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"Observe Israel after the flesh:"

Text: 1 Corinthians 10:18

DRAWING LESSONS FROM ANCIENT ISRAEL

The Scriptures devote much time to ancient Israel, for good reason. Many are the lessons that may be learned from Israel.

“Observe Israel after the flesh:
Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?
What am I saying then?
That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything?”
1 Corinthians 10:18-19

1. “Observe Israel after the flesh”

a) This was Paul’s way of describing Israel as a nation.

b) “After the flesh”

i) This is not a disparaging remark against ancient Israel.

ii) Israel’s activities had lessons that must be learned.

2. The religious practices of Israel

a) The altar

i) This was where sacrifices were offered to the Lord.

ii) The altar was central to Israel’s worship system.

b) Partaking of the sacrifices offered to God

i) Part of the sacrifices were given to the priests who conducted the sacrifices.

ii) Part of the sacrifices were returned to the worshippers.

c) The act of eating

i) It was not just partaking of food.

ii) It was partaking of food offered to God.

iii) There was “holy communion or fellowship” with God in this symbolic act.

3. “What am I saying”

a) Paul was especially sensitive when he wrote about food offered to idols (1 Corinthians 8).

b) He showed the same sensitivity as he wrote further on this subject.

c) The danger of misunderstanding was high.

d) The idea of “holy communion” with God was not an easy concept to understand.

4. Was Paul contradicting himself?

a) He had written earlier that an idol was nothing (1 Corinthians 8:4).

b) He had not vacillated and changed his stance at all!