Read Exodus 25:31-40

This week the weather and the seasons have conspired to make our house quite dark at times. While it’s normal that during night time we have the lights on, we have needed them in the daytime too because of the gloomy weather. In God’s tent, which was multiple layers of fabric made of animal skin, it was quite dark and gloomy as well. Light was needed.

Not surprisingly then, God gave Moses instructions for the construction of a lampstand for the tent. After all, it is difficult to serve God in the Tent of Meeting when you stumble into the Table of the Presence! But as with the other items in the tent, their use went beyond the practical, to help teach the Israelites and us that God is the true source of light and life in the darkness of a sinful world.

Moses was told to “make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand shall be made of hammered work: its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it” (v.31). Rather than casting the whole piece, they were to heat the gold until soft and then hammer it into shape; something requiring a great deal of artistic talent.

What is also notable in the description is that this lampstand is to resemble a tree, with stems and flowers on it. This is also clear in the structure of the lamp, with “six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it” (v.32).

The visual idea conveyed here is a growing plant, with a total of six branches and a trunk, perhaps symbolising the perfect light conveyed (seven is a number often associated with perfection). 

Each of the six branches contained “three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower” (v.33), thus making the tree resemble in some way an almond tree which was common in that part of the world.

The stem contained “four cups made like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and flowers, and a calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out from the lampstand” (vv.34-5). The buds and branches were all part of the one stand, hammered out of one sheet of gold (v.36).

The lamps were separate to the lampstand, and rested on each of the branches. They were set up so that they lit up “the space in front of it” (v.37) which contained the Table of the Presence and cast a shadow on the wall. When these lamps were adjusted every day, they could be removed from the stand to ease this process.

Unlike electric lamps with a bulb which you replace occasionally, the lamps of Moses’ day required a wax or fluid, and a wick which required adjusting or occasional replacing (similar to a kerosene or white spirits lamp). The utensils for trimming the wicks or trays for removing them were also made of pure gold (v.38), in keeping with the other elements of the Tabernacle which were coming into closer presence with a holy God.

Not surprisingly, this was a lot of gold. In verse 39, we learn that the weight of gold to use for the lampstand and accessories was “a talent of pure gold”, roughly equivalent to about 35 kilograms.

Finally, Moses was warned to ensure that the lampstand, along with the Table of the Presence and the Ark of the Covenant, were made “after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain” (v.40).

The lampstand served as the source of light in the Tabernacle, and reminded them that God was the true source of light. God provided light at Creation, initially from himself. Here in God’s restored dwelling with his people, he provides light to Israel.

This light is symbolic of the light in a dark world God provides. As Psalm 27:1 poetically describes, God is our light and salvation. In a world of dark sinfulness, God is a shining beacon of light who reveals the way through his Word.

The lampstand is also symbolic of God as the source of life. The lampstand was explicitly formed like a tree. This imagery points back to the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, which God provided to give continued life to Adam and Eve. In this fallen world, God is the source of eternal life, given to those who trust in him.

Ultimately, Jesus is the greatest fulfillment of the lampstand’s light and life. Jesus is the Way, the truth, and the life, and the light of the world, providing the light of life in the dark, sinful world (John 8:12). 

It is in Jesus that we are called out of darkness and into God’s marvellous light, in which God illuminates his provision for us through his eternal presence with us. And this light still draws sinners from darkness to light and life today.

Read Exodus 25:23-30

At my office desk are various pieces of artwork from my children, and two photographs; one of my wife and I, and one of my two children. They sit there as visual reminders, because while my memory is not so bad that I completely forget them the moment I walk out of the house, pictures of my wife and children bring them to the front of my mind. In a sense, they become “present” in my thoughts as I am hopefully present in theirs, even though absent.

In Exodus 25, we see another picture of presence. Moses receives instructions to build a table, which will belong in the outer room of God’s tent. This table serves as the home for the bread of presence, which symbolised God’s presence and provision for his people. Not surprisingly then, this bread pointed forward to the true bread, Jesus, who is God present with us but also God’s provision for us.

In verse 23, Moses is instructed to “make a table of acacia wood. Two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height” (v.23). These dimensions equate to approximately 900mm long, 450mm wide, and 670mm high. As with the Ark of the Covenant, the table was to be overlaid with gold, along with a rim which stopped items from accidentally falling off (v.24). The table, as with the Ark, was a holy item, not common.

In addition, the table was to have “a rim around it a handbreadth wide, and a molding of gold around the rim” (v.25). This was probably a frame which went around the legs halfway down, about 75mm wide, giving extra strength and rigidity to the table. The Arch of Titus in Rome depicts a version of this table as part of the loot taken when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in AD70.

