These Things Were Written for Our Instruction
A Biblical Analysis of How Paul Uses Exodus in 1 Corinthians
This article is the first in a series of biblical analyses that Collin and I may publish. The purpose of these is to take a closer look at a particular passage of scripture, and model for the reader how to read the bible carefully. I hope you enjoy!
These Things Were Written for Our Instruction
In the Apostle Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, he instructs the church how to live in light of gospel truths. Paul carries a burden for the church because the Corinthians are not living lives that flow from the gospel. In Chapters 8–10, Paul unpacks the issue of Christian eating: namely, whether they may eat food sacrificed to idols.
In Chapter 10, Paul exhorts the church with a strong warning against idolatry. In verses 1-4, he draws on the example of the people of Israel after the exodus during their wanderings in the wilderness. He warns them that despite the spiritual blessings they experienced in the wilderness, most of these Israelites were unfaithful to God and died in the desert outside the promised land. According to Paul, these events serve as an example for us, and are meant to warn us to not follow in the path of those unbelieving Israelites.
In this analysis, I will argue that Paul sees typological correspondence between the Israelites' wilderness wanderings and the current state of the NT Church (and by extension, the church today). Paul warns the Corinthians that despite experiencing many spiritual blessings and having the signs of communion with God in the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper, idolatry remains an existential danger to them. To establish this thesis, I will first examine the Exodus passages that Paul references in their original context to understand their function in the Pentateuch. Then, I will analyze 1 Corinthians as a whole to show how Paul develops his argument concerning idolatry. Finally, I will explore the correspondence Paul sees between the Corinthian church's condition and the wilderness wanderings of the people of Israel, and consider a few points of application for the church today.
The Wilderness Wandering in the Pentateuch
Dr. Sam Emadi1 suggests that we can view the Exodus in three geographic episodes:
Episode 1: In Egypt (Chapters 1–15:21)
Episode 2: In the Wilderness (Chapters 15:22–18)
Episode 3: At Mount Sinai (Chapters 19-40)
In Chapter 15:22, we read that "Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur." Thus began "The Wilderness Wanderings." During this period, the people of Israel were marked by a grumbling spirit. Despite the Lord's miraculous deliverance from the Egyptians through the plagues, the Passover, and the parting of the Red Sea, the people expressed their discontent with the Lord, even declaring that life was better for them back in Egypt. In spite of their grumblings, the Lord graciously provided for his people. We can observe an interesting chiastic structure in the pattern of complaint and provision:
a. The people grumble for lack of water, and the Lord provides by turning the bitter waters sweet (Ex 15:24-25)
b. The people grumble for lack of food, and the Lord provides manna from heaven (Ex 16)
a’. The people grumble for lack of water, and the Lord provides water from the rock. (Ex 17:1-7)
I would suggest that this structure is intended to indicate the persistent nature of the Israelites' grumbling posture toward the Lord. They did not grumble because the Lord had poorly provided for them—in fact, He had showered them with spiritual blessings throughout the entire Exodus. Rather, the people grumbled because they had grumbling hearts. In the words of Ezekiel, they had hearts of stone.
Another important detail to note is that the third time the people grumble, the Lord provides water in a unique way. The Lord tells Moses in Ex 17:5-6,
"Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink."
Commentators2 have noted that this episode may correspond with the sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis 22 and therefore carries substitutionary undertones. I will revisit this when we consider how Paul interprets this passage in 1 Cor 11.
The main thrust of these passages in the book of Exodus can be put thus: Despite the Lord's gracious and even substitutionary provision on behalf of His people, they persist in their ungrateful, grumbling attitudes.
What is the Problem that Paul is Addressing in 1 Corinthians 10?
In chapters 8-10, Paul is addressing the issue of Christian eating. Specifically, in the Corinthian church there were Christians who were eating food that was sacrificed to idols, which troubled the conscience of their neighbors. In verses 9:24-10:22, Paul gives the Corinthians a specific admonishment in light of this issue: they must flee from idolatry!
In the first few verses of chapter 10, Paul calls to mind the Israelites (their forefathers) in their wilderness wanderings. He highlights that the Israelites enjoyed many spiritual blessings, but despite these blessings, they were overthrown in the wilderness and did not inherit the promised land. He instructs the church that "These things took place as examples for us" (v.5) and later "Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction" (v.11). What example should the Corinthians learn from? Verse 7 tells us: "Do not be idolaters as some of them were. As it is written 'The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play'". Commentators have suggested that the phrase "rose up to play" is likely a reference to sexual immorality that took place among the people during their wilderness wanderings.
The point Paul is making is put well by Dr. Andrew Naselli in the ESV Exegetical Commentary:3 "Why is it important for Christians to continue to live like one? Because our eternal life depends on it. So we must exercise self-control and flee from idolatry." Paul emphasizes that just like the Israelites, despite experiencing spiritual blessings, the Corinthian church must continue in faithfulness to the Lord lest they be cut off from Him like their forefathers.
What is the Correspondence between the Wilderness Wanderings and the Corinthian Church?
The key to understanding how Paul employs Exodus 15–18 to make his point in 1 Corinthians 10 is to understand the correspondence he sees between the wilderness wanderings and the current condition of the Corinthian church. In 1 Cor 10:1–4, we can see enough to sketch out a broader framework for how Paul understands the Exodus to be paradigmatic for salvation.
