They mixed in with the nations
Psalm 106:35-36 NET
and learned their ways.
They worshiped their idols,
which became a snare to them.
When Israel came into Canaan, they were instructed to destroy all the people of the land. But they failed in this task. Instead, they settled among them. They mixed with the nations, learned their ways, and worshiped their idols. And that became a snare to them. A trap that kept them from rising to be the people God had called them to be.
But is it just ancient Israel that is guilty of this? Or are God’s people today just as guilty? We have no mandate to destroy the people we live among today. But we are called to be “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession” (1 Pet. 2:9), living “as foreigners and exiles” (1 Pet. 1:11) who are “longing for a better country—a heavenly one” (Heb. 11:16).
Being a Distinct People
However, rather than being a distinct people dedicated to God, apart from a couple of hours on Sunday mornings, we are often indistinguishable from the people around us. We are satisfied with giving God a token of our time and resources. But the rest we spend on ourselves, worshipping at the altars of pleasure, prosperity, and power. We talk about heaven but are in no hurry to go, happy with where we are. And we fight and quarrel among ourselves.
Is it any wonder that the church has so little impact in the world today, at least in the West? And, while we may be satisfied, is there any reason to believe that God is satisfied with us?
As individuals and as the church, we need to come out of this world and be a separate people (2 Cor. 6:17), in this world, but not a part of it (John 17:15-16). Instead, to be a light to a world living in darkness (Matt. 5:14-16), declaring the praises of him who called us out of darkness and into his wonderful light (1 Pet. 2:9).
