Exodus 23

Exodus 23:1 “You should not extend a false report. You should not join hands with a wicked person to be a malicious witness.

Exodus 23:2 You should not follow the majority to do evil, nor should you bear witness in a lawsuit, stretching with the majority, so as to stretch the truth,

Exodus 23:3 nor should you be favor a poor man in his lawsuit.

Exodus 23:4 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey getting lost, you should bring it back to him.

Exodus 23:5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you fallen under its burden, you should refrain from leaving him under it; you should rescue it along with him.

Exodus 23:6 “You should not stretch the judgment for your poor in his lawsuit.

Exodus 23:7 Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, because I will not acquit the wicked.

Exodus 23:8 And you should take no bribe, because a bribe blinds the seeing and turns the cause of those who are in the right.

Exodus 23:9 “You should not oppress a foreign guest. You know the throat of a foreign guest, because you were foreign guests in the land of Egypt.

Exodus 23:10 ” You will plant on your land for six years and collect what it produces,

Exodus 23:11 but the seventh year you will let it stop producing, lying fallow, so that the poor of your people may eat; and so that the animals of the field may eat what they leave. You should do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.

Exodus 23:12 “Six days you will do your work, but on the seventh day you will stop; so that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your female slave, and the foreign guest, may be refreshed.

Exodus 23:13 “Pay attention to all that I have said to you and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips.

Exodus 23:14 “Each year, three times you should keep a feast to me.

Exodus 23:15 You should keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Just as I commanded you, you should eat only unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, because in it you came out of Egypt. No one should appear before me empty-handed.

Exodus 23:16 You should keep the Feast of Harvest, of the first picking of your crops, of what you sow in the field. You should keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your work.

Exodus 23:17 Three times in the year all your males should appear before the Lord Yahveh.

Exodus 23:18 “You should not offer the blood of my sacrifice along with anything leavened or let any fat of my feast be left over in the morning.

Exodus 23:19 ” You should bring The first[1] of the first picking of your ground crops into the house of Yahveh your God. “You should not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

Exodus 23:20 “Notice, I am sending an agent before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.

Exodus 23:21 Listen carefully to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, because he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.

Exodus 23:22 “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

Exodus 23:23 “When my agent goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I make them disappear,

Exodus 23:24 you should not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you should utterly destroy them and break their pillars in pieces.

Exodus 23:25 You should serve Yahveh your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you.

Exodus 23:26 No one will miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.

Exodus 23:27 I will send my fear before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you will come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs from you.

Exodus 23:28 And I am sending hornets before you, which will drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you.

Exodus 23:29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, or else the land will become a sinister desolation and the wild animals increase against you.

Exodus 23:30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have multiplied and possess the land.

Exodus 23:31 And I will set your border from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the open country to the Euphrates, because I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.

Exodus 23:32 You will make no agreement with them and their gods.

Exodus 23:33 They should not live in your land, or else they would make you fail me; because if you serve their gods, it will definitely be a trap to you.”

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[1]רֵאשִׁית = first. Exodus 23:19; 34:26.

Exodus 23 quotes:

“It is not accidental that these laws appear side by side in Exodus 23. The editor uses the literary technique of “inclusion” to tie these two very different regulations together into a coherent unit. This is achieved by repeating a key word or words at the beginning and end of the unit, to serve as an inclusio (“bookends”) for the material in between.”

Lowery, R. H. Sabbath and Jubilee. Chalice Press, 2000. p. 52.

“God graciously responded to Moses’ desire to know who would go with him, saying, “My Presence will go with you” (verse 14)—that is, with Moses. (The “you” is singular in Hebrew.) Thus, because of Moses’ intercession, God partly reversed His decision not to go with the Israelites (verse 3); He would agree to go “with Moses.” We can understand God’s “Presence” to be the special angel mentioned earlier, in whom God’s Name was placed (Exodus 23:21).”

Hale, Thomas, and Stephen Thorson. The Applied Old Testament Commentary. 1st ed, David C. Cook, 2007. p. 271.

