God set Israel apart as His covenant people and commanded them to remain separate from the pagan nations.
From the Exodus onward, God told Israel they were different and set apart. They were not to intermarry or socialize with the Gentile peoples around them, and they were never instructed to proselyte those nations. Even Peter, in Acts 10, said it was unlawful for a Jew to keep company with another nation.
Exodus 8:23 — God explicitly says He will put a division between His people and the Egyptians.
Exodus 19:6 — God calls Israel "a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation."
Acts 10:28 — Peter states that it was unlawful for a Jew to keep company with one of another nation.
In Exodus 8:23, during the fourth plague, God told Pharaoh, "I will put a division between my people and thy people." This was God's direct statement that Israel was not to be mixed with the Egyptians. Later, in Exodus 19:6, God said to Israel, "And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation." The principle of separation was built into Israel's identity as God's covenant people. In the New Testament, Acts 10:28 records Peter's own words: "Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean." Romans 3:22-23 then declares that in the matter of righteousness through faith, "there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
Les Feldick explains that God's separation of Israel was rooted in His covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with the law given to Moses and David's line leading to the King who would reign over the house of Jacob forever (Clip 0). Once God pulled Israel out of Egypt, He made it clear they were different and set apart, and He began instructing them not to have anything to do with the pagans around them or to intermarry with them (Clip 4, Clip 6). Les emphasizes that Israel was never instructed to go out and proselyte the Gentiles; God was dealing strictly with His covenant nation (Clip 1). This separation remained deeply embedded in Jewish thinking all the way into Paul's day. The Jews had "pounded into them" that they were a special, separated people, which is why they hated Paul for going to the Gentiles (Clip 2, Clip 7). Peter himself needed miraculous pressure to go to Cornelius because his Jewish mentality was to have nothing to do with Gentiles (Clip 3). Yet, as Les points out from Acts 10, Peter finally perceived that God is no respecter of persons and that in every nation, those who fear God and work righteousness are accepted with Him, while the Word still came to Israel first (Clip 5).
When God pulled Israel out of Egypt, He told them they were different and set apart. In the fourth plague, the plague of flies, God said He would put a division between His people and the Egyptians. This was proof of His power and His dealing with His covenant people. From that point, Israel was instructed not to have anything to do with the pagans around them or to intermarry with them.
No. Les says plainly: "Never did God instruct the Jew to go out and proselyte the Gentiles." Israel was to be a separated people. Their future role in reaching the nations would come only after they became a prepared, spiritual, obedient people and God sent them into the Gentile world. Until then, the covenant promises and God's dealings were exclusively for the nation of Israel.
Peter was a law-keeping Jew who understood that it was unlawful for a man who is a Jew to keep company with someone of another nation. God had to use miraculous timing and direct pressure to get Peter to go to Cornelius. The separation was so ingrained that when Paul later mentioned the word "Gentile," the Jewish crowd cried, "Away with such a fellow from the earth," because he dared to mention it.
Covenant basis for Israel's kingdom
Les connects the angel's promise that Jesus would reign over the house of Jacob forever to God's covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, showing Israel's distinct covenant status.
Israel called to remain separated
Les teaches that Israel was never to intermarry or socialize with pagans and was never instructed to proselyte the Gentiles; God was dealing strictly with His covenant nation.
Separation pounded into Israel
Les says Israel had it pounded into them since they became a nation in Egypt that they were a set-apart people, and this persisted into Paul's day, making Jews hate Paul's Gentile ministry.
Peter's need for divine pressure
Les explains that Peter would never have gone to Cornelius without God's pressure because Jewish mentality was to have nothing to do with Gentiles; Israel's role to evangelize the nations was not yet.
No difference between Jew and Gentile
Les notes that God set Israel apart and kept them separate from pagans, which is why Paul's declaration that there is no difference between Jew and Gentile angered the Jews.
Separation so deep that 'Gentile' was a hated word
Les shows from Acts 22 that the crowd rejected Paul for mentioning Gentiles, and then points to Peter's Acts 10 realization that God is no respecter of persons.
Division between Goshen and Egypt
Les highlights the fourth plague as the point God put a division between His people and Egypt, proving His covenant dealings and setting Israel apart.
Israel's future role to reach the nations
Les explains the restriction to Israel was due to covenant promises until she became a prepared, spiritual, obedient people who would then bring the Gentiles to a knowledge of God.
Exodus 8:23: And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.
God's explicit separation of Israel from Egypt during the fourth plague.
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 describes Israel's special status as a separate priestly nation.
Acts 10:28: And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
Peter acknowledges the Jewish law of separation from Gentiles at the house of Cornelius.
Romans 3:22-23: Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Paul declares that in salvation there is now no difference between Jew and Gentile.
No. Les notes that naturally Israel had to do business with the pagan nations around them, but socially they were to remain a separated people and were never to intermarry with them.
Israel had separation pounded into them since their time in Egypt. When Paul taught that there is no difference between Jew and Gentile, and that all have sinned, it completely overturned their ingrained understanding of being the set-apart covenant people.
God began to show Peter a change was taking place when Peter told Cornelius that God is no respecter of persons. Yet, as Les points out, even then the Word which God sent came to the children of Israel first.
Watch the Teaching: Why Jesus Came to Israel First — Luke 1 Explained