Lessons #327 and 328
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Death of some Israelites in the desert (1 Cor 10:5-13)
…. 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
Recall the message of 1 Corinthians 10:5-13 that we have studying is that Enjoyment of God’s blessing under a good spiritual leader will not shield you from His judgment if you displease Him. We stated previously that there are three primary reasons for presenting the message of this section the way we did. The first, we have considered in detail, is that the Holy Spirit conveyed to us through Apostle Paul that the death of majority of the Israelites in the desert was because of God’s displeasure with them. A second reason is that the death in the desert of most of the Israelites that left Egypt is to dissuade believers from evil desires that we indicated is the concern of 1 Corinthian 10:6-10. Consequently, we considered four examples of the kind of evil desires that some of the Israelites who died in the desert were involved that we should avoid. Recall that these are idolatry, sexual immorality, putting God to the test, and grumbling. The third reason is because Israel’s experience in the desert is written down for us as examples and warning. This reason we stated is derived from the first sentence of 1 Corinthians 10:11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us. We also noted that we are privileged to live in the last days of the outworking of God’s plan with examples that have been written down regarding God’s reaction to idolatry, sexual immorality, testing of Him, and grumbling. We ended our last study with the exhortation that we should seize the privilege we have to live in way that is glorifying to the Lord and avoids His displeasure or judgment. It is with this exhortation that we continue our study today in verse 12.
Privilege whether physical or spiritual has the tendency to create arrogance in us as humans. You can see this easily among those who have physical privileges since some of these individuals are the most arrogant and abusive people on the planet. In effect, there are those with material or physical privileges that cause them to look down on others or mistreat them. For example, if a person belongs to a wealthy family, there is the tendency to look down on those who are not or even to think that others are lazy because they do not have as much wealth as themselves. Of course, such thinking is because those with that kind of privilege do not recognize that whatever they have is from God and so they should not be arrogant as that is what the Holy Spirit stated through Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:7:
For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
When I said that privilege, especially physical privilege, leads to those with it to abuse others, I am not only thinking of what happens in our world today but that such is that which characterized humans on this planet. The Scripture provides us examples of those who used their privileges or privileged position to mistreat others. A good example, that may surprise you is King David. How is that? You may ask. It is through his mistreatment of Uriah. David committed adultery with Bathsheba and killed her husband because of his privileged position as we may gather from 2 Samuel 11:1–4:
1In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. 2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home.
It does not appear that this incident of sexual sin of David mentioned here is because of his privileged position but it was. You see, no other man in Israel at that time would have seen a naked woman taking a bath and send for her to come to him for sexual intercourse. David did this because of his privileged position of power as the king of Israel. So, it is because of his privileged position that he was arrogant to be confident that the woman would not reject having sex with him. It was his privileged position that caused him not only to have sex with Bathsheba but to arrange for the death of the husband in the battlefield to cover his track.
Another example of someone that in arrogance used his privileged position to mistreat another person was King Ahab. It was because of his privileged position that he not only felt the need to ask for Naboth to give him his ancestral inheritance, but he indeed took possession of Naboth’s vineyard after his wife arranged for his death 1 Kings 21:15–19:
15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead.” 16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard. 17 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite: 18 “Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. 19 Say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’ Then say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”
It is true that Ahab did not personally arrange for the death of Naboth but the whole incident would not have occurred if he had not felt entitled to a man’s property because of his privileged position as king of Israel.
We have used examples of privilege in a physical realm that can lead to arrogant mistreatment of others, but spiritual privileges also create arrogance. This was the case with Israel. Apostle Paul tells us of Israel’s privileged position as we read in Romans 9:4–5:
4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.
