1 Corinthians 10:6-8

1Co 10:6 These catastrophic judgments happened as examples for us, so that we would not lust for evil things the way they lusted for evil things.

1Co 10:7 Do not become idolaters, like some of them, just like the scripture says “the people sat down to eat and drink and got up to entertain themselves.”

1Co 10:8 We should not commit sexual sin, like some of them committed sexual sin, and 23,000 died in a single day.

entertaining ourselves to death

The story is told in Numbers chapter 25.  It seems that some Moabite prostitutes were quite effective in luring Israelite men into both promiscuity and idolatry.  The result was that God sent a plague.  God’s anger was not appeased until Israel’s judges had killed all the men who had so sinned.  Altogether, there were 24,000 who died in the plague, so it must have lasted more than a day.

The problem in Corinth was the same.  The believers were being tempted to entertain themselves the same way as the others in their culture did.  Paul’s word to them – and all of us – is that such entertainment is deadly.

LORD, may we find our pleasure in obeying your will, not in transgressing it.