A reminder.
If you really, really, really wanna understand Scripture…
It’s critical to understand the mental pictures the ancient Hebrews carried in their minds when they wrote down the words we read in our Bibles today.
In other words, you need to adopt the ancient mindset of those times.
Why?
Because it was linked to their theology.
For instance…
All believers today take it for granted that there is only one God in existence.
But here’s the thing.
The ancient Hebrews didn’t believe that.
That’s right, man.
Pure monotheism was not yet a thing.
The ancient Israelites were still polytheists.
Of course, they accepted that Israel had only one God whose name was YAHWEH.
But, at the same time, they also believed in the existence of the heathen gods of the Gentile nations.
I’m dead serious.
They didn’t view them as demons or mere figments of men’s imaginations.
In fact, the Israelites were already familiar with the names and works of these gods and goddesses, since they lived in Canaan, which was a hotbed of paganism rooted in the mystery religions of Babylon.
So, can you see now why God wanted to separate His People from the Canaanites?
God ordered Israel to drive them out because He knew how destructive their influence would be if His people lived side by side with them.
So there are two takeaways today.
FIRST, if you want to understand the Bible the way God meant it to be understood, you can’t read it with modern assumptions.
You’ve gotta step into the world of ancient Middle Eastern society and see things through their eyes.
You’ve gotta let their worldview shape how you read God’s Word.
SECOND, just as God ordered His People to separate from the Canaanites…
You, too, must SEPARATE yourself from negative and ungodly influences in your life.
Whether those influences are family, friends, or work colleagues.
Ya feel me?
Done.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“The things which the Gentiles sacrifice,
they sacrifice to demons,
and not to God.”
1 Corinthians 10:20
“Do not be deceived:
‘Bad company ruins good morals.’”
1 Corinthians 15:33
“Do not be unequally
yoked with unbelievers.
For what partnership has
righteousness with lawlessness?”
2 Corinthians 6:14
“Therefore, go out from their midst,
and be separate from them,
says the Lord…”
2 Corinthians 6:17
“Set your minds on things
that are above,
not on things
that are on earth.”
Colossians 3:2
Although many of the Israelites did acknowledge the existence of the semitic gods, I do not believe many of them worshipped them, as well.
Actually, what you worshipped back then was whatever the king said you worshipped.
And, on the other hand, there were also many pagans who recognized the God of Israel, although they never converted fully:
Nebuchadnezzar is a great example of this, twice writing that the God of Daniel was superior to all other gods;
the men on the ship that carried Jonah made vows to the God of Jonah, yet there is no evidence they totally converted;
and it is even said that Constantine, after legalizing Christianity, still worshipped the sun god.
And you are SO correct when you say we need to interpret the Bible using the culturally correct understanding of the words and terminology at the time those things were written.
For example, today if someone was angry and said, “Blast it all!”, people would consider their cursing archaic, but in the late 1600’s that person would have been considered a public pariah for using such an expletive!
If I may “blow my own horn”, Rich, I have written an entire teaching series on how to properly interpret the Bible, and would like to share a link to it here:
https://www.messianicmoment.com/how-to-properly-interpret-the-bible/
Right, my whole point was that the ancient Israelites still believed in the existence of other gods even though their loyalty was to YEHOVAH alone.