Sermon - AudioEx 22-24 - Audio
Ex 22-24 - Daily Reading
Daily Insights - Please Comment
Exodus 22 talks about property rights.
Ex 22.1: In Luke 19.8 we see the heart of Zacchaeus in keeping God's law when he reflects this commandment, "And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”
22.2-3: This law focuses on what is reasonable defense against burglary. If someone killed a thief who was breaking in during the night, he was not charged because he would not have known it was just a thief, but if it happened during the day, he was guilty of a crime, on the assumption that in daylight the thief posed no threat to the homeowner’s life and could be stopped and made to pay restitution. NET Bible
22.5-6: Vineyards and fields represented the ability of a family to feed itself and help for the poor through gleaning. Great care was to be taken not to destroy such a vital resource.
22.8: The word for judge (NIV) is elohim (God). The ESV translates elohim as God. The basic idea is that when a dispute arose about a piece of property the two parties had to go the tabernacle. The one accused of stealing had to swear an oath before God that he was innocent. The judge at the temple who represented God would determine which person was telling the truth.
22.18-20: all of these actions are outside of being a people who are holy to the LORD.
22.21-27: These words show God's concern for the poor, even when another's property rights are at stake.
22.29: God exerts his property rights.
Exodus 23
A recurring theme in this chapter is the importance of following only God and rejecting all idols.
23.1-9: As God is just and righteous so his people are to be just and righteous. They are to be honest witnesses, willing to help their enemies, and be fair when bringing justice.
23.12: Shows another reason for the importance of the Sabbath, namely, rest for servants and animals.
23.14: This command will eventually speak of the men coming to Jerusalem three times a year for the three great feasts: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles.
23.19: Not boiling a young goat in its mother's milk is a command that no one really understands. In ancient Israel, however, it is important as can be seen by the repetition of this command in Exodus 34.26 and Deuteronomy 14.21.
23.20: This angel seems to be the one who comes to Joshua (Joshua 5.13-15) and lead the people into the land of promise.
23.27: The terror will come on the people because they will have heard of God's great deeds. When the people enter the land of Canaan the spies meet Rahab and this is what she says to them in Joshua 2, "Before the men lay down, [Rahab] came up to them on the roof 9 and said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, band that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. 11 And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath."
Exodus 24
24:1. Seventy elders. These men are the appointed representatives of the tribes. Their place here with Moses, Aaron and Aaron’s sons is as covenantal representatives. Their voice, like their number (seventy), stands for the nation as a whole accepting the covenant. IVP Commentary
24.4: The covenant is not only spoken from generation to generation, Moses writes it down.
24.6: At this point the priesthood had not been established so Moses takes on the task of being Israel's chief priest.
24.8: Sprinkling blood on a person occurs only one other place in the Bible: the ordination of Aaron and his sons (Leviticus 8). The sprinkling of the people shows they have been set apart by God as his royal priesthood.
24.11: To see God could lead to death because of God's holiness and greatness. God, however, spares the 70 as he celebrates a covenant meal with them. What will be surprising is that these leaders who sit down with God in a covenant meal and even encounter his presence will in a short time get up to engage in revelry in front of the golden calf.
24.18: Moses enters an amazing time of being with God.
4 comments:
I think it's interesting that God is giving property rights to a group of people that currently own NO PROPERTY WHATSOEVER.
Seriously.... could you imagine having 40 days and nights in the presence of God alone? That would be AMAZING!
What is happening in 24:9-11? "There was under his feet as it were a pavement of(CL) sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness." The very heaven of clearness?
How about, "And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank." ?
Hi Rich,
The sapphire stone was used in ancient throne rooms i.e. the place where people would meet the king. So this is a picture of the 70 elders being ushered into the throne room of God. The language and picture remind us of what John will see later in the book of Revelation, Rev. 4:2 "At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.... 5 From the throne came pflashes of lightning, and rumblings* and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning qseven torches of fire, rwhich are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was sas it were a sea of glass, like crystal."
The comment on "he did not lay his hand on" is a reminder that seeing the face of God and being in his presence is such an overwhelming experience that it can lead to death. Later in Exodus Moses will ask to see God's glory. We read, Ex. 33:18 Moses said, “Please pshow me your glory.” Ex. 33:19 "And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” The words in both Exodus 24 and 33 remind us of the majesty and greatness of God. Our desire to enter his presence needs to be tempered by this reality.
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