The Corinthians were being warned by Paul not to get comfortable in their walk with the Lord. He used Israel in the desert many years ago to show how people can see the Lord at work and be blessed by Him every day, but still live in a way that makes Him angry. Going through the Red Sea was like being baptized. For some reason, the water seemed to come from the Rock, which Paul says was Christ with them. But when the test came, they showed that they didn’t believe in God at all.

The Israelites worshiped other gods, even though they had all of God’s gifts and thought of themselves as God’s children. They had idols from Egypt, some of them. When Israel heard what the spies said, they didn’t look to God for help, but to themselves. It showed that they worshiped other gods.

Paul is warning about a different kind of worshiping false gods. When we believe that we can save ourselves, our power and intelligence become idols. Israel could be just as worshipful of false gods as the church today. We know that God has blessed us and that His Word gives us spiritual food and drink, but then we look to politics, financial diversification, or a lot of other things to save us. God is the only one who can save us. We trust ourselves like Israel did at the edge of the Promised Land when we put our faith in something or someone else.

Think about it: Am I trusting something or someone other than the Lord?