In Leviticus chapter eighteen, verse three, the Lord speaks to Moses about the children of Israel. He tells His servant to warn the Israelites not to follow the people’s ways in Egypt and those in the land of Canaan.
Believers today face the temptation constantly to accept the practices and standards of morality of the society to which they belong. Therefore, God commands His people to make His laws the only standard by which to judge right or wrong. We must never conform to the surrounding society and accept its way of life because God must be the sole source and standard for all human moral and spiritual conduct. There is no in-between with one foot in the ways of God and the other in the world.
The Israelites dwelt for many years in Egypt and were accustomed to the environment and living. They just come out from there, where they learn many evil practices that are idolatrous. The Israelites adopted the corrupt ways of the Egyptians and did not mind the incestuous marriages. However, this kind of compromise is corruption where God advises Moses to emphasize to the people of Israel not to mimic the lifestyle they experienced in Egypt.
The Lord specifies to His servant in the following verse that the children of Israel should walk in the righteous ordinances established for them. God did not lead the Israelites out of Egypt to walk in the ways of the Egyptians but the godly ways set by the leader Moses. Today, it is so easy to “follow the crowd” that we encounter, thinking that what they do and how they act is okay. However, how could we follow people and not know the lifestyle in which they live? God expects believers to follow the ways of God established through His Word. Why becomes followers of the world when we could lead by example through God’s Word?