Exodus 23:10-19 Click here for Bible Verses
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.
Exodus 23:13 (NIV)
13 “Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.
On verse 13: May we not selfishly pick and choose which of God’s commands we will follow and which we won’t. Rather, may we “be careful to do everything” the LORD has told us to do, believing that this brings honour to God and life to us.
Exodus 23:14-17 (NIV)
14 “Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.
15 “Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month you came out of Egypt. “No one is to appear before me empty-handed.
16 “Celebrate the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field. “Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.
17 “Three times a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign LORD.
On verses 14-17: In verses 10-12 we see that God values rest. In verses 14-16 we see that God values celebration. Our God loves to throw parties, so much so that He commands the Israelites to celebrate three festivals a year: the Feast of Unleavened Bread (v15), the Feast of Harvest when harvest time begins (v16), and the Feast of Ingathering when harvest time ends (v16) . God would love celebrations so much, He would add more celebrations later on.
What can we learn from this? If you want to live life well, be intentional about celebrating the blessings you have in life, the beginning and end of seasons, and the God who makes those blessings and seasons possible. That’s why when team leaders at THRIVE gather for our leadership huddles, we like to begin with celebrating something or someone. Just as God is intentional about celebration, let’s be intentional about celebrating the good things God in His grace allows us to experience.
Exodus 23:18a (NIV)
18 “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast…
On verse 18a: Why the prohibition on yeast? It’s not because yeast is inherently bad or that we should never eat it or use it? Rather, as we learned in Exodus 12 about the Feast of Unleavened Bread, God was using yeast as a symbol for sin – how like yeast, sin seems like such a small thing and yet it can have a big impact. To continue with that symbolism and to reinforce in the Israelites’ consciousness that God is holy and without sin, God required the Israelites to remove any yeast from any sacrifice that they gave to God.
Exodus 23:18b-19a (NIV)
18…The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning.
19 “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God…
On verses 18b-19a: When offering animal sacrifices to God, the Israelites might be tempted to take the best part of the animal (the fat) and keep it for themselves to use the next day. Here the LORD is effectively saying, “Don’t save the best parts for yourselves but give your best to Me.” (See for example Leviticus 3:9-16.) It’s a similar idea in verse 19a when God talks about bringing to God the firstfruits of the soil.
What can we learn from this? Don’t save the best that you have for yourself, but give the best part and the first part of what you have to God.
Exodus 23:19b (NIV)
19…”Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
On verse 19b: This curious command comes up two more times in the Law of Moses (see Exodus 34:26 and Deuteronomy 14:21). Why not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk? According to some scholars, the nations who lived near the Israelites and who worshiped other gods had a practice of boiling a young goat in its mother’s milk, believing that somehow this would magically make them and/or their flocks stronger and more fertile. God wanted to steer the Israelites clear of believing that through superstition and magic they could enhance themselves or alter their destinies. He wanted them to put their trust in Him and not in magic arts and pagan rituals, so He told them not to follow this pagan practice.
What can we learn from this? Beware thinking that through magic, superstition and ritual you can alter your destiny and enhance what you have. Realize that God alone is the source of life and blessing, so put your hope in Him.
Heavenly Father, thank You for showing me that when I rest and give myself a break, I give those around me a break as well. May I not be a workaholic who works myself and those around me to death. Like You I pray I would give myself and those around me the rest we all need so that we can be effective for the long term, that we would give You the fat (our best) which You so deserve. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
