Old Testament Reading: Exodus 23:20-33

“Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. 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. 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. 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, 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. 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. None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. 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. And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land. 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. You shall make no covenant with them and their gods. 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 23:20–33, ESV)

New Testament Reading: John 14:1-6

“‘Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:1–6, ESV)

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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.

Introduction

As we come now to Exodus 23:20-33 it is important for us to remember what the LORD was doing with Israel when he spoke these words to them. He was making a covenant with them. The account of the making of the Old Mosaic Covenant began in Exodus 19:1, and the covenant will be ratified or confirmed in Exodus 24. So then, these instructions and promises concerning the eventual conquest of the land of Canaan that we are considering today must be interpreted in that context. These are instructions and promises concerning Israel’s eventual possession of the land of Canaan according to the terms of the Old Mosaic Covenant. 

In the introduction to this sermon today I think it would be beneficial for us to explore the question, why Canaan? Why the promised land? What was its purpose? What was its significance? 

So far in the story of Exodus, we have considered how God redeemed his people from Egypt. We have also considered the laws that he gave to them at Sinai. But here we find mention of the land that God would give to his people under the Old Covenant. Why Canaan? What was the purpose of this land? What was its significance? I think this is a very important question to answer. 

And to get to that answer, I will ask you another question: Where did this Old Mosaic Covenant come from? On the most basic level we can say that it came from God. He revealed the terms of the Old Covenant to Israel. And I suppose we might also say that the Old Mosaic Covenant came from the eternal decree of God. Both of those observations are true. But here I wish to remind you that the Old Mosaic Covenant did not spring up spontaneously and out of nowhere? No, this Old Mosaic Covenant was the outgrowth or development of previous promises and of covenants previously made. 

I hope you do not grow weary of me talking about these covenants, brothers and sisters. Understanding these covenants which God has made with man and their relationship to each other is crucial to a proper understanding of the scriptures and of the story of God’s dealings with man in the history of redemption. Stated differently, understanding these covenants which God has made with man and their relationship to each other is crucial to a proper understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ and of our salvation in him.

I have asked the question, where did this Old Mosaic covenant come from?, because I do believe that answering this question will help us to understand the true importance and significance of this covenant in general (all of its terms and conditions), and of the land of Canaan (which our passage speaks of) in particular. Why the land of Canaan? Why was Israel to take possession of it? Why were they to drive the inhabitants out and destroy their idols? What was the significance of this land? If we hope to know, then we must consider Canaan in light of the covenants and promises of God previously made. 

Though it is true that God revealed the terms and conditions of the Old Covenant to Isarel, and though it is true that the Old Covenant did stand on its own two feet once it was ratified, here I am reminding you that it came in fulfillment of the promises of God previously made. It was a development of a covenant previously transacted. In other words, there is a backstory to Old Mosaic Covenant. The back story is found in Genesis 1 through Exodus 18. And that backstory is immensely important. 

As we seek an answer to the question, why Canaan?, and to understand the significance of that land, I want to remind you of the backstory. And in particular, I wish to hone in upon one specific theme. The theme is mentioned in our passage for today. In Exodus 23:20 we read,  “Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.” The promised land of Canaan is here referred to as the place that God had prepared for Israel. There are many themes that run throughout the history of redemption that tie the story of scripture together. This morning I wish to especially draw your attention to the theme of, a place prepared by God for his people.

When we speak of God preparing a place for man, the very first thing that should come to our minds is God’s creation of the heavens and earth in general, and the garden which God made for man in particular. When God created the heavens and earth he did so in the span of six days. On day one, the heavens and earth were created out of nothing. And at first, they were without form, and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. In other words, when God first created the earthy realm, there was no place for man to dwell. God then formed and fashioned the world to make it into a place suitable for human habitation. And after this, “the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (Genesis 2:8–9, ESV)

If we wish to answer the question, why Canaan?, then we cannot forget this theme. The story of man begins with this theme: God prepared a place for man to live. And what was that place for? Well, many things can be said regarding its purpose, but the thing that I wish to emphasize this morning is that it was a place for man to commune with God, enjoy him, and worship and serve him forever. I have said this before, and it is important that I remind you of this now: the garden of Eden was a kind of temple. When I say that it was a temple, I do not mean that there was a physical temple constructed within Eden, but that Eden itself was a natural temple. There in that garden paradise man walked with God, enjoyed sweet communion with him, worshipped and served him. That is what temples are for. And that’s what Eden was – a temple made by God himself wherein man could enjoy sweet communion with his maker. Adam’s job under the Covenant of Creation was to keep that place pure while expanding its borders to the furthest reaches of the earth. 

