Day 24: Exodus 22-24

(The previous post covered the first three parts of God's Covenant with this reborn nation of Israel. The third part (sharing) consisted of God's introduction of the Ten Commandments and other laws.)

Exodus 22

(This chapter continued the presentation of God's other laws: specifically the interaction between the individual and property, living and not living.)

(Verses 1-4: Restitution required in cases of theft.)

¹ If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.

(The "four sheep for a sheep" law was used by David when Nathan confronted him about his adultery with Bath-sheba (2 Samuel 12:1-6).)

² If the thief be found breaking in, and be smitten so that he dieth, there shall be no bloodguiltiness for him.
³ If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be bloodguiltiness for him; he shall make restitution: if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
⁴ If the theft be found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep, he shall pay double.

(Verses 5-8: Further application of the principle of restitution.)

⁵ If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall let his beast loose, and it feed in another man's field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.
⁶ If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the shocks of grain, or the standing grain, or the field are consumed; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.
⁷ If a man shall deliver unto his neighbor money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man's house; if the thief be found, he shall pay double.
⁸ If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall come near unto God, to see whether he have not put his hand unto his neighbor's goods.

(Verses 9-13: More application for restitution.)

⁹ For every matter of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, whereof one saith, This is it, the cause of both parties shall come before God; he whom God shall condemn shall pay double unto his neighbor.

(Double payment was required for trespass of property.)

¹⁰ If a man deliver unto his neighbor an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it:
¹¹ the oath of Jehovah shall be between them both, whether he hath not put his hand unto his neighbor's goods; and the owner thereof shall accept it, and he shall not make restitution.
¹² But if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof.
¹³ If it be torn in pieces, let him bring it for witness: he shall not make good that which was torn.

(Verses 14-15: Restitution applied to borrowing and lending.)

¹⁴ And if a man borrow aught of his neighbor, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof not being with it, he shall surely make restitution.
¹⁵ If the owner thereof be with it, he shall not make it good: if it be a hired thing, it came for its hire.

(Verses 16-17: The solution to a man enticing a virgin to lie with him.)

¹⁶ And if a man entice a virgin that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely pay a dowry for her to be his wife.

(Sexual intercourse was marriage if it was consensual.)

¹⁷ If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.

(Verses 18-20: Three capital crimes.)

¹⁸ Thou shalt not suffer a sorceress to live.

(A sorceress was a witch.)

¹⁹ Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.
²⁰ He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto Jehovah only, shall be utterly destroyed.

(Sacrificing to another god other than Jehovah was fornication. Fornication meant "to commit idolatry." Idolatry was "giving one's self to an image." Sexual intercourse with an unbeliever was also fornication because a person was forming a covenant with another god through the unbeliever. Fornication was unbelief: forming covenants with other gods either directly or through forming covenants (sexual intercourse) with unbelievers. Unbelievers were people who were in covenant with other gods.)

(Verses 21-27: Mercy and compassion for the poor and weak.)

²¹ And a sojourner shalt thou not wrong, neither shalt thou oppress him: for ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

(They were reminded about how they were treated in Egypt in regards to how they should treat other "sojourners.")

²² Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
²³ If thou afflict them at all, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;

(God would hear the cries of affliction from widows and orphans.)

²⁴ and my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

(This was God's equaling out Justice.)

²⁵ If thou lend money to any of my people with thee that is poor, thou shalt not be to him as a creditor; neither shall ye lay upon him interest.
²⁶ If thou at all take thy neighbor's garment to pledge, thou shalt restore it unto him before the sun goeth down:
²⁷ for that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? And it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.

(Verses 28-31: Laws regarding holiness and separation unto God.)

²⁸ Thou shalt not revile God, nor curse a ruler of thy people.

(They were told not to curse their ruler. Paul referenced this verse in Acts 23:5 when he appeared before the high priest Ananias and the council before being sent to Rome.)

²⁹ Thou shalt not delay to offer of thy harvest, and of the outflow of thy presses. The first-born of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.
³⁰ Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with its dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.
³¹ And ye shall be holy men unto me: therefore ye shall not eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.




Exodus 23

(This chapter continued the presentation of God's other laws: specifically, the interaction between the individual and opposition.)

(Verses 1-3: Commands to respect the law, not ease or the majority.)

¹ Thou shalt not take up a false report: put not thy hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
² Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to turn aside after a multitude to wrest justice:

(A multitude of people is not a good measure for whether or not you should do or believe something.)

³ neither shalt thou favor a poor man in his cause.

(Verses 4-9: Laws promoting righteous and compassionate conduct among people.)

⁴ If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.
⁵ If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, thou shalt forbear to leave him, thou shalt surely release it with him.

(They were told to help/love their enemies.)

⁶ Thou shalt not wrest the justice due to thy poor in his cause.
⁷ Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
⁸ And thou shalt take no bribe: for a bribe blindeth them that have sight, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
⁹ And a sojourner shalt thou not oppress: for ye know the heart of a sojourner, seeing ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

(Again, they were reminded about how they were treated in Egypt. The experience in Egypt ought to have helped in relating to "sojourners.")

(Verses 10-13: The Sabbath principle.)

¹⁰ And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the increase thereof:
¹¹ but the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie fallow; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beast of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.

(This was a Sabbath for the land.)

¹² Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest; that thine ox and thine ass may have rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the sojourner, may be refreshed.
¹³ And in all things that I have said unto you take ye heed: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.

