Step 4. – Got Involved in Worldly Things

Step 4. – Got Involved in Worldly Things

Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples;

     Ephraim is a cake not turned. (Hos. 7:8 ESV)

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines “worldly” as: “Of, or relating to, or devoted to this world and its pursuits rather than to religion or spiritual affairs”. Perhaps a better definition would be caring more about the things of the world than the things of God.

The idea of Israel being a nation separate from the world dates back to their establishment as a nation. After their captivity in Egypt, and 40 years in the wilderness, it seemed that they were finally about to cross into the land promised to be their homeland. However, that land was occupied, so Israel was going to have to take it by force. In preparation for this, Moses gave them some instruction:

And the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places. And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it…But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell. And I will do to you as I thought to do to them. (Num. 33:50-53, 55-56 ESV)

During the conquest of Canaan, Israel did not heed this warning:

Yet the people of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites, but Geshur and Maacath dwell in the midst of Israel to this day. (Jos. 13:13 ESV)

But the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the people of Judah could not drive out, so the Jebusites dwell with the people of Judah at Jerusalem to this day. (Jos. 15:63 ESV)

However, they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived in the midst of Ephraim to this day but have been made to do forced labor. (Jos. 16:10 ESV)

Now when the people of Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out. (Jos. 17:13 ESV)

Israel did not do as God had instructed them. Instead, they allowed the evil practices of these worldly nations to integrate with them and they made no distinction between holiness and heathenism.

That legacy follows us today. I’m not suggesting that we physically remove ourselves from every unbeliever. That would go against the concept of spreading the gospel to the world. However, God called us to be different:

Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be serious and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. But as the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy. (1 Pet 1:13-16 HCSB)

Peter is quoting an Old Testament scripture when he says, “Be holy, because I am holy.” This is where he gets it from:

For I am the Lord your God; sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming creature that moves on the earth. For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt, to be your God; you shall be holy, for I am holy. (Lev. 11:44-45 NRSV)

The word “sanctify” here means “to keep oneself apart from unclean things.” The thesaurus offers these synonyms: “cleanse, purge, and purify.”

Another way to look at this would be to ask yourself:

What is keeping me from the receiving the holiness of God?

When you have the answer, you remove those things from your life. The answer will be different for different people. Obviously, sin is going to keep you from the holiness of God, and that applies to everyone. But, there are other things.

If anything is keeping you from experiencing the holiness of God, it is not worth the time, energy, or short amount of enjoyment you will get from it. I don’t care if it is entertainment, friends, or even a PB&J sandwich, if it is keeping you from the holiness of God, it has got to go!

Just like Israel in the book of Hosea, we mix with the people of the world when we do not distinguish ourselves from the world.

This theme runs throughout the New Testament. Here are a few examples:

Stay away from every kind of evil. (1 Thes. 5:22 HCSB)

Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; (Eph. 5:11 NASB)

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; (1 Pet. 2:9 NKJV)

Looking back at the main verse we started with, Hosea 7:8, we see Hosea refer to Israel as a “cake not turned.” Cake is better translated as “bread”. During this time, bread was made by wrapping the dough and laying it on hot coals to cook. After some time, the dough must be turned so that the other side can cook. This results in even cooking. Otherwise, you will get a charred, overcooked mess on one side and a doughy, undercooked disaster on the other. Basically, the whole thing is unfit to eat. That is the comparison Hosea makes to the children of Israel who are splitting their loyalties between God and worldly desires.

The New Living Translation renders the verse this way:

The people of Israel mingle with godless foreigners,

     making themselves as worthless as a half-baked cake!

As Christians, we are called by God to be set apart from the world. We should be able to see the difference that Jesus makes in our lives, especially as we interact with the world.