The Old Testament has commandments and laws galore, many of which were “fulfilled” and made better by Jesus.  The narrative also provides many examples of behaviors that are pleasing or offensive in the eyes of the LORD.  In 1 Corinthians 6. 6-11, Paul alludes to a number of incidents, from the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness in Exodus, that serve as examples of conduct to avoid:

• Do not be idolaters; the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play, describing the incident of the golden calf (Exodus 32.1-6).
• Do not indulge in sexual immorality; some of them did and 23,000 fell in a single day (Numbers 25.1-9).
• Do not put Christ to the test; the people were impatient for lack of food and water so some of them were destroyed by serpents (Numbers 21.4-9).
• Do not grumble; the Israelites complained about hardships (Numbers 11.1), the scary parts of the Promised Land (Numbers 14), and about the leadership of Moses and Aaron (Numbers 16). In each case, an angel of the LORD demolished many grumblers.

Hopefully we can learn from the events – “Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did” (1Corinthians 6.6).