Chapter 10
V1-2 Having thoroughly responded to the questions posed to him in the preceding chapters, Paul reminds the ecclesia that the Hebrew forefathers, in the exodus from bondage in Egypt, and their succeeding wilderness wanderings, were an example of the Christian walk that one goes through, leading to victory or loss, as he shall elucidate. Having received great revelation from Yeshua the Messiah, Paul proceeds to reveal the types and antitypes found in this most significant period in history. The deliverance of the believing captives from Egypt, being supernatural in nature, represented the spiritual deliverance of believers in Messiah from the kingdom of Satan.
Believing Hebrews and mixed multitudes, placed the blood of the lambs on their doorposts, of which supernaturally prevented death of the firstborn. The antetype is Messiah’s blood on the stauros/cross, stake which if one believes in, delivers them from eternal spiritual death. The cloud represented the Holy Spirit, who protected the Hebrew nation and the mixed multitudes who chose to believe in YHVH too, in whom they were baptized by crossing through the red sea. A born-again Christian is baptized by water and fire/Holy Spirit, of which was typified by the red sea (water baptism) and the cloud by day and fire by night (Holy Spirit). Moses was the mediator between YHVH Elohim and Israel. Hence, they were baptized unto Moses their mediator. Yeshua was to be the prophet to come after the similitude of Moses, the eternal mediator unto whom all believers were to be baptized unto, through belief in His death and resurrection and redemptive power of His blood cf Deut 18:15-20.
V3-4 The spiritual meat referred to is the manna which was representative of the body of Messiah, which is the daily bread prayed for in the Lord’s prayer cf Deut 8:2-3; Jn 6:31-35. Spiritually the daily bread is literally the Word of Elohim, of whom Yeshua is Jn 1:1. In previous commentaries, we have discovered that the Word is synonymous with Torah, of which Yeshua personifies Isa 2:2-3; Mic 4:2. The spiritual drink is representative of Yeshua’s blood, which is living water that gives eternal life cf Ex 17:5-6; Jn 7:37-39. The rock that was struck by the staff of Moses was the type of Yeshua the Messiah who was struck at calvary for living waters (the Holy Spirit) to be poured upon all believers cf Deut 32:4,15.
V5 pleion translated ‘many’ is better rendered ‘the major portion’. Indeed, the majority of Israel did not enter the promised land. Of those over 20 years of age, only 2 men out of 600 thousand, Joshua and Caleb, made it into the promised land cf Num 14:26-35. It is a sad reality, grossly ignored in the pulpit, that a vast number of professing believers, may not make it into the kingdom of Elohim. There is no urgency being preached in the churches to instil the fear of YHVH in our hearts, in order for the church to wake up from the deep slumber of a false sense of security. We need to stop breaking the Torah, and to preach the true gospel, bearing fruit through addition of true disciples into the kingdom, if we are to have a fighting chance of completing this most peril ridden path to salvation. Paul outlines the reasons for YHVH’s wrath against Israel in the wilderness in the following 5 verses.
V6 Firstly, Israel lusted after kakos/worthless wickedness cf Num 11:31-34; Ps 106:14-15. As Christians it is imperative that it be preached in the churches that baptism and justification through belief in Yeshua does not give lifelong insurance from the penalty of sin, which is death and hellfire, for those who continue to deliberately transgress Torah. This was typified in the continual sins of the forefathers in the wilderness who, after redemption from Egypt by the blood of the lamb, and baptism in the sea and cloud, never achieved salvation typified by the promised land of Canaan, as their walk in the wilderness which is a type of our Christian walk, was riddled with transgression of Torah.
I beg you dear beloved to consider how dire a state the current church is in, under great delusion and deception that once saved we are always saved. Redemption is not salvation. We are redeemed at the outset of our belief in Messiah, but must walk a righteous life, sanctified by the Holy Spirit to the very end of our lives, in order to be saved. Lust truly is worthless. Fleeting carnal pleasures have sent many a saint to perdition, and it truly is not worth it in the grand scheme of things. If life is but a vapour compared to eternity, why lust for pleasures that are equally a vapour compared to our vapour of a life! When viewed in this respect, we should be encouraged to flee carnal pleasures, whose end is eternal damnation.
V7 cf Ex 32:6-8; Ps 106:19-20. Idolatry is the second sin, already touched upon by Paul in ch 8, which was another major sin which denied the forefathers salvation. Eating meat and drink offered to idols is clearly amongst the reasons for YHVH’s subsequent wrath, for those who misinterpret ch 8.
