Exodus 23
BBCExodus 23:1
23:1-12 In judicial matters, it was forbidden to circulate a false report, to conspire with the wicked to defend the guilty, to take sides with an evil crowd, or to show partiality to the poor. No spite was to be shown to an animal belonging to an enemy. If it was lost, it should be returned to its owner; and if it had fallen down with a heavy load, it should be assisted to its feet. Justice was to be shown to the poor, and the innocent and righteous were not to be condemned through wicked legal tricks. It was forbidden to take a bribe, or to oppress strangers. The seventh year was a sabbath, during which land was to lie fallow (idle).
The poor were allowed to take what grew by itself that year. The seventh day was also to provide rest for master, servant, and animal. Note that the God of the OT was merciful and just, in spite of the charges made against Him by unbelieving modern critics. 23:13-17 Jews were forbidden to mention . . . other gods (idols) except perhaps by way of condemning them, as the prophets did. Three great feasts were to be kept to Jehovah: (1) The Feast of Unleavened Bread. It was held at the beginning of the year, immediately after the Passover Feast. It speaks of the importance of purging our lives from malice and wickedness. (2) The Feast of Harvest, also called Pentecost and the Feast of Weeks. It speaks of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and the formation of the church. (3) The Feast of Ingathering, also called the Feast of Tabernacles. It typifies Israel dwelling securely in the land during the Millennium.
Adult males were required to attend these feasts; for others it was voluntary. In the NT we see not only Joseph, but Mary and Jesus the Boy also going up annually to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast (Luk_2:41). 23:18, 19 Leavened bread (leaven symbolizes sin) was not to be used in connection with the blood of God’s sacrifice, i.e., the Passover. The fat of an offering was the Lord’s because it signified the best part; it was not to be left until the morning, but probably was to be burned. The best of the firstfruits were to be brought to the house of the LORD. An animal was not to be cooked in its mother’s milk. This was probably aimed against fertility rites practiced by idolaters. Strict Jews today refrain from cooking meat and milk dishes in the same pan. Also, they refrain from eating meats in cream sauces, etc.
Exodus 23:20
- Laws Regarding Conquest (23:20-33)Here God promised to send . . . an Angel (the Lord Himself) before the Israelites, to lead them to the Promised Land and to drive out the heathen inhabitants. If the Jews refrained from idolatry and obeyed the Lord, He would do great things for them. Regarding the warning against disobedience, Henry writes: We do well to take heed of provoking our protector and benefactor, because if our defence depart from us, and the streams of his goodness be cut off, we are undone. Their land would extend from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines (the Mediterranean Sea) and from the desert (the Negev south of Canaan) to the River (Euphrates). Notice the command to drive . . . out the inhabitants of the land. There were to be no treaties, no idolatry, no intermingling. God had already promised to destroy the wicked Canaanites, but Israel had to cooperate. This enshrines an important spiritual principle: God will give us victory over our enemies (the world, the flesh, and the devil), but He expects us to fight the good fight of faith. Verse 33 finds its counterpart in 2Co_6:14-18. Separation from the world has always been God’s will for His people. Israel’s failure to obey this command led to her downfall. It is still true that “bad company corrupts good morals.”