Again, as with the Ark, the table was to have gold rings attached to its legs to ensure that it could be carried with poles (vv.26-7). The table was holy; it was improper for it to be picked up casually by the local moving company. 

Instead, as with the Ark, acacia wood poles overlaid with gold were to be used for carrying the table (v.28). Perhaps as a concession to its lesser proximity to God’s presence, sitting in the outer part of the tabernacle, the poles were not permanently attached.

The table itself, while holy, was functional. It had no symbolic purpose except for what it held up off the floor. These items were typical items you might expect on a table at home; plates, a jug for liquid, bowls (v.29). These items were used for burning incense (which helped to shroud God’s presence from unholy gaze), and for pouring out drink offerings before God.

But the most significant item which the table upheld was loaves of bread. On this table, God told the Israelites to “set the bread of the Presence on the table before me regularly” (v.30). In Leviticus, this bread is described as twelve loaves of bread replaced every Sabbath, laid out in two rows on the table (Leviticus 24:5-9).

The significance of the bread is in what it represents: presence and provision. God does not need to eat, because He is eternal, uncreated, and unchanging. Rather, the loaves of bread spoke of what God was doing for His people.

There were twelve loaves, representing the twelve tribes of Israel which sat in God’s tent; the place of God’s special presence with Israel. Secondly, the loaves were constantly refreshed, demonstrating God’s continual provision for Israel.

The bread of presence reminds us of the same two things. The bread reminds us of God’s provision for us. Ultimately everything we have comes from God, whether it comes from others or from our labour which uses the gifts God gave us.

The bread of presence, continually refreshed, speaks to us as it did to Old Testament Israel of God’s continuing provision for us. Every breath we take and every move we make, God is watching over us. 

No wonder then that Jesus, in teaching us how to pray, told us to ask God for our daily bread (Matt. 6:11). Our prayers draw us to remember the source of all our provision.

We can expect God to hear these prayers because he is not absent but present with us, or perhaps we could say he has made us present with him. 

God did this through Jesus, who is the true bread of life. Jesus’ did not just miraculously provide for his people (John 6:1-15) as a picture of his provision, but truly is the bread which comes from heaven to give eternal life (John 6:22-35).

As God with us, Jesus is present with us just as the bread in the tent was near to God’s presence. Jesus is the bread of life, providing us with more than our daily bread but eternal life also through the Cross.

Let us eat of that bread of life, present with us daily.

Read Exodus 25:10-22

As some of you may be aware, I dabble in woodworking as a hobby. I enjoy the process of taking raw timber, cutting and putting it together, then sanding and finishing it. To succeed requires attention to detail, and a set of plans which indicate not only the process of assembly and the end result, but indicate why each piece (sometimes hidden pieces in the end product) is required.

In the first verses of chapter 25, God instructed the people to provide materials for the building of God’s Tabernacle, his dwelling place with them. In verses ten to twenty-two, God instructs Moses on the construction of the Ark of the Covenant. But he does not just ask for a box, he explains the finish and decorative elements to go with it, and why they are there. Because the Ark of the Covenant is more than a box; it is a picture of God’s relationship and presence with his people, recognised most fully in Jesus.

The first thing to note about the plans for the Ark is that it provides a place for God’s covenant. The Israelites were to make an ark (literally a box) of acacia wood that was approximately 1,100mm long by 670mm deep and wide (v.10). 

The box was to have an overlay of pure, refined gold inside and out, with a moulding which would have helped keep the lid on (v.11). They were to attach four golden rings to feet on the bottom of the box (so it did not sit flat on the ground), and make gold overlaid poles from acacia wood which were permanently strung through the rings to carry the ark (vv.12-14). This allowed the ark to be moved without being touched, because of its holiness.

In fact, the poles were never to be removed from the rings (v.15), unlike other objects. This perhaps indicated God’s readiness to move at a moment’s notice with his people.

Finally, the ark was the place in which “the testimony that I shall give you” was to be placed, rather than remaining an empty symbol (v.16). The testimony referred to the written copies of the covenant, which enabled and set out the terms of the relationship which God had with his Covenant People.

However, the testimony also made clear to God’s People their unworthiness of relationship with God due to sinfulness. Therefore, the instructions also provided a place for God’s mercy. They were to “make a mercy seat of pure gold” (v.17), that is, a cover which sat over the ark carrying the testimony. It was of the same length and width dimensions as the ark on which it sat. The mercy seat was emplaced on top of the ark (v.21).

The mercy seat symbolised that the requirements of the Law were fulfilled completely by God’s mercy. The sins of the people could be completely covered by the appointed sacrifices God accepted.

