Psalms 106:35-36
but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did. They served their idols, which became a snare to them.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The danger wasn't just in being near other nations, but in learning their ways. This implies an active assimilation, a conscious adoption of foreign customs and practices that directly contradicted God's commands.
After God brings Israel into the Promised Land, they fail to drive out the native nations as commanded. Instead, they intermarry with them and adopt their customs and idolatrous practices, which ultimately leads to their downfall and God's judgment. This verse highlights how close association with the world leads to spiritual contamination and a departure from God's ways.
God's command to Israel was clear: keep the nations out. But what happens when they don't, and the lines begin to blur?
The book of Judges and later history show a tragic pattern for Israel. When they were supposed to drive out the Canaanites, they instead began to mix with them. This wasn't just about living side-by-side; it often involved intermarriage and cultural exchange.
A Command with a Purpose
God knew that close contact with these nations would be dangerous. Their practices were deeply sinful, including idolatry and even child sacrifice (as detailed in verses 37-38). The command to 'destroy' them wasn't about ethnic cleansing for its own sake, but about preserving Israel's spiritual and moral purity.
The Contagion of Culture
When Israel failed to obey, they didn't influence the nations for good. Instead, 'they learned to do as they did.' This highlights a crucial spiritual principle: associating closely with those who don't share your values inevitably leads to adopting their ways. It's like a slow seep, a gradual compromise that erodes one's distinctiveness and devotion to God.
It's one thing to live near others, but another to adopt their habits. What does it truly mean to 'learn their works'?
The phrase 'learned their works' goes beyond simply observing. It implies an active assimilation of customs, beliefs, and practices. For Israel, this meant abandoning God's commands and embracing the idolatry and immorality of the surrounding cultures.
From Observation to Participation
Initially, the mixing might have seemed harmless—social interaction, economic ties, maybe even political alliances. But the 'works' of the nations were deeply rooted in a rejection of the one true God. As Israel became more entangled, their own worship and morality began to mirror those they were supposed to keep separate from.
The Erosion of Identity
Understand the original words
arab · Hebrew Verb
To mingle, join with, or associate closely; in a covenantal context, it often refers to the illicit integration of Israel with pagan nations, leading to spiritual defilement.
goyim · Hebrew Noun
Used for foreign or heathen nations outside the covenant of Israel; often associated with idolatry, pagan practices, and moral corruption.
‘atsab · Hebrew Noun
In a biblical context, idols refer to any physical or abstract object, image, or concept that is worshipped or served in the place of, or alongside, the one true God. They are frequently characterized as worthless, powerless, and a source of spiritual deception.
moqesh · Hebrew Noun
This verse highlights a recurring theme in Israel's history: the danger of cultural assimilation. Their failure to fully remove the native inhabitants of Canaan, and subsequent intermingling through marriage and social contact, led to the adoption of pagan practices, directly violating God's commands and resulting in repeated cycles of judgment.
c. 1400 BC - 1050 BC
Israelite Conquest of Canaan
Following their exodus from Egypt, the Israelites, under Joshua's leadership, were commanded to drive out the Canaanite nations. However, they failed to fully obey God's command.
c. 1050 BC - 722 BC— this verse
Period of the Judges
During this era, the Israelites repeatedly fell into idolatry by adopting the practices of the surrounding nations, leading to cycles of oppression and deliverance.
c. 1000 BC
United Monarchy (Saul, David, Solomon)
Despite a unified kingdom and the building of the Temple, assimilation with foreign cultures and practices continued, laying seeds for future spiritual decline.
c. 931 BC
Division of the Kingdom
The united monarchy split into the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah, both of which struggled with idolatry and foreign entanglements.
This passage describes the Israelites falling into the same pattern of 'mingling' and adopting the practices of the surrounding nations, directly illustrating the consequence warned against in Psalm 106:35.
Ezra 9:2Ezra expresses deep concern over the people of Israel intermarrying with the surrounding nations, a specific form of 'mingling' that led them to learn their 'works' and compromise their covenant faithfulness.
1 Corinthians 15:33The Apostle Paul echoes the sentiment of Psalm 106:35 with the proverb 'Bad company corrupts good character,' highlighting the universal truth that association with the ungodly leads to learning their ways.
Romans 12:2This New Testament passage serves as a direct command to believers not to be conformed to the world, which is the opposite of what the Israelites did when they 'mixed with the nations' and 'learned to do as they did'.
2 Corinthians 6:14The Apostle Paul's instruction 'Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers' directly addresses the danger of 'mingling' with those outside the covenant community, a principle violated by Israel with disastrous results.
pulpitPsalms 106:35: "But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works."
Verse 35. - But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works. This was the effect of the continuous contact. "Evil communications corrupted good manners." The command to exterminate, which to moderns seems so terribly severe, and almost cruel, was undoubtedly based upon God's foreknowledge of the fact, that otherwise there would be contact, and if contact, then contamination. (For the actual fact, see Judge…
cambridgePsalms 106:35: "But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works."
35 . But mingled themselves with the nations (R.V.), by matrimonial alliances ( Ezra 9:2 ) and intercourse generally ( Jdg 3:5-6 ).
The danger wasn't just in being near other nations, but in learning their ways. This implies an active assimilation, a conscious adoption of foreign customs and practices that directly contradicted God's commands.
After God brings Israel into the Promised Land, they fail to drive out the native nations as commanded. Instead, they intermarry with them and adopt their customs and idolatrous practices, which ultimately leads to their downfall and God's judgment. This verse highlights how close association with the world leads to spiritual contamination and a departure from God's ways.
After God brings Israel into the Promised Land, they fail to drive out the native nations as commanded. Instead, they intermarry with them and adopt their customs and idolatrous practices, which ultimately leads to their downfall and God's judgment. This verse highlights how close association with the world leads to spiritual contamination and a departure from God's ways.
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This assimilation meant a loss of their unique identity as God's chosen people. They were called to be distinct, a light to the nations. Instead, by learning and practicing the ways of the heathen, they became indistinguishable from them, forfeiting their spiritual heritage and inviting God's discipline.
A metaphor for a trap, lure, or enticement that leads individuals or communities away from obedience to God and into sin, judgment, or spiritual ruin. It represents the deceptive power of sinful practices to ensnare the heart and life.
c. 722 BC
Fall of the Northern Kingdom
The Assyrian Empire conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel, largely due to their persistent disobedience and idolatry, scattering its people.
c. 586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem and Babylonian Exile
The Southern Kingdom of Judah also succumbed to foreign powers, with Jerusalem and the Temple destroyed, and many of its people exiled to Babylon. This exile served as a harsh consequence for generations of unfaithfulness.
"but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did. They served their idols, which became a snare to them." — The danger wasn't just in being near other nations, but in learning their ways. This implies an active assimilation, a conscious adoption of foreign customs and practices that directly contradicted…