“These laws are given in the context of the covenant renewal. The Lord will work marvels for His people, provided that they keep His commandments. They are not to make treaties with the Chanaanites, “else they will become a snare among you.” They are to destroy the sacred asheroth or poles in honor of the goddess of fertility and to destroy also the masseboth or sacred pillars in honor of Baal (see Exodus 23, 23-33).”

Murphy, Roland E. The Book of Exodus. Paulist Press (Paulist Fathers), 1960. p. 22.

Exodus 23 links:

a sinister desolation
celebrating provision
Exodus- the three-way covenant
following the angel
kachad
the land Sabbath

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EXODUS in Jeff’s library

Exodus 22

Exodus 22:1 “If a person steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he should repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.

Exodus 22:2 “If a thief is found breaking in and is attacked and dies as a result, there should be no bloodguilt for him,

Exodus 22:3 but if the sun has risen on him, there should be bloodguilt for him. He will surely pay. If he has nothing, then he should be sold for his theft.

Exodus 22:4 If the stolen animal is found alive in his possession, whether it is an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he should pay double.

Exodus 22:5 “If a person causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over or lets his animal loose and it feeds in another person’s field, he should recompense the person from the best in his own field and in his own vineyard.

Exodus 22:6 “If fire breaks out and catches in weeds so that the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field is consumed, the one who started the fire should fully recompense for the loss.

Exodus 22:7 “If a person gives to his neighbor money or goods to keep safe, and it is stolen from the person’s house, then, if the thief is found, that one should pay double.

Exodus 22:8 If the thief is not found, the owner of the house will come near to God to show whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor’s property.

Exodus 22:9 For every breach of trust, whether it is for an ox, for a donkey, for a sheep, for a cloak, or for any kind of lost thing, of which one says, ‘This is it,’ the case of both parties should come before God. The one whom God condemns will pay double to that one’s neighbor.

Exodus 22:10 “If a person gives to their neighbor a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any animal to keep safe, and it dies or is injured or is driven away, without anyone seeing it,

Exodus 22:11 an oath by Yahveh should be between them both to see whether or not someone has put their hand to their neighbor’s property. The owner should accept the oath, and should not seek recompense.

Exodus 22:12 But if it is stolen from that person, they should seek recompense from its owner.

Exodus 22:13 If it is torn by animals, let them bring it as evidence. They should not seek recompense for what has been torn.

Exodus 22:14 “If a person borrows anything of their neighbor, and it is injured or dies, the owner not being with it, they should fully recompense the loss.

Exodus 22:15 If the owner was with it, they should not seek recompense; if it was rented, only the rental fee is due.

Exodus 22:16 “If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to be married and has sex with her, he should give the bride-price for her and make her his wife.

Exodus 22:17 If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he should still pay money equal to the bride-price for virgins.

Exodus 22:18 “You will not allow a sorceress to live.

Exodus 22:19 “Whoever has sex with an animal should be put to death.

Exodus 22:20 “Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than Yahveh alone, should be set apart for destruction.

Exodus 22:21 “You should not take advantage of a foreign guest or oppress him, because you were foreign guests in the land of Egypt.

Exodus 22:22 You should not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.

Exodus 22:23 If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry,

Exodus 22:24 and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.

Exodus 22:25 “If you lend money to any of my poor people with you, you should not be like a creditor to him; you should not require interest from him.

Exodus 22:26 If you take your neighbor’s cloak in pledge, you should return it to him before the sun goes down,

Exodus 22:27 because that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body; in what else would he sleep? Then if he cries out to me, I will respond, because I am compassionate.

Exodus 22:28 “You should not demean God, nor curse a leader of your people.

Exodus 22:29 “You should not delay offering from the fullness of your harvest and from the outpouring of your presses. The firstborn of your sons you should give to me.

Exodus 22:30 You should do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: seven days it should be with its mother; on the eighth day you should give it to me.