First, Paul mentions how the people of Israel were baptized into Moses, in the cloud, and in the sea. For the apostle Paul, baptism is a sign of death and resurrection. He then speaks of how the people ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink. In light of his instructions on the Lord's Supper in chapter 11, Paul makes a connection between the Lord's miraculous and self-sacrificial provision of manna from heaven and water from the rock, and His provision of the Lord's Supper through Christ's death. Paul even goes so far as to say that "The Rock was Christ" (1 Cor 10:4). We should understand Paul to be speaking typologically here, seeing a correspondence between the water that flowed from the rock that sustained the Israelites in the wilderness when the Lord was "struck," and the blood of Jesus which sustains us as Christians that flowed from Christ himself when our Lord was "struck."
Having observed these things, I would propose these connections between the Exodus and the salvation that Christ accomplished for believers (New Exodus) in the New Covenant.
Exodus
Egypt →
Plagues →
Passover →
Red Sea Crossing →
Manna in the Wilderness and Water from The Rock →
Conquest of the Promised Land
Theological Reality
Unclean Realm of the Dead →
Judgment of God on Sin →
Atoning Sacrifice of a Perfect Substitute →
Death and Resurrection unto Newness of Life for the People of God →
God's Self-Sacrificial Provision of Himself to Sustain His People →
Inheritance of a New Eden in the Presence of God
New Exodus (New Covenant Reality)
Living in Sin (Spiritual Death) →
God's Returning to Judge Sin in the Last Days →
The Death of Jesus →
Baptism →
The Lord's Supper →
The Inheritance of The New Heavens and New Earth by All of God's People
I am arguing that Paul saw, and understood these connections, and that they inform the comparisons that he makes between the Israelites’ wilderness wanderings and the Corinthian church.4
They Were Examples for Us
Paul looks at the Israelites who had just experienced a miraculous exodus salvation from Egypt, and who are now being sustained by the Lord self-sacrificially as they journey towards the promised land, and sees correspondence with the Corinthians, who had just experienced a New Exodus salvation and who are now being sustained by the very body and blood of Jesus as they journey towards the eschatological promised land. Paul sees how, despite the salvation that the Israelites experienced and despite the manifold blessings they received and the ways God had provided for them, the people of Israel fell into idolatry and failed to inherit the promised land. In 1 Cor 10, he looks at the Corinthian church and warns them not to do the same.
A Few Points of Application
These things were written down for the Corinthians' instruction, as well as ours. What then can we learn from this?
1. You Christian, like the Israelites, are in a time of wilderness wandering.
Just as the Israelites once lived in Egypt, you once lived in sin and death. Just as the Israelites were delivered from death by the blood of an atoning sacrifice (the spotless lamb), you have been delivered from death by the blood of Jesus. Just as the Israelites were baptized in the Red Sea, you have been baptized into Christ—literally united with him in his death and resurrection. Just as the Israelites were sustained by manna from heaven and water from the rock as they journeyed toward the promised land, you are now sustained by the body and blood of Christ as we journey toward the New Heavens and New Earth. We are a pilgrim people, called to be faithful, trusting the God who delivered us from Egypt, for He has promised that He will see us through the wilderness and deliver us safely to the promised land (Phil 1:6).
2. You Christian, must flee from idolatry
Therefore, we should read the book of Exodus and heed the warning. Paul reminded the Corinthians about this because he wanted them to understand the real and present danger it posed. He emphasizes that despite God's blessings to Israel, most of them perished in the wilderness. He makes this point to show the Corinthians that the same fate awaits them if they drift into idolatry. The free grace theology5 that pervades much of the evangelical church today has made points like this nearly incomprehensible to many Christians—but the truth remains. We must flee idolatry. It is, for you, a matter of eternal life and eternal death.
3. You Christian, should trust the Lord in light of his displayed faithfulness
Despite God's consistent faithfulness to Israel, they were unfaithful in return. They were short-sighted, stiff-necked, and quick to forget the Lord's promises. As we read the Old Testament, it is astounding how quickly the people of Israel distrusted the Lord, even though He had proven Himself nothing but trustworthy. We should not be like them. We should turn to the Scriptures and see the character of our faithful, covenant-keeping God. We should remember the saving work He has wrought in our lives—the New Exodus salvation He accomplished in Christ. His past faithfulness to us should be the grounds for our present faithfulness to Him.
You can find more from from Dr. Sam Emadi and Dr. Jim Hamilton on the exodus by listening to their podcast, bible talk. https://www.9marks.org/podcast/bible-talk/
For an extensive analysis of Ex 17 from Dr. Hamilton: https://jimhamilton.info/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/tdp-pp-193-218.pdf
ESV Exegetical Commentary, pg. 304
Much of the ideas and language used here flow from Dr. Jim Hamiltons lectures that he gave on the book of Exodus at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, aswell as his book Typology https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/review/typology-understanding-the-bibles-promise-shaped-patterns-how-old-testament-expectations-are-fulfilled-in-christ-2/#:~:text=Typology%20seeks%20to%20illustrate%20that,4).
“Free Grace Theology” is a theological system that has become widespread in many evangelical circles. Collin and I will soon write an article addressing the dangers of free grace. In the meantime, see https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/reviews/free-grace-theology/