Religious Practices

Exodus 23:10-19

In the modern world, religion and daily life are often compartmentalized. Politics, business and education are all isolated from Christianity as a if it were purely traditional myth, with no relevance to daily life. As a result, what people profess to believe is contradicted by their behavior. After church they hang their Christianity alongside their church clothes and don’t put it back on until they get ready for church again. We will never be able to completely separate our real beliefs from our daily life. That we can separate them implies that they are not essential beliefs, but mere ritual parroting of what we have been taught. Throughout the Mosaic Law, as given by God, we find that the religious, moral, and practical are so interwoven as to be almost inseparable. While this last section addresses primarily religious practices they often have a definite practical impact.

“And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.” (Exodus 23:10-11)

Most crop plants have relatively shallow roots and require similar nutrients for health. Repeated farming of a plot gradually depletes these nutrients, as well as allowing the buildup of disease organisms and insect eggs in the soil. Because most weeds have somewhat different requirements, and many have very deep roots, which is why they seem to outgrow our crops, they bring nutrients to the surface where they are reintroduced into the soil when the weed dies. Research has shown that allowing fields to lie fallow and produce weeds periodically can restore the nutrient levels to the original state. In addition, the disease organisms and insects populations dare greatly reduced because the plants they depend on are so scarce. Modern farming tries to get the same results by using ever increasing amounts of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. God specified that every field was to lie fallow every seventh year, insuring a sustainable level of productivity with minimal insect and disease problems. The year when all the fields were fallow gave the environment an opportunity to rebuild, letting native plant and animal populations to recover, maintaining healthy levels of wildlife. Not harvesting the vineyards and orchards also provided a source of food for the hungry, who were free to come in that year and pick what they wanted, giving them a leg up toward the next six years. While it was a religious practice, it had very practical benefits.

“Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.” (Exodus 23:12)

While the Sabbath was designated as a day to celebrate what God had done, observing it has very practical benefits. Even the best machines require regular shutdowns for maintenance. Like other machines, living bodies are able to do routine maintenance tasks if they get enough sleep, but they need a day off every week to repair damage from wear and tear. Like the machine, failure to do such maintenance regularly results in gradual deterioration of performance and accelerated wear on the machine, eventually resulting in breakdowns. Taking a day off is critical for sustaining good physical and emotional health.

“And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.” (Exodus 23:13) 

Even casual mention of a subject attracts attention to it. A man who had been sent to an alcohol rehab program got drunk just hours after being released. When asked why, he said that for ninety days they had talked about alcohol every day. By the end of the time he was desperate for a drink. Even talking about something to condemn it may draw people to it. Preaching against other religions may backfire, causing people to get involved. God instructed his people to be alert to what was around them and not call people’s attention to those other gods. If they were instructed in what was right, they would not fall for what was not right.

“Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.” (Exodus 23;14-17)

Three times a year, all the men of Israel were to meet together to celebrate what God had done. The feast of unleavened bread started the morning after Passover and ran for seven days, celebrating their seven day flight from Egypt which ended with the destruction of Egyptian power, and was never to be celebrated frivolously. The Feast of Harvest was when they began the first harvest as a celebration of God’s having supplied fields and crops to harvest, and the third was when they finished the harvest and storing it, celebrating what God had given them. Essentially the Feast of Ingathering was the equivalent of our Thanksgiving.

“Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning. The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.” (Exodus 23:18-19)

The commands in these two verses are symbolic of the attitude Israel was to have toward God. Like the tool marks on the stones for the altar, leaven indicated the addition of something other than what God had prepared, making it unacceptable to him. Sacrifices to him were to be pure. When they gave the sacrifice, they were to skimp or hold back but depend on God to supply for the following day. It was a simple declaration of their faith and love. Giving today should be the same. At the feast of harvest, they were to bring the very first things they picked to God, just as they came from the field. It was another indication of their faith that they put God first in all things. Our offerings today ought be in a similar vein. To boil a baby goat in his mother’s milk was to use what God had provided for his protection and growth to destroy him. It would go against God’s intentions.