Paul is dealing with several issues in this chapter: testing/temptation, holiness and love. The testing portion - encouragements and warnings; holiness - flee from idolatry and sexual immorality; and love - considering others when making choices in life.
For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea.
1 Corinthians 10:1
I've read this before but it just struck me that to say this implies that the readers were Jewish. I'd have to check but most, if not all, of the churches started by Paul had a significant gentile component as well. So this just was interesting.
Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry." We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.
1 Corinthians 10:6-8
The encouragement is that the difficulties we face are faced by others as well, so keep going. The warning here are in lessons learned from bad choices of others and the consequences they faced. Idolatry and sexual immorality ruined many lives, so stay away from them.
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:12-13
A warning against pride and complacency. If we think we are standing firm, that is a dangerous place.
Temptations come to all of us. God allows them and he is faithful and doesn't give us beyond what we can bear.
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons.
1 Corinthians 10:21 NIV
The warning of idols is that while they aren't gods, there is spiritual power behind them so we shouldn't mess with them.
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