Lesson 470

(Lesson 470)(11-28-12) 1 Corinthians 10:1-12, "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. 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. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."

　

In this lesson, Paul explains how we are all interlinked with Moses and therefore heirs of the covenant with those who fled Egypt. "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea"
NOTE: The term "baptized", as it is applied in this passage, means "united with, or molded into". There is no implication of water immersion in this passage. At the crossing of the Red Sea, the Jews crossed over on dry land, they were never immersed in water.
Jesus, centuries before his human birth, guided the forty year journey of the freed Hebrew People. Though few recognized it, Jesus' presence, and a semblance of His inevitable Crucifixion, was exposed when Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert so that those who would simply walk by and look at it, would be saved from it's bite (sin). Jesus became sin, (the serpent) so that sin (the serpent's venom) would have no affect on those who believed.
Romans 8:3, in part, "God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:"
A serious, Holy Spirit guided, study of the old testament prepares Christianity with a full understanding of the "operation of God". It gives us insight into the reason and method behind the coming of our savior.
This lesson also demonstrates how the Hebrew people, even though Moses had received their instructions and commandments straight from the mouth of God, continued in sin. Openly worshiping idols and defying the one true God. These things are examples that, without Jesus Christ, we cannot achieve salvation.~