But all the congregation of the children of Yisra’el grumbled against Mosheh and against Aharon on the next day, saying, “You, you have killed the people of YHWH.” 42And it came to be, when the congregation assembled against Mosheh and against Aharon, that they turned toward the Tent of Meeting. And see, the cloud covered it, and the esteem of YHWH appeared. 43And Mosheh and Aharon came before the Tent of Meeting. 44And YHWH spoke to Mosheh, saying, 45“Arise from amidst this congregation, and let Me consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. 46So Mosheh said to Aharon, “Take the fire holder and put fire in it from the altar, and lay incense on, and go, hurry to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from YHWH, the plague has begun.” 47And Aharon took it as Mosheh commanded, and ran into the midst of the assembly, and saw that the plague had begun among the people. And he laid on the incense and made atonement for the people, 48and stood between the dead and the living. And the plague was stopped. 49And those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died on account of Qorah.
And in the fourth warning Paul warns against grumbling and disputes. There must have been discontent among the Corinthians that warranted this teaching, the Corinthian synagogue leaders may have been murmured against.
11And all these came upon them as examples, and they were written as a warning to us, on whom the ends of the ages have come, 12so that he who thinks he stands, let him take heed lest he fall.
Wrapping up his warnings, he leaves one last admonition. Be careful that you keep what you have and do not fall into the temptation of sin that those who fell in the wilderness succumbed to.
13No trial has overtaken you except such as is common to man, and Elohim is trustworthy, who shall not allow you to be tried beyond what you are able, but with the trial shall also make the way of escape, enabling you to bear it. 14Therefore, my beloved ones, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to wise men, judge for yourselves what I say.
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Paul now moves on to the meat of his message…
Returning briefly to verses 3 & 4 where Paul set the stage for his message to the Corinthians we see the following.
3and all ate the same spiritual food, 4and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed, and the Rock was Messiah.
Here we see that all of the people that were in the wilderness ate and drank of the same spiritual food and drink. Paul asserts a correlation between the spiritual drink and Messiah. Let us discover what Paul is alluding to.
Deuteronomy 8:14-16
14that your heart then becomes lifted up, and you forget YHWH your Elohim who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, from the house of bondage, 15who led you through that great and awesome wilderness – fiery serpents and scorpions and thirst – where there was no water, who brought water for you out of the flinty rock, 16who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, in order to humble you and to try you, to do you good in the end,
16The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Messiah? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Messiah?
Here we see what Paul is alluding to, and why he correlates the people in the wilderness with Messiah Yah’shua. The Father spiritually fed, and gave miraculous water to the people of Yisra’El. The partaking of the bread and wine, which are the body and the blood of Messiah are a form of spiritual food as well.
17Because there is one bread, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
All who follow in Yah’shua footsteps are partakers of the body of Messiah. He gave his life so that we might live.
18Look at Ysra’el after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the offerings sharers in the altar? 19What then do I say? That an idol is of any value? Or that which is offered to idols is of any value? 20No, but what the gentiles offer they offer to demons and not to Elohim, and I do not wish you to become sharers with demons.
21You are not able to drink the cup of the Master and the cup of demons, you are not able to partake of the table of the Master and of the table of demons. 22Do we provoke the Master to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?
Here Paul warns the readers not to partake of food or drink that has been knowingly offered unto demons. He refers back to verse 9 where he purposefully gained the readers attention:
9neither let us try Messiah, as some of them also tried, and were destroyed by serpents,
Paul is warning the readers not to make Messiahs blood and body of no consequence by their eating and drinking that which was offered unto demons. Just as the people in the wilderness tried the patience and forgiveness of the Father by their inappropriate actions and words, so were the Corinthians trying the sacrifice of Messiah by eating food that they knew had been consecrated to demons.
23All is permitted me, but not all do profit. All is permitted me, but not all build up. 24Let no one seek his own, but each one that of the other. 25You eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions because of conscience, 26for “The earth belongs to YHWH, and all that fills it.”
Paul knows that all things come from our Father YHWH and he impresses this upon the readers of his message.
27And if any of the unbelievers invite you, and you wish to go, you eat whatever is set before you, asking no question on account of the conscience. 28And if anyone says to you, “This was offered to idols,” do not eat it because of the one pointing it out to you, and on account of the conscience, for “The earth belongs to YHWH, and all that fills it.” 29Now I say conscience, not your own, but that of the other. For why is my freedom judged by another’s conscience? 30But if I partake with thanks, why am I evil spoken of for what I give thanks? 31Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the esteem of Elohim.
32Cause no stumbling, either to the Yehudim or to the Greeks or to the assembly of Elohim, 33as I also please all men in all matters, not seeking my own advantage, but that of the many, that they might be saved.
The end of the matter is giving thanks to the Father for all things, He who created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them.
1Corinthians 11:23-29
23For I received from the Master that which I also delivered to you: that the Master Yahshua in the night in which He was delivered up took bread, 24and having given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat, this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the renewed covenant in My blood. As often as you drink it, do this in remembrance of Me.”
26For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Master until He comes.
27So that whoever should eat this bread or drink this cup of the Master unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Master.
28But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. 29For the one who is eating and drinking unworthily, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Master.
We see that Paul’s reference to Messiah as the rock that followed the people was not literal, but pointed to the Messiah as the bread of life and the living water.
John 7:37-38
37And on the last day, the great day of the festival, Yah’shua stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me, and let him who believes in Me drink. 38“As the Scripture said, out of His inner- most shall flow rivers of living water.”
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Num 25:1 And Yisra’ĕl dwelt in Shittim, and the people began to whore with the daughters of Mo’aḇ, 2 and they invited the people to the slaughterings of their mighty ones, and the people ate and bowed down to their mighty ones. 3 Thus Yisra’ĕl was joined to Baʽal Peʽor, and the displeasure of יהוה burned against Yisra’ĕl.
"There is great intimacy in sharing a meal - The meal seals the deal." - Roeh Gibor
Shalom & Agape in YHWH's precious name
Allen Spiker
