1 Corinthians 10:5

But with many of them God was not well pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

In this passage the apostle offers a few pages from the history of ancient Israel as a warning example for those that are in danger of yielding to carnal security. Out of the entire number of adult Israelites that left the land of Egypt only two, Joshua and Caleb, entered the Promised Land. Therefore the lesson should be heeded: For I do not want you to remain in ignorance, brethren, that our fathers all were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea. Paul openly speaks of "our fathers," thus identifying the New Testament Church with the true Israel, Romans 4:1; Romans 11:17. When the children of Israel left Egypt, the land of their bondage, the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to show them the way, Exodus 13:21. And the entire congregation also passed through the Red Sea as on dry ground, the Lord Himself causing the water to stand like a wall on either side, Exodus 14:22. The merciful presence of God surrounded and accompanied them at every step of their journey. Note that all the Israelites, without exception, escaped from the house of bondage, that they em> all were included in the miraculous deliverance in the Red Sea; and yet most of them afterward perished! Paul states; furthermore, that they all received their baptism unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea. The cloud and the sea together became the elements by which the children of Israel were cleansed to the Lord, separated as the people of the covenant. Thus the cloud and the sea were types of the New Testament sacrament of Baptism; they were God's seals and pledges of His merciful promises, just as the Sacraments are in truth today. Through the cloud and through the sea God saved His people from the tyranny of Pharaoh and led them forth to freedom. And thus God, through Baptism, delivers us from the power of Satan and transfers us into His kingdom, to be His free, blessed children forever. In saying that the children of Israel were baptized unto Moses, the apostle means that they entered into intimate relationship or fellowship with Moses, as the mediator of the divine manifestations; they took upon themselves the obligation to follow him faithfully as the leader given them by God, Exodus 14:31, even as a believer baptized unto Christ makes Him the great Leader of his life, Galatians 3:27.

But the recital of God's mercies to the Israelites is by no means exhausted: And all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. That was the way in which their life was sustained. They all ate spiritual food, food from heaven, manna given by God for this exclusive purpose, Exodus 16:13 ff. Not once, but twice, they were given water to drink out of a rock, by an obvious miracle of the Lord, Exodus 17:1; Numbers 20:2. Both food and drink, however, were not intended merely for the maintenance of the physical life, but also for the sustenance of the spiritual life. In this respect the food and drink of the Eucharist are fitting, and likewise surpassing, anti-types of the miraculous food and drink of Israel in the wilderness. Now as then it is the Word of God which gives effectiveness to the meal, but with varying success in believers and unbelievers. The miraculous water is further explained by Moses: For they were drinking, during the entire course of their wilderness journey, from the spiritual Rock accompanying them; but that Rock was Christ. While their mouths partook of the water flowing at their feet, their spirits were refreshed through faith in Christ, present with them as the Rock of their salvation. "That is, they believed in that same Christ, although He had not yet appeared in the flesh, but was to come later: and the sign of such their faith was the physical rock, from which they drank water, just as we in the physical bread and wine upon the altar eat and drink the true Christ spiritually, that is, in eating and drinking externally we exercise our faith internally. For if those had not had God's Word and faith while they were drinking water out of the rock, it would have had no value for their souls."

But how did the people repay the wonderful kindness of God? But not was God well pleased with the majority of them, for they were laid prostrate in the wilderness. On account of their unbelief and hard-heartedness, Hebrews 3:19, God's ill-pleasure, His wrath and indignation, were provoked. He had patience, He turned to them again and again, but they would not give Him the whole-hearted obedience which He demanded, and so His punishment descended upon them. By various particular judgments, of which Paul speaks afterward, the entire older generation was destroyed, failing to reach the Promised Land, with the exception of only Joshua and Caleb. "What a spectacle for the eyes of the self-satisfied Corinthians: all these bodies, full-fed with miraculous nourishment, strewing the soil of the desert!" (Godet.)