Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 23:20-23

20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.

21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.

22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.

23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.

We have reached the end of these laws and now comes a grand promise to the Israelites, detailing all the great things that Gods will do for them if they obey Him. To start it off, God declares that there will be an angel sent down among them. Apparently that angel would speak to them at times, and also he would watch the people closely to see their behavior. If they broke their covenant, he would not be able to tolerate it. The angel carried the name of the Lord, and so he had to condemn everything that was unworthy of the Lord.

On the other hand, if the people were to obey every word, then the angel would set himself against their enemies. He would go before the Israelites, cutting off the pagan nations in Canaan before Israel even arrived in the land.

Thus, there was no neutral outcome. The angel’s strength would be against one side or the other, it was simply up to Israelites to steer that wrath according to their faithfulness. Even today we have this sense that obedience to the Lord will cause Him to be a champion in our cause, fighting our enemies for us and winning our battles. Even if we still experience trials after being faithful, we believe that we are fighting through those trials alongside God, as opposed to fighting against Him for having been unfaithful. Thus, everyone in life fights, the only question is against who and with who?

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 23:17-19

17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God.

18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.

19 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.

We are told that all the males must present themselves before the Lord at the tabernacle three times in the year. Given that we just heard about three feasts to be observed in a year, it may very well be that this mass gathering would coincide with those celebrations.

This would certainly make Israel a well measured nation. On a regular basis they would have a sort of informal census, seeing exactly what their maximum military strength and workforce was. This would also require the people to remain a close-knit society. Being required to regularly travel to one central location would mean that they could not spread themselves too far from their center, and on a regular basis they would see one another in close company. Separation, distinction, and rivalry would therefore all be deterred.

Also, it would seem, they were not to come to this great gathering empty-handed. The assumption is that these following verses about appropriate sacrifice are referencing these three gatherings in the year, and that every man would come to the Lord with something to offer. They would bring offerings of firstfruits or offerings of livestock, perhaps according to which feast was being observed or according to the man’s occupation.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 23:14-16

14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.

15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)

16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

God had already given instructions for the feast of unleavened bread (the Passover), which He reminded the people of here in verse 15, and He also told them of two more feasts to be observed throughout the year. Those two new feasts would be tied to the beginning and ending of the season.

The first feast wasn’t at the very start of the season, though, but rather when the crops had developed enough to give up their firstfruits. The second feast was after they had gathered in the last fruits at the end of the year. Thus they were feasts based on the bounty of nature, celebrating that God had given them some in the beginning, and in greater measure at the end.

Three feasts throughout the year. Converted to our current Gregorian calendar, the feast of unleavened bread would happen towards the end of April, when the firstfruits were well on their way, yet not quite ready to be plucked. The feast of harvest falls in May or June, when the first fruit is completely ripe, and the feast of ingathering comes around October, when the stalks are fully spent and give their last before perishing.

That is their sequential order in our Gregorian calendar, but recall that the Passover occurred at the very beginning of the ancient Israelite calendar. It marked the transformation from the old year to the new. With that in mind, it becomes clear that these feasts are symbols of our lives. The feast of harvest was the feast new birth, fresh life being brought forth anew, like the firstfruits that it celebrated. The feast of ingathering was the end of one’s work, the succumbing to death, and the long winter of the grave. The feast of unleavened bread was the state in between, the limbo betwixt death and rebirth. The bread was unleavened because it represents us still dead in the tomb, but it is looking forward to the fruit that is about to come forth, the life that is about to be restored when the cycle repeats.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 23:13

13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.

Once again the Lord reiterates the importance of not worshipping other gods. Today’s verse take it a step further, though, forbidding even the utterance of those other god’s names. This might seem an extreme measure to take, why would even the names be forbidden to the people?

I believe this commandment recognizes the incredible power of words. Psychologists have noted that only when something is named can it become a fully realized concept in our minds. When it has no name it is only a vague, unformed notion, with a name it starts to become real. It is our natural tendency to try and name every reality and concept, turning them into a concrete abstractions so that we can fully grapple with them in our minds. But some of these beasts would be better left sleeping.

Imagine if after the Israelites left Egypt they never again mentioned the names of Ra and Horus. The concept of those Egyptian gods would have gone extinct among them within a generation. Imagine if they had never spoken of Baal or Ashtaroth, how much harder would it have been for those Canaanite gods to gain sway in their hearts.

Of course, the complete obliteration of a perverse idea would require universal cooperation. Even if the Israelites stopped themselves from uttering the names of foreign gods, they were still a part of the world, with neighbors and trade partners, and it would be inevitable for them to hear many strange things in that association, just as every Christian today learns from society all manner of inappropriate practices and beliefs. Even with that acknowledgement, though, we can do what we can to censure our own minds, tongues, and homes, and that does make a difference. Those who leave the depraved things unsaid leave no room for those seeds to take root and blossom, whereas those who give voice to perversions in their private, intimate settings are the most likely to abandon the Lord for foreign fruit.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 23:10-12

10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:

11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.

12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.

Today the laws of the sabbath are expanded and we are given the concept of a sabbath year, which is that after six years of working the field, then the field must be left to rest for the seventh. This is actually very practical, as sowing the same land over and over will take out all of its nutrients, and giving it a rest year to replenish those nutrients is better in the long run.

