God kept Israel separate from other nations because they were His set-apart covenant people.
Les Feldick explains that from the time God called Abraham and later brought Israel out of Egypt, He repeatedly put a division between His people and the pagans around them. That is why they were told not to intermarry or socially mix with those nations. Their unique status as holy people and a kingdom of priests depended on remaining separate.
Exodus 8:23 — God explicitly promised to put a division between His people and the Egyptians.
Exodus 19:6 — God called Israel a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
Scripture shows that God deliberately separated Israel from the surrounding nations. In the days of the plagues, God told Pharaoh through Moses, 'And I will put a division between my people and thy people' (Exodus 8:23), and Goshen was spared from the plague of flies while Egypt was not. At Mount Sinai, God offered Israel a covenant identity: 'And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation' (Exodus 19:6). Deuteronomy repeats this status by calling Israel 'an holy people unto the LORD thy God' and 'a special people unto himself' (Deuteronomy 7:6). This separation was built into Israel's identity from the very beginning.
Les Feldick emphasizes that God repeatedly told Israel they were a set-apart people. Coming out of Egypt, God placed a division between Israel and the Egyptians. In the wilderness, Israel was promised that they would be 'a kingdom of priests' and a holy—that is, separated—nation. Les makes it plain that this meant the Israelites were not to intermarry with pagans and were to have no social co-mingling with the Gentiles around them. They were also never told to go out and evangelize those nations. Their separation was part of God's covenant program, and it was to last until Israel was spiritually prepared to be a blessing to the Gentile world.
Les Feldick states that God kept emphasizing that the covenant people were not to co-mingle with the Gentiles. They were to be a separated people, not to intermarry, and to have nothing to do with the pagan Gentiles around them. This was the instruction God gave as soon as He pulled Israel out of Egypt.
Les Feldick explains that Israel was never told to go and evangelize the Gentiles. Their calling was to be a separated people first. God's plan was that once Israel became a prepared, spiritual, and obedient people, He would send them into the Gentile world to bring the Gentiles to a knowledge of their God.
By Paul's day, Israel had had 2,000 years of being separated and set apart pounded into them. This made it nearly impossible for many Jews to accept that there was now no difference between Jew and Gentile. Les Feldick says this is why Paul's message of 'no difference' provoked such strong opposition from his fellow Jews.
God called Israel out from the nations to be a sanctified, set-apart people. At the exodus, God put a division between His people and the Egyptians, and later promised Israel they would be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. The separation preserved the covenant identity God had given to Israel.
Why God Separated Israel: The Meaning of the Blood on the Doorposts
He says in verse 28 of chapter 10, Get thee from me. And he said, Take heed thyself, you'll see my face no more. For in that day that thou seest my face thou shalt die. And it's almost enough to bring a smile to your face, Moses' response. Moses knew, because—see, God had told Moses way at the very beginning that the last plague was going to be super special, and this, of course, would be the plag…
Israel's Separation from Gentiles
Les states clearly that God kept reminding the covenant people they were not to co-mingle with the Gentiles, not to intermarry, and were never told to evangelize them.
God's Plan for Israel to Reach the Nations
Les explains that Israel's separation was not permanent; once they became spiritually obedient, God intended to send them into the Gentile world.
Israel's Set-Apart Identity in the New Testament
Les shows that being a set-apart, kingdom-of-priests people had been drilled into Israel for so long that many Jews rejected Paul when he began going to the Gentiles.
The Division Between Israel and Egypt
Les points to God separating Israel from Egypt at the fourth plague as one of the first visible demonstrations that Israel was set apart.
Why the Rapture Is a Secret Most Christians Miss - Romans 16:25 Explained
But the nation of Israel, instructed and taught and nurtured through the Old Testament under the Law and the prophecies, rejected him, and they were dispersed then back into that main stream of humanity from which they were called in the first place.
The Meaning of a Holy, Separated Nation
Les emphasizes that 'holy' means separated, and Israel was to be a kingdom of priests and a nation of go-betweens.
The Hard Transition from Separation to No Difference
Les explains that God told Israel after the exodus they were not to have anything to do with pagans or intermarry, which made it hard for Paul's generation to accept that there is now no difference between Jew and Gentile.
Exodus 8:23: And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.
This is the explicit division God made between Israel and Egypt during the plagues.
Exodus 19:6: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
God called Israel a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, showing their separated covenant status.
Deuteronomy 7:6: For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
Deuteronomy reiterates that Israel was chosen and set apart from all other peoples.
Les Feldick says God told Israel they were not to have anything to do with pagan Gentiles around them and were not to intermarry. They were to be a separated people, which meant no normal social co-mingling with those nations.
Les Feldick explains that Israel was never told to go and evangelize the Gentiles. Their role was to remain separate as God's covenant people until God later sent them out, which they failed to do faithfully.
Israel had been taught for almost 2,000 years that they were set apart from the Gentiles. When Paul taught that there was now no difference between Jew and Gentile, it clashed with that long-standing separation and caused many Jews to be angry.
Watch the Teaching: Why God Separated Israel: The Meaning of the Blood on the Doorposts