“Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.”

What value is there in the OT for Christians today? Of course, many find solace in the book of Psalms. The book of Job helps sufferers and philosophers contemplate the problem of suffering. The Song of Solomon gives a glimpse of romantic love; Proverbs, wisdom for living; Ecclesiastes, a warning against the vanities of life apart from God. The more spiritually mature or biblically astute folks appreciate the deeper understanding of God as revealed in the prophetic books. But what about the history books of the OT, namely Genesis through Esther, all the way from the formation (or genesis) of God’s people among the nations to their captivity in Babylon? What value is there in all that? Isn’t it all just dry history?

Paul evidently thinks not. That history is full of poignant examples not only for the Corinthian readers, but for us today as well (he repeats this in 1 Corinthians 10:11 as well). The word “example” comes from the Greek word “tupos,” which also means a copy, image, or model. The theologians of the past spoke of OT “types,” where God specifically intended certain figures or events in the OT to pre-figure Christ, like a shadow points to the figure that casts the shadow—the difference being that the shadow or type comes first, and He that casts the shadow, namely Christ, comes later.

Without a doubt we can see the shadow of Christ in many places in the OT, and we can certainly see Paul identifying the rock as Christ (vs. 4), in the sense that the rock pre-figured or foreshadowed Christ. Indeed, we would expect this of Paul after he announced that he “determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). Yet Paul has application in mind, for theology must always affect our behavior. So in the OT history we see examples of how not to live, or as Paul puts it here, “so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.”

Notice the use of the pronoun “us” and “we.” Paul has believers in the crosshairs. Though we are sanctified, enriched in Christ, not lacking any spiritual gift, confirmed to the end blameless and called into fellowship with God (1 Cor. 1:5–9), we can still be subject to the temptation of having evil desires. What are those evil desires? A simple survey of Paul’s letter reveals: sectarianism, pride, judgmentalism, sexual immorality, tolerance for sexual immorality, to name a few. Yes, we believers can fall to these, so we must be warned. The study of OT historical books has great deterrent value for believers today.

Lord, thank You for the examples You give to warn me against craving evil.