And what happened when man fell into sin? Well, as it pertains to the theme of a place prepared by God for his people, Adam, Eve, and their offspring, were cast out of Eden. They were banished from that place. Genesis 3:23-24 reads: “The LORD God sent [Adam] out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:23–24, ESV).

I trust that you are able to see why I have taken you back to Eden and to the story of Genesis 2 and 3 in the introduction to this sermon on Exodus 23. I want to be sure that we connect the dots. This place that the LORD prepared for Israel in Canaan had something to do with the place that the LORD prepared for Adam, Eve, and all their posterity in the beginning. You see, though it is true that Adam and Eve were banished from Eden from the presence of God and from access to the tree of life, it is also true that the LORD promised to send a Savior who would defeat the Evil One who tempted Adam and Eve. 

The promise concerning a Savior was uttered by God for the first time in the presence of Adam and Eve as God pronounced the curse upon the Serpent. The promise of the gospel that was declared on that day was very simple. Someday, someone would be born who would destroy Satan and his works. Adam and Eve, and all who received this good news after them, must have wondered when this Savior would be born, what he would be like, and what exactly he would do to defeat the Evil One and to free men and women from bondage to sin. There was so much that was mysterious about the gospel in those days. Nevertheless, those who heard it had enough of the good news to trust in God and in his promise. And they must have known that, whoever this Savior was, whenever he would be born, and whatever he would do to accomplish our redemption, he would do something to restore that which was lost through Adam’s sin and to lay hold of that which was offered to Adam in the Covenant of Creation. Eternal life was offered to Adam. He failed to reach it. The Savior would obtain it through his obedience. And what is eternal life except this: God’s holy people enjoying sweet communion with him forever and ever in the holy place which he has prepared for them. 

Brothers and sisters, when Adam fell into sin he did not only lose his personal righteousness, nor did he only lose the communion with God that he once enjoyed, he also lost the place wherein that sweet communion with God was at first enjoyed. When Adam fell into sin (and all of humanity with him) he was banished from the place the LORD had prepared for him, and the whole of the earthly realm was subjected to futility. Paul speaks of this in Romans 8:18-25. There he talks about how all of “creation was subjected to futility… in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” 

The point that I am making is this: Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Isarel, and Savior of the world, did not only defeat the Evil One, nor did he only redeem for himself a people, he did also redeem the created realm so that his holy people would have a holy place wherein they will enjoy sweet communion with the Holy God for all eternity. 

If you wish to know what this place will be like, you may go to the vision of Revelation chapter 21, where John says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God’” (Revelation 21:1–3, ESV).

This is the place that Adam was to enter into through his obedience and his eating of the tree of life. 

This is the place that Jesus Christ has earned, and it is the place of which he spoke when he said to his disciples, saying, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:1–3, ESV)

This is the place that was promised to  Abraham which he looked forward to with eyes of faith. Hebrews 11:8-10 tells us so. There we read, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (see also Hebrews 12:22; 13:14). 

So now we return to the question, what was Canaan? What was the significance of the land that was promised and then given to Old Covenant Israel? What was this place all about?

If we are following along with the story, three things become apparent:

One, the land of Canaan had something to do with the garden of Eden. The place of Canaan had something to do with the place that God made in the beginning for man to dwell. Perhaps we can refer to Canaan as a replica of Eden. And as a replica of Eden, it would have served as a reminder of what man lost by his fall into sin, and of the gracious promise of God to send a Savior. The fact that God had prepared the place of Canaan for his redeemed people (earthly speaking)  was a demonstration that God was doing what he had promised to do.   

Two, it is also apparent that the land of Canaan was not Eden. I hardly need to elaborate on this point. It will suffice for me to say that sin, sickness, and death did still plague that land despite it uniqueness. 