V8 cf Num 25:1-9. Fornication was the third sin accounting for the wrath of Elohim. The discrepancy of the figure of 24 000 vs 23 000 has been an age-old bone of contention, of which great false impetus has been drawn upon by anti-Bible scholars who consider it errant and hence unworthy of legitimacy. The Holy Spirit never allows for doubt, by precision of phraseology, which always proves the Bible right.
Note that Paul, clearly by either revelation from Yeshua Himself, or from extra-biblical sources in Paul’s day, which may have given greater detail to the event, does not contradict the 24 000 figure. He merely states that of that figure, so great was the plague that decimated the fornicators, that 23 000 of the 24 000 were slain in just one day. The other 1000 would have perished on a different day or number of days. The narrative in Numbers 25 as was predicted would happen in the Torah commandment prohibiting marrying/associating with heathen cultures, shows how fornication leads ultimately to idolatry cf Deut 7:3-6.
V9 cf Ex 17:2,7; Num 21:5-6; Ps 78:18. Fourthly, testing Elohim’s omniscience and patience is a deadly sin of blasphemy. We must never ekpeirazo/test thoroughly Elohim. Note that the Numbers narrative refers the test as being against YHVH Elohim, yet Paul lays it as against Messiah. This is one of numerous evidences that Yeshua is YHVH Elohim, His role being the Son in the triune Elohim-head of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
V10 cf Num 16:41-49. Fifth, and quite frightening is the sin of gogguzo/murmuring, grumbling. Though seemingly innocuous, it is a sin worthy of hellfire. We live in a blameworthy society, persistently grumbling and murmuring about life’s events, hardly ever taking introspection into our lives to judge ourselves instead, in order to rectify our own flaws to tackle whatever challenges may befall us. Murmuring is an easy way out, yet so detrimental to our spiritual health, with grave consequences.
V11-12 The Holy Spirit ensured detailed inclusion in the Holy writ of this period in history of the wilderness wanderings, not for leisurely casual reading, but for our exhortation, to place the fear of YHVH in our hearts, so as not to trifle with the laws of Elohim, but to consider them as life-giving when obeyed, versus assured eternal damnation if transgressed cf Deut 30:19-20. In v11 it is clear that Paul lived under a mindset of the imminent return of Messiah.
Although almost 2000 years have since elapsed, we must also live the same with a healthy fear and trembling and reverence of our Messiah, taking His Torah seriously, never wanting to be caught unawares on the wrong side of the law, if we are to gain eternal life rather than eternal damnation, at the completion of our earthly sojourn. We must never at any time assume that we are guaranteed salvation, but face each new day with a spirit full of fighting power, against evil, with the intention of living through each day with new victories, pressing on to perfection cf Rom 11:20; Pro 16:18; 2 Pet 3:17; Pro 28:14; Phil 3:13-14.
V13 peirasmos translated ‘temptation’ is better rendered ‘trial’. Elohim will not allow any trial inflicted upon a believer by the kingdom of darkness, no matter how difficult, to be so unbearable as to cause us to give in to Satan. I can only presume for instance that the pain that the Christians suffered in the Roman colosseums, attacked and killed by wild beasts, was to some degree minimized, as was that of the torture chambers of the Roman Catholic church throughout the ages. The trials to be suffered in the great tribulation shall surpass those of all of mankind’s history, yet YHVH shall not permit them to be so great as to give in to the mark of the beast. True Christians shall prefer beheadings to the irreversible mark that shall lead to assured perdition cf 2 Pet 2:9; 2 The 3:3.
V14 The theme of idolatry and the need to steer clear of it is reiterated again, going against any ambiguity that may be perceived of Paul’s teaching in ch 8.
V15 Paul addresses the self-professed phronimos/intelligentsia of the ecclesia, advising them to krino/judge, scrutinize his following words carefully.
v16 -17 Passover meal opens with a prayer of thanksgiving, after which the first cup of sanctification is drunk. Bitter herbs are eaten next followed by singing of Ps 113-114. The second cup of praise or of plagues is drunk followed by eating of the lamb and unleavened bread. The third cup of blessing or of redemption is drunk next followed by singing Ps 115-118. Lastly the fourth cup of acceptance is drunk. The cup of blessing mentioned by Paul is indeed the communion of the blood of Messiah, as it is the cup of redemption too Lk 22:20. The bread broken, as Yeshua spelt out clearly in Lk 22:19 is representative of His body beaten for us, by whose stripes we were healed 1 Pet 2:24. By definition we are each as believers, part of the bread, as we are the framework of Yeshua’s body.
