Israel in the Old Testament and the Christian Church are both understood in the scriptures to be the covenant people of God. As such, both of them are called by God to be his "holy nation" (Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 2:9). To be "holy," according to the Bible, does not mean to be morally pure, however. Rather it means to be "set apart" for God's purposes. Both Israel and the church, having entered into covenant with God, are God's "set-apart" people. As the ancient oracle of Balaam puts it, Israel is "a people dwelling alone, and not reckoning itself among the nations" (Numbers 23:9). And as the Apostle Paul writes to the church, "Do not be conformed to this world" (Romans 12:2).
 
So Israel and the church, as God's holy people, are to live differently from the society around them, and they are …