Let Us not Tempt Christ 1 Corinthians 10:9

The church members in Corinth were not to “be idolaters” or “commit fornication” like the children of Israel who wandered in the wilderness, and in chapter ten and verse nine of First Corinthians, Paul exhorted the church members “neither let us tempt Christ” where we read:

Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.

The verse begins, “Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, ...” Paul began with the word, “Neither” which means “nor and not once” “let us” which refers to Paul and the church members in Corinth “tempt” or “prove and test thoroughly” “Christ” which refers to “the anointed one, the Messiah and the Son of God”, “as some” or “like certain ones” “of them” which means “the children of Israel in the wilderness” “also” or “even and indeed” “tempted” which means “were made trial of and tested for the purpose of ascertaining their qualities, what they think or how they will behave themselves”.

The verse continues, “... and were destroyed of serpents.” Paul continued with the words, “and were destroyed” or “put out of the way entirely, abolish, put to an end and ruin” “of serpents” which means “by snakes”. The people in the wilderness who “tempted Christ” were bitten by “snakes” and killed.

When we consider these words from Paul, we see how he uses the illustration written in Numbers chapter twenty-one and verses four thru nine were the children of Israel in the wilderness “spoke against God and Moses” and asked whey they were “brought up out of Egypt to die”? They were hungry and thirsty and they “loathed” the manna God provided, and “the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people”. They “tempted Christ”, and the results were fatal. Paul exhorted the church members in Corinth not to be like these people, and neither should we speak “presumptively and disparagingly” against God. Jesus Christ desires for us to have a relationship with the Heavenly Father through Him, and when we do, we should have nothing with which to “tempt Christ”.

Next time Paul told the church members, “neither murmur”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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