Israel recognized their privileged position as God’s covenant people; otherwise, the apostle would not have written about their privileges as God’s covenant people. It is also because Israelites were aware of their privilege position that created arrogance in them that caused John the Baptist to say what is recorded in Luke 3:8:
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
The sentence We have Abraham as our father indicates that the Israelites were aware of their spiritual privilege that caused arrogance in some of them. The point is that privilege may create arrogance on the part of the privileged that could cause the person to mistreat others or look down on them. Of course, with privilege comes great responsibility as the Lord Jesus stated as recorded in Luke 12:47–48:
47 “That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. 48 But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
This being the case, those with spiritual privilege should be careful to ensure that they meet the expectation of their privilege.
I have been speaking on privilege and so you may wonder how that is related to the passage of 1 Corinthians 10:12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! that we are about to consider. “Where in this sentence is the concept of privilege given?” You may ask. Well, it is in the first word So of the verse. How is that? You may still ask. Let me show you how the word So conveys the concept of privilege.
The word “so” is translated from a Greek word (hōste) that may be translated “for this reason” or “therefore.” Using the meaning “for this reason” begs the question of what reason the apostle had in mind. The reason the apostle had in mind involves what he has written in preceding verses, especially in verse 11. The apostle had indicated that the experiences of the Israelites that died in the desert had been written down to warn us about being careful not to repeat their failures. Furthermore, the apostle indicated that we have privileged position as believers who live in the last days that have written information of God’s response to Israel’s failures in the desert. Based on these two references, the apostle issued the warning that comes next. We are saying that the written experiences of the Israelites who died in the desert have placed us in a privileged position in that we know with certainty God’s reaction to failures of His people when they displease Him. It is based on this privilege position we have that the apostle issued the warning in verse 12.
The warning the apostle states next concerns being careful not to become slack in the spiritual life because we are in privileged position that may lead us to assume that we are doing well spiritually. This warning is introduced in the NIV in the clause of 1 Corinthians 10:12 if you think you are standing firm. Most of our English versions did not use the word “if” in their translation since the Greek simply reads the (one) thinking he stands. This is because the apostle used a present participle in the Greek that requires us to understand he was describing a person with certain kind of thought expressed in the verse as reflected in majority of our English versions. For example, the NET reads one who thinks he is standing and the ESV reads anyone who thinks that he stands. However, a handful of English versions such as the NIV take the view that there is uncertainty as to whether the apostle was concerned with someone that is guilty of the kind of thought he states, so they introduced that element of uncertainty using the word “if.” Although it is possible to interpret the Greek participle as in the NIV, the Greek grammar requires us to recognize that the apostle was thinking in general of an individual that was indeed guilty of the thought process he stated literally the (one) thinking he stands or in the words of the NIV if you think you are standing firm.
The word “think” used in our verse of study is translated from a Greek word (dokeō) that may mean to consider as probable so means “to think, believe, suppose, consider” as it is used to describe what is expected of one who believes or is convinced of being religious as we read in James 1:26:
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.
The word may mean to appear to one’s understanding hence means “to seem” as Apostle Paul used it to indicate how he does not want to appear to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 10:9:
I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 10:12, the word has the sense of “to suppose,” that is, to think or believe (something) without being fully settled in mind or opinion.
The use of the word think in the clause of 1 Corinthians 10:12 if you think you are standing firm should teach us of the important truth that our thoughts affect us either negatively or positively in that they can create arrogance or humility in us. Our thoughts affect our actions. There is an interesting example in the OT Scripture that illustrates the fact that our thoughts affect how we act. Israel had defeated the king of Aram and his army but their defeat was attributed to their belief that the God of Israel was god of hills as we read in 1 Kings 20:23:
Meanwhile, the officials of the king of Aram advised him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they were too strong for us. But if we fight them on the plains, surely we will be stronger than they.
It is because of this thought that the Arameans under their king regrouped to attack Israel sometime later, as we read in 1 Kings 20:26–27:
26 The next spring Ben-Hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. 27 When the Israelites were also mustered and given provisions, they marched out to meet them. The Israelites camped opposite them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans covered the countryside.
