“…our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,and all ate the same spiritual food,and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.” 1 Cor 10:2-6
A unique generation.
Not every generation has the privilege to live through a special moment or a series of special moments when God moves in unique ways. For 400 years multiple generations only experienced God’s silence. And suddenly there is one generation that experiences God’s incomparable presence – the ten miracles that freed them from Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea, the provision of water and food in the desert, etc.. We don’t know why, but God by His mercy and grace decided that he will step into history in unprecedented ways during the lifetime of that generation. Not many generations can say that they lived through history-changing miracles.
A generation that failed.
That generation’s unique opportunity to experience God carried unique responsibilities. They failed to live up to the privileges and to the blessings God granted them.
Their unique experiences didn’t change their wicked heart. The problem is not the lack of signs and evidences of God’s love, grace, provision and presence; the problem is the malevolence of the human heart. The best & most unique God-moments and experiences did not change that generation’s evil heart. The generation of Jesus is a proof of that, too. The Pharisees saw the miracles, even saw the dead risen by Jesus, yet they murdered Jesus.
Miracles will not make us believers. Miracles don’t change the heart. Miracles just reveal what is in the heart.
That unique generation experienced:
- God’s presence & protection: as they left Egypt “under the cloud”
- God’s power over nature: as they ”passed through the sea…”
- God’s renewing mercy: when they ”all were baptized”
- God’s provision: as they ”all ate the same spiritual food & drank the same spiritual drink.”
- God’s only Son: as they they drank from the Rock that followed them, which was Christ himself.
The Rock, Christ himself followed them and supplied all their needs.
Yet, “with most of them God was not pleased”. Your special experiences with God does not mean that God is pleased with you.
The first time a whole generation experiences the Presence, the Protection & the Provision of Christ Himself was a generation living 1500 years before He came in flesh. They reject Him. This forecasts that when Christ comes incarnate He will be rejected no matter how many miracles prove His presence and power. Where Christ enters into human history he is viscously attacked, rebelled against and murdered.
His presence reveals our true nature: we are God-murderers and god-makers. We murder and hate the true God and we make our own gods.
Our problem is not the lack of evidences of God. Our problem is the overwhelming evilness of our heart. God can give us the best experience, He can immerse us into His presence and provision – and our heart can still remain unchanged, because the human heart is full of deceit.
There are generational consequences for generational behaviors & beliefs.
The generation which experienced God’s miracles was not allowed to enter into God’s presence & into God’s promise. The unique experience they had didn’t grant the privilege to enter into the Promise of God. The unique experience God graciously allowed you to have is not a guarantee for you to finish the race well.
This story proves that every generation would kill Jesus. Ours would, too.
Some generations are warning signs. They teach us by their example how not to live and what not to follow.