Three, when all is considered we must also confess that the land of Canaan had something to do with the end goal of God’s redemptive purposes. Canaan was the place where the Hebrews would be preserved until the Messiah was brought into the world through them. And this place was filled with symbolism. In brief, there in that place the eternal Kingdom of God was typified or prefigured. The land of Canaan, its temple, its priesthood, its sacrifice, festivals, and succession of kings were shadows of Christ and of his everlasting kingdom cast backward in history. In other words, the land of Isarel did not only point back to Eden, it also pointed forward to the Christ and to the new heavens and earth which he would earn by his obedient life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection.

You know, it is troubling to me how so many Christians today obsess over the land of Isarel while failing to ask what its purpose was. So many seem to view the land that was given to Old Covenant Israel as if it was the end goal. They ignore what the New Testament says about the land of Israel, the people of Israel, and the Covenant which God made with with Isarel in the days of Moses. Israel functioned as a conduit through which the Messiah was brought into the world. And under the Old Covenant, they did also symbolize, typify, and foreshadow the everlasting kingdom that the Messiah would inaugurate at his first coming and consummate at his second coming when he brings his people safely home into the place he has prepared for them – the new heaven and earth in which righteousness dwells.  

All of that is an introduction to our text for today. But soon you will see that this prolonged introduction will make it much easier to properly understand and fully appreciate this passage. For in this passage we see the work of Christ to bring his redeemed ones home into the new heavens and earth typified.

 

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The Angel Of The LORD Would Lead The Way

Look with me now at 23:20. There God says, “Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.” I have already drawn your attention to the theme of a place prepared by God for his people. Now I wish to draw your attention to the angel that is mentioned. Who is this angel, or messenger?

Let us continue to read in verse 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. 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.”

There are different theories regarding the identity of this angel. Some say it was Joshua, the one who would lead Isarel into the promised land after Moses’ death. Others think that this was an ordinary angel. In my opinion, when all is considered, this angel was the second person of the Triune God, the pre-incarnate Christ. The people of Israel were called to obey this angel. The text says he had the authority to pardon and to judge sin. The name of God is said to have been in him.  Above all, we should consider what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:9. When Israel sinned in the wilderness, Paul says that they “put Christ to the test…” It seems that Paul considered this angel of the LORD to be Christ. 

So then, I say that it was Christ whom the LORD sent before Israel to guard them on the way and to bring them into the place that he had prepared for them. That story should sound familiar to you. Is this not what Christ has done in a greater way in the incarnation? After redeeming his elect from bondage to Satan, from sin, and from the fear of death, he has gone before his people to guard them on the way and to bring them into the place he has prepared for them, that is to say, the new heavens and earth. 

The point is this: the experience of Old Covenant Israel was an earthly, temporal, and conditional foreshadowing of the heavenly, eternal, and unconditional salvation that is ours  in Christ Jesus.

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All Idolatry Was To Cease

Look now at verse 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, 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.” 

Here it is promised that all idolaters would be blotted and commanded that all idolatry cease in the land of Canaan. Canaan was to be a place free from all idolatry. The new heavens and earth will be a place free from all idolatry. Canaan was a foretaste of the new creation. 

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The LORD Alone Was To  Be Worshipped And Served

Verse 25 says, “You shall serve the LORD your God…” The LORD alone was to be worshipped and served in Canaan. In the new heaven and earth, the LORD will be worshipped and served alone. The former was a picture of the latter. 

Concerning the new heavens and earth, Revelation 21:22 says, “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:22–27, ESV)

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The Blessing Of God World Be Upon His People

In verse 25 we continue reading, “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. None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.” 

Notice three things about these verses.

One, the Old Mosaic covenant was a conditional covenant or works. Israel would be blessed in the land if they were faithful to serve the Lord. This differs from the terms of the New Covenant, which is the Covenant of Grace. The blessings of this covenant are freely given for they were parched by Christ. 

Two, the blessings promised to Israel were earthly blessings. They pertained to bread and water, health, fruitfulness, and long life. The blessings of the New Covenant are spiritual and eternal. 

Three, the blessings promised for obedience under the Old Covenant were idealistic. Certainly, people experienced a lack of bread, sickness, miscarriage, and short lives under the Old Covenant. This was due to sin. But the idealistic promises here find their ultimate fulfillment in the new heaven and earth and were earned through the obedience of Jesus Christ, the true Israel of God.  