(They were told not to even speak the name of another god.)

(Verses 14-17: Three national feasts.)

¹⁴ Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
¹⁵ The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep: seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib (for in it thou camest out from Egypt); and none shall appear before me empty:
¹⁶ and the feast of harvest, the first-fruits of thy labors, which thou sowest in the field: and the feast of ingathering, at the end of the year, when thou gatherest in thy labors out of the field.

(Three feasts:
-Unleavened Bread (Jesus' death),
-First-fruits (Jesus' resurrection),
-Tabernacles/Ingathering (God's wedding supper).

These three feasts ought to have pointed Israel towards Jesus Christ as the Messiah.)

¹⁷ Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord Jehovah.

(Verses 18-19: Laws regarding sacrifice and firstfruits offering.)

¹⁸ Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my feast remain all night until the morning.
¹⁹ The first of the first-fruits of thy ground thou shalt bring into the house of Jehovah thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in its mother's milk.

(Verses 20-21: The angel who has the name of God in him.)

²⁰ Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee by the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
²¹ Take ye heed before him, and hearken unto his voice; provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgression: for my name is in him.

(Verses 22-26: Blessing promised to an obedient Israel.)

²² But if thou shalt indeed hearken unto his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.
²³ For mine angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: and I will cut them off.

(God said an angel would lead them before their enemies and He named the enemies.)

²⁴ Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works; but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and break in pieces their pillars.
²⁵ And ye shall serve Jehovah your God, and he will bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
²⁶ There shall none cast her young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.

(Verses 27-30: How God will help Israel take possession of the land.)

²⁷ I will send my terror before thee, and will discomfit all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.
²⁸ And I will send the hornet before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
²⁹ I will not drive them out from before thee in one year, lest the land become desolate, and the beasts of the field multiply against thee.

(God said He would not drive the enemies out immediately because Israel could not inhabit all the land at that time and the result would have been unprofitable. God would not give them more than they could handle, both good and bad.)

³⁰ By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.

(God said He would drive out the enemy "by little and little." This would give Israel enough time to grow.)

(Verses 31-33: Boundaries of Israel's inheritance.)

³¹ And I will set thy border from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness unto the River: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand: and thou shalt drive them out before thee.

(God Himself defined the boundaries.)

³² Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
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.

(God concluded this third part of the Covenant (sharing) by referencing covenants with other gods. It was time for the fourth part of a covenant: death.)




Exodus 24

(This chapter concerned documentation.)

¹ And he said unto Moses, Come up unto Jehovah, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off:

(Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders went up to the Lord and worshipped afar off.)

² and Moses alone shall come near unto Jehovah; but they shall not come near; neither shall the people go up with him.

(Moses alone went near the Lord.)

³ And Moses came and told the people all the words of Jehovah, and all the ordinances: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which Jehovah hath spoken will we do.

(The people agreed to do the words of the Lord. This was a confirmation of the second part of a covenant: agreement. Hebrews 9:20-22 referenced the next five verses.)

⁴ And Moses wrote all the words of Jehovah, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the mount, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

(Moses wrote the words of the Lord. There was also built an altar and twelve pillars.)

⁵ And he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt-offerings, and sacrificed peace-offerings of oxen unto Jehovah.

(This was the fourth part of a covenant: death. The fifth and final part of a covenant was bloodshed.)

⁶ And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
⁷ And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that Jehovah hath spoken will we do, and be obedient.

(Once all five parts of the Covenant were about to be completed, Moses read the "book of the covenant" and the people agreed again. They could now do the fifth part of a covenant: bloodshed.)

⁸ And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which Jehovah hath made with you concerning all these words.

(The Covenant between God and Israel through the Law was completed. The 5th Dispensation had officially begun. God would reach people through the Law. Anyone, even people outside of Israel, would be accepted into community if they followed the Law.)

⁹ Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel.
¹⁰ And they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and as it were the very heaven for clearness.
¹¹ And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: and they beheld God, and did eat and drink.
¹² And Jehovah said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law and the commandment, which I have written, that thou mayest teach them.

(Tables of stone: God's documentation.)

¹³ And Moses rose up, and Joshua his minister: and Moses went up into the mount of God.

(Joshua was Moses’ minister. Joshua served Moses by being Moses' day-to-day leader. This freed Moses up to spend time with God.)

¹⁴ And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: whosoever hath a cause, let him come near unto them.
¹⁵ And Moses went up into the mount, and the cloud covered the mount.
¹⁶ And the glory of Jehovah abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
¹⁷ And the appearance of the glory of Jehovah was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.
¹⁸ And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud, and went up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.

(This post covered the completion of God's Covenant with reborn Israel. Here is the list of the steps of a Covenant in the context of entering into the 5th Dispensation.

Covenant List:
1. Go through something – The Israelites had gone through the Red Sea on dry ground...they passed between a wall of water on each side. "And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left." (Exodus 14:22)

2. Agreement – "And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord." (Exodus 19:8)

3. Sharing – Chapters 20 through 23 of Exodus recorded God sharing His Law and promises of blessings with the people.

4. Death – "And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord." (Exodus 24:5)

5. Bloodshed – "And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words." (Exodus 24:6-8).)

(The 5th Dispensation had begun. God would reach people through the Law. Moses and Joshua went up to the mount with God for forty days and forty nights. The next seven chapters covered what God said during that time. What did the people do during that time?)

Day 25