At the same time, the mercy seat’s pure gold make reminded God’s People that holiness was the required standard for communion with God, and so only a sacrifice which met the standard of holiness required would suffice.

Thirdly, the ark provided a place for God’s presence. On the two ends of the mercy seat, they were to create two Cherubim of gold which were to be attached to the mercy seat as one piece (vv. 18-19). The Cherubim were to face each other, with their wings covering the mercy seat (v.20).

The Cherubim were important because they were a symbolic representation of the Heavenly throne room, where Cherubim circle God’s throne proclaiming his praise (Isaiah 6). Likewise, God would appear above the mercy seat, between the Cherubim, to speak to Moses (v.22) and be present with his people. No idolatrous image was necessary; inside the tent God would appear above the ark to speak to Moses, the Mediator between God and the People.

Gold, symbolising God’s purity and holiness, plays an essential part in the finish and decoration applied to the ark. The poles (so nobody touched the ark and died as Uzziah later did, 2 Sam. 6) symbolised the separation between God and the People.

This reminds us that God is holy, and that our worship of him should not be superficial entertainment but should take his holiness and glory seriously and reverently. We make a terrible mistake as believers today when we turn a Church service, where we encounter God through Jesus, into some concert or festival.

But the ark also reminds us of God’s mercy. It is built into the plans. The mercy seat covered all the sins of God’s People, when it was splashed with the blood of the atoning sacrifices offered. How much greater is Jesus’ sacrifice, his blood splashed on the Heavenly mercy seat which was used to make the plans for Moses’ copy, in covering over our sins and failures to keep God’s Law.

That mercy allowed a Holy God to dwell with sinful people. So, too, Jesus’ blood allows us, sinful people, to enjoy fellowship with God today.

Read Exodus 25:1-9

Here it comes – the money talk! Money is very dear to our hearts, and drives fear into many a Bible Teacher’s heart when such a passage arrives. Too many people in positions of authority, many of them supposedly religious teachers, major on the money and minor on the Gospel. But because of the importance of possessions to people, it is an important topic in the Bible.

After freeing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and entering into a covenant relationship with them at Sinai, God begins to explain to Moses the requirements for his dwelling-place with them, which they would construct from their own contributions. This giving was to be freely given, generously contributed from their wealth, and dedicated for God’s glory. Our giving to building Christ’s Church should be the same.

On Mount Sinai, surrounded and shrouded by God’s presence from the Israelites below, God explained to Moses his requirements for building a portable sanctuary or dwelling-place with his people (v.1).

Moses was to “Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution” (v.2). While God could have chosen to miraculously create a sanctuary for himself, or miraculously provided the raw materials, he did not choose to do so. Instead, God ordained that the Israelites were to construct it themselves, and contribute to it themselves.

But unlike earthly kings and rulers whose contributions were requested with the threat of force, God’s request for contributions sought that they were freely given. “From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me” (v.2), rather than extracting through threat of punishment.

Their contributions were also to be from their wealth. The Almighty God, Maker of Heaven and Earth, was worthy of more than a shanty shack from some spare cardboard and timber offcuts. Instead, they were to contribute to God of the very finest and richest of their possessions to make a house fitting for a Divine King.

Firstly, they were to give “gold, silver, and bronze” (v.3), precious metals which still hold great value to us today.

Secondly, they were to give expensive fabrics: “blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen” (v.4). These coloured yarns were expensive because they were coloured through an expensive process involving shellfish and insects, and so these colours were associated with royalty.

Thirdly, they were to give practical items. They were to provide “goats’ hair, tanned rams’ skins, goatskins” (vv.4-5) which provided protection from rain and tough padding for precious items.

Fourthly, they were to source “acacia wood” for constructing various parts of the dwelling, and “oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense” (vv.5-6) to enable lighting and pleasing sacrifices to God.

Fifthly, they were to contribute “onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece” (v.7) to enable the priests to dress appropriately for their sacrificial service in God’s House.

Where were these riches from? From the wealth that the Israelites plundered from the Egyptians when god rescued them from Egypt (cf. Exodus 12:35-6).

The riches given were not for the enrichment of Moses and Aaron but for God’s Glory. With the contributions of their possessions they were to “make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst” (v.8).

What God proposed was building a portable temple, a house for God to dwell specially with his covenant people. The riches were given to ensure God’s House was suitable to reflect his glory to the Israelites and any foreigners who saw it.

This temple was not based on earthly designs from Egypt or an architectural competition, but “exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it” (v.9).

God would provide the design of the house befitting his glory, according to a heavenly pattern he had already established (Heb. 8:5).

