Heed The Warning
1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.
6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry." 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.
11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.
Tommy's Thoughts:
Nothing is more frustrating about ourselves than making the same mistake we vowed not to repeat again. It might be pressure or stress that causes us to forget or ignore the lessons we’ve learnt in the past.
We might also be ‘gambling’ our way out of a problem by thinking we are capable of handling the situation or assuming things will be different this time round. This is often not the case. We will probably complicate matters further and get ourselves deeper into our problem or crisis.
As Christian, we have a great Reference to equip and prepare us for difficult situations ahead. Studying the Bible regularly reminds us of the many important and invaluable lessons from God. By going to His Word daily, our hearts and minds will be renewed. By heeding warnings revealed in the Bible, we can securely keep our feet on solid ground and flee away from temptations and dangers before they gain any foothold in our heart and mind.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for guiding me to dedicated my time daily to study the Bible. Thank You for the Holy Spirit for continually helping me to understand the meaning and importance of Your Word revealed in the Bible. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Bee's Thoughts:
Children like to test their boundaries and limits with adults. In so doing, many times they would hurt themselves. Sometimes we too behave like spiritual babes, testing our boundaries and limits with God even though we already have warning not to do certain things.
Yet God is gracious and full of compassion, and though we are such He still has mercy on us. But we cannot stretch our limit too much or we will be like the Israelites who died in the wilderness (v 5, 9, 10).
Dear Lord,
Help me to be obedient to Your word, help me not to complain or grumble. Help me trust that You work all things together for my good. Help me do things that will please You too.
