A L M A C I A S

LEARNING FROM OTHERS' EXPERIENCES

In the letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul wrote concerning what had happened to the nation of Israel after they came out from Egyptian bondage. (I Cor. 10:1-13) He did not go into detail of all that happened to them, but he did write enough for us to understand that he wanted the Corinthians, as well as us to learn from others so that we will not suffer the same consequences. Many today have come to believe that as long as one has obeyed the Gospel, all is well with the Lord. Such is not the case. Others believe that maybe we should not take the Scriptures so literally, for how could such a loving and merciful God do what He says He will do to those who do not obey Him? As we study what happened to the Israelites after they came out of Egypt, we find that it was never sufficient to just begin doing what God has commanded. It is necessary to continue doing what we have been commanded to do. The people of Israel were told what to do, and they promised that they would follow God¹s commands. Yet, after Moses had been gone for only a little while, they began to disobey by making a golden calf. After being reprimanded by Moses, they again promised to be faithful to the Lord's commandments; and yet, again and again, they disobeyed. And because many of them were unfaithful to their promises, God destroyed them in the wilderness.

What are some of the lessons that we can learn from that which happened to Israel? We learn that even though God is a living and merciful God, He has to do that which is right. God could not allow this people to do as they pleased and yet let them go unpunished. God, being all-righteous, needed to punish these people for their disobedience. And so it is with us today. From all of this, we must learn that if we disobey, as these people did, we also will be punished. Now, our punishment will not be the same as they suffered in the wilderness, but punishment will come to us in eternity.