Like the Israelites, we too are called by God to give freely (2 Cor. 9:7). God could miraculously raise the finances and provide the possessions to pay for his preachers, the worship spaces, the relief of the poor, and the extension of the Kingdom through the preaching of the Gospel. But he has chosen to use us as his hands, his feet, and his providers.

Nobody should feel compelled by a Preacher’s words to give, but we should desire to freely give. If we do not, then we should pray for God to give us the heart to freely give, having freely received.

And while we should not give ourselves into bankruptcy, nor should we be stingy toward God. Ultimately we give to God, not a church or the preacher. Like Israel, we should give generously from our wealth and sacrifice some luxury for God.

When we give generously to God we are giving the means which God uses to build his Temple on earth, the Church. While ordinary people labour, it is God who gives the growth; building his sanctuary here on earth with us, his people.

Read Exodus 24:9-18

If Lockdowns taught us anything, it is that while online presence with others is better than nothing, physical presence is far better. Being cut off from each other taught us to yearn for each other’s presence. But how much better than presence with each other must presence with God be like?

In this passage, the covenant ratification ceremony is completed by Israel’s representatives enjoying fellowship with God. Then, following their return down the mountain, Moses ascends again to commune further with God, enjoying his presence. In these events, we see not only the mirror of the sacrament of communion, but also the great and glorious presence of God we will all enjoy in eternity.

After sprinkling the people of Israel with blood, Moses and the representatives of Israel fulfil God’s command in verse one to go up on Mount Sinai to worship God. There, they see God (vv.9-10).

The description given is not of God as he is, but rather of the area around, reflecting his glory and majesty. “There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness” (v.10). 

What they saw, little as it was, was beyond ability to properly explain. Beneath the anthropomorphic feet of God (God is spirit and does not have a body like us), the ground looked like it was paved with beautiful bright stones, reflecting God’s glory. At the same time, it was so pure as to be like heaven itself, reflecting God’s purity.

Perhaps they never even saw more of God than this. Experiencing his majesty and awe, they fell to the ground worshiping God and studied the floor rather intently!

Gathered on the mountain, the representatives of Israel completed the covenant ratification ceremony by communing with God. 

Ordinarily, as sinners like us, the representatives of Israel were subject to judgement from God. But this was not their fate, because God had entered into a relationship of mercy and forgiveness with them. 

Instead, God “did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel” (v.11). God did not strike them down where they knelt. He accepted their presence, and their worship of him, as part of his chosen people.

The representatives “beheld God, and ate and drank” (v.11). They shared a meal, which ratified the covenant relationship between God and Israel. This was an important custom of covenant ceremonies at that time. After this, we infer, they descended from the mountain back to God’s People.

After the ceremony, Moses once again enters God’s presence. This time, Moses ascends to receive the stone tablets of the covenant, and further instructions on building the tabernacle (v.12).

Anticipating that he would be with God for some time, Moses placed Aaron and Hur in charge with the elders (v.14), and ascended the mountain with his assistant Joshua (v.13). At this point the mountain was obscured by clouds (v.15), and God’s glory covered the mountain (v.16).

God’s glory settled on the mountain for six days, mirroring the creation story where God’s spirit hovered over the earth for six days, making everything (v.16; Gen. 1). A new creation is occurring; God is making a people for himself.

Viewed from down below, “the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain” (v.17). We do not know what Moses and Joshua observed at the edge of the glory cloud, but Moses responded to God’s call to go into the cloud (v.16) and entered into God’s intimate presence (v.18). There he stayed for forty days and nights (v.18), seeing God and communing with him.

The communion meal which the elders and leaders of Israel shared with God on Sinai is repeated at the Last Supper, where Jesus instituted what we call Communion or the Lord’s Table (Matt. 26:28-9). There, he announced the New Covenant (in comparison to the Covenant at Sinai), the new administration by which God relates to his people.

Whenever we gather together as a Church and take Communion together, we are entering into the same type of ceremony as the elders of Israel. We are identifying ourselves as part of God’s covenant people, against whom God does not lay a hand in judgement but extends his arms in loving mercy.

While we do not see God with our eyes in Communion, but enjoy his presence by the Holy Spirit, one day we will see God in fuller measure. 

Revelation teaches that one day, not just the elders of our congregation but we all will gather at God’s feet, offering praise and worship to him (Rev. 7). There, in the new heaven and earth which God will make, we will commune with God in the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev 19:6-9, cf. Isaiah 25:6-9) and enjoy his presence more fully than now, more fully even than the representatives of Israel on the slopes of Mount Sinai.

Because of Christ, we will see God and enjoy his glorious presence.