V18 Having described the spiritual Israel that we are in Messiah- Jew and grafted in Gentile-Paul then compares physical Israel’s participants in the sacrificial service who eat at the altar, as in essence being part of the framework of Elohim’s body by being partakers of the service, just as we Christians are part of the framework of Yeshua’s body by being partakers of the bread. The point being made here is that consuming the food at the altar or consuming the bread at communion, identifies one as being part of the body of the deity being revered. For Israel and us Christians that deity being YHVH Elohim, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
V19 Paul then nails his point succinctly. Regarding these Corinthian readers of the epistle, who foolishly think they are wise and find no fault in eating food sacrificed to idols, Paul asks them from the deduction he has made in v16-18, whether or not he is saying the idol or the food offered to it is of consequence. Undoubtedly, these self-professed wise men would clearly get the picture that by so partaking in the eating of the food revered to these idols, the participant, like that of communion for Yeshua’s remembrance, and that of sacrificial foods in the sacrificial system of Israel, would also be declaring to be part of the framework of the body of the idol!
V20 For the stubborn reader refusing to get the gist of the logic, Paul spells it out to eliminate any misconstrued interpretation, that food sacrificed to idols, is indeed significant, and cannot be considered nothing by those who think they have knowledge cf ch 8:4. The idol is a representation of the daimonion/demon power behind it, and hence food sacrificed to idols, is in actual fact rendering the participant a koinonos/partaker, fellowship of the framework of the body of that demon. This is totally contrary to Torah cf Ex 20:3-5. Paul rightfully teaches against eating food sacrificed to idols.
V21 Repetition is used to show how Holy communion for Yeshua who is our true YHVH Elohim, must not be contravened by partaking in communion to demons using idols as a facade. One is either in one camp or the other. We cannot pussyfoot around this matter and expect to leave unscathed.
V22 Partaking in food sacrificed to idols is playing with fire. Provoking YHVH’s jealousy ends in His wrath against such instigators of it. Ex 20:5 clearly expresses the wrath of YHVH Elohim upon the instigator of that jealousy extending as far as the third and fourth generation. Idol worship and participating in its customs is a deadly sin. I am forced to raise the issue of halal meat sold worldwide, which is meat slaughtered for Allah, the most worshipped false god under the face of the earth today. I implore you dear reader to take Paul’s teaching on this matter very seriously, if we are to avoid rousing the ire of YHVH the Most High Elohim.
V23 Paul quotes the Greek saying of that era, of which these self-professed men of wisdom were utilizing to condone eating of food sacrificed to idols. All things may appear lawful to someone, but not all things are sumphero/profitable. Rousing YHVH’s wrath as a result of deliberately eating food sacrificed to idols/demons, surely is not profitable to one’s eternal destiny, nor to that of up to the third or fourth generation for that matter. All things may appear lawful, but certainly not all build up a believer spiritually. There cannot be any gain spiritually in any form or shape by partaking in food sacrificed to demons. What tomfoolery.
V24 Paul is exhorting us to not selfishly wish to prosper alone through our actions, but rather to ensure that we are uplifting others during our spiritual walk towards salvation cf 8:12-13; Rom 14:19;15:2.
V25 It is essential to read this verse in context with the succeeding ones up to v28. It will readily be noticed that Paul is referring to meat bought by a non believing host, serving a believing guest who has been invited into the host’s home for dinner. It is clearly prohibited to dine in a pagan shrine, as the food would undoubtedly have been sacrificed to idols. However, some Corinthians must have wondered if this extended to a pagan home where meat of unknown origin was being served.
Because some leftover food sacrificed to idols, found its way into the makellon/meat market, shambles, Paul advised that one should never ask the host serving the food, of the origin of the meat, so as not to sensitize their conscience, if they were to discover that the meat had been previously sacrificed to idols. In essence he was promoting ignorance which in this case is bliss i.e. what you don’t know won’t kill your mentality. In the world we live in however, Satan and his emissaries are so daring as to label food as being sacrificed to idols e.g. halal food sacrificed to Allah, which leaves us no choice but to have our conscience sensitized. In such a case it is prudent that we steer clear of such food.
