“When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations.” Deuteronomy 18:9
As you read through the Old Testament, one cannot escape the clear pictures and illustrations that parallel the life of today’s Christian. They are Amazingly so! In Today’s Reading, Moses is once again preparing the People of God for what is to come; what they will encounter and the type of reaction they need to have. As we’ve read before, Israel were called to be a Holy People! They were to be separate from the rest of the World. God had selected them from all “People of the earth” to become “His Children”. These particular Nations that dwelled in the Land of Canaan would come under His Wrath and Judgement, and Israel is warned “not to imitate the detestable things of those nations” as we see in Today’s Verse.
Before moving on to some Application, consider this for a moment. God has already outlined to them several times the Sins of these People; their Idolatry, their Cultic Practices, their Sexual Perverseness, their Child Sacrifices. He has made it clear that “because of these Sins” His judgement would soon come upon them; that “They”, the Children of Israel, would be the Agents of His Wrath in their Destruction. This, in and of itself, is a Very Sobering Reality. You would think that “You”, as one of these Israelites would need no warning about doing “Any of the Abominations”; that it would be totally unnecessary! But alas, as we read on in our Bibles and into Judges, we find that it was “Very Necessary”! They ended up becoming just like the Nations before them.
We live in similar times. We live among the Nations of the World that will soon be under the Wrath of God. Then, God in His time works upon our souls. He awakens us to His Law. He gives us a sense of our Sinfulness and the Judgement that will come if we do not change. He gives Repentance and Faith, and we are gloriously delivered from His Wrath. He then warns US in a similar manner, to “Beware” of those Nations around us and “Not Imitate Them”. The New Testament is full of Warnings and Admonitions about this. In the clearest Injunction of them all, John has warned us in his Letter, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world.” Have we taken this to heart, or are we just like Israel of old? Something Serious to consider today!