A New Culture

Outward purity would reflect inward purity

Israel was on the verge of a momentous occasion. Not only were they preparing to enter the Promised Land and conquer its inhabitants, they were also preparing to establish a brand new culture. The primary focus of this new culture would be on the living God. Every part of it would reflect His nature.

God's commandments gave the Israelites a concrete expression of how God wanted the people to live in. In short, He wanted a people that love and worshiped Him alone. By keeping a number of purity laws, the Israelites were to demonstrate their commitment to Him by keeping ritually clean. Ideally, this outward purity would reflect inward purity. Since God was perfect, He wanted His people to resist the immoral practises of the neighbouring nations. But He not only wanted them to resist evil, He also wanted them toe reflect His loving and compassionate nature by helping strangers, widows, orphans, and the poor. By following God's extensive instructions, the Israelites could establish their society on the just laws of the living God.

Many parts of the Israelites culture were distinctive in the ancient world - such as prohibitions against eating pork. These outward distinctive were a sign that Israelites were set apart to God's holy purposes. However, the most prominent distinctive was Israel's absolute allegiance to one God. Israel's entire society - its legal system, economic structure, family life and individual and communal ethics - reflected this allegiance. While the nations that surrounded Israel worshiped a variety of gods at numerous shrines located all over the landscape, the Israelites [ideally] worshiped one God in one place - the place He would choose.

In the Promised Land, God planned to bless the Israelites abundantly. In return, the Israelites were required to understand and acknowledge that He who created the heavens and the earth, alone is God Almighty. And God expected them to live responsibly in obedience and loyalty to Him alone, based upon love and fear, to walk in all His ways and to serve Him with all diligence.

This was to be their new culture, unlike any that preceded it.