Exodus 22:16-23:33

Exodus 22:16-23:33

The rest of Exodus 22 as well as the first few verses of Exodus 23 wrap up the section on how to live with others. The commands in this section range from how you are to treat virgins, sojourners, and neighbors to more commands about restitution to taking care of animals. There are also a few more commands that deal with how to treat God. God clarifies yet again that they are to have no other gods before Him and that they should not sacrifice to any other god. He stresses the importance of them living completely for Him, which carries over into the next part of Exodus 23.

After explaining how the Israelites should treat one another, God discusses the Sabbath. He has already told them how important the Sabbath is, for it is an image of the six days of Creation with one day of rest. God tells them that not only are they to rest on this day, but they should also allow their servants and animals to have rest on the Sabbath as well. Furthermore, there is also a “Sabbath year.” After six years of hard work, they were to leave their fields alone in the seventh year, living off of what they had made in the previous six years. This day of rest, and even the year of rest illustrates complete dependence on God. Just as Joseph worked hard for seven years so that they could survive the seven year famine, and the Israelites collected manna for six days, collecting more on the sixth day for the day of Sabbath, God wanted them to understand the importance of resting and relying on Him.

He then told them about a series of feasts that they were to have throughout the year. The first feast was that of Unleavened Bread. This was to remind the Israelites of their rescue from Egypt. God had already given them commands on how to remember this event with Passover, but this was just another way that they could remember how God had protected them. As humans, we need these reminders. We are prone to forget how powerful God is and what He really can do. There are times when we limit God’s power, and this served as one of those reminders to help keep the Israelites on the right path. The other two feasts appear to be feasts of worship. They mark the beginning and end of the harvest season, thanking God for His provision.

At the end of Exodus 23, God promises to send a guide as they continue on their way. He is going to send an angel to lead them into the Promised Land, and they are to obey his voice as if it is God, for God is going to work through him. When they do this, God will reward their obedience by making sure that they have safe passage to Canaan. Any who stand in their way, God will take care of. Just as God had protected them from the hands of Amalek, He promised to protect them the rest of the way. In the midst of this promise, however, He also warned them about making alliances with or working alongside the different people groups that already possessed Canaan. They worshipped other gods, and God warned Moses of the danger of making covenants with them and their gods. He commanded complete devotion from His children, and after all that He promised to do for the Israelites, He deserved no less. This should speak to us as well about who we align ourselves with in life. When people see us, is it obvious that we stand for God, or does it appear as if we live a double life? We cannot serve both God and the pleasures of this world; it is one or the other.

Matt