ALL ROADS LEAD TO CHRIST
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST
EXODUS 23 Study Guide & Breakdown
Justice for All
23 “You shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. 2 You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute to turn aside after many to pervert justice. 3 You shall not show partiality to a poor man in his dispute.
4 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. 5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.
6 “You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute. 7 Keep yourself far from a false matter; do not kill the innocent and righteous. For I will not justify the wicked. 8 And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.
9 “Also you shall not oppress a [a]stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
The Law of Sabbaths
10 “Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, 11 but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your [b]olive grove. 12 Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.
13 “And in all that I have said to you, be circumspect and make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.
Three Annual Feasts
14 “Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: 15 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty); 16 and the Feast of Harvest, the first fruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.
17 “Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord [c]God.
18 “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor shall the fat of My [d]sacrifice remain until morning. 19 The first of the first fruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
The Angel and the Promises
20 “Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21 Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. 22 But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will [e]cut them off. 24 You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.
25 “So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. 26 No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.
27 “I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you. 29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate, and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land. 31 And I will set your [f]bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the [g]River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. 32 You shall make no [h]covenant with them, nor with their gods. 33 They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
Notes Exodus 23 – (vv. 1, 2, 3, 4-5, 10-12, 15, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26)
23:1: One should never accept a report that belittles someone without investigating its validity, for the Holy Spirit warns against circulating a false report – (BasilG) …
23:2: The Majority are not always right … sometimes they pervert justice …
23:3: If a poor man is not to be shown partiality, much less the rich … This holds true not for judges in the court but also for all men, for justice is to be kept pure … (JohnChr) …
23:4-5: If we are to return an enemy’s domestic animal that is straying, how much more are we to return his soul and that of our friends to God – (JohnChr) …
23:10-12: Love of God and neighbor also includes love of creation, for the land needs rest... And this benefits both the poor and the wild animals … Then too, man is refreshed, for the Sabbath is made for man and creation, and not man and creation for the Sabbath …
23:15: When you appear before God, do not appear before Him empty-handed … This applies to almsgiving, for when you enter before God to implore mercy, you must first show mercy … make God your debtor, then offer your prayers … Lend to Him, then ask for a return, and you will receive it with interest – (JohnChr) …
23:20: This is the Angel who said to Moses, “I AM THE EXISTING ONE” – (Exodus 3:14) … He is the Only Begotten God, because He is begotten from the Unbegotten Father before all time and ages … He is called ANGEL to distinguish Him from the Father … The word angel means “MESSENGER”, and this Angel reveals the will of the Father to man … Moses believed in the Holy Trinity – (GrgNy) … Thus, “My” refers to the Father, and “Angel”, refers to the Son …
23:21: This Angel has the authority to forgive sins, for the Father’ NAME IS IN HIM … The Father’s name is the Lord; therefore, the Son is also called by this name – (AmbM) … When He became incarnate, He also forgave sins … But the Jews challenged His authority in vain, because they did not believe He was the Son of God – (Matthew 9:1-7) …
Matthew 9:1-7: So, He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. 2 Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”
3 And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!”
4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 7 And he arose and departed to his house.
23:22: Israel was a ROYAL PRIESTHOOD AND A HOLY NATION based on obedience to the Lord … The Lord speaking to Israel was the Word, and when He became Incarnate, the nation disobeyed Him … Therefore, He took the kingdom away from Israel and gave it to a nation bearing the fruits of it – (Matthew 21:43) … This nation consists of the obedient in the Church, both Jews and Gentiles – (1Peter 2:9-10) …
Matthew 21:43: “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.
1Peter 2:9-10: But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
23:23: Again, MY ANGEL is the Son of the Father … He led Israel into the Land of Promise – (JohnCas) … He also became Incarnate to lead us into the world to come, Moses believed in the Holy Trinity and in the Incarnation …
23:25: The Word commanded them to serve THE LORD THEIR GOD, who is the Father … The Word Incarnate now draws all who obey Him into the service of His Father …
23:26: The Lord promises to FULFILL THE NUMBER OF OUR DAYS if we truly serve Him … Those who do so will not die before their service is completed … Abraham was an example of this – (Genesis
25:8), and the Psalmist prays, “Take me not away in the midst of my days” – (Psalm 102:25; and AthanG) …
Genesis 25:8: Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.
Psalm 102:25: Take me not away in the midst of my days; Your years are throughout all generations …
PSALM 82 (83) Study & Breakdown
Psalm 82 (83) prophesies that all who hate Christ (v. 3) will also persecute His saints – (vv. 4-9; see also John 15:18; and 2Timothy 3:12) … Various nations mentioned – (vv. 7-9) represent the kinds of persecutors who seek to destroy the Church … Even avowed enemies find a common ground of unity to persecute the Church – (v. 6) … But the Church is taught how to pray in times of persecution – (vv. 10-19), and even some of these enemies are converted to the Lord – (v. 17) …
John 15:18: 18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
2 Timothy 3:12: 12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.