23:20,21Who was this angel that went with the Israelites? Most likely the angel was a manifestation of God. God is not Present in all the angels in this way. Angels are God’s created Messengers (Hebrews 1:14). God chose to make himself known in this special way for a special purpose. God was in the angel in the same way he was present in the pillars of Cloud and fire (13:21, 22). “He is my representative” means the essential nature and power of God were made known in this angel.
Life Application Study BibleExodusChapter 23
Exodus 23
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 132, 133
A few verse numbers on this page were hard to read in the scan and are marked with a dotted underline — compare with the original page image if in doubt.
23Exodus 23
A Call for Justice
123 “You must not pass along false rumors. You must not cooperate with evil people by 231 00.4, lying on the witness stand. Ps 35:11 2"You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you are called to testify inadis- 23:2 |. pute, do not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice. 3And do not slant your testimony in Deut 175 16:19 favor of a person just because that person is poor. 4“Tf you come upon your enemy’s Ox Or donkey that has strayed away, take it back to its 23:4-5 owner. SIf you see that the donkey of someone who hates you has collapsed under itsload, Cet 221-4 do not walk by. Instead, stop and help. 23:6 6"In a lawsuit, you must not deny justice to the poor. Exod 23:2-3 7"Be sure never to charge anyone falsely with evil. Never sentence an innocent or blame- 23:7 20:13. 16 less person to death, for I never declare a guilty person to be innocent. Deut 27:25 8”Take no bribes, for a bribe makes you ignore something that you clearly see. A bribe 23:8 16:19 makes even a righteous person twist the truth. 9You must not oppress foreigners. You know what it’s like to be a foreigner, for you 23:9 ;; Exod 22:21 yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. Lev 19-33-34 10“Plant and harvest your crops for six years, "but let the land be renewed and lie unculti- 23:10 vated during the seventh year. Then let the poor among you harvest whatever grows on its Lev 25:3 own. Leave the rest for wild animals to eat. The same applies to your vineyards and olive 28 ect-7 groves. 12"You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must 23:12, : cs Exod 20:8-11 stop working. This gives your ox and your donkey a chance to rest. It also allows your slaves and the foreigners living among you to be refreshed. 13"Pay close attention to all my instructions. You must not call on the name of anyother 23:13 I gods. Do not even speak their names. Deu
Three Annual Festivals
1414"Each year you must celebrate three festivals in my honor. 15First, celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast, just as I commanded you. Celebrate this festival annually at the appointed time in early spring, In 23:19 I 2:15: 13:4 the month of Abib,* for that is the anniversary of your departure from Egypt. No one may Lev 23:5 appear before me without an offering. 23:15 Hebrew appointed time in the month of Abib. This first month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar usually occurs within the months of March and April. 23:14 Exod 34:23-24 Deut 16:16
Justice should be impartial, treating rich and poor alike. Givingspecial privileges to either rich or poor only makes justice foreveryone more unlikely. Withstand the pressure of the crowd tosway your decision about a person. Let the fairness God showsto each of us guide your judgment.23:4, 5 The thought of being kind to enemies was new and star-tling in a world where revenge was the common form of justice.God not only introduced this idea to the Israelites, he made itlaw! \f a man found a lost animal owned by his enemy, he wasto return it at once, even if his enemy might use it to harm him.Jesus clearly taught in Luke 10:30-37 to reach out to all peoplein need, even our enemies. Following the laws of right living ishard enough with friends. When we apply God's laws of fairnessand kindness to our enemies, we show how different we arefrom the world.
16"Second, celebrate the Festival of Harvest,* when you bring me the first crops of your harvest. “Finally, celebrate the Festival of the Final Harvest* at the end of the harvest season, when you have harvested all the crops from your fields. 17At these three times each year, every man in Israel must appear before the Sovereign, the LORD. 18°You must not offer the blood of my sacrificial offerings together with any baked goods containing yeast. And do not leave the fat from the festival offerings until the next morning. 19As you harvest your crops, bring the very best of the first harvest to the house of the LORD your God. “You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
A Promise of the LORD’s Presence
2020"See, [am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you. 21Pay close attention to him, and obey his instructions. Do not rebel against him, for he is my representative, and he will not forgive your rebellion. 22But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you. 2For my angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, so you may live there. And I will destroy them completely. 24You must not worship the gods of these nations or serve them in any way or imitate their evil practices. Instead, you must utterly destroy them and smash their sacred pillars. 25“You must serve only the LORD your God. If you do, I* will bless you with food and water, and I will protect you from illness. 26There will be no miscarriages or infertility in your land, and I will give you long, full lives. 27"7 will send my terror ahead of you and create panic among all the people whose lands you invade. I will make all your enemies turn and run. 28I will send terror* ahead of you to drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites. 29But I will not drive them out ina single year, because the Jand would become desolate and the wild animals would multiply and threaten you. 30I will drive them out a little at a time until your population has increased enough to take possession of the land. 31And I will fix your boundaries from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea,* and from the eastern wilderness to the Euphrates River.* I will hand over to you the people now living in the land, and you will drive them out ahead of you. 32"Make no treaties with them or their gods. 33They must not live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me. If you serve their gods, you will be caught in the trap of idolatry.”
Textual footnotes
- ings and not hold anything back. The first of the harvest was to
- ne dedicated to him. Since God doesn’t send payment overdue
- notices, it is easy to take care of other financial responsibilities
- while fetting our gifts to him slide. Giving to God first out ot
- what he has allowed you to have demonstrates that he has first
- priority in your life.
- den by God. Gossip, slander, and false witnessing would under-
- mine families, strain neighborhood cooperation, and make chaos
- of the justice system. Destructive gossip stil! causes problems.
- Even if you do not initiate a lie, you become responsible if you
- pass it along. Don’t circulate rumors; squelch them.
- 23:2, 3 Justice is often perverted in favor of the rich. Here the
- people are warned against twisting justice in favor of the poor.
- 23:1 Making up or spreading false rumors was strictly forbid-
- 23:16a Or Festival of Weeks. This was later called the Festival of Pentecost (see Acts 2:1). It is celebrated today as
- 23:16b Or Festiva! of ingathering. This was {ater called the Festival of Shelters or Festival of
- 23:25 As in Greek and Latin versions;
- 23:31a Hebrew from
- 23:31b Hebrew from the wilderness to the river.
Life Application Notes 4 notes
23:24,25if you're in the furnace, it’s easy to catch on fire. God warned the Israelites about their neighbors whose beliefs and actions could turn them away from him. We also live among neighbors whose values may be completely different from ours. We are called to maintain a life-style that shows Our faith. This can be a struggle, especially if our Christian life-style differs from the norm. Our lives should demonstrate that obeying God takes precedence over conforming to our neighbors’ way of life. God's Word, not society, dictates how we should live.
23:29Not all of God's solutions are instantaneous. Nor does delay justify inaction. In this case, God’s cause would require constant cooperation, persistence, and effort by the Israelites. Success would come step by step.
23:32,33God continually warned the people to avoid false religions and false gods. In Egypt they had been surrounded by idols and sorcerers, but leaving that land did not mean they were free from pagan religious influences. The land of Canaan was just as infested with idol worship. God knew his people needed extra strength, so he continually emphasized guarding against the influence of pagan religions.