For it is written in the law of Moses [Deut. 25:4], "You should not put a muzzle on an ox while it tramples over the grain." Is it the oxen that God is concerned about?

For I want you to be [fully] aware, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud, and all of them passed [safely] through the [Red] Sea. [Note: This refers to God guiding the Israelites through the desert during the daytime by a cloud moving along above them . See Ex. 13:21-22].

And they all ate the same spiritual food [i.e., the supernatural manna. See Ex. 16:4-5],

and drank the same spiritual drink [i.e., water coming from a rock supernaturally. See Ex. 17:6]. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. [Note: Besides actual water, they were refreshed from the spiritual presence of Christ].

[So], do not worship idols as some of them did, as it is written [Ex. 32:6], "The people sat down to feast and drink, then got up and played." [Note: This refers to the Israelites engaging in an orgy of dancing and sex. See Ex. 32:17-19].

Neither should you people complain as some of them did and were killed by the destroying angel [See Ex. 12:23?].