In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Welcome back to Purify the Heart. This is Pastor Zachary Courie. In Exodus 22, we heard the Lord give laws regarding property as well as various social relations. In Exodus 23, we hear more laws from the Lord on dealing justly, directions for worship, as well as regarding the plan for the Israelites continuing their journey.
23 “You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. 2 You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice, 3 nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.
4 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. 5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.
6 “You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. 7 Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked. 8 And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.
9 “You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
10 “For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, 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. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.
12 “Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.
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.
14 “Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me. 15 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. None shall appear before me empty-handed. 16 You shall keep the Feast of Harvest, of the firstfruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor. 17 Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God.
18 “You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the fat of my feast remain until the morning.
19 “The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God.
“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
20 “Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. 21 Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.
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.
23 “When my angel 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 blot them out, 24 you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. 25 You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you. 26 None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. 27 I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. 29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land. 31 And I will set your border from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates, for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. 32 You shall make no covenant with them and 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.” (Exodus 23:1–33, ESV)
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The Lord continues to reveal His justice and mercy in the laws given to Israel. He commands impartiality in judgment, protecting the rights of the poor and ensuring that justice is not perverted by false testimony or bribery. He instructs His people to return even their enemy’s stray ox or donkey, emphasizing that righteousness is not limited to how they treat their friends but extends even to their enemies.
This is the heart of God’s justice: it’s not about personal gain but about reflecting His own character. The Lord’s people are to be just and merciful because the Lord Himself is just and merciful. The command to give the land rest in the seventh year and to keep the Sabbath reminds Israel that they are dependent on the Lord’s provision. He calls them to trust Him rather than striving endlessly for gain. Even their servants and sojourners are to share in the Lord’s rest, showing that His mercy extends beyond Israel to all who dwell in their midst.
The Lord also establishes three major feasts—times of gathering, remembering, and rejoicing in His provision. The people are to bring their firstfruits, acknowledging that everything they have is from Him. They are to worship Him alone, keeping themselves separate from the idolatry of the nations.
Just as the justice of God and the year and day of rest point us to the righteousness and rest which Christ freely offers to us for His name’s sake, so also were those three major feasts pointing to Him. The Feast of Unleavend Bread is associated with the Passover, which we Christians celebrate as Easter. The more historic name for Easter is Pascha, which means Passover. The second feast, known as the Feast of Weeks or the Feast of Harvest, is fulfilled and made new at Pentecost in Acts 2, which made disciples, the firstfruits of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The third feast, called the Feast of Booths/Tabernacles, was an annual participation in the wilderness dwelling whenever Jews would sleep in tents for this feast. This one points to Jesus who is the true tabernacle or temple or tent of God, because in Him the fullness of God dwells, and we who are united to Christ by Holy Baptism, dwell in Him and He in us. Listen to Jesus’ words at the end of His celebration of the Feast of Booths in John 7, “37On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
In Exodus 23, the Lord also makes a remarkable promise: He will send His Angel before them to guard them and lead them into the land He has prepared. This Angel bears the Lord’s own name and voice, requiring Israel’s obedience. If they listen to Him, He will drive out their enemies and bless them abundantly. If they turn to false gods, they will bring destruction upon themselves. Who else is this Angel, but the very presence of the Lord among His people—the pre-incarnate Christ. Jesus is the One who goes before His people, leading them through the wilderness, fighting their battles, and securing their inheritance. He is the true and better Moses, the One who intercedes for us and speaks God’s word to us. He is the justice of God made flesh, fulfilling every command perfectly on our behalf and bearing the punishment for our failures.
The call to Israel was clear: listen to the Lord’s voice, follow His ways, and trust in His provision. The same call comes to us today. Christ has gone before us, securing a place for us in His kingdom by His death on the cross. He has given us His Word, His Spirit, and His own righteousness, that we would be His own and live under Him in His kingdom in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.
Let us pray. Almighty God, our heavenly Father, Your mercies are new every morning; and though we deserve only punishment, You receive us as Your children and provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant that we may heartily acknowledge Your merciful goodness, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, You despise nothing You have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent. Create in us new and contrite hearts that lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness we may receive from You full pardon and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Thanks for joining me to Purify the Heart! Tomorrow, in Exodus 24, the Covenant between God and Israel is confirmed with blood. Until then, grace be with you. Amen.
