We are in chapter twenty-three of Exodus with our word for today. כָּחַד hide, conceal, make disappear, efface, to destroy, do away with. It is used 32 times in the Old Testament. We see it used in the sense to prevent something, including oneself, from being seen or discovered. Joshua 7:19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell me what you have done; do not תְּכַחֵ֖ד hide it from me.” 1 Samuel 3:17-18 “What was it he said to you?” Eli asked. “Do not תְכַחֵ֖ד hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you תְּכַחֵ֤ד hide from me anything he told you.” So Samuel told him everything, כִחֵ֖ד hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.” Our word is also used in the sense to do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of. 1 Kings 13:33-34 Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways, but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts of people. Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places. This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its וּלְהַכְחִיד֙ downfall and to its destruction from the face of the earth. 2 Chronicles 32:20-21 King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to heaven about this. And the Lord sent an angel, who וַיַּכְחֵ֞ד annihilated all the fighting men and the commanders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. This is the sense of how our word is used in our chapter today. Exodus 23:23-24 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, וְהִכְחַדְתִּֽיו and I blot them out, 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. God knows how to put down evil and protect his people from its influence. Notice that God also involves his people to participate in getting rid of the influence of evil. In our chapter we have the instruction to utterly overthrow them and break down their pillars. We will look at these words in the next couple of days. For now I’ll close with this Psalm that shows the confidence in God protecting his people against those who are threatening them. Psalm 83:1-4, 16-18 O God, do not remain silent; do not turn a deaf ear, do not stand aloof, O God. See how your enemies growl, how your foes rear their heads. With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish. “Come,” they say, וְנַכְחִידֵ֣ם “let us destroy them as a nation, so that Israel’s name is remembered no more.” … Cover their faces with shame, Lord, so that they will seek your name. May they ever be ashamed and dismayed; may they perish in disgrace. Let them know that you, whose name is the Lord— that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.
