The People of God Reflect the Character of God
Today we’re coming to the end of the section of rules and starting to come down Mount Sinai and set our eyes toward the Promised Land.
The laws in Exodus 21-23 are specific examples of how the general principles of the Ten Commandments can be applied in everyday situations. They’re expositions of the Ten Commandments. These laws show us that God’s people aren’t free to live however they want.
The Lord wants his people to reflect his character. God’s people are redeemed so they can reflect God’s glory. These rules can be seen as the priorities of our King. These are the things he wants done in his kingdom, the things that our King values.
Our text is Exodus 23:10-33, where we’ll see that the rules of the Lord are also gifts from the Lord. The main idea of this text is that the Lord gives good gifts to his children. In our text, we’ll see the Lord give the good gifts of sabbath and celebrations (vv. 10-19) and the good gift of home (vv. 20-33). In between these two points, I want us to think more about the good gift of the law.
The Good Gift of Sabbath
In verses 10-19, the Lord gives his people commands about the Sabbath and Celebrations. These are the good gifts of a father to his children, teaching them that God’s people rest and remember. Verses 10-12 are about the sabbath, and verses 14-19 are about the Festivals.
These rules about the sabbath are an application of the fourth commandment (20:8-11). Verses 10-11 are about a sabbath year for the land, an extension of the sabbath command. Every seventh year, land owners surrender their land to its ultimate owner, Yahweh.
There are surely ecological benefits in letting your soil rest and replenish. But in Exodus 23, the stated reason why the land should rest is “that the poor of your people may eat” (v. 11). The sabbath for the land is to feed the poor, showing us yet again the Lord’s concern for the disadvantaged (cf. 22:21-27).
In verse 12, the sabbath command is reiterated from chapter 20. But there’s a difference in the motivation for Sabbathing. In chapter 20, it’s because God rested on the seventh day of creation, so Israel should as well (v. 11). Here the motive is to “refresh” the animals, servants, and sojourners. The sabbath command has both a theological and a humanitarian purpose. We don’t pit these things against each other.
“A Temple in Time”
The Sabbath is a unique gift to God’s unique people. Judith Shulevitz, a Jewish writer, talks about how the Jewish rabbis described the Sabbath. She says, “The Sabbath, said the rabbis, is the Temple in time rather than space.”[1]
Jewish people understand how wonderful and beautiful the gift of a day of rest is. I’m afraid many of us modern evangelical Christians do not. But Jesus explicitly says that the Sabbath was made for us. Mark 2:27, “And he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.’”
The sabbath command is the only one of the Ten Commandments not explicitly repeated in the New Testament. What’s clear is that Jesus fulfilled the sabbath laws for us (Heb. 4:3, 8-10).
Those in Christ are free to not observe the sabbath laws, free from the specifics of the Old Testament commands. But we aren’t free to ignore God’s wisdom.
When should Christians sabbath? Whenever is best for you and your family. Take a day each week, or a portion of a few days, to stop working and rest. Take time each year to rest – we call this vacation. Find what works for you and your family and your stage of life. Talk to another brother or sister in Christ and see what they do.
What Should We Do When We Rest?
What should we do when we rest? Two things. First, make worship part of your rest. Sabbath means setting apart time to rest in and with the Lord. This means that you need to open your Bible and pray during your time of rest. The point is to rest with Jesus, not from Jesus. Binging on Netflix or gaming all day during your sabbath isn’t sabbathing. Pursue things that will fill your soul, not numb your mind.
Second, do anything that’s not work. This doesn’t mean inactivity. It means do something that’s not part of your regular work. It means do something just for fun. Notice the word “refreshed” in verse 12. The sabbath is meant to refresh you, not bore you, so pursue things that refresh your mind, body, and soul. For me it’s running and reading. Running isn’t easy, but it’s super relaxing for me. When we go on vacation, I take a stack of books on things I just want to read about that aren’t directly related to my work.
What brings you joy? Pursue those things on your sabbath. The sabbath for the land is a good gift to the poor, and the Sabbath day is a good gift to God’s people. The law of the Lord doesn’t suffocate us, it liberates us from the tyranny of the urgent. The law gives the gift of rest.
The Good Gift of Celebrations
The law also gives the gift of celebrating. In verses 14-19, the Lord gives his people three festivals to observe every year: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of Harvest, and Feast of Ingathering.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread (v. 15) was celebrated in conjunction with Passover (12:14-20, 13:3-16). It was a week-long Feast that began with the Passover meal and was marked by not eating any leavened bread to remind Israel of the haste with which they left Egypt (12:39).
