Laws of the Land Exodus 23

 

Exodus 23 – Laws of The Land

 

Be careful what you say, this is God’s rule of conduct.  A gossiper is as bad as a murderer, a thief, or an adulterer in your midst, yet in our society a gossiper gets by easily.

“Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil.” It would put us out of the marching, protesting and rioting business.  It would rid our society of the growing menace of gangs. Freedom is not following a multitude to do evil.

Judgment should be exercised without respect of persons, whether they are rich or poor.

Treating people justly would seem to be an easy thing to do, but the sinful human heart can lead us astray with rumors, false witnesses, crowds, and money.  The fact that a person may be rich or poor, a friend or enemy must not blind us to the truth.

The Sabbath Day was the seventh day of the week and was a day of strict rest.  The Sabbatic Year was the septennial rest for the land from all cultivation.  Every fiftieth year the Hebrews who had been forced to sell themselves into slavery became free.  Lands that had been sold reverted to their original owners. Three times a year all the Hebrew males were to appear before the Lord God in Jerusalem.  Three feasts were to be celebrated: The Feast of Passover, The Feast of Pentecost, The Feast of Tabernacles.  It is the Lord Jesus that they were to obey.

God told Israel that He intended to put the enemy out of the land because of their sin.  He is telling them that His intention is to put them in the land of Israel and make it their land. The children of Israel were not to make any covenants with the inhabitants of the land nor with their gods. The nation would be entering enemy territory and would be tempted to compromise with the wicked people of the land.  They must not even speak about false gods, or they would be led to bow down and serve those gods and make covenants with them. The reason the nation of Israel finally went into Babylonian captivity was because they went into idolatry and served other gods.

 

 

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J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.