The Lord revealed to His prophet that the Arameans would attack Israel because of their thought about the God of Israel as we read in 1 Kings 20:28:
The man of God came up and told the king of Israel, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because the Arameans think the LORD is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the LORD.’”
The Arameans were later defeated because they thought that the God of Israel was a god of the hills and not of the valleys. If they did not have this thought, they probably would not have attacked Israel when they did. Anyway, the point is that our thoughts affect our actions. It is because our thoughts affect our conduct that we are commanded to have positive thoughts that will affect our conduct as we read in Philippians 4:8:
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
It is because our thoughts affect our conduct that we are instructed to have proper evaluation of ourselves instead of evaluating ourselves more than reality permits as we read in Romans 12:3:
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
Anyway, it is important we have accurate or proper evaluation of ourselves to keep us humble and away from pride and deception since when a person over evaluates self that person would be in self-deception as the Holy Spirit informs us through Apostle Paul in Galatians 6:3:
If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
The same reality that we are capable of self-deception is found in Apostle Paul’s caution given in 1 Corinthians 8:2:
The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.
Be that as it may, it is in part because we are capable of self-deception that we have the clause of 1 Corinthians 10:12 if you think you are standing firm. The sentence you are standing firm is translated from a Greek word (histēmi) that can mean to literally stand up on someone’s feet as in the instruction of the Lord to Paul at the point of his conversion, as per his testimony in Acts 26:16:
‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.
The word may mean to validate something that is in force or in practice so may mean “to uphold, maintain” as it is used regarding the law in Romans 3:31:
Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
The Greek word can mean to stand firm so as to remain stable hence means “to stand firm, to hold someone’s ground”, as it is used in Romans 14:4:
Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
The first “stand” in this passage is to be understood to mean “to stand firm” or “hold one’s ground” although the entire clause to his own master he stands or falls probably meant whether one maintains one’s status or relationship to a master depends on the master’s judgment or evaluation. The word may mean “to stand firm in belief,” or “to stand firm of personal commitment” as the word is used by Apostle Paul to commend the Corinthians, so to say, of standing firm in what they believed not because he and his team are their lords or have controlling power over them but because of their faith in God, as we read in 2 Corinthians 1:24:
Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.
It is in the sense of “to stand firm” of what one believes that the Greek word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 10:12.
The meaning of the Greek word translated you are standing firm enables us to know what it is that one is claiming. The believer who is presumably in self-deception claims to be committed to the Christian faith, that is, to say that the person assumes to be fully committed to Christ and His word so that there is no possibility of failing spiritually in a way that would be disastrous to the individual. In the context, the apostle probably was thinking of those who claimed to have knowledge that he mentioned in 1 Corinthians 8:10 that have become arrogant as those he described as being puffed with knowledge in 1 Corinthians 8:1 who think that they could go to the temples of the idol and not be affected by what takes place in it. This kind of claim of some in Corinth is one that is likely to be found among those who attend Bible teaching local churches or those who go to church regularly and never miss, outside being sick or being mandated to work. Those who regularly attend Bible classes or church may easily think that they are committed to Christ because of their faithful attendance to where Christ is worshipped or where He is supposed to be worshipped through the study of God’s word. When a person is in that kind of environment, the individual is like Apostle Peter prior to his denial of the Lord Jesus. Peter in his human arrogance believed that he had stood firm in his loyalty or commitment to Christ that when the Lord Jesus informed His disciples, they would deny Him when He would be arrested, Peter did not think that was possible as we learn from the interaction between him and the Lord. The Lord Jesus announced His denial by the disciples as we read in Matthew 26:31–32:
31 Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written:
“‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’32 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
Because Peter has been with the Lord throughout His earthly ministry, thought his commitment to the Lord was unwavering as he stated by claiming he would not deny the Lord even if the other disciples did as we read in Matthew 26:33:
Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”
The Lord responded to Peter’s statement by being more specific concerning his denial of his Master as we read in Matthew 26:34:
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”
Peter still convinced he was committed to the Lord, that is, that he was standing firm in his belief and so not capable of failing by denying his faith in the Son of God that he uttered what is recorded in Matthew 26:35:
But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same.