It will be in the new heavens and earth that “the dwelling place of God [will be] with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3–4, ESV).

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All Of God’s Enemies Were To Be Defeated

Lastly, let us consider verses 27 – 33. Here we learn that in Canaan God would defeat all of his enemies. “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. And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land. 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. You shall make no covenant with them and their gods. 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.”

Again I say, in Canaan and under the Old Covenant this was true in an earthly and temporal sense. In the new heavens and earth this will be true in a spiritual and eternal sense. “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”” (Revelation 21:7–8, ESV)

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Suggestions For Application

Let us learn to read the Bible in a Christian way. 

As we consider the Old Testament scriptures and the Old Covenant of which they speak, let us learn to see and savor Christ there. He is the fulfillment! 

As we sojourn now in this world as strangers and exiles, let us long and live for the Promise Land, the new heavens and earth.

Old Testament Reading: Exodus 22:28-23:19

“You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people. You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: seven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me. You shall be consecrated to me. Therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs. You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. 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, nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit. If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. 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. You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked. And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right. You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, 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. 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. 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. Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me. 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. 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. Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord GOD. You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the fat of my feast remain until the morning. 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.” (Exodus 22:28–23:19, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Romans 9:1–8

“I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’ This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.” (Romans 9:1–8, ESV)

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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.

Introduction

Here in Exodus 22:28-23:19, we find more laws for Old Covenant Israel. This set of laws is a little bit different from the previous set. In Exodus 21:1-22:27 we encountered civil laws in the form of case laws. There Israel was told what to do in certain cases. If this happens, then do this… was the predominant pattern. Here in this section, we find imperatival laws. Here the law is presented in the form of a command. The language used here in this section is “you shall…”, and “you shall not…”

I have pointed out to you in previous sermons that this section is also structured chiasticly, meaning that the first part mirrors the last part, the second mirrors the second to last part, and so on. As you know, the previous section which contained case laws was a 10-part chiasm with the emphasis placed at the beginning and the end. This section is a 7-part chiasm, and I think it is right to see that the stress is placed at the center, where it is commanded that even personal enemies be treated in a just way. 

Consider now the structure:

a Responsibilities to God (22:28-30)
(tribute from crops and herds; no other gods)

b Do not eat meat torn by wild animals (22:31)
(do not scrounge for food; God will provide for you as his holy people) 

c Justice upheld (favoritism not to be shown to the poor in a lawsuit) (23:1-3)

d CENTER: Kindness to personal enemies (23:4-5)

c’ Justice, especially for the poor (23:6-9)

b’ Do not eat sabbath year produce (23:10-12)

(leave it for animals; Sabbath rest; God will provide)

a’ Responsibilities to God 23:13-19)

(tribute from crops and herds; no other gods)

So then, you can see that both sections – the one containing case laws, and this one containing imperatival laws – stress that all men and women are to be treated justly, and that includes the weak and vulnerable in society (servants, orphans, widows, the alien and the poor), as well as those considered to be personal enemies. In other words, it did not matter who the person was, what they looked like, how much power or wealth they possessed, or if you liked them – all were to be treated in a way that was right and just. Both sections containing civil laws for Israel have this as their emphasis. 

Furthermore, it seems to me that this second collection of laws that we are considering today effectively sent this message to Old Covenant Israel: you are to do all things in light of God’s existence and of your special covenantal relationship with him. Here I am drawing your attention to the way in which these laws demanded that Israel’s as a society be ever mindful of YHWH and of his special sovereignty over them. 

Allow me to explain by making three brief observations. 

One, this collection of imperatival laws begins and ends with laws pertaining to Israel’s responsibilities towards God. Israel was to honor YHWH in their eating, with the firstfruits of their children, livestock, and produce, with their time, and in worship. They were to appear before God at set times to pay tribute to him. They were to keep the weekly Sabbath day holy. We will look more closely at these laws in a moment. For now, I’m observing that laws pertaining to Israel’s responsibilities to God are addressed first and last in this collection. These laws set the tone for the others. They frame the other civil laws. This is significant, for it is clear that Israel was to uphold justice being ever mindful of God’s sovereignty over them. Later I will argue that this is true for all nations. If a society hopes to understand what is just, to enact just laws, and to uphold justice, it must be mindful of God and of his moral law, the only true and steadfast standard for morality and justice. Israel was to be mindful of God in all things. They were called to honor him in their eating, with their time, and in worship. 

