The book of Exodus talks about God leading the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage and delivering the Old Law to them through Moses. The Law included many detailed commands. An underlying theme at the root of these commands was God’s charge, “ye shall be holy; for I am holy” (Lev. 11:44).
The Israelites were to enter a land in which they would be surrounded by nations that did not know God. The Israelites were to be different. They were commanded to be “a holy nation” (Exod. 19:6), set apart from evil and devoted to the LORD.
Soon after the Israelites entered Canaan, they rejected this responsibility. While the Israelites were generally obedient in the days of Joshua (Judges 2:7), the generation after this “knew not the LORD” (verse 10). They “forsook the LORD God” and “followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger” (verse 12). Instead of being holy, these Israelites were conformed to the nations around them.
In response to this, God punished the Israelites (verses 14-15). Yet, He “raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them” (verse 16). Several judges were appointed over Israel, until the Israelites decided that having judges was not what seemed right in their eyes.
In 1 Samuel 8, the Israelites told Samuel, “thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations” (verse 5).
Samuel pleaded with them to not go down this path, but the Israelites demanded a king. Why? Verse 20a: That we also may be like all the nations…
God’s “holy nation” today is the church (1 Pet. 2:9). Instead of being “like all the nations,” the church is to be “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people.”
Yet, just as many Israelites wanted to be like the people around them, those who are part of Christ’s church can be tempted to want this as well. It can be embarrassing to be different. It can make one wonder if he or she is “odd.” For these reasons or others, many seek to follow God, yet fit in with the world at the same time.
This does not work. God commands us to not follow the pattern of the world (Romans 12:2). The majority of people in this world are on the road to eternal destruction (Matt. 7:13). There are “few” on the path to eternal life (Matt. 7:14). If we are in the second group, we will be viewed as strange by many.
This does not mean that to please God, we should purposefully stand for the opposite of all that the majority stands for. Choosing hamburger over steak because the majority chooses steak does not make one holy. What does make one holy is submitting to God’s will, which most people don’t do.
Few people the Israelites came in contact with obeyed God. If the Israelites obeyed, their lives would be different.
So it is today. If we choose to obey God, our purpose for living will be different. The things we do with our time will be different. Our character will be different. Our conduct will be different. Our speech will be different. Our way of thinking will be different.
May God’s people today not strive to be “like all the nations,” but instead let God transform us according to His will. Like the Israelites, God’s people today must be holy. The Holy Spirit commands Christians, “but just as He who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all of your behavior, because it is written, ‘You shall be holy; for I am holy’” (1 Pet. 1:15-16).
– Michael Hickox