Read Exodus 24:1-8

Any major agreement has a ceremony to confirm it. Marriages begin with a wedding ceremony where husband and wife exchange public vows. Treaties have ceremonies where leaders take credit for their officials’ work, sign agreements, and swap pens. Large contracts may involve speeches, spades in the ground, novelty cheques, and large banners. All of these modern symbols show both parties’ commitment to their obligations.

The Covenant at Sinai was similar. God had provided an historical context for their relationship, expressed his terms, and highlighted the benefits and curses of obedience (or not). All that was left was the ceremony, which begins in Exodus 24:1-8 with a call to ascend, recording the covenant, and a ritual confirming the covenant. In this event, we have a picture of our own covenant relationship with God, in Christ.

The passage begins with a call to ascend Mount Sinai issued to Moses and representatives of Israel. God commands Moses to “Come up to the LORD” along with his brother Aaron, Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu, “and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar” (v.1). These men represented the tribes of Israel, the head priests of Israel, and their mediator.

However, only Moses was to come near to God, while the others were to stay at various distances, and the Israelite populace were to remain at a distance (v.2). This distance was required to remind them of God’s holiness, and their sinfulness.

Following this call we see Moses recording the Covenant. Moses went to the people, and announced everything God had told him in the previous chapters (20:12-23:33). All the people eagerly respond “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do” (v.3).

The next step was to make it official. Moses wrote down everything which God had told him, which certainly involved at a minimum everything we have examined from chapter 19 onwards (v.4). Later this would involve all of the first five books of the Bible.

This step was important, as it provided a key legal source. Children needed to know the terms of the Covenant they had with their God. Elders and leaders needed to refer to it, to judge on cases and to lead the people in worshiping and obeying God’s commands. It served as written proof of the relationship, much like a treaty or a contract serves today.

This led to the third step, which was confirming the Covenant. The people had already said they would sign up, but a ritual still needed to happen. Moses eagerly got up in the morning and built an altar at the foot of Mount Sinai, with twelve pillars symbolising the twelve tribes (totality) of Israel (v.4).

Next, the young men (likely firstborn, who belonged to God, Ex. 13:2) were sent to arrange animal sacrifices to God (v.5). God’s acceptance of these sacrifices was necessary for the confirmation process to continue.

The blood of these sacrifices then took prominence. Firstly, half of the blood was thrown onto the altar as an offering to God (v.6). This symbolised God’s part in the covenant, as a party to the agreement. If God did not keep his part (as if that were possible), then his blood would be shed.

In the same way, after reading the covenant and again hearing Israel again commit to its terms (v.7), Moses sprinkled the other half of the blood on the people, as parties to the covenant (v.8). They too were sealed into the covenant by blood.

But the blood served another purpose. In the sacrifices God commanded, the blood represented the cleansing and forgiveness of sins through the substitute of another life for the sinner’s. Thus, the blood on the altar symbolised forgiveness for failing to keep the covenant perfectly, while the blood sprinkled on the people set them apart as made holy and cleansed. The blood turned aside God’s wrath, and allowed a covenant relationship between God and his chosen people.

The same occurs for us, though not through repeated sacrifices but through the blood of Jesus (Rom. 3:25, Eph. 2:13). Jesus’ sacrifice was offered once for all, cleansing perfectly and completely (Heb. 9:12-14). Through Jesus’ sacrifice and the shedding of his blood, we are forgiven.

Just as we enter a relationship with God in a similar way to that between God and the Israelites at Sinai, so too God’s Word, written for us, helps us to love and obey God, and to teach our children of God’s holy standard and God’s saving acts. God’s Word confirms God’s love for us, and confirms the promises made by God, given by covenant, and sealed by Christ’s blood.

Jesus’ blood inaugurated the new covenant (in relation to this covenant, Heb. 9:15-28), so that we may all enjoy the forgiveness offered through God’s covenant of grace revealed from Eden through Sinai to the Cross. It is only through the forgiveness received in Christ, and the release from God’s wrath through Christ’s blood, that we can enter into a relationship with God.

Read Exodus:20-33

Sometimes the Christian walk feels like a slog. You feel like you never get anywhere. Enemies without, and your own attitude and actions within, make you feel like you are heading for defeat. But what we feel is not the case. God has rescued us from slavery to sin, and will deliver us to a victorious presence with him, in his land, under his rule.

The Israelites were in a similar figurative place. God rescued them from slavery in Egypt (a type of their slavery to sin) and brought them to his holy mountain, where he revealed to them how they should live in the light of their salvation. Now, God promises he will complete what he has begun by leading them to victory in their conquest of Canaan. But this victory would be led by God, little by little, and without compromise.