Two, Israel was reminded in these laws of their special position before God amongst all of the nations of the earth. Notice what is said in 22:31: “You shall be consecrated to me. Therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts…”, etc. A consecrated thing is a thing that is set apart as holy or sacred. And here the LORD spoke to Isarel saying,  “You shall be consecrated to me…”, and then particular laws were given. The point is this: Israel was to live being ever mindful of the LORD and of their unique and special relationship with him under the Old Covenant. Some of the laws which God gave to Old Covenant Israel helped them to remember their uniqueness and the uniqueness of their covenantal relationship with YHWH, the one true God, and Creator of heaven and earth. 

Three, in this section the LORD reminds Israel of his sovereignty over them and of their accountability to him. Look at 23:7: “Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked.” This theme of sovereignty and accountability is also present in 23:14-15 where the LORD says, “Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me.” And after naming the Feast of Unleavened Bread he warns, “None shall appear before me empty-handed.” The LORD was sovereign over Israel in a special way, and they were accountable to him in a special way under the Old Covenant. This is true of all nations and all people generally, but it was especially true of Old Covenant Israel. 

Now that I have made the general observation that this collection of civil laws served to remind Israel of the LORD, of his supremacy over them, and of their special responsibility to him as his consecrated people, let us now consider the laws themselves and ask, what did these laws require of Old Covenant Israel? 

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What Did These Civil Laws Require Of Israel?

Firstly, we will consider the first and last set of laws that have to do with Israel’s responsibilities to honor God and to pay him tribute. They are found in Exodus 22:28-30 and then again in 23:13-19.

22:28: “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.” 

The Hebrew word translated as “revile” means to slight, or to treat in a light or trivial way. Israel was to honor God. They were to revere the LORD, see him as weighty and glorious, and live in light of this reality. As I have said, this whole collection of laws does seem to communicate that Israel was to do everything as a  society being mindful of God and his supremacy over them.  

Next, the text says, “nor curse a ruler of your people.” What do these two things – “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people” –  have to do with each other? What is the connection? Well, as I have said, this collection of laws does first require that honor be shown to God, and then that justice be upheld among men. This first verse functions as a heading over this entire section. You will notice that this first verse does also correspond to the two sections of the Ten Commandments. What does the first commandment and the first table of the law require? That God be honored as God. And what does the fifth commandment and the second table of the law require? That man be honored as man. And so you can see that the first commandment of this collection of civil sets the stage for what follows. Israel was to honor God as a society, and they were to honor one another. These two concepts are summarized with the words, “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.” 

The fifth of the Ten Commandments says, “you shall honor your father and mother.” We have learned that this requires us to “​[​preserve] the honor, and [perform] the duties, belonging to everyone in their several places and relations, as superiors, inferiors, or equals.” This includes showing honor to those who rule or govern. Israel was to show honor to the poor and vulnerable in their midst. We have just considered this. And now Israel is exhorted to have reverence for God, and in doing so to have respect for those who rule. 

The Apostle Peter may have had this passage in mind when wrote, “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor” (1 Peter 2:17, ESV). The words “fear God” and “honor the emperor” do seem to correspond to Exodus 22:28: “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.” 

You know, brothers and sisters, it can be very easy for Christians to fall into the trap of thinking that because a ruler or governor does not act in an honorable way that we are then justified in dishonoring them with our words. It is possible to disagree with an authority figure while still showing honor to them. It is even possible to resist an authority figure (when justified) while still showing them honor. When Peter commanded that the Emporer be honored, he was not referring to an honorable man, but to a man who held a position of honor. 

There is a passage in Acts 23 that is also instructive. There we read of “the high priest Ananias [commandeding] those who stood by him to strike [Paul] on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, ‘God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?’ Those who stood by said, ‘Would you revile God’s high priest?’ And Paul said, ‘I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people’” (Acts 23:1–5, ESV). That is a direct citation of Exodus 22:28. You will notice that Ananias was not acting in an honorable way as he commanded that Paul be struck. In fact, he was strongly opposing The Way. But he held a position of authority in Israel, and so Paul did publicly repent of speaking to him in a dishonorable way. 

