Exodus 23:20-33
A contract or covenant spells out what each side is offering if the other fulfills their responsibility. In giving this initial description of the law, God has spelled out what Israel is to do in general terms, to the entire congregation. Later he will give further detail, but this is just an initial meeting, to lay a foundation. Having laid out in general what Israel will be required to do, God then told them what he was offering in exchange for their obedience. If they agree to the terms, Israel will be contractually obligated to keep all the law.
“Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.” (Exodus 23:20-21)
If they agree tot eh terms, God would send his angel before them to protect them along the way and to escort them to the place God had prepared for them. The angel would have the authority of God behind them, and disobedience could not be tolerated if they were to successfully obtain the land.
“But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off. Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.” (Exodus 23:22-24)
If they would obey the angel and do what God demanded, then he would fight their enemies as his own. He would destroy the many different ethnic groups that possessed the land at the time, but Israel must not get caught up in their culture and try to copy or adopt it. They were not to try to integrate with these other cultures, but to destroy anything that might lead them into following the old customs and religions.
“And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.” (Exodus 23:25-26)
How many of us would gladly take a job that guaranteed our own property, a guaranteed income, health and maternity coverage and life insurance? God’s offer was far greater, and the demands were relatively small. In exchange for their obedience, God would provide a land of their own, ensure Israel had abundant food and water, and take away all disease from among them. In addition, he would see to it that there was never any that could not bear young or experienced miscarriages, and they could expect to live out their full lives. The demands of the law, worshipping God and not committing murder or adultery or theft seem more than reasonable in exchange for such rewards. How many today think it too hard to do what God has asked without considering what he promised?
In Mark 10:29-30, “…Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.” The covenant with Israel offered nothing in the way of eternal life. All the promises were concerned just with this earthly life. As Hebrews 8:6 says, we have a better contract with better promises as Christians.
“I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.” (Exodus 23:27-39)
God described how he would proceed to provide the land he promised. Initially, he would wipe out some of the current residents and make the others so afraid they’d flee leaving the land available. Later, as Israel’s population grew, he’d send swarms of hornets to drive out the occupants as more land was needed. In the meantime the people would develop and keep it from reverting back to nature. When the Israelites took it over, they would not need to spend years planting vineyards and digging wells to make it useable.
“And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee. Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.” (Exodus 23:31-33)
If Israel upheld their end of the contract, God would ultimately give the entire area. The Sinai Peninsula, bounded on the south by the Red Sea and reaching to the Mediterranean coast was to be the western boundary. It would extend east and north from the gulf of Aqaba to the Euphrates River. Had Israel lived up to the agreement they would have received all of modern Israel, the Sinai peninsula, part of Saudi Arabia, all of Jordan and parts of Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. Under Solomon’s reign they ruled large part of the area but never occupied it, because they failed to live up to the agreement. They were to make no treaties with the people or their religious beliefs, and were not to allow them to live inside Israel’s boundaries because of the danger of adopting their customs and religion.
“Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.” (Exodus 23:20-21)
If they agree tot eh terms, God would send his angel before them to protect them along the way and to escort them to the place God had prepared for them. The angel would have the authority of God behind them, and disobedience could not be tolerated if they were to successfully obtain the land.
“But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off. Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.” (Exodus 23:22-24)
If they would obey the angel and do what God demanded, then he would fight their enemies as his own. He would destroy the many different ethnic groups that possessed the land at the time, but Israel must not get caught up in their culture and try to copy or adopt it. They were not to try to integrate with these other cultures, but to destroy anything that might lead them into following the old customs and religions.
“And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.” (Exodus 23:25-26)
How many of us would gladly take a job that guaranteed our own property, a guaranteed income, health and maternity coverage and life insurance? God’s offer was far greater, and the demands were relatively small. In exchange for their obedience, God would provide a land of their own, ensure Israel had abundant food and water, and take away all disease from among them. In addition, he would see to it that there was never any that could not bear young or experienced miscarriages, and they could expect to live out their full lives. The demands of the law, worshipping God and not committing murder or adultery or theft seem more than reasonable in exchange for such rewards. How many today think it too hard to do what God has asked without considering what he promised?
In Mark 10:29-30, “…Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.” The covenant with Israel offered nothing in the way of eternal life. All the promises were concerned just with this earthly life. As Hebrews 8:6 says, we have a better contract with better promises as Christians.
“I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.” (Exodus 23:27-39)
God described how he would proceed to provide the land he promised. Initially, he would wipe out some of the current residents and make the others so afraid they’d flee leaving the land available. Later, as Israel’s population grew, he’d send swarms of hornets to drive out the occupants as more land was needed. In the meantime the people would develop and keep it from reverting back to nature. When the Israelites took it over, they would not need to spend years planting vineyards and digging wells to make it useable.
“And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee. Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.” (Exodus 23:31-33)
If Israel upheld their end of the contract, God would ultimately give the entire area. The Sinai Peninsula, bounded on the south by the Red Sea and reaching to the Mediterranean coast was to be the western boundary. It would extend east and north from the gulf of Aqaba to the Euphrates River. Had Israel lived up to the agreement they would have received all of modern Israel, the Sinai peninsula, part of Saudi Arabia, all of Jordan and parts of Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. Under Solomon’s reign they ruled large part of the area but never occupied it, because they failed to live up to the agreement. They were to make no treaties with the people or their religious beliefs, and were not to allow them to live inside Israel’s boundaries because of the danger of adopting their customs and religion.
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