The promise of conquest would be led by God. He would “send an angel before you to guard you” and lead them to Canaan (v.20). They were to listen and obey this angel, for he “will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him” (v.21). The angel was God’s representative; where he led, God was leading them, and they were to follow.

Rebellion would bring judgement, but obedience, blessing. “I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries” (v.22), bringing them to the peoples of that land whose sinfulness required their judgement through being blotted out (v.23).

While Israelites would be fighting, led by God’s angel, he would “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” (v.27). He would send hornets to drive them out (v.28). 

God would do the heavy lifting for his people, driving out their enemies and giving them the land from “the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates” (v.31).

However, this victory would not be instantaneous but little by little. God would not “drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you” (v.29). Giving them all the land would mean they could not cope, and much would return to wild untamed nature.

Instead, victory would take time. “Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land” (v.30). While they may have wanted instant victory, it would instead come over time. It would be complete (v.31), but it would happen slowly, gradually, over time.

But victory over time, complete as it would be, would be without compromise. They were not to compromise with and join the religious practices of Canaan, but “you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces” (v.24).

If they did that, God promised he would give what the Canaanite deities falsely offered but could never provide: plenty of food and water, good health, large families, and long lives (vv.25-6). Material blessings that pointed at that time to greater spiritual blessings.

Their victory had to be without compromise because of the seriousness of failure. They were to make no agreement or bow down to the false gods of Canaan (v.32) “lest they make you sin against me” (v.33). 

The false gods and their followers would tempt God’s people away from worship of the only True and Living God, “for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you” (v.33). They would lead God’s People to their own judgement and destruction, as rebels against God and his leadership (v.21).

The promises here relate to our own Christian walk, as it is a picture of our own spiritual pilgrimage to the greater Promised Land of the New Heavens and New Earth.

We will not win the fight with our own sin or the temptations of this sinful world on our own. We put on the armour of God, which he gives us, to resist sin’s temptations. And we work out our salvation with “fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil 2:12-13).

We also see that, like the victory God promised to Israel, our victory over sin may come little by little. Becoming holy like Jesus is a process that starts “with a bang” at our salvation, but continues little by little through our whole life until finally complete at God’s side.

But as we pursue victory in Christ, we must heed the warning given to God’s People in this passage too. Our lives must also be without compromise. There is no place for sin. We must abandon and destroy anything in our lives which stands between us and obedience to God.

As we pursue victory in following Christ without compromise, he will lead us to the promised blessings of eternity with God, little by little.

Read Exodus 23:10-19

Everyone has priorities. We see this in daily life. Some people are devoted to career advancement, while others prioritise family or personal commitments. Some people seek to maximise their wealth, even at the expense of others. Others sacrifice themselves for a cause. Some even sacrifice themselves completely for God’s service.

Not many of us are called to the mission field or the pastorate, but all of us are called to put God first. In this section of the divine laws given at Mount Sinai, God circles back to where he began: a focus on worshiping him. Here, God commands Israel to show reliance on him through sabbatical laws, thank him through harvest-based worship festivals, and honour him through following commands on the nature of their sacrifices. While these specific laws do not bind us today, they remind us to put God first.

Firstly, this passage reminds Israel to rely on God through its sabbatical laws. God imposed sabbatical laws on the land he was giving them.

For six years, Israel was to till their fields, prune their vineyards, and tend their orchards, but in the seventh year they were to “let it rest and lie fallow” (vv.10-11). Anything that did grow, being wild sown, was available to any but especially the poor (who lacked land) and the wild animals to enjoy. The farmer or horticulturalist trusted God to provide from the bounty promised in the sixth year (Lev. 25:21).

Since the sabbatical year supplemented the Sabbath, the Fourth Commandment is restated in verse twelve. Its application to all in the land, even a servant or a migrant worker, was reaffirmed. The purpose of this weekly sabbath is to rest and refresh; to catch your breath and regain some strength for the week ahead.

This restatement was joined with a reminder to keep all of God’s commands, and to remember that these laws and Sabbaths existed so the Israelites would glorify God. Their devotion to God, honouring the First Commandment, was to be so extensive that they would not even utter the names of other false Gods in worship (v.13), because they wholly relied on God.

Their reliance on God was also to be demonstrated through thank offerings at three harvest-related worship festivals (v.14). The Canaanites around them also had harvest festivals, but the festivals of Israel were to point solely to God as provider, and give thanks for his provision.

The first festival is that of Unleavened Bread, which coincided with the barley harvest (v.15). Not only was the provision of barley celebrated, but also God’s acts in history to redeem them from slavery in Egypt. All were to participate in this feast, and offer sacrifices to God (v.15).