V26 This quotes Ps 24:1; 50:12. This was a blessing recited by the Jews when food was set before them, to thank Elohim for the food. Both the Tosefta and the Talmud:
“One must not taste anything until he has [first] recited a benediction [over it], as Scripture states, The earth is the Lord’s and all that it contains (Ps. 24:1)” (t.Berachot 4:1).
Berachot (Hebrew: בְּרָכֹות Brakhoth in Talmudic/Classical Hebrew, "Blessings"; also Berachos) is the first tractate (Hebrew: masekhet) of Seder Zeraim ("Order of Seeds"), a collection of the Mishnah that primarily deals with laws relating to plants and farming, hence the name.
Paul was in no wise declaring in this verse that all foods inclusive of non-kosher food are free to be eaten. This was not the context at all, as is more than apparent in the repetition of this Psalm in v28, after Paul clearly declares that one must not eat food discovered to have been sacrificed to idols.
V27-28 These verses place v25-26 into context. When v25 and 26 are read alone, those who promote abrogation of Torah claim that Paul was licensing the consumption of all meats including non-kosher. However, v27-28, beyond a shadow of a doubt relates v25-26 to the debate over eating food sacrificed to idols. Being in a pagan nation, the Corinthian saints were inadvertently to be summoned to meals by their fellow pagan associates. In order not to sensitize their conscience, Paul hence advised to not question where the meat set before them had been sourced from. However, if the host were to declare beforehand that the meat had been sacrificed to idols, then because the conscience would be sensitized to know better, one was advised to refuse that food, to prevent wilful sinning. Ultimately Paul was demonstrating sins of ignorance, which are worthy of atonement versus sins of deliberate commission, which no sacrifice atoned for cf Lev ch 4; Heb 10:26-29.
Paul repeats Ps 24:1 demonstrating that there is abundance of food on this earth, which in the parameters of Torah is to be blessed.
V29 Paul again reiterates that it is essential to set a good example of Torah keeping, as a weak immature saint who may observe a mature one breaking Torah (ignorantly or otherwise), may cause confusion, and encourage the weak one to break Torah, in essence making him twice the child of hell, and the mature Christian also being held accountable for this fall cf Matt 23:15.
V30-31 Further admonition given to ensure that one partaking in the grace of Elohim, be not found to be a transgressor of His Torah, lest he be blasphemo/reviled for being a charlatan. Christianity has lost a great deal of appeal in our time due to very poor handlers of the faith, who are seen acting out a false form of piety every Sunday in church, yet Monday to Saturday openly and shamefully sin in the midst of non-believers. Religions such as Buddhism and Islam have gained more followers from the pool of potential Christian converts, especially in traditionally Christian nations, due to greater discipline displayed by the followers of these false religions of devils.
Christians living under deception even misinterpret this verse to mean that liberty in grace referred to here, means freedom from Torah. That is how so out of touch the churches of today have become, peddling doctrines of devils/demons cf 1 Tim 4:1-2. V 30 rather is stating that if one in the liberty of the grace bestowed upon him by Elohim, should partake in giving thanks to Elohim in the parameters of Torah as exemplified in v28, then why would one feel the need to speak evil of such a righteous saint. It is a rhetorical question promoting one not to attract derision from other saints, weaker or stronger, for duplicitous Christian conduct. Eating the cup of blessing and eating of the bread representative of the body of Messiah, must ultimately be done to the glory of Elohim, not smeared by partaking in food and drinks offered to demon gods.
V32 To place the nail in the coffin of Torah abolitionists, Paul cannot possibly be misinterpreted having laid this statement. If he was indeed abolishing kosher laws, by whatever non biblical power he may have felt bestowed unto him, he certainly would have offended the Jews. If he was promoting eating of food sacrificed to idols, he would have offended the Jews and the body of Messiah referred to here as the ecclesia of Elohim. Lastly Paul mentioned the Gentile hosts who may invite a Christian for dinner. By refusing to ask where the source of the meat served was from, he would not be offending the Gentile, and if anything would have the opportunity to preach the gospel in that home to make a convert of the occupants, all for the glory of Elohim, without any wilful breaking of the law. With this in mind, one can fully comprehend Paul’s statements earlier in 9:19-23.
V33 Paul’s mission ultimately was to bring as many people as he possibly could to Messiah, in the short period of time that he had sojourning this earth, all within the boundaries of Torah, so as not to offend anybody, and most of all not offend YHVH Elohim his one true Elohim. There is no greater rewarding experience in life than to be able to fulfil such a mission for the glory of Elohim, and we should be encouraged to follow suit.