The Feast of Harvest (v. 16), also called the Feast of Weeks (34:22), was held seven weeks after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and it was to celebrate the beginning of the harvest and to honor the Lord as the provider of their crops and therefore deserving of their firstfruits. This Feast fell fifty days after Passover, so it came to be known as Pentecost.
I think there’s a biblical symmetry here, showing us something about the nature of what happened in Acts 2:1-4. At the Passover, God redeemed his people through the blood of a spotless Lamb. Two months (or fifty days) later, Israel arrived at Mount Sinai and the presence of the Lord descended in fire to meet with his people.
At the cross, God redeemed his people through the blood of a spotless Lamb. Fifty days later, on the day of Pentecost, the Lord descended on his people with tongues of fire.
Passover prepares God’s people for Pentecost. In the Old and New Testament, the Lord redeems by blood and reveals his power by fire.
The Feast of Ingathering (v. 16), also called the Feast of Booths (Lev. 23:43), celebrates the end of the harvest season and how the Lord sustained Israel in the wilderness. These Feasts are meant to remind Israel that the Lord is the one who gives them the land and sustains them in it. Their ability to produce crops is from the Lord. Their daily bread comes from him.
The four laws in verses 18-19 are attachments to the previous laws about the Feasts. The one at the end of verse 19 seems odd but teaches a theological lesson. The law is saying that it’s not right to use something that brings life to bring death.[2] Things should be used for their God-given and life-giving purposes, not twisted to fit every whim or preference we may have.
The Lord is Sovereign Over Our Work and Worship
The sabbath and the celebrations are good gifts from a father to his children, teaching Israel that God’s people must rest and must remember him. The Lord is sovereign over his people’s work and worship. He decides how much we should work and when we should gather for worship.
Just as the Lord wanted Israel to remember him and his work through regular rhythms of rest and worship, he also wants his New Covenant people to remember what he’s done. The death and resurrection of Jesus for our deliverance should alter and rearrange our lives and schedules. Remembering Jesus with other followers of Jesus every single week is not only commanded but also reveals that our lives truly have been altered by what he did. If church is a “I’ll go if I can, if I’m not too tired, if I’m not too busy or have too much homework,” then you perhaps haven’t understood the radical, life-reshaping nature of what Jesus has done for you. Gathering regularly with the covenant community is part of our identity, part of who we are.
The Good Gift of the Law
Before we look at the next section, I want us to think about how Christians should use the law. In The Highlander this month, I wrote about some implications of what’s called the “third purpose of the law,” namely, that God’s word governs God’s people, God cares about every aspect of our lives, and that God wants his people to be distinct.
These are general principles, but they don’t help us know what we’re to do with these laws specifically. In other words, how do Christians apply these laws we’ve been looking at? There are three options for us: Must we strictly obey them? Are we free to ignore them? Do we just look for principles in them?
I came across an article this week that was really helpful for us as we think about this question. In his article “The Law of Moses and the Christian: A Compromise,” David Dorsey argues that the law is and isn’t binding for Christians. He says the 613 laws given at Mount Sinai aren’t binding for Christians because they weren’t given to Christians. They were given to ancient Israel.
Here is how he summarizes this point: “In sum, the Sinaitic law code was very specifically designed by God to regulate the lives of the West Semitic inhabitants of the southern Levant. Nearly all the regulations of the corpus – over ninety-five percent – are so culturally specific, geographically limited, and so forth that they would be completely inapplicable, and in fact unfulfillable, to Christians living throughout the world today. This fact alone should suggest that the corpus is not legally binding upon Christians and that it cannot possibly represent the marching orders of the Church.”[3]
One response to this is to say that the law has three parts: ceremonial, civil, and moral, and while the ceremonial and civil laws no longer apply, the moral laws do. There are some problems with dividing the law up like this, however. This threefold division isn’t found in the Bible or in early rabbinic literature, and which of the laws are not moral, or don’t concern matters of what’s right and wrong?
Dorsey argues that there’s a way to approach the law that allows the morals of all the laws to still be binding for Christians. He points out that 2 Timothy 3:16 says that “all Scripture…is profitable for teaching,” which includes the law. And that Paul has a very high opinion of the law, calling it “good, holy, righteous, and spiritual” (Rom. 7:12-14). Paul says the law is valuable, not just in what it teaches, but in what it exposes, namely, our sin (Rom. 3:20). Paul even says that individual laws were given “for us” (1 Cor. 9:8-10). And he never implies that only a certain category of laws applies to us.
