1 Corinthians 10:6 (WEB)

Passage

Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

Nearby Context

1 Corinthians 10:4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.

1 Corinthians 10:5 However with most of them, God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

1 Corinthians 10:6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

1 Corinthians 10:7 Don’t be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”Exodus 32:6

1 Corinthians 10:8 Let us not commit sexual immorality, as some of them committed, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "things", "examples", "intent", "should", "lust", "after", and "evil". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "things" and "examples", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "However with most of them God was..." into verse 7's "Don t be idolaters as some of...", so "things" and "examples" belong inside that flow. In 1 Corinthians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "things" and "examples" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.