The gospel records indicate that the Lord was correct since Peter denied the Lord as He told him he would. Peter’s arrogance of thinking he had stood firm in his belief in the Son of God was due to his continued acquaintance with the Lord during His earthly ministry. Peter practically went everywhere with the Lord. In fact, he was among the inner circle of the Lord as indicated by the Lord taking him along in special occasions. In the transfiguration experience of the Lord, He took Peter with him along with James and John as we read in Matthew 17:1:
After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
On the occasion when the Lord raised Jairus daughter from the dead, the Lord Jesus took Peter with Him, according to Mark 5:37:
He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James.
So, one gets the sense that Peter was often close to the Lord Jesus during His earthly ministry. It was this familiarity with the Lord that caused him to think he was committed firmly to the Lord, that is, that he was standing firm to his faith in the Lord and was incapable of failing the Lord by denying Him. As we have indicated, his claim was proven wrong when he denied the Lord three times under intense pressure. It is because of Peter’s experience that I believe those who are devoted to the study of the word of God in local churches or who attend church faithfully may think that they are standing firm in the faith or that they are unwavering in their commitment to the Lord that they are not in danger of failing spiritually in a way that is disastrous to them.
All the same, the clause of 1 Corinthians 10:12 if you think you are standing firm and Apostle Peter’s experience should remind us that we are all capable of thinking that we are committed firmly to what we believe about the Lord Jesus Christ and the word of God so that we do not think that we will fail spiritually in a way that is disastrous to us. If we can assume that we are standing firm in our faith, how can we tell if that is true? There are at least two ways we can test ourselves to see if we are indeed standing firm in our faith to avoid failing in a way that is disastrous to us. The first is a test of not wavering from what we have been taught from the word of God. It is this test that is implied in what the Holy Spirit said through Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:15:
So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
The command stand firm is essentially the same as the command hold to the teachings or should we say that the second command explains the first. The implication is that when a person stands firm in the person’s faith that individual holds to what the person believes. The person understands what it is that the individual believes and so can hold his/her ground when attacked, by defending what the individual believes. If you are unable to defend what you believe, it is doubtful that you utterly understand what you believe since you would not be carrying out the instruction of 1 Peter 3:15:
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
If you remain firm, you will not only defend yourself, but you will not allow anyone to sway you so that you return to what you have rejected as pagan practices. In this way, you hold your freedom in Christ by rejecting traditions that are not biblical. A second test you can apply to yourself to determine if you are standing firm in your faith is that of lifestyle. This means that you should test yourself to see if you are habitually living according to truth of God’s word. This test is implied in what the Holy Spirit gave through Apostle Paul in Philippians 1:27:
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel.
The apostle conveyed to the Philippians that it is their conduct that is in keeping with the gospel of Christ that would enable him to know that the Philippians are standing firm in their faith. Hence, if you test yourself with the consistency of your conduct in keeping with the word of God then that would enable you to know that you are standing firm in your faith or that you are remaining committed to your faith in the Lord Jesus in such a way that you will not fail spiritually with disastrous result on you.
It is possible that you pass the two tests that we have given but because we are still prone to acting in a manner that is contrary to what we believe, we are cautioned to be careful in our faith. It is this caution that is given in the command of 1 Corinthians 10:12 be careful that you don’t fall! What is the Holy Spirit saying to the Corinthians and so to us in this command and how do we obey it? To answer both questions, requires consideration of two Greek words used.
