God is engaging in a culture war, but not necessarily the type of culture war that many “conservative” Christians are engaging in “liberal”, “woke”, or “swampy” societies.
Ezekiel 20:7-11
“I said to them, ‘Cast away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.’ But they rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; they did not cast away the detestable things of their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. So I took them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. I gave them My statutes and informed them of My ordinances, by which, if a man observes them, he will live.”
While the Israelites were dwelling in Egypt, God was not so much angry with Egypt for their detestable and idolatrous culture as He was angry with the Israelites for assimilating the detestable and idolatrous culture of the Egyptians into their way of life.
However, instead of engaging in culture war against the perverse culture of Egypt that defiled the faith of His people, God engaged in counter-culture war against the transgressions of Israel’s culture by separating them from Egypt and chastising them through the giving of the Law at Mt Sinai.
The Law was given to sanctify Israel, not Egypt.
So, the Law “was added because of transgressions” (Galatians 3:19); it was instituted by God for the sake of defining transgressions in the way of life of His people, not Egypt; it was highly definitive in calibrating the community’s relationships and transactions with God, one another, and those outside the commonwealth of Israel; it was strictly enforced to protect the faith and faithfulness of Israel towards YHVH; all with a view to their impending conquest and dwelling in the midst of the abominations of the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.
It was this Law and its practice that separated Israel from Egyptian culture.
“So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Romans 7:12), because it created new reference points for Israel’s cultural way of life in God that was independent of, and resilient against, the perversity of the nations in their midst if they abided by it.
Deuteronomy 11:16-17
“Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them. Or the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and He will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its fruit; and you will perish quickly from the good land which the LORD is giving you.”
Ezra 9:1-2
Now when these things had been completed, the princes approached me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, according to their abominations, those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians and the Amorites. For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has intermingled with the peoples of the lands; indeed, the hands of the princes and the rulers have been foremost in this unfaithfulness.”
As we can see, despite the perverseness of cultures round about, God is always engaging in a counter-culture war with His own ekklesia – not only against syncretism and idolatry but also against the pride and rebellion of individualism within His holy community.
Deuteronomy 4:5-10
“See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do thus in the land where you are entering to possess it. So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the LORD our God whenever we call on Him? Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole law which I am setting before you today? Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons. Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when the LORD said to me, ‘Assemble the people to Me, that I may let them hear My words so they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’”
Quoting Boston University School of Public Health, ‘culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning “to cultivate”) generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activities significance and importance… Culture can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs, and institutions of a population that are passed down from generation to generation. Culture has been called “the way of life for an entire society.” As such, it includes codes of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, art, norms of behavior, such as law and morality, and systems of belief.’
Culture moulds the identity, connections, and relevance of its members in the social community from generation to generation. In other words, the meanings, worldviews, laws, beliefs, values, attitudes, norms, code of conduct, relational standards, and artifacts of the collective community form the bedrock of individuals and family units within the community, shape their position in society, and provide continuity of baselines for generations to come.
From human civilisation and social compact perspectives, the culture of the community forms the source and foundation of family units, and its adherence by family units propagates the culture of the community.
The stronger and more absolute (or less subjective) is a culture, the greater will be the resilience and homeostasis of the culture against syncretism and corruption, and the greater will be the perpetuity and integrity of the culture from generation to generation despite challenging external conditions that seek to destabilise the culture.
Imagine a culture situated within a larger culture, yet impregnable by the corruption of the larger culture.
Matthew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth [Greek “mamonas”, for Aramaic “mammon”; i.e. wealth, etc., personified as an object of worship].
Leviticus 18:20-23
‘You shall not have intercourse with your neighbor’s wife, to be defiled with her. You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the LORD. You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination. Also you shall not have intercourse with any animal to be defiled with it, nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it; it is a perversion.’
