"Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst" (Exodus 24:12).
This command to remain separate is often repeated throughout the book of Exodus. God does not want his chosen and redeemed people to be like the world.
This is, of course, not about Israel being better that others. They were sinful and idolatrous in their own right. The instruction here in Exodus 24 comes in the aftermath of the golden calf incident with all its immoral revelry. The people of Israel themselves need a forgiving God. They need the Lord and all his powerful means of grace.
So the instruction above is about truth, it is about reality. Neither the Israelites or the inhabitants of the land will be free and forgiven unless they trust in the Lord. The call to holiness and separateness, therefore is not about superiority of one over another. It is about gospel truth.
Are we living the truth? When we look like and live like the unbelieving culture around us, we are not making gospel connections to help Christianity grow. The gospel thrives in a context of genuine holiness. The world needs to know the difference-making God.