Exodus 23

Exodus 23:13-33

Exodus 23:15 — “the feast of unleavened bread” - Comments - See Exodus 12:1-11; Exodus 12:14-20 for a full account of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Exodus 23:16 — “And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field” – Comments - The Feast of the Harvest is also called the Feast of Weeks (Numbers 28:26-31). It is also called the Day of Pentecost. This feast was held in the third month (May-June), which was fifty days after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, or the Passover. This Feast of Harvest was to commemorate the early harvest. Numbers 28:26, “Also in the day of the firstfruits, when ye bring a new meat offering unto the LORD, after your weeks be out, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work:” Acts 2:1, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” Exodus 23:16 — “and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field” - Comments - The Feast of Ingathering was also known as the Feast of Tabernacles (Booths). It was an autumn feast held in the months of September thru October to celebrate the completed harvest. It also commemorated the wandering of the children of Israel in the wilderness for forty years, living in tents. The Jews would build themselves temporary booths in honour of Israel’s life in the wilderness. A similar feast took place as a part of the African tradition until recently. When the rainy season came to an end, and the crops ripened, the drums beat to gather the people for a feast of the food that has been gathered during that growing season. Note this quote in Joseph E. Church’s book Quest for the Highest: “This was harvest time in Ruanda, the beginning of the long dry season, and it was quite normal for the hundreds of homesteads around Lake Mohasi to meet and rejoice in a heathen way to the beat of the drums and clapping of hands. But this time it was to sing praises to the Giver of all life whom they had learned to love. Almost all the European tunes for hymns were more or less syncopated at this time when there was great joy and fervour in singing.”[90] [90] Joseph E. Church, Quest for the Highest (Exeter, UK: The Paternoster Press, 1981), 131.Exodus 23:19 — “The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God” - Comments - Anyone who has farmed knows that the best of the crops usually ripens first. The later crops are not up to the quality as the firstfruits. It was an act of faith to give up the best to the Lord, and believe that the Lord would bless the harvest of the remaining crops. Exodus 23:19 — “Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk” - Comments - Note the exact same verse: Exodus 34:26, “The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.” Deuteronomy 14:21, “Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.” Exodus 23:20 — Comments - This angel not only took the children through the wilderness and through the conquest, but he makes numerous appearances in the book of Joshua and Judges years after the conquest. Judges 2:1, “And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.” Judges 6:11, “And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.” Judges 13:3, “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.” Scripture References - See: Exodus 14:19, “And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:” Exodus 23:23, “For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.” Exodus 32:34, “Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.” Exodus 33:2, “And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:” Exodus 23:27 — Scripture References - Note: Joshua 2:9, “And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.” Exodus 23:28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. Exodus 23:28 — Scripture References - Note: Deuteronomy 7:20, “Moreover the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed.” Joshua 24:12, “And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.” Exodus 23:32 — Comments - Joshua disobeyed the commandment in Exodus 23:32 when he made a covenant with the Gibeonites. Joshua 9:15, “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.” Exodus 23:33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee. Exodus 23:33 — Scripture References - Note: Psalms 106:34-36, “They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them: But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works. And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.”