# Exodus 23 đź“–: Justice, Sabbaths, and Festivals
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#🧠Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#đź’¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đź“‚ Internal Notes]]
## đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### Justice
[[#Verse 01.]]  “You must not give a false report. Do not make common cause with the wicked to be a malicious witness.
[[#Verse 02.]] “You must not follow a crowd in doing evil things; in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice,Â
[[#Verse 03.]] and you must not show partiality to a poor man in his lawsuit.
[[#Verse 04.]] “If you encounter your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you must by all means return it to him.Â
[[#Verse 05.]] If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen under its load, you must not ignore him, but be sure to help him with it.
[[#Verse 06.]] “You must not turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits.Â
[[#Verse 07.]] Keep your distance from a false charge—do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not justify the wicked.
[[#Verse 08.]] “You must not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and subverts the words of the righteous.
[[#Verse 09.]] “You must not oppress a resident foreigner, since you know the life of a foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
### Sabbaths and Feasts
[[#Verse 10.]]  “For six years you are to sow your land and gather in its produce.Â
[[#Verse 11.]] But in the seventh year you must let it lie fallow and leave it alone so that the poor of your people may eat, and what they leave any animal in the field may eat; you must do likewise with your vineyard and your olive grove.Â
[[#Verse 12.]] For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, in order that your ox and your donkey may rest and that your female servant’s son and the resident foreigner may refresh themselves.
[[#Verse 13.]] “Pay attention to do everything I have told you, and do not even mention the names of other gods—do not let them be heard on your lips.
[[#Verse 14.]] “Three times in the year you must make a pilgrim feast to me.Â
[[#Verse 15.]] You are to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; seven days you must eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you, at the appointed time of the month of Abib, for at that time you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before me empty-handed.
[[#Verse 16.]] “You are also to observe the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors that you have sown in the field, and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year when you have gathered in your harvest out of the field.Â
[[#Verse 17.]] At three times in the year all your males will appear before the Sovereign Lord.
[[#Verse 18.]] “You must not offer the blood of my sacrifice with bread containing yeast; the fat of my festal sacrifice must not remain until morning.Â
[[#Verse 19.]] The first of the firstfruits