Archive for month: January, 2022

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 23:20-33.  Let’s go!

Exodus 23:20 (NIV)
20  “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.

On verse 20:  Just as the LORD would send an angel to go before the Israelites to guard them and lead them to the place He prepared for them, repeatedly the Bible says that God goes before you (Psalm 139:5; Isaiah 45:2; Isaiah 52:12) to guard you and to lead the way for you.

Exodus 23:21-23 (NIV)
21  Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him.
22  If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you.
23  My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 23:10-19.  Let’s go!

Exodus 23:10-12 (NIV)
10  “For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops,
11  but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
12  “Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed.

On verses 10-12:  The LORD tells the Israelites to give their fields a Sabbath rest every seventh year (v10-11) and to rest from their work on every seventh day (v12).  Earlier when the LORD commanded the Israelites to rest on the Sabbath, He said that this Sabbath was “to the LORD your God”, i.e. as a way to worship and honour God.  But notice whose benefit the LORD has in mind when talking about the need to rest: it’s the poor (v11) and wild animals (v11), that they would have a year with extra food to eat, and for the Israelites’ livestock, servants and foreigners (v12), that they “may be refreshed”.  

What can we learn from this?  When we rest from our work, we’re not the only ones who benefit.  We give those around us a break as well.  When you’re a workaholic and don’t know how to rest, not only do you risk running yourself to the ground, but you run the risk of exhausting the people you work with.  For the sake of their refreshment and yours, follow the LORD’s command to schedule regular rest.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 23:1-9.  Let’s go!

Exodus 23:1 (NIV)
1  “Do not spread false reports. Do not help a wicked man by being a malicious witness.

On verse 1:  Don’t gossip.  Don’t fuel the rumour mill.  Don’t say false things about others.

Exodus 23:2 (NIV)
2  “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd,

On verse 2:  Avoid negative peer pressure and stand up for what is right.

Exodus 23:3 (NIV)
3  and do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.

On verse 3:  God tells judges not to favour a poor person in a lawsuit just because that person is poor.  In verse 6 God will give the counterbalancing command, which is to make sure that the poor are not denied justice.   Put verse 3 and 6 together and what you get is the notion that judges are to be fair and impartial, not showing favoritism to anyone simply because of their economic or social background.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 22:1-15.  Let’s go!

Exodus 22:1-15 (NIV)
1  “If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.
2  “If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed;
3  but if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of bloodshed. “A thief must certainly make restitution, but if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft.
4  “If the stolen animal is found alive in his possession–whether ox or donkey or sheep–he must pay back double.
5  “If a man grazes his livestock in a field or vineyard and lets them stray and they graze in another man’s field, he must make restitution from the best of his own field or vineyard…….

On verses 1-15:  Over and over the word “restitution” comes up.  Restitution is a legal term that means restoring to someone something that has been taken away from them. It’s about making a person whole again after they have lost something. That’s what these regulations in verses 1 to 15 are talking about.

How can we apply these regulations from the Law of Moses?  First, if we scan the New Testament, we’ll see that the New Testament does not specifically mention these regulations.