If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it. (Exodus 23:5) Here continues the explication of the Ten Commandments. Whether these words were spoken by Moses, or (as most critical biblical scholars suggest) were expansions of a later time, they give us a picture of a nation's developing legal interpretation.
It has been said that all of these laws stem from the very first: You shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3) Jesus spoke that first commandment like this: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30) It can all be summed up: Love God; love people.
Only a life filled with the love of Christ could live up to Exodus 23:5, as printed above. Don't just shower with kindness those who can benefit you, those who will pay it back; love your enemies, too.
In Exodus 24:8, Moses claims the people for God by sprinking them with blood: This is the blood of the covenant... 1250 years later, Jesus would make that same claim regarding his own blood: This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. (Mark 14:24)
Were there any laws that particularly caught your attention?
Chapter 23: 20 "See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. 21 Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. 22 If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. 23 My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out.
ReplyDeleteI did not remember that an Angel had been sent to go along with the Israelites on their trek - evidently one who walked and talked with them as well as guarded them. How awesome is that?!? It seems that most of the encounters with Angel throughout the Bible are when they are sent to give messages or to carry out a command from God, but this Angel must have been with the people for quite some time. Is there mention of this Angel again? I wonder how long the Angel stayed with them?