The expression “be careful” is translated from a Greek word (blepō) that may mean “to see,” that is, to perceive with eyes as in the instruction given by the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul to the Corinthians about focusing on heavenly things than earthly ones in 2 Corinthians 4:18:
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
The word may mean “to watch, be aware of” in the sense of being ready to learn about something that is needed or is hazardous, as it is used in the instruction of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul to the Galatians concerning backbiting each other as in Galatians 5:15:
If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
The word may mean “to be careful” as it is used in the instruction of how one conducts self as a believer as stated in Ephesians 5:15:
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 10:12, it is used with the meaning “to watch carefully,” that is, “to be vigilant,” “be on the lookout” or “to be careful.”
The word “fall” in the command of 1 Corinthians 10:12 be careful that you don’t fall! is translated from a Greek word (piptō) that may mean “to fall down” as in the experience of Apostle Paul when the Lord Jesus first appeared to him as we read in Acts 9:4:
He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
The word may mean to fall in the sense of “to experience loss of status or condition,” so can refer to being ruined completely or fall in a moral sense as that is the way it is used to describe fall from state of grace in Romans 11:11:
Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 10:12, the word means “to fall” in the sense of suffering defeat, failure, or ruin.
Our consideration of the two Greek words used in the command of 1 Corinthians 10:12 be careful that you don’t fall! enables us to interpret what the apostle meant. He meant that we should be spiritually vigilant to ensure that we are not defeated spiritually in the sense of falling into sin with disastrous consequences that may involve punishment by death as some of the Israelites experienced. Some of the Corinthians experienced death because they abused the Lord’s Supper as the apostle stated later in 1 Corinthians 11:29–30:
29 For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
The Israelites of the exodus generation suffered spiritual defeats manifested in the sins the apostle had already mentioned, such as idolatry, sexual immorality, testing God, and grumbling. The command be careful that you don’t fall is not merely that we do not fall into these sins of the Israelites that died in the desert but that we should be careful that we are not arrogant so that we do not even recognize that we have been defeated spiritually probably because the Lord did not immediately discipline us. As I have stated previously, those who are in Bible teaching congregations are more vulnerable to this kind of spiritual defeat because they may relax spiritually because they attend regular Bible classes or services but may not be advancing spiritually because they associate being in Bible class with spiritual growth. There is no doubt that Bible class is associated with spiritual growth but that is only the case if there is application of what is heard. So, we all are being warned that we should be spiritually vigilant to ensure that we do not become spiritually defeated by sin.
To the second question of how to obey the command of 1 Corinthians 10:12 be careful that you don’t fall! We have noted that the command means that we should be spiritually vigilant to ensure we are not defeated spiritually with disastrous consequence that may even involve death. The way we go about this is by being spiritually vigilant. Spiritual vigilance is paramount in the life of believers. This we can trace to the instruction of the Holy Spirit through Moses to Israel to be vigilant not to forget God’s work among them as we read in Deuteronomy 4:9:
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
It is quite easy for us to forget the many wonderful things God has done for us when we face other difficulties of this life. Some of us under such conditions forget that the Lord has answered their prayers in the past and has shown His goodness to them and so they begin to question God’s ability to do something for them or they think He has forgotten them. A believer who thinks that God has forgotten the individual would be in danger of falling to the same sin of the Israelites that died in the desert, I mean the sin of testing the Lord. Anyway, it is important that we recognize how urgently we need to remain spiritually vigilant.
How do we go about being spiritually vigilant? The primary way of ensuring that one is spiritually vigilant is attendance to the word of God since every other thing that we can do to ensure we are spiritually vigilant requires knowledge of the word of God. This requires that we pay attention to the instruction the Lord gave to Joshua as he took the mantle of leadership from Moses as we read in Joshua 1:7–8:
7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Many believers know this passage by heart or can refer to it, but I wonder how many that have noted the sequence of the instructions in these two verses. The instruction begins with requirement of obedience to the law before the instruction to learn the words of the Book of the Law. I am saying that we have first in verse 7 Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you then the instruction in verse 8 meditate on it day and night. Granting that Joshua already knew of some of the contents of the Law, but he would not have known every part of it or remember every part of it. Thus, we would expect that the first instruction would be for him to meditate on the word of God then obey it. I suppose that the reason the Holy Spirit put the subject of obedience before meditation is to get us to recognize the importance of obedience. There are many Christians who enjoy the teaching of the word of God because they are stimulated in the mind or because they acquire new information each time they attend Bible class, but they go no further than that, resulting in little spiritual growth. Thus, the Holy Spirit wants us to recognize that learning the word of God is the first step to attending to God’s word but an important aspect of attending to God’s word is applying what one learns. This is the reason the Holy Spirit through Moses continued to hammer Israel with the instruction to obey what they hear taught to them, as for example, in Deuteronomy 5:32:
So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left.
