Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church

The Impressing Israelites

1 Corinthians 10:6-13

August 1, 2021 anno Domini

You know how your story ends – or to use Saint Paul’s language – you are those “on whom the end of the ages has come.”  Because you believe in Jesus you know where you are going and what the journey will be like. There will be temptation and suffering. You will sin against those you love, and you will be sinned against. There will be pain and sorrow. Some of your children might believe. Others might not. You will die (unless Jesus comes back first.)  With each passing day you know you’re getting closer to the age of everlasting life, to resurrection of your body.

You know the end of your journey – the joy of seeing Christ face to face.  The peace and rest of your Father welcoming you into the heavenly mansion. The family reunion banquets in which we will feast around the Lamb who was slain and now lives. In Christ this is where you are going.  In Christ this is your certain destiny. In Christ you’re going home to the new earth, to a risen body with ears that can hear perfectly and knees that will bend easily and a body that can work all day long and not grow weary.

That is why we must learn from the Israelites in the wilderness. They too knew the end of their story – the promised land, the land flowing with milk and honey, living in homes they did not build and drinking wine from vineyards they did not plant. They had seen the Lord’s salvation. Moses led them out of slavery in Egypt.  He baptized them in the Red Sea when their enemy Pharaoh was drowned. Moses led them by God’s Word and God’s Bread and God’s Water, to the edge of the promised land.

Learn from them.  They are an example to us.  That word example is the Greek word “typos” from which we get our word “type” as in “typewriter.” Some of you know what a typewriter is.  As you pressed a letter on the keyboard a metal key embossed with the letter would strike a ribbon and impress ink on a paper. Amazingly, typewriters worked without electricity or the internet. This word typos means that the Israelites example should strike us, hit us hard, metal and metal, and impress the truth on us.

What is the truth?  600,000 Israelite men left slavery in Egypt. Two of those men crossed the Jordan into the promised land.  (Read vs. 12)

Impress these sins in your heart and avoid them.  (Read vs. 7) The Israelites were barely out of Egypt.  Moses was on Mount Sinai in the presence of God hearing God’s wedding vows to His people. The people got impatient. Since they couldn’t see Moses or God they had Aaron make a god they could see and worship – the golden calf.  Then they rose up to play – a Hebraism for sexual immorality. In the middle of the wedding Israel fooled around with a false god.

Nothing has changed in our temptations. We can’t see God so we worship things we can see. Being healthy is a good gift of God, but COVID has revealed health as an idol with Dr. Fauci as its high priest and the vaccine as the sacrament. Wealth is a gift of God, but that too can be an idol. Money is believed to be the answer to the world’s problems.  If everyone had the same amount of money the world will be at peace.  If every school got enough money every child would succeed. If I had more money, I could buy my way to happiness by retiring early and serving myself what I want. But both rich and poor die.  Healthy people also die. The things you can see will not save you.

In the midst of their idolatry at Sinai they rose up to play. The false worship of what you can see leads you to the worship of what you can feel. Sexual immorality is the new normal. You’re reading books your grandmother would have burned and then washed your eyes out with soap. You’re watching shows that would have been x-rated a decade ago. Divorce, adultery, and pornography addiction are as common in here as they are out there.  (Read vs. 8)

St. Paul, in verse 9, hits us with one of the hardest hammers against sin in Scripture. This verse strikes hard.  (Read 9) Christ was with the Israelites in the wilderness, for Christ is the greater Moses. Christ is the life-giving bread from heaven.  Paul says the Rock which followed the Israelites and gave them water was Christ. The crossing of the Red Sea is called their Baptism – they went in dead slaves of Pharoah and they came out alive and free. Every sin they committed tested Christ. How long will Christ bear with an idolatrous, immoral, abusive bride? You don’t know, but when you willfully sin you’re testing Christ to leave you.

You might think I have asked the impossible of you this morning. That you stop sinning. Is there any other way to understand this Word of God given from St. Paul to the Corinthians.  Read these words and tell me they mean something else. These Words are not impossible, because you have faith in Jesus. The end of the ages has come upon you.  You know where you are going. To your faith, for your journey, Saint Paul says (Read vs. 13)

The Israelites did not face any new temptations in the wilderness.  Your temptations are not new nor are they great. They are common temptations, ordinary temptations. Because of Jesus you are no longer a common or ordinary human. Your sin has been forgiven. The Spirit is dwelling in your body. He has given you a new heart. Your body and soul are being sanctified and made ready for eternity and the resurrection. You can fight temptation and you can win. God will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. There are unhappy Christian couples who don’t get divorced. There are even divorced Christian couples who remarry each other. You have brothers and sisters who have stopped committing adultery. There are many men who have beaten their porn habit. There are Christian tongues that don’t grumble and hearts that don’t lust. You’re a Christian. You have Christ. You have life. You have hope and a future.  You can fight sin and you can beat it.

You also have God’s promise for the fight.  With temptation He will provide a way out. This fight against sin is not a one and done battle.  It isn’t like winning a Gold Medal at the Olympics and your quest is over.  Until Christ comes it is a day in and day out battle.  Sometimes you’ll bear the temptation and win. That is Christ’s victory in you. He’s the way out. Sometimes you’ll lose, you’ll succumb in weakness. The way out of that is also Jesus. The way out is His forgiveness. In the fight when you win, don’t become proud. When you struggle and lose a round, do not despair. You know the way out of this wilderness of sin and death. His name is Jesus. He died for your sins. The very reason you are fighting is because you believe Jesus has forgiven you.   

Be impressed by the Israelites. Let their example hit you hard and have an impact on you. Do not be idolaters. We must not indulge in sexual immorality. We must not put Christ to the test or grumble about the gifts of God. These temptations are common, but you are not. You are baptized. You are forgiven. You are living forever. You’re on your way to the promised land of the resurrection.  In the name of Jesus.  Amen.