Brothers and sisters, we may disagree strongly with our president, governor, and with others who have authority over us. We may even consider them to be wicked men, filled with corruption, and given to injustice. And perhaps we have come to the conclusion that such men (and women) out to be opposed and resisted. As Christians, it is imperative that we show them honor and refrain from cursing them, lest we ourselves be guilty of sin. 

As we continue on now in our text we see that the focus remains on Israel’s obligations to God before turning its attention to Israel’s obligation to uphold justice at the heart of this chiasm. 

22:29-30: “You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: seven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me.”

Here is stated that Israel was to offer the firstborn of their sons and their herds to the Lord. The animals were to be sacrificed to the Lord. Their firstborn sons were to be substituted with an animal and represented through the service of the Levitical priests. Israel was also to give the first fruit of their orchards and fields to the Lord. In this way, they were to honor the Lord. In this way, they were to demonstrate their dependence upon the Lord. It was no small thing for an Israelite to offer up an animal as a sacrifice to the Lord, or to give the first of their produce. And yet this is what they were called to do. The animals and the produce were used in the worship of God, and to sustain the priesthood. And the same principle is present under the New Covenant. Christians are to give willingly and chearfully as an act of worship to the Lord for the maintenance of the worship of God, for the support of ministers, and for the relief of the poor in our midst.  

Let us look now at 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.” Here idolatry is forbidden, and this corresponds to the second commandment.

23:14-17: “Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me. 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. 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. Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord GOD.” Here the main feasts of the Lord are mentioned. These feast days were added to the weekly Sabbath under the Old Covenant. They were special days for rest, for assembling together, and for worship. 

In 23:18-19 we find preliminary instructions concerning the sacrifice. “You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the fat of my feast remain until the morning. 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.” The sacrifices offered to the Lord were to be kept pure and they were to be treated as holy. Israel was not to offer the leftovers or the scraps to the Lord, but the first and the best. And never were they to allow the worship of God to be corrupted by the worship practices of the pagan nations around them. That, I think, is the meaning of the command, “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.” The pagan nations would do this in their worship of false gods believing that it would lead to blessings of fertility. 

So then, you can see that the first and last parts of this passage have to do with Israel’s responsibilities to God in worship. And by the way, you can see in this passage how the moral, civil, and ceremonial laws which were given to Israel under the Old Covenant do overlap somewhat. We may distinguish between them, but not in an absolute way. God’s moral law undergirds the civil and ceremonial. And in Old Covenant Israel, ceremonial laws (laws having to do with the worship of God) were also civil (in a sense), for in Old Covenant Israel church and state were deeply intertwined.  

Secondly, let us consider the second and sixth set of laws that have to do with Israel’s obligation to honor God in their work and in their eating. These laws are found in 22:31 and 23:10-12.

22:31: “You shall be consecrated to me. Therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.” As you know, many dietary restrictions were placed upon Israel under the Old Covenant. Here they are told not to eat the meat of animals killed by another animal. The Israelites were not to scrounge for their food. The reason? They had been consecrated, or set apart as holy, unto the Lord. The Israelites were to trust God for provision.  

23:10-11: “For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, 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.” So then, Israel was to store up food from the harvest of six years and then harvest nothing in seventh. This was to be a year of rest. This was to be a year of trustful dependence upon the Lord. This was to be a year of special care for the poor. 

This pattern of six and one was rooted in the weekly Sabbath, of course, and so 23:12 we read, “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.”

Israel was to honor God in their eating, in their working, and in their rest. Can you see how these laws that we have so far considered – laws pertaining to worship, eating, work, and rest –  functioned to keep the LORD, and the honor of the LORD, on the forefront of the minds of the people of Israel? Every day, every week, every year, and every seven years, were filled with regulations that served to communicate to Israel that they belonged to the LORD, and the LORD belonged to them in a special way through the covenant that God had transacted with them, first in the days of Abraham, and then in the days of Moses. 

