LESSON 23
ADDITIONAL JUDGMENTS AND DIRECTIONS
By E. L. Bynum, Pastor
Memory Verse: Exodus 23:20 (N.W. 24:17)————Lesson: Exodus 23:1-33
I . MISCELLANEOUS JUDGMENTS AND LAWS. v. 1-19
A. Rules For Judicial Proceedings. v. 1-9
While these rules may be addressed to the judges in particular, nevertheless they had wide application to all. This explains in detail the 9th Commandment in Ex. 16.
1. Perjury to be avoided. v. 1. This would be true in court, but also at all times. Ex. 20:16
2. Follow right and not the multitude. v. 2
3. Do not do evil to help a poor man. v. 3. We are not to do wrong to help the poor, as well as the rich. Lev. 19:15, Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour. There is a mind set on the part of some liberal do-gooders, that it is alright to break the laws of God and man in order to promote a good cause, such as helping minorities or the poor. This of course is faulty thinking.
4. The rights of an enemy must be respected. v. 4-5. Pro. 24:17, Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth. I Thess. 5:15, See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. Matt. 5:43-44, Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. Rom. 12:17-21, Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
5. The poor are to receive equal justice. v. 6
6. Truth and NOT falsehood to be followed. v. 7
7. Bribery not to be practiced. v. 8. Isa. 1:23, Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them. Micah 3:11, The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us.
8. Strangers are to be treated fairly. v. 9
B. The Law Of The Sabbatical Year. v. 10-13
1. The beneficence of the Sabbatical year. v. 10-11. Lev. 25:1-7
a. The land benefitted. Modern farmers took a long time to find out the benefit of letting the land rest, either through letting it lie fallow, or through crop rotation.
b. The owner benefitted.
c. The poor benefitted.
d . The beasts benefitted.
2. The Sabbath day continued during the Sabbatic year. v. 12
3. They were to be careful in following all commands. v. 13
4. They were not even to mention or talk about false gods. v.13. To make mention of these gods in common conversation would tend to cause them to lose their horror of idolatry. This should be applied to Christians today who talk about sin, but do not seem to abhor it.
C. The Law Of The Feasts. v . 14-19
1. The three feasts were the Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. v. 14. These are included in the seven Feasts listed in Lev. 23. Later on the Jews added the Feast of Lights (Hanukkah), and the Feast of Purim.
2. The feast of unleavened bread, the feast of passover. v. 15
a. It reminded them of past slavery.
b. Of past deliverance. The Passover was a type of the death of Christ. I Cor. 5:7, Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us. I Pet. 1:19, But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
c. Of present duties. They were not to appear at any of the feasts empty, that is, without a sacrifice. Deut. 16:16-17, Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty: Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee.
3. The feast of firstfruits. v. 16. This was the feast of Pentecost which came 50 days after the sheaf of the firstfruits (which is a type of the resurrection), were brought. Lev. 23:10,15-20
4. The feast of ingathering. v. 16. See Lev. 23:34. This was at the completion of the harvest. This was the Feast of Tabernacles and looks forward to the millennial reign of Christ. Zech. 14:16-21, And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’S house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.
5. These 3 feasts to be kept each year and all males were to appear. v. 14, 17
6. The Passover to be offered with unleavened bread. v. 18
7. The Passover lamb – the fat not to be left until the morning v. 18. (It was the Passover lamb because it was the one in which no flesh was to be left until the morning. Ex. 12:10)
8. The first of the firstfruits to be brought without delay. v. 19
9. They were NOT to follow the example of the Canaanite heathen ceremony in seething the kid in its mother’s milk. v. 19. It would also have been an unfeeling act which would lead to a lot of wicked sins.
II. INSTRUCTION FOR ENTERING THE PROMISED LAND.
v.20-33
A. An Angel To Guide And Keep. v. 20-23
1. The angel is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. v. 20. See Ex. 14:19; 33:2; Num 20:16, And when we cried unto the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we [are] in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border.
2. They were to obey Him. v. 21. Only Christ could pardon their transgressions.
3. He would be against their enemies. v. 22. The terror of the Lord did go before them. Ex. 15:16. Josh. 2:10-11, For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.
4. He would cut off their enemies. v. 23. As the Lord went ahead of them to prepare them a place, so Jesus has gone ahead to prepare us a place. John 14:1-3, Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
B. The Conquest And Settlement Of The Land. v. 24-33
1. They were to destroy the false gods. v. 24
2. They were to serve the true God. v. 25
3. Sickness to be taken away and barrenness removed. v. 25-26
4. God would send fear before them. v. 27
5. Hornets to go before them. v. 28
6. It would be best that their conquest be gradual. v. 29-30. It took Joshua and his army about seven years to conquer the land, although the mopping up operation took a lot longer.
7. God would set the bounds. v. 31. Gen. 15:18-21, In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. II Sam. 8:3, David smote also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates. II Sam 8:6, Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus: and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went. II Sam. 8:15, And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people. I Kings 4:20-25, And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life.
8. They were not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land. v. 32. Josh. 9:14-15, And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD. And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them. (See Josh. 9, league with Gibeonites).
9. Separation was to be practiced. v. 33
—by E. L. Bynum
STUDY QUESTIONS
1. What is perjury, and why was it to be avoided?
2. Why are we not to follow the multitude?
3. Why was it not right to stretch the law a little to help the poor?
4. What is bribery, and why should judges not accept it?
5. What was the Sabbatic year, and who benefitted from it?
6. Why were they forbidden to talk about false gods?
7. What can we learn from this?
8. Name the three feasts mentioned in this chapter?
9. How often were they to be kept, and who must appear?
10. Who was the Angel that would go before them?
11 . Why did God provide for a gradual conquest of the land?