The law may not be legally binding, but it shows us the mind and ways of God just like all the other portions of the Old Testament. These laws may not be our laws, but they were issued by our God, given by the One we know and serve. Dorsey summarizes this well: “A law reflects the mind, the personality, the priorities, the values, the likes and dislikes of the lawgiver. Each law issued by God to ancient Israel…reflects God’s mind and is therefore a theological treasure.”
In other words, the law shows us something about God and about what he values in his people. In this sense, all 613 of the laws of Moses are binding for Christians.
Rules for Interpreting the Law
Dorsey gives us four simple steps to follow when we’re interpreting the Old Testament laws. First, remind yourself that these laws were originally for ancient Israel, not you. Second, ask what was the original meaning and purpose of the law – what was its point for Israel? Third, determine the theological significance of the law – what does this law reveal about God and his ways? And fourth, what are the practical implications for our context?
For example, lets go back to the sabbath laws we’ve already discussed. They were for Israel originally, not us, so what purpose did they serve for them? They taught them something about God as creator and they provided for the poor. They taught Israel that God orders creation and loves his creation. They gave Israel a tangible way to honor God and their neighbors.
What are some implications for us? That we need to remember that God orders his world, not us, and that resting is a gift for us for our refreshment. The sabbath reminds us that we’re humans, not machines, and that rest will bless us and help us to bless others.
The laws of Moses are good and holy and spiritual. Yes, they show us our sin and our need for Jesus. But they also show us the goodness and greatness of God. Therefore, we should “pay attention to all that the Lord has said” (v. 13), and delight ourselves in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night (Ps. 1:2).
The Good Gift of Home
Verses 20-33 are God’s reminder to Moses and Israel that he will bring them home. The law shapes their lives, but it’s his promises that energize their hearts.
The Lord will bring them to the place he’s prepared for them (v. 20). Victory will come slower than they may want (v. 30), but they must never turn away from him or they will perish (v. 21). If they stay true to him, they’ll receive his full blessing (vv. 25-26).
The “angel” of verse 20 was also at the burning bush (3:2) and at the Red Sea crossing (14:19-20), so it’s fitting that he be the one to guide them to the Promised Land. This angel is closely identified with Yahweh, “my name is in him” (v. 21). Listening to him means listening to God (v. 22). This “angel” is likely a manifestation of the Lord’s presence.
Notice in verse 20 that it says that the angel will go “before you,” or “ahead of,” the Israelites. The Lord, like every good leader, is out front taking initiative and guarding his people from dangers in the wilderness. God’s honor is at stake with the Israelites. If they don’t make it safely to the Promised Land, he’ll be considered a liar and weak and unable to save his people.
Israel’s battles were his battles, so he goes out front to lead them into the unknown. The Lord himself will make sure his people get home. It’s not just that he’s with his people, he’s going “before” them and “guarding” them on their way. He’s their buffer, standing between them and anything that would keep them from getting home.
The Harvest Has Begun, and Will Be Completed
There’s a great symmetry here as well. Just as Yahweh went before Israel leading them through the waters of judgment and through the wilderness to the Promised Land, so also Yahweh-in-the-flesh Jesus Christ went before the church leading them through the waters of death and into a glorious resurrection.
Just as the Feast of Harvest meant giving God your firstfruits, trusting in the harvest to come, so Jesus’s resurrection, Paul says, is “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20). The Feast of Harvest was the tangible evidence of what was ahead. So too Jesus’ resurrection is the tangible evidence of the resurrection of all believers.
The first part of the harvest has come in, Jesus has risen, meaning that the full harvest will come. Everyone in Christ will be raised like Christ. They’ll be brought into an eternal Sabbath, a never-ending rest, a Feast of unending joy in a land promised to anyone who belongs to Jesus.
Is there an ache in your heart for that rest and joy, for life in that good land? Your heart yearns for the rest and joy of that land because that’s what you were made for, and you can have it in Jesus.
[1]Judith Shulevitz, The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time (New York: Random House, 2011), xvi.
[2]Victor P. Hamilton, Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011), 432.
[3]David A. Dorsey, “The Law of Moses and the Christian: A Compromise,” in Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 34, 3 (Sep. 1991): 329.