Of course, the land might naturally produce even without sowing. Vines and trees would continue to produce their grapes and their olives, and these were to be left for the poor and the animals. One can see why Jesus would later reprove the Pharisees for missing the point of the sabbath. From these verses it is clear that the sabbath was for the people, not the people for the sabbath.

Of course, for the owner of the field, having a year of no productivity would require an act of faith. When the Israelites were given manna they were told that God would allow them a double portion on the day before the sabbath, so they wouldn’t have to gather on the rest day. Once again, the owner of the field would have to trust that God would provide enough surplus in the six other years that he could rely on what he had stored up through the seventh. The Israelite might pursue his own wealth and ambition, but every seventh year he would be drawn back to remember his constant dependence on the Lord.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 23:9

9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

God had already commanded the Israelites not to vex or oppress any foreigner living among them, but now He repeats that directive a second time, and once again the reason given is that the Israelites had themselves been strangers in a strange land, and so they knew the heart of those that lived such a life.

This is an interesting logic, a sort of divine paradox, to say that because the Israelites were themselves oppressed when they were the foreigners, that they therefore must not oppress any foreigners themselves. Our human tendency is far more inclined towards “since you did it to me, I get to do it to you.”

Recall that when Israel departed Egypt a mixed multitude went up with them, which means foreigners in their midst. These may have been other slave nations that had served under Egypt, but it may also have been some of the Egyptians themselves. Furthermore, after they entered the Promised Land some immigrants of their own enemies would come live among them, such as Ruth who came from Moab. Thus, when God says to not oppress the stranger, He is including strangers that came from lands that were directly hostile to Israel. It would be absolutely natural to let their anger against those enemies loose upon the immigrants that came from them, but God required His people to take the higher road, to return kindness for offense.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 23:8

8 And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.

This verse continues with the laws that apply to the judges themselves, telling them how they should and should not perform their duties. Today we hear that God is aware of the danger of bribes and the judges shall “take no gift,” as that will lead them to blind their judgment and pervert their decisions.

Even judges who might receive their pay from the people should not see themselves as being subject to the people. They do not act as an agent of the plaintiff or the defendant, but as an agent of truth, an agent of God, Himself. To take a gift from a witness would be to make the witness the master, and that would frustrate the entire judicial enterprise. So, if there are to be gifts and rewards for a judge, let him receive them not from man, but from God, as the natural blessings that come to those who serve well.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 23:4-5

4 If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.

5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.

We have already seen laws establishing the penalty for stealing a neighbor’s livestock, or for losing them while they were on loan, but today we see the responsibility of actually being a good neighbor, of going out of one’s way to help another in his time of need. Even when it is a neighbor that isn’t particularly liked.

If a person saw his enemy’s animal wandering, lost from its master, he was obligated to bring it back. If he saw it having collapsed under too heavy of a burden, he was obligated to relieve it. Not just encouraged, but obligated under the law. In fact, the phrase “and wouldest forbear to help him” suggests that if the thought arises in the person’s mind that he would rather not help his neighbor, then he is especially compelled to do exactly that! This is a good metric to gauge when our relationships with other people has gone too far astray: do we actively wish to not help them? And it gives us a good solution to turn things back around: then help them regardless!

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 23:1-3, 6-7

1 Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:

3 Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.

6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.

7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.

We have had laws that the judges would enforce upon the general populace, but today’s laws now apply to the judges themselves, and the goings-on in their courtrooms. Thus we have rules not only of what to judge, but also of how to judge.

From verses 1 and 2 we learn that there is to be no false testimony. Every witness is to speak what is true, even if there is a large multitude that would pressure the witness to do otherwise. From this we see that the Truth itself is of higher status than personal or public interest. It does not matter what we want, or what the masses want, if it isn’t true it isn’t to be spoken.

Verses 3 and 6 make clear that every person is to be judged the same as every other. To “countenance a poor man” would mean to rule in his favor out of compassion, even though his case is weak, and that is forbidden. But neither are we to “wrest the judgment” against him out of disdain when his case is strong. The status of the person is not what matters, what matters is what is true and right in the case, with no regard for the status of the individuals being judged.

It could be that the poor man is impoverished due to no fault of his own, and is generally deserving of compassion. Or it could be that the poor man is impoverished because he lives a foolish and hedonistic lifestyle, and is generally deserving of consequence. And yes, a sense of compassion and a sense of justice are both virtues, but they are not higher virtues than the Truth. They do not justify us in coming near “to a false matter.” If anything is clear from today’s verses, it is that there is a hierarchy of virtues, and the Truth sits atop them all.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 22:29-31

29 Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.

30 Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.

31 And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.

In these laws the people are reminded of their obligation to offer their firsts to the Lord. The first of their fruit, of their liquor, of their oxen and sheep. Even offering the firstborn of their sons as priests.

The general understanding among scholars as to why verse 30 says the firstborn cattle would remain with their mothers for a week is so that they could give their mothers relief by drawing the milk from the udder. It would also allow them to be stable, strong, and clean before being brought to the Lord.

Verse 31 is a quick aside that tells the people that they must not eat carrion. Late on we will hear more on the dietary restrictions of the Mosaic law, but the carcass of even a clean animal would not be fit for human consumption, only for the feeding of one’s dogs. This is, of course, a very practical law, one that would safeguard the Israelites from consuming spoiled or infected meat.