Two things stand out to me today. First, the children of Israel were not to live peaceably with the people of the land. They were to make no covenant and not allow any idols or places of worship to remain. In our day we are expected to line peaceably with people even as we seek to evangelize them. One difference may be that in that time the worship of a single God – especially without any graven image – was unique. Today the worship of one God is common, even dominant.
The other thing that stood out was that all offerings were explicitly to be voluntary, both offerings of goods and offerings of labor. The Lord will not compel people to serve – not even His chosen people.
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