Jesus was not engaging in cultural war with mamonas in the marketplace, was He? God was not engaging in cultural war with Molech concerning child sacrifices in Egypt, was He? God was not engaging in cultural war against adultery, homosexuality, and sexual perversions in the world, was He?
No. Rather, God was engaging in cultural war against corruptions expressing within the cultural community that God was seeking to sanctify and set apart as holy in His image.
1 Corinthians 5:9-13
I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.
Where the battlefront of culture?
The battlefront of culture is within the household of God, not outside in the nations of the world. Our responsibility is to judge and remove the wicked man – he who is unfaithful to God, God’s moral character, God’s commandments, and God’s truths in his way of life – from among ourselves in the church, not from the nations of the world. The cultures of the world will always be faithful to the course of the world, according to both the activity of Satan and the deluding influence sent upon them by God so that they will believe what is false, in order that they may all be judged by God Himself in the last days (c.f. Ephesians 2:1-3; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)
As we can see, God is always seeking to sanctify and set apart a cultural community that He can identify as His holy image, and distinguish it as His own holy possession that is impervious to corruption by the cultures of the world. After all, how can the family and household of the holy God be similar to the peoples of the world?
The image identity of God is tied to the cultural expressions of His family and household.
Hence, God is not as concerned with counter-culture wars in societies as He is with counter-culture war in His own ekklesia community.
Ancient Israel, be it bound by the invisible walls of the camp in the wilderness or physical boundaries of Canaan land, was a cultural community that God was seeking to sanctify and set apart as holy in His image.
The first-century church, be it located in Jerusalem, Rome, or Corinth, was the body of Christ that God was seeking to sanctify and set apart as Christlike in the holy image of Christ’s truths and godly way of life.
When community culture is set on God’s truths, its shared way of life sanctifies in God’s image.
What shaped ancient Israel’s cultural identity as a people group, social community, or nation amongst nations was not Abraham’s Mesopotamian way of life but the Torah, particularly the laws and commandments of God given through Moses. It was this cultural identity, collective way of life, and shared destiny that was passed down from generation to generation. Every individual person, family unit, clan, and tribe in every generation within this community must adhere and conform to the codes and standards of its established culture, and each individual’s do’s and don’ts would be judged according to these codes and standards by the appointed leaders and priesthood of the community.
So, the collective way of life as a cultural community sets the direction for an individual’s way of life in the community. In other words, it is the collective community that takes precedence over the individuals within the community.
Numbers 15:32-36
Now while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the sabbath day. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation; and they put him in custody because it had not been declared what should be done to him. Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” So all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Joshua 7:1, 11, 25
But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under the ban, for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under the ban, therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel… “Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things… Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day.” And all Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.
When individuals and family units do not conform to the value system and code of conduct of the community, not only will he become the troubler of the community, the community as a whole body will also suffer the chastisement of the Lord.
Inevitably, pride and rebellion of individualism will always rear their ugly heads in the community of God.
Numbers 16:1-7
Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took action, and they rose up before Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, chosen in the assembly, men of renown. They assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?” When Moses heard this, he fell on his face; and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will show who is His, and who is holy, and will bring him near to Himself; even the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and all your company, and put fire in them, and lay incense upon them in the presence of the LORD tomorrow; and the man whom the LORD chooses shall be the one who is holy. You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!”
God will surely act to purge such individualistic pride and rebellion from the community (as you can read what happened to them in Numbers 16).
This is certainly a hard truth to appreciate and live by, especially in today’s individualistic post-modern world.
As we can see, just as the community Tabernacle was the reference and judgment for all family altars and private conduct, community culture is the cornerstone for individual member’s way of life, as well as the foundation stone for family units. In other words, when families order their private lives according to community culture, there will be righteousness, peace, and joy in the community of God.
As a community of God, every individual, family, clan, and tribe had their unique gifting and assigned functions within the organised community, and every individual, family, clan, and tribe must not violate the order of culture within the community.