Under the New Covenant, we have something similar, though much more simple. Each week we are reminded of our relationship to the LORD, and of his relationship to us in the Covenant of Grace as we observe the Lord’s Day Sabbath, are partake of the means of grace that God has given us, particularly the Lord’s Supper, wherein wen are reminded of the broken body and shed blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Thirdly, we find laws demanding justice for all within in society. These are found in 23:1-3 and 23:6-9.

As I have said, the first and last two sections correspond to the remark in 22:28.  “You shall not revile God”, that is to say, take God lightly. And now we come to the heart of this section which requires that honor be shown to men. And that was summarized with the words, “nor curse a ruler of your people” in 22:28. 

Look now at 23:1: “You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness.” 

23:2:  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…”

23:3: “…nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.” 

23:6: “You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit.” 

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

23:8: “And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.” 

23:9: “You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.”

What is the thing being required in this series of laws? Is it not justice for all within society? 

These laws are clearly an elaboration of the ninth commandment, which is, “you shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16). If a wicked man decides to be a malicious witness, do not join in with him. If a large group of people decided to do evil by perverting justice, do not join them, even if it requires you to stand alone. Do not show favoritism to the poor man in a lawsuit. And neither are you to show favoritism to the rich against the poor. The Lord sees all. If false charges are made and the innocent and righteous are killed, the Lord will hold the guilty accountable.  Bribes are forbidden, for a bribe “blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.” Justice was to be upheld even in the case of a foreigner within Israel. 

Fourthly, and lastly, we have a law requiring that personal enemies be treated justly. 

This law is found at the very heart of this collection of laws. 23:4-5 reads, “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. 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.”

So then, you can see that every excuse to treat a fellow human being poorly or in an unjust way is removed. Some may reason, saying, well, I am powerful and they are weak, so I am permitted to take advantage of them. Or, I am poor and they are rich, so I am permitted to take advantage of them. Or, they are a foreigner in this land, so they have no right to just treatment. Or, they are an enemy of mine, so I have no obligation to do unto them as I wish to be done to me. All of these excuses were done away with in the civil laws which God gave to Israel at Sinai in the days of Moses. 

And what framed these laws? What necessitated and motivated the keeping of these laws concerning justice within Israel? God’s existence, his special relationship with Israel, and Israel’s special relationship with him, required them to treat one another justly, for God himself is perfectly holy, righteous, and just. In other words, Israel was called to be holy as the Lord is holy.  

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What Do These Civil Laws Require Of Us?

I’d like to steer this sermon towards a conclusion now by asking the question, what do these civil laws require of us?

I’ve stated this clarification many times now, and I will state it once more. We must remember the uniqueness of Old Covenant Israel, and as we do, we will be reminded that there is a sense in which these laws were for them, and are not for us. This is especially clear in the laws about worship. Israel was obligated to keep certain festival days and to offer up the firstborn of the flocks, etc. in a way that we are not. There is application to be drawn from these laws, but these laws do not apply to us in the way they applied to them. These laws have fulfilled their purpose and have been taken away with the arrival of the Christ and the passing away of the Old Covenant and the inauguration of the new. We must remember that Old Covenant Israel entered into a special covenantal relationship with YHWH in the days of Moses, and these civil laws were given to them as a consecrated people. 

As I thought again about Israel’s unique position before God under the Old Covenant, King David’s prayer to God as recorded in 2 Samuel 7 came to mind. There he says, “you are great, O LORD God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods? And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O LORD, became their God” (2 Samuel 7:22–24, ESV). 

So, let us acknowledge yet again that there are some things in this collection of laws that were clearly unique to Old Covenant Israel. But at the same time, we should not forget that all people and all nations are in a common covenantal relationship with God and are therefore accountable to him. 

What covenantal relationship am I referring to? Well, of course, we are all born into Adam and into that broken covenant of works that God made with Adam in the beginning. That covenant no longer offers life, but it curses are upon all humanity because of Adam’s rebellion. But here I am referring to the covenant which God made with all of creation in the days of Noah. 

When we think of the covenant that God made with Noah after the flood we typically remember the rainbow and the promise of God to never again flood the whole earth. But we should remember that God also commanded the descendants of Noah, namely, all of humanity, to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, to exercise dominion over the earth, and to uphold justice on the earth. This commission was not given to any particular nation, but to all who descended from Noah, namly all people, and all nations. 