The second festival is the Feast of Harvest, or Pentecost, at the time of harvesting wheat (v.16). At this harvest, the firstfruits were baked into a loaf and presented to God, thanking him for the crops he gave.

The third festival is the Feast of Ingathering, or Booths (v.16). In this festival everyone lived in tents to celebrate their ancestors living in the wilderness, and presented offerings of the fruits of the vineyards and orchards to God. All three festivals were commanded for all Israel, represented by the men as household heads (v.17).

Thirdly, Israel was to honour God by the nature of their sacrifices. They were not to offer sacrifices (including blood, signifying life) with items containing yeast (v.18), because yeast was considered to ritually corrupt an item.

Nor were Israel to let the fat portion of a sacrifice (reserved for God, as the best portion) remain overnight (v.18). This avoided improperly lengthening a ritual, or sinfully taking what belonged to God and eating it yourself. 

Likewise, not just the firstfruits but the best firstfruits belonged to God (v.19). They could not pick and choose the parts to give to God.

Finally, God banned an offensive pagan practice where a young animal was cooked in the milk of its mother: cooked by what should have sustained it (v.19). Israelites were not to co-opt the heartless worship practices of Canaan and “Yahwehfy” them.

All these commands were about putting God first. While we do not have sabbath years, the principles of trusting God by not pursuing every last possible dollar, every minute of the day, still apply today. Accepting God’s provision instead of constantly looking for the next dollar shows our reliance on him.

We should also freely give back to God from what he has given us. Giving of our time, our skills, and our possessions is an act of thank worship to God. It exists in the context of our redemption from sin through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, just as Israel’s festivals celebrated their redemption from Egypt.

And this passage reminds us to honour God in the way we worship. We cannot adopt worldly ways, or hold back from God what belongs to him. We owe our whole selves as living sacrifices! When we worship God with all our being, we are putting God first.

Read Exodus 23:1-9

There is a representation of the proper role of the Courts called Lady Justice, who is a blindfolded woman holding a set of scales and a sword. She represents fair and impartial administration of the Law, without corruption, greed, or prejudice. Lady Justice is the ideal of our legal system, whether it reaches that lofty goal or not.

True Justice and Mercy were goals of the Israelite system of justice as well. Both Justice and Mercy reflect God’s character, and should radiate in the lives of God’s people. False witness, mercy to our enemies and to strangers, and ensuring the fair administration of justice were vital parts of the Israelite’s life under the Law. They should equally serve as vital parts of our life today.

In the first three verses of Chapter 23, the Israelites are reminded of the importance of not bearing false witness. Reflecting the Ninth Commandment, the Israelites were instructed that “you shall not spread a false report” (v.1). This was meant both in the strict legal sense, but also in spreading empty, false rumours through gossip.

Not only were they to avoid false reports themselves, but nor were they to “join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness” (v.1). The wicked man is guilty, and by joining hands with him they were conspiring to let him go free, while the innocent suffered.

Going with the crowds did not exempt from doing the right thing either. They were not to let majority opinion shape their interpretation of justice, nor do so explicitly in a court case and thus pervert the course of justice (v.2).

Partiality was not justification for false witness. Even if sympathetic to a poorer person in court, they could not show partiality to the poor man in his lawsuit (v.3). Economic position, whether great or small, should not affect justice.

Partiality can also be shown in preferring those you care for over those you do not know or despise. In verses four and five, and verse nine, mercy to enemies and outsiders is highlighted.

While it might be easy to view an opponent’s distress or loss as their just desserts, Israelites were instructed that “if you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him” (v.4) rather than take advantage of his misfortune.

This duty of care extended to helping him in his time of need. If his donkey, the main method of transportation in those days, had broken down due to bad loading, then an Israelite could not walk by but help him rescue the donkey and rearrange the load (v.5).

Outsiders are also identified as someone to receive justice and mercy. The Israelites were specifically charged “not [to] oppress a sojourner” because they were sojourners once in Egypt and knew oppression (v.9). As outsiders, sojourners could be mistreated since they were often away from their family and kinship groups who could offer support and a watchful eye.

True justice and mercy were also displayed when there was a fair administration of justice in Court. Just as false witness should not occur in favour of the poor (v.3), so too “you shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit” (v.6). Judges should not favour the ruling elites or the powerful and privileged at the expense of the poor.

Nor should justice be used as a veil for evil practice. The Israelites were to keep away from false charges, and not put the innocent to death (v.7). God is the ultimate judge and will ensure all malpractice is judged. That includes malpractice like using the court as a weapon to hurt the innocent.

