“Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.” (1 Corinthians 10:6)
Paul warns the Corinthians because there was something going very wrong in their community of believers. If they didn’t change, things would not end well.
Paul employs the children of Israel as an example for the believers in Corinth. The Israelites were not permitted to enter the Promised Land because of their lack of faith. They served false gods and rejected the spiritual blessings God offered, therefore God rejected them. Only the next generation of the Israelites was allowed to go into the land of Canaan.
Likewise, the Corinthians lived in a pagan society where idols were worshipped.
They were no different before they knew that Jesus Christ was their Saviour.
Through Paul’s preaching of the gospel, they came to faith. They knew the only true God, and now they must leave behind the pagan festivals and focus on the true worship of God. They weren’t to test God, but to remain faithful to Him.
God would not bring them into situations they couldn’t cope with. He would give them the strength to endure temptation and pressure from their pagan environment.
Temptations are part of life for us too. But we can be more than conquerors because God is faithful and will never test us more than we are able. In this way we may enter God’s Kingdom.