Exodus 23

Exodus 23:1-33

Exodus 21:1-36; Exodus 22:1-31; Exodus 23:1-33; Exodus 24:1-18II. The Lesser Law (Exodus 21:1-36; Exodus 22:1-31; Exodus 23:1-33; Exodus 24:1-18) This is the civil code of Israel and is really a concrete presentation and application of the laws contained in the Decalogue, particularly the second table. It is in a sense a minor Decalogue. The contents of this Lesser Law may be summed up in seven divisions.

Exodus 23:10-19

Exodus 23:10-196. Concerning Sacred Seasons and the Sabbath (Exodus 23:10-19) This is in harmony with the commandment, “ Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy” and also, “ Thou shalt not covet.” The basis of Sabbath desecration lies in many instances in the spirit of covetousness. The great truth of this section is that part of our time belongs to God. This is true not only of one day in seven, but also of certain parts of what we call week days. The Jew was obliged to go to Jerusalem three times a year-to attend the feast of the Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. These feast days kept alive the religious memories of the Jew. It would be well even for Christians to take certain days off during the year to meet with God’ s people to meditate on spiritual things.

Exodus 23:20-33

Exodus 23:20-337. The Promise of an Inheritance (Exodus 23:20-33) This section is in harmony with the promise of the fourth commandment, “ That thy days may be long in the land.” It bears testimony to the fact that no man serves God for nothing. Righteousness and obedience have their reward. Exodus 24:1-18 presents to us the consummation of the giving of the Lesser Law. The glory of God accompanies it even as in the beginning at the giving of the Greater Law, so teaching us that God is in the lesser as well as in the greater: “ Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19). After all, there is no such thing as a big sinner and a little sinner in the sight of God. To sin at all, even in the minutest point, is to constitute oneself guilty as a sinner before God, for “ whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). Even so is it with the small deeds of good that we do, the faltering word of helpfulness that we speak, the “ widow’ s mite” that we cast into God’ s treasury-these, small and insignificant though they may seem in the eyes of man, light though they may appear in the balances of earth, unworthy of notice though they may be in the esteem of man, these are of great value in the estimation of God. The spark of fire is as real fire as the flames that belch from Vesuvius. The dewdrop that trembles on the leaf is as real water as is the mighty torrent of Niagara. The man that brought his offering to the tabernacle was not compelled to bring a bullock; he could bring a turtledove; but it had to be “ without blemish and without spot.”