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Today's Pathway: I Corinthians 10:9-10 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.

Yesterday we saw that Paul listed four sinful activities that Israel was involved in after He brought them out of Egypt which ultimately caused Him to overthrow them in the wilderness. The first two were idolatry and immorality. The third one is found in verse 9: tempting Christ. The word "tempt" does not mean that they were tempting the Lord to sin, but rather that they were putting Him to the test. Numbers 11:4 tells of the original event, and Psalm 78:17-21 describes what happened:

"And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most High in the wilderness. And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust. Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? can he provide flesh for his people? Therefore the LORD heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel."

"And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died."

Remember that Paul wrote that these stories from Israel's past were given as examples for New Testament Christians (I Corinthians 10:7). Jack Arnold offers the following application:

"Some of the Corinthian Christians were testing the Lord with the questionable conduct in doubtful things. They wanted to see how close they could get in libertinism and pagan idol worship without being burned by God. They were in danger of being disqualified. Christians today are constantly testing God, trying to push Him to the limit in patience to see how close to the fire they can get without being disciplined. They see how much sin they can get away with. They play games with God. They test Him in the areas of materialism, worldly attitudes, recreations, sexual morals, church attendance and a thousand other areas. God will only let the Christian go so far before He lowers the boom. Testing God displeases Him, and our testing becomes a basis for disqualification from the spiritual race."

The fourth sin on Paul's list is murmuring. This is the end result of "tempting" God. In addition to thinking about how unfair God was to them, the Israelites began to verbalize it. They complained about the manna (Psalm 78:20). The grumbled about the water (Exodus 15:24). They murmured about Moses' leadership (Numbers 16:42). The even murmured against God Himself (Numbers 14:26-27). Why is grumbling such a big issue? Because when I grumble, murmur, or complain, I am saying that God doesn't know what He's doing, or that He isn't doing the things for me that He should be doing. I am questioning His wisdom, His authority, and His love. What a terrible thing to do to the One Who has provided salvation for me! If He gave His Son for me, how can I complain that somehow He is not treating me the way I think He should! We may think of murmuring as not being a very "sinful" sin, but notice that Paul lumps it in with idolatry, immorality, and rebelling against God's choices in my life. It is serious; so serious that after the Jews murmured against Moses in the case of Korah's rebellion, God killed 14,700 of them with a plague (Numbers 16:49).

Are you a complainer? Do you think that God hasn't been fair with you? Do you challenge His will? If so, be careful, lest you be overthrown.