It is because of the importance of carrying out the instruction one hears taught from the word of God that the Holy Spirit says through James that it is really of little value if the only thing one does is to hear the word of God taught but does not put it into practice, so we are commanded to be those who carry out the instruction of the word as in James 1:22–25:
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
The point we are emphasizing is that we should recognize the importance of obedience to what we learn from God’s word. Having emphasized the concept of obedience, the Holy Spirit through the instruction to Joshua focused his attention to the study of the word of God in the command of Joshua 1:8 meditate on it day and night. This instruction could be understood as either referring to corporate worship of Israel where the word of God is to be read or private worship where the word of God is to be read daily. We are concerned with personal application that concerns how a believer would remain vigilant spiritually. This being the case, the instruction is that a believer should spend time daily in the word of God. It is preferrable that the believer listens to adequate teaching of the word of God followed by personal reading of the Scripture. In other words, the believer should read the Bible and then get teaching of the Scripture from one that has the gift of teaching. A believer who does this daily will be equipped to being spiritually vigilant so long as the individual follows that up with application or obedience to the word the person learns.
Learning of the word of God on a consistent basis should help a believer in dealing with his/her thought since spiritual vigilance requires handling of our thoughts. A believer will be bombarded with thoughts that will lead to wanting to act independent of God or not to submit to His word. In short, the believer must filter his/her thought to ensure that every thought is in keeping with the word of God. This requirement of filtering thoughts to bring them in keeping with the word of God is the essence of the declaration of Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 10:5:
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Notice that the apostle stated we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. To remain spiritually vigilant requires monitoring your thoughts to ensure that they are in keeping with the word of God. For example, a believer may be tempted to become arrogant by thinking of self in a manner that is not warranted by reality as we have mentioned previously. If such a believer is grounded in the Scripture, the person could handle that thought by remembering the Scripture that cautions against such thinking as stated in a passage we cited previously, that is, Romans 12:3:
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
The command Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment should enable the believer to be humble and not think highly of self. If a believer fails to evaluate self properly then the individual would become defeated in thought since the individual would evaluate self wrongly similar to what the Lord charged some in the church of the Laodicea, as we read in Revelation 3:17:
You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
It is true that one of the constant bombardments of the thoughts of believers is towards pride of self, but we are often bombarded with the thoughts that lead to anxiety. Therefore, spiritual vigilance requires that a believer should watch the attack of anxiety that could lead to question God or to not trust Him. It is because we are prone to anxiety that the Lord issued the command to the disciples that is recorded in Luke 21:34:
“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.
The command Be careful is similar to the one we are considering in the 1 Corinthians 10:12, hence this passage in Luke implies that spiritual vigilance requires guiding against anxieties of life. As you guide against worrying, you should also be on the guard regarding the association you keep as that will affect your spiritual life.
A second way to ensure that you are spiritually vigilant is to remain prayerful since prayer is part of the offensive weapon that a believer should use in the spiritual warfare that we are engaged in. The Holy Spirit, through the pen of the Apostle Paul, commands prayer on all occasions, as we read in Ephesians 6:18:
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Thus, you should learn to depend on the Lord by constantly praying, asking for wisdom to know when there is spiritual danger that could lead you to fall spiritually with disastrous consequences. If you do this, the Lord will enable you to be vigilant so that you are not defeated spiritually.