«　WEEK 11　DAY 1　»

　　1 Cor. 10:11 Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our admonition, unto whom the ends of the ages have come.

　　Num. 14:29-30 Your corpses shall fall in this wilderness, and none of you who were numbered,...who have murmured against Me, shall come into the land, in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

　　Paul's use of the word examples [in 1 Corinthians 10:6] is very significant....First Corinthians takes the history of the children of Israel in the Old Testament as a type of the New Testament believers. In chapters 5, 7, and 8 they have experienced Christ as their Passover and have begun to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Here in chapter 10 they have been baptized unto their Moses (Christ), passing through their Red Sea (the death of Christ). They are now eating the spiritual food and drinking the spiritual drink that they may take their journey (the Christian race) toward their good land (the all-inclusive Christ). They are also warned here (v. 11) not to repeat the history of the children of Israel in doing evil against God, as illustrated in verses 6 through 11. (Life-study of 1 Corinthians, p. 421)

　　The goal of God's calling the children of Israel was to enter into the promised land to enjoy its riches that they might establish God's kingdom and be God's expression on earth. However, although all had been redeemed through the passover, delivered out of the Egyptian tyranny, and brought to the mountain of God to receive the revelation of God's dwelling place, the tabernacle, nearly all fell and died in the wilderness, failing to reach this goal (Heb. 3:7-19) because of their evil doings and unbelief. Only Caleb and Joshua made it into the good land (Num. 14:27-30). This signifies that although we have been redeemed through Christ, delivered out of Satan's bondage, and brought into the revelation of God's economy, we may yet fail to reach the goal of God's calling, that is, to enter into the possession of our good land, Christ (Phil. 3:12-14), and enjoy His riches for the kingdom of God that we may be His expression in the present age and participate in the fullest enjoyment of Christ in the kingdom age (Matt. 25:21, 23). This should be a solemn warning to all New Testament believers. (Life-study of 1 Corinthians, pp. 421-422)

　　We need to read the history of Israel as our history. Without God's mercy and grace, we would be the same as they. Thus, we must be very much on the alert. We should not think that it is a small thing to touch the church, the church life, the way of the church, or the ground of the church....Without the church, God has no way to go on. In the Old Testament, the children of Israel were God's way. If God had not been able to accomplish His purpose with them, He would not have had a way on earth. Today the church is God's way. It is therefore a serious matter to touch the church, to say something evil or good about the church. (Life-study of Numbers, p. 155)

　　God's full salvation, which He intended for the children of Israel, included redemption through the passover lamb, exodus from Egypt, feeding by the heavenly manna, thirst-quenching by the living water from the cleft rock, and partaking of the riches of the good land of Canaan. All the Israelites shared in the passover lamb, the heavenly manna, and the living water, but of those who shared the exodus from Egypt only Joshua and Caleb entered into the good land and partook of it; all the rest fell in the wilderness (Num. 14:30; 1 Cor. 10:1-11). Though all were redeemed, only the two overcomers, Joshua and Caleb, received the prize of the good land.

　　According to what has been depicted of the children of Israel, not all believers who have been redeemed through Christ will partake of Christ as a prize to them as their rest, their satisfaction, both in the church age and in the coming kingdom. (Life-study of Hebrews, pp. 283-284)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of 1 Corinthians, msgs. 47-48