When I say that Israel was to be mindful of their relationship to God, his sovereignty over them, and their accountability to them, as they sought to uphold justice in society, I do not mean to suggest that they were utterly unique in this. Yes, they were special. Yes, they were consecrated. Yes, they were unique in this sense – God entered into a special covenant with them alone. But it is not as if YHWH was Israel’s God only, that he was sovereign over them alone, and that they alone were accountable to him. No, the LORD is Lord of all creation. All men and all nations come from him and will return to him. All are under his sovereign authority. All will give an account to him. All of this is made explicitly clear in Genesis 1-11, and especially in that covenant that God transacted with humanity in the days of Noah. And what did God command humanity to do under the Noahic Covenant? Humanity would deserve into societies and nations, and those nations were to be concerned with filling the earth through marriage and the family, exercising careful dominion over the earth, and upholding justice within society.  Here I am saying that all nations must be mindful of God, of their obligations before him, and their accountability to him. 

You know, I do wish that all men and women would come to know the one true God – the God of creation, and the God of Holy Scripture – through faith in Jesus the Messiah. Indeed, this ought to be our leading concern and highest aim. Indeed, this is the mission of the church –  to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, to baptize and teach. But as it pertains to our society and to our life here in this world, I do also pray that men and women would be mindful of the God of all creation and the standard of his moral law as revealed in nature, and ever more clearly in Holy Scripture. Justice for all  in our nation requires. Apart from God and his moral law, there will be no justice, only survival of the fittest, where those who are strong oppress those who are weak. 

Do you remember the pledge of allegiance, brothers and sisters? “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Do you wish to know why there is such injustice, oppression, and division in this land? This nation has forgotten that we live and move and have our being “under God”. A nation that is mindful of the creator God and of his moral law will have an opportunity to enjoy unity, liberty, and justice. But where God and his moral law is disregarded by society, all manner of corruption, vileness, division, oppression, and injustice will ensue. 

I hope that I have been clear in these last few sermons that we have no desire to impose the Old Covenant civil law code upon this nation… We do not wish to have a Christian nation in the sense that the Christian faith is actively promoted through the government or that conversions are coerced by the threat of violence from the state. Church and state have been united in that way from time to time in the history of the world, and we do not wish to see a return to that. It is right that church and state be kept separate.  

But this does not mean that the state (or the secular realm) is to operate as if independent from God. It is impossible for men and women, or the societies in which we live, to operate independently from God. God is our creator, our sustainer, and our end. Denying or ignoring his existence changes nothing. And all who live with a disregard for God and his moral law will surely come to ruin. You can see this playing out all around you in the lives of individuals, families, and within society broadly speaking. Where God is denied, dysfunction, division, death, and destruction are present. “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good” (Psalm 53:1, ESV). But the “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” (Proverbs 9:10, ESV)

So I have been reminded of Israel’s uniqueness. I have also clarified that although Israel as a nation was in a special covenantal relationship with God, all people and all nations are in covenant with God, are under his sovereign authority, and accountable to him. Lastly, I wish to remind you, church, that it is you who are in a special covenantal relationship with God today. The Old Covenant has passed away. The New Covenant has come. And who are the members of this New Covenant? Who are the citizens of the Kingdom of Christ, which the New Covenant administers? It is all who are united to Christ by faith. 

Under the New Covenant, there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile. The middle wall of hostility has been broken down. It is those who have faith who are the true children of Abraham, and the true Israel of God. Do not forget this, church. While all people and all nations are in a common covenant with YHWH, are under his sovereignty, and are accountable to him, it is the church, consisting of all who believe, from amongst the Jews and the Gentiles, who are in a special covenantal relationship with God today. YHWH is Lord over all creation, but he is Lord over us in a special way. 

“…you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” (1 Peter 2:9–12, ESV)

All men and all nations are obligated to honor God, but we are obligated to honor him in a special way, for he has redeemed us from bondage, freed us from sin, and rescued us from death by the blood of Christ, the Messiah. As we pray and work for peace and for justice in this land, may we never lose sight of our special identity, and of our particular calling in this world as God’s consecrated people.