Finally, judges were not to accept a bribe “for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right” (v.8). A bribe affects the judgement of the person who accepts it, and inevitably causes them to act in a way which perverts justice.

As God’s People today, the same principles should bind us. Most of us will not serve as judges in our lands, but we do judge people every day in our interactions with them. When we spread false rumours, or do not stand up to the crowds when they condemn an innocent person, we fall short of the standard set here.

Jesus suffered the harm of false witness, of evil practice covered with the garments of due process, and the harm of enemies. Even his closest friends abandoned him in his time of need. If Christ suffered injustice, we can expect the same, but that does not mean we should serve the same to our enemies, much less our fellow believers.

Instead, we should treat all others, but especially each other, with the same mercy we have received from God. And in our acts to each other, and in the Church’s discipline (through the elders), we should seek justice through truth, impartiality, and loving care.

In doing so we act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.

Read Exodus 22:16-31

Our culture talks a good game about protecting the dignity of people, but its practice leaves a lot to be desired. If the value of a society rests in how well it treats the vulnerable, then we fall way short. While we talk of social justice, the reality is often something different.

True social justice is about protecting a just social order, based on a sacred order. God’s laws given to Israel were focused on precisely that. In this passage, God provides rules which protect the social order, the social fabric, and those who exercised different roles in society. Those principles should continue to motivate us, God’s people, today.

The first provision to protect the social order focused on protecting young women. When a young man seduced a young woman into a consensual sexual relationship, the Law required him to take responsibility for his actions and marry her (v.16). He was also required to pay a “bride price”, which was a sum intended to protect the woman in case of his death (there was no widow’s benefit) or a marital breakdown.

If the man was a scoundrel and the father utterly refused to allow the marriage, then he still had to pay the “bride price”, as a penalty for his behaviour and because in their society, a seduced but unmarried woman’s marriage opportunities were more restricted (v.17).

Secondly, this passage provides laws protecting the social fabric. Witchcraft, beastiality, and idolatry were explicitly banned in Israel, on penalty of death (vv.18-20). These activities were implicitly or explicitly associated with worship of false gods, and attacked the basic order of Creation and the right of God their covenant king to exclusive worship rights. When Israelite society went after false idols, disaster usually fell on their society (eg, Judges).

Thirdly, this passage provides laws protecting the weak from harm and exploitation. Believers were not to harm the “sojourner” or “any widow or fatherless child” (vv.21-2). Immigrants (or “temporary visa holders”), or those who had lost the breadwinner of the family were in vulnerable economic situations. 

These folk relied on the goodwill of society, and were prone to exploitation. God warned that if Israelites did that to the vulnerable, their own dependents would find themselves in the same vulnerable place (vv.23-4).

Another provision to protect the vulnerable of society existed in their credit laws. The first aspect of this was to require loans without interest (v.25). Loans were usually taken because of a difficult financial position (eg, a loss of harvest or income) and putting interest on these people just dug them further into debt.

The second aspect of their credit laws was a limit on what could be taken as collateral. For some poor, the only thing they had left was their cloak in which they could keep warm and sleep. 

If the cloak was taken as security, God expected its return (vv.26-7). You could not strip a man of his dignity, even his clothes and his bed. Anyone who did so could expect God to take up the poor man’s cause (v.27).

The fourth way in which social order was protected under God’s Law was in protecting positions of privilege from disrespect. God’s people were not to disrespect God or the rulers he appointed over them (v.28). They were to show honour.

This extended to the respect shown to the highest person of privilege, God! They were not to be stingy with giving back to God from what he gave them (v.29), nor to the firstborn son or firstborn oxen and sheep (vv.29-30). These were to be devoted to God, and in the case of sons ransomed through a cash payment to the Temple (Num. 18:15-16). 

Likewise, they were to keep their ceremonially holy status by not eating meat from animals killed by wild animals (v.31). Showing honour by behaving in ways which God honoured, and giving him his due, protected the social order from disintegration through judgement because of God’s punishment.

Underlying all these laws is respect for God, and respect for those made in God’s image. A society which is stable, where God is honoured and respected, is a society where true justice can flourish. And in that society, true justice occurs when society protects those of whom someone may take advantage.

While this may not be the culture of the society we live in, or at least seriously lacking in a few places, the respect for each other and for God reflected in these laws should be something that we see in the Church.

The Church should be a place where people take responsibility for their actions, and seek to preserve the chastity and purity of others. A place where people worship God alone, and give him his due. A place where the poor and disadvantaged are welcomed and cared for, not exploited or deprived of even basic needs for our own gain.

A place where all these things happen may be a beacon of Gospel light in a world full of too much social injustice.