Numbers 3:25-26, 29-32, 35-38
Now the duties of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle and the tent, its covering, and the screen for the doorway of the tent of meeting, and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the doorway of the court which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords, according to all the service concerning them… The families of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the southward side of the tabernacle, and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Kohathite families was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. Now their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary with which they minister, and the screen, and all the service concerning them; and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was the chief of the leaders of Levi, and had the oversight of those who perform the duties of the sanctuary… The leader of the fathers’ households of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the northward side of the tabernacle. Now the appointed duties of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, all its equipment, and the service concerning them, and the pillars around the court with their sockets and their pegs and their cords. Now those who were to camp before the tabernacle eastward, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, are Moses and Aaron and his sons, performing the duties of the sanctuary for the obligation of the sons of Israel; but the layman coming near was to be put to death.
So, while there is individuality in the collective community of God, there is no place for individualism in the collective community of God; and all individuality must be expressed according to the established culture of the collective community of God.
This is true of body-members in a body too. After all, “if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire.” (Matthew 18:8)
Romans 15:4
For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
1 Corinthians 10:1-4, 11-12
For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ… Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.
Ancient Israel was the foreshadow of the ekklesia, the body of Christ, whether we look at it as a universal body or local body.
In other words, ancient Israel shows us as the church today how God interacts and transacts with His people as one holy community, cultural collective, and highly distinguished people in the nations, and how individuals and family units must express rightly within that cultural collective.
When scriptural light was casted on the ekklesia, it formed a shadow in the desert called ancient Israel, the “ekklesia in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38). Discern the form of the shadow and we will trace the substance of the ekklesia in the light.
If the community of God today establishes, keeps, and acts on the model of community, culture of truths, and shared way of life set by God in earlier times for our instruction, without the pride and rebellion of individualism that beset ancient Israel, we will have great hope in eating the same spiritual food and drinking the same spiritual drink to accomplish even greater conquests in the land of our enemies, especially during these ends of the ages that have come upon us. This great hope that we have will surely include our faces shining with a greater glory than the glory on Moses’ face (c.f. 2 Corinthians 3:8).
Indeed, that will be our wisdom and our understanding in the sight of the nations who will hear all about our holy culture and say, “‘Surely this great church community is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great community is there that has a holy god so near to it as is YHVH their God whenever they call on Him? Or what great people group is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as the whole Word of truth by which they live so faithfully as a collective way of life?”
This is truly counter-culture from the inside out, beginning in the ekklesia then permeating out into societies; not just out.
Does the ekklesia today resemble the “ekklesia in the wilderness” under Moses? Is there a way of life in our congregations today that is similar to the congregation in the wilderness?
Can you see the similarity between the culture of the ekklesia in Jerusalem (c.f. Acts 2-6) and the ekklesia in the wilderness?
What is the distinctive culture of God’s community today that can be distinguished from the culture of nations?
Can we restore the strong community culture of the Ancient of Days in the ekklesia of Christ in today’s individualistic post-modern world?
As individuals used to individualistic way of life, how do we begin forming and living as a cultural collective?
What are the pitfalls that we must overcome in shaping this cultural collective?
Will you like to be a part of such a strong cultural community of God?
Post-Script
Revelation 18:2-5
And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.” I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.”
Even during the great judgment of the Babylonian culture in the last days, God is still engaging in counter-culture within His ekklesia.
This simply shows that many churches in the last days will still not have a strong, resilient, and impregnable culture that can sustain, defend, and prevail against the wealth, sensualities, and corruptions of the cultures of the world.
Some Christians call these the “apostate church” who will fall away from their faith and faithfulness in God through their “Babylonian” way of life (c.f. 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Thessalonians 2:3), but it needs not be so if we can start to cultivate an all-prevailing church culture with robust, homeostatic, holistic, and indomitable dynamics (c.f. Matthew 16:18-19).
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Related Posts:
Apostle Paul and the Emancipation of Slavery
Back to Bible Study & Devotional Blog
Leave a Reply