Learning From History

Dec 31, 2019

Good Morning Fellow Travelers,

Read: 1 Corinthians 10:1-12


“There remains therefore a rest for the people of God…. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.(Heb 4:9, 11)


What would your life be like if you had no yesterdays? It would be nothing. Without a past, we are without knowledge, without remembrance, and without a basis for thought. We would have no frame of reference whatsoever.

We are the product of our yesterdays. Yesterday is our history. It is our story. From yesterday came the influences and experiences that have affected our lives to make us what we are today. Is history important? It most surely is. Someone has said that if we ignore history, we are bound to repeat it. We are beneficiaries of history.

The most important aspect of history is the story of God’s dealing with man. Here within God’s history book—the Bible—we find our foundation and hope for all of life. 1 Corinthians 10:11 states clearly that the past has given us examples and that these examples are given for our admonition and learning. So the story of the scriptures are representative of the things we need to know. Ignore them to your peril.

Biblical history is vital to our lives today for the following reasons:

1) History gives life meaning. What do you have that you did not receive from history? History gives our lives comparable values. We do not live in a vacuum. We rejoice that today is enriched by yesterday. Today is a gift, blessed by yesterday and potentially touching tomorrow.

2) History instructs us. The whole purpose in recorded history is to teach. Verse 11 of our text verifies this as it reminds us what happened to those who murmured. We should not murmur as some of the Israelites murmured and were destroyed. Will we allow scripture to admonish us who are living in the latter days?

3) The word of God as history gives a foundation to our faith. A stranger to the Christian faith might naturally think it strange and silly that we Christians in 2016 would spend an hour or two meditating on the words spoken two thousand years ago. They would wonder what bearing this could have on our lives today. Truth does matter. What is recorded in the Bible has influenced man and his government since it was written, and still influences us today in ways you cannot even imagine.

Our history will depend on our appreciation of history. How will we resist deception? By continuing in the things we have learned from history (2 Timothy 3:13-17). All change and innovation must pass the test of historical, Biblical truth.

Let’s appreciate history. We are at the end of a funnel, receiving all the blessings of combined history. Make the most of it.

~ James Baer ~

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2 Responses

  1. Your article made no mention of the Sabbath.
    This verse is saying that we risk perishing/ going to hell if do not labor to enter the Sabbath Rest. Best I know to be Saturday.

    I am personally struggling with teaching this. I can’t say your article is incorrect, but it does not address what the verse is saying.

    Perhaps I am looking for company as I struggle with teaching this, hoping that you could show me that I was wrong in my conclusion.

    If this verse is true do you realize the trouble 95% of the church is in?

    1. @Jahshueth I should perhaps have replaced that verse with a different one better suited for that post. But I don’t veiw that verse as saying anything about what day of the week we should worship. Rather, it is speaking of spiritual rest. It may even refer to the eternal rest we receive when we reach glory. In the context it speaks of the children of Israel who disobeyed and were banned from Canaan and died in the wilderness. The post was about learning from history. If we disobey God and rebel against Him like they did, we will not reach our “Canaan”. Canaan can typify various things in the Bible. Some people think it typifies heaven. Personally I feel it typifies the Christian life, since the Israelites still faced struggles in Canaan and there will be no struggles in heaven. To turn this verse into a proof-text for keeping the Saturday Sabbath seems to bypass its purpose. If you want to continue this discussion by email let me know, and I’ll email you an email address to use.
      –Lester

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