Exodus 22:31 “You should be sacred for me. For that reason, you should not eat any flesh that is torn by animals in the field; you should throw it to the dogs.

Exodus 22 quotes:

“The commandment tells us that we are not to steal (Exodus 20:15). This commandment assumes the privilege and right of ownership by individuals, families, business establishments, corporations, partnerships, and churches. Stiff penalties are meted out to dissuade a potential thief, or, in the case of a theft, have the thief make restitution to compensate the victim (Exodus 22:1-15).”

DeMar, Gary. God and Government. American Vision Press, 1982. p. 94.

“The person who is responsible for accidental damage or who has borrowed something is required to make good what the owner has lost. A singlefold restitution takes place in order to match the loss. In the case of theft, by contrast, the restitution is usually double (Exodus 22:7).”

Poythress, Vern S. The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses. P & R Pub., 1995. p. 126.

“A sorceress claims to be able to use supernatural power in order to cast an evil spell upon people, causing accidents, sickness or death. A more familiar term in those countries such as in Africa where sorcery is still practiced is “witchcraft.” The practice of sorcery is idolatry. It gives honor to the powers of Satan rather than to the true God. That is why the Lord demanded the death penalty, just as every form of open idolatry in Israel’s theocracy was punished with death. In many cultures and societies in the world today the power of witchcraft is still one of the greatest forces of evil.”

Wendland, Ernst H. Exodus. Northwestern Pub. House, 1984. p. 150.

Exodus 22 links:

covenant household property loss liability rights
Exodus- a holy people
laws about giving
set apart for destruction
taking advantage

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EXODUS in Jeff’s library

Exodus 21

Exodus 21:1 “These are the judgments that you should explain to them.

Exodus 21:2 When you contract with a Hebrew slave, he should serve six years, and in the seventh he should go out free, for nothing.

Exodus 21:3 If he comes in single, he should go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife should go out with him.

Exodus 21:4 If his employer gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children will be her employer’s, and he should go out alone.

Exodus 21:5 But if the slave declares, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’

Exodus 21:6 then his employer should bring him to God, and he should bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his employer should bore his ear through with an awl, and he will be his slave permanently.

Exodus 21:7 “When a man contracts out his daughter as a female slave, she should not go out as the male slaves do.

Exodus 21:8 If she does not please her employer, who has designated her for himself, then he should let her be redeemed. He will have no right to sell her to foreign people, since he has broken faith with her.

Exodus 21:9 If he designates her for his son, he will deal with her justly as with a daughter.

Exodus 21:10 If he takes another wife to himself, he will not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights.

Exodus 21:11 And if he does not do these three things for her, she will go out for nothing, without payment of money.

Exodus 21:12 “Whoever hits a man so hard that he dies should be put to death.

Exodus 21:13 But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a location to which he may escape.

Exodus 21:14 But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him deliberately, you should take him even from my altar, so that he may die.

Exodus 21:15 “Whoever hits his father or his mother should be put to death.

Exodus 21:16 “Whoever kidnaps a man and sells him into slavery, and anyone found in possession of him, should be put to death.

Exodus 21:17 “Whoever curses his father or his mother should be put to death.

Exodus 21:18 “When men quarrel and one hits the other with a stone or with his fist and the man does not die but takes to his bed,

Exodus 21:19 then if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who struck him will be clear; only he should pay for the loss of his time and should make sure he is thoroughly healed.

Exodus 21:20 “When a man hits his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he should be avenged.

Exodus 21:21 But if the slave recovers after a day or two, he is not to be avenged, because the slave is his silver.

Exodus 21:22 “When men fight together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no lasting harm to them, the one who hit her should surely be fined, whatever the woman’s husband will impose on him, and he should pay as the judges determine.

Exodus 21:23 But if there is lasting harm, then you will pay throat for throat,

Exodus 21:24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

Exodus 21:25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

Exodus 21:26 “When a man hits the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he should let the slave go free because of his eye.

Exodus 21:27 If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he should let the slave go free because of his tooth.

Exodus 21:28 “When an ox gores a man or a woman, and death occurs, the ox should be stoned, and its meat should not be eaten, but the owner of the ox will not be liable.

Exodus 21:29 But if the ox has been given to goring in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not kept watch over it, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox should be stoned, and its owner also should be put to death.

Exodus 21:30 If a redemption price is set for him, then he should give for the redemption of his throat whatever is set for him.

Exodus 21:31 If it gores a man’s son or daughter, he should be dealt with according to this same justice.

Exodus 21:32 If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner will give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox should be stoned.

Exodus 21:33 “When a man opens a pit, or when a man digs a pit but does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,

Exodus 21:34 the owner of the pit should make restoration. He should give money to its owner, and the dead animal will be his.

Exodus 21:35 “When one man’s ox butts another’s, so that it dies, then they should sell the live ox and share its price, and the dead beast also they will share.

Exodus 21:36 Or if it is known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has not kept watch over it, he should repay ox for ox, and the dead animal will be his.

Exodus 21 quotes:

“For four centuries, from Joseph to Moses, God’s people had lived as slaves in Egypt. In the world of the Old Testament, “slave of the Lord” was a title of honor. In the Old Testament Abraham, David, Moses and Joshua are all referred to by the Hebrew word for slave (ebed). Though, slavery played only a minimal role in Jewish society, the Jews were the kindest of slaveholders in the ancient world. Jewish slavery was often so benign that a special provision was made for slaves who, after their time of servitude expired, chose to remain slaves. It has been called the “order of the pierced ear.”

Card, Michael. A Better Freedom : Finding Life as Slaves of Christ. InterVarsity Press, 2009, http://site.ebrary.com/id/10837631. p. 26.

“Perhaps the most crucial question for a Christian regarding abortion is whether God considers the unborn child a person. This question takes precedence over essentially pragmatic considerations such as socioeconomic distress, mental anguish, and illegitimacy. If the Scriptures clearly imply the personhood of the unborn, then Christians have an obligation to seek the protection of the unborn through educational, religious, and legislative action.”

Davis, John Jefferson. Abortion and the Christian : What Every Believer Should Know. Presbyterian and Reformed Pub. Co., 1984. p. 40.

“One of the most general principles of God’s justice is the principle of similar measure. “As you have done, it will be done to you, your deeds will return upon your own head” (Obadiah 15). Jeremiah 50:29, Habakkuk 2:8, Joel 3:4, 7, and other passages articulate the same principle in varying forms. The famous law of punishment, “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (Exodus 21:24), embodies the same principle in a specific juridical context. It was never intended as an excuse for personal vengeance but as a directive to judges making decisions regarding penalties in cases of injury (Exodus 21:22-25).”

Poythress, Vern S. The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses. P & R Pub., 1995. p. 123.

Exodus 21 links:

covenant household employment rights
covenant household injury compensation rights
covenant household property loss compensation rights
Exodus- Restitution
expire

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Maranatha Daily Devotional – Thursday, March 21, 2019
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Thursday, March 23, 2023
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Tuesday, March 23, 2021

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EXODUS in Jeff’s library

Exodus 20

Exodus 20:1 Then God spoke all these words, and this is what he said,

Exodus 20:2 “I am Yahveh your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, taking you out of the house of slavery.

Exodus 20:3 “No other gods before me are for you.

Exodus 20:4 “You will not make for yourself a carved image, or any reproduction of anything that is in the sky above, or that is in the land beneath, or that is in the water under the land.

Exodus 20:5 You will not bow down to them or slave for them, because I Yahveh your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,

Exodus 20:6 but showing covenant faithfulness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Exodus 20:7 “You will not use the name of Yahveh your God hypocritically, because Yahveh will not hold him guiltless who uses his name hypocritically.

Exodus 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day, by keeping it holy.

