There is a quote many of us have seen about serving as an example. “Everyone in life has a purpose, even if it’s to serve as a bad example.” (Carroll Bryant)
My mother often served as an example. She had emotional and mental insecurities and was often unstable in her relationships with family. She gave me some wonderful things – a love for music, reading, writing. But she also gave me an example of the type of mother I did NOT want to be to my children.
I used her example and tried to do things in a better way than she did. Did I always succeed? (You’ll have to ask my children.)
Twice in 1 Corinthians 10, Paul reminds us not to follow the things done by the nation of Israel in the wilderness.
Vs6: “Now these things became examples for us, so that we will not desire evil things as they did.” [HCSB]
Vs11: “Now these things happened to them as examples, and they were written as a warning to us.” [HCSB]
Paul discloses “these things” as desiring evil, becoming idolatrous, committing sexual immorality, testing God, and complaining.
We are to allow the bad examples of the Nation of Israel to warn us not to do the same things that brought death and destruction to them.