Exodus 20:9 Six days you will work, and do all your labor

Exodus 20:10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahveh your God. On it you will not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave, or your female slave, or your livestock, or the foreign guest who is within your gates.

Exodus 20:11 Because in six days Yahveh made the sky and land, the sea, and everything that is in them, and ceased on the seventh day. Therefore, Yahveh blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Exodus 20:12 “Value your father and your mother, so that your lives may be extended in the land that Yahveh your God is giving you.

Exodus 20:13 “Do not murder.

Exodus 20:14 “Do not commit adultery.

Exodus 20:15 “Do not steal.

Exodus 20:16 “Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.

Exodus 20:17 “Do not crave[1] your neighbor’s house; Do not lust after your neighbor’s wife, or greedily seek his male slave, or his female slave, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Exodus 20:18 Then all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off

Exodus 20:19 and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or else we will die.”

Exodus 20:20 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, because God has come to test you, so that the fear of him may be before you, so that you may not fail.”

Exodus 20:21 The people stood far off, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

Exodus 20:22 And Yahveh told Moses, “This is what you should say to the people of Israel: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have communicated with you from the sky.

Exodus 20:23 Do not make gods of silver to represent me, nor make for yourselves gods of gold.

Exodus 20:24 You should make for me an earthen altar and sacrifice on it your whole burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. I will come to you and bless you in each place where I cause my name to be remembered.

Exodus 20:25 If you make me an altar of stone, you should not build it out of carved stones, because if you use your tool on it you defile it.

Exodus 20:26 And do not go up by steps to my altar, so that your nakedness is not exposed on it.’

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[1]חמד = crave. Exodus 20:17; 34:24.

Exodus 20 quotes:

“Exodus 20:3 records the words of the first commandment: “You shall have no other Gods before me.” Topping the list of ten, this “law to love by” reminds us that God the Creator, who revealed Himself through His Word and His world, is the one, the only one, to trust, obey, worship, and love. This God, rather than the variety of “gods” people revere, must have first place in our lives. Five Learning Center activities, focusing on the themes of “One” and “First,” are intended to help participants gain a greater understanding of this important instruction and grasp the message that the First. Commandment invites us into an intimate union with a loving God.”

Wezeman, Phyllis Vos, and Judith Harris Chase. Laws to Love by : The Ten Commandments. Educational Ministries, 1996. p. 15.

“Law is an important part of every human society because it regulates human conduct and defines moral standards. This is especially true of the society in the Bible, the people of God. In both the Old and New Testaments, law and the way life is shaped by law are significant concerns that have various expressions and understandings. The first five books of the Bible, Genesis through Deuteronomy, deal in large part with the giving of the law to ancient Israel. Here are grouped the major collections of law for the whole Bible, including two versions of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5). But the rest of the Old Testament constantly refers back to the laws. For example, the prophets rely on them to announce God’s judgment on the people; and the history books (such as Kings and Ezra) and wisdom writings (including Proverbs and Job) assume the grounding of Israel in the law.”

Dutcher-Walls, Patricia, et al. The Commandments : For a Blessed Life. Kerygma Program, 1999. p. 3.

“The ten commandments are introduced by the statement, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Exodus 20:2; Deuteronomy 5:6) . Israel had a history. For more than four hundred years, it had been a nation of slaves. Then, without any action on their part to merit it, the people had experienced a series of miracles, culminating in their passage through the Red Sea and the subsequent destruction of the enemies who were in pursuit of them. It was on the basis of this experience that God had a right to give them a body of commandments.”

Kalas, J. Ellsworth. The Ten Commandments from the Back Side. Abingdon Press, 1998. p. 108.

Exodus 20 links:

covenant constitution (part one)
covenant constitution (part two)
Exodus- second exodus
Exodus- spirituality and servanthood
invaded
monotheistic worship
The sky God is supreme

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Maranatha Daily Devotional – Friday, August 18, 2017
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Saturday, August 19, 2017
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Sunday, August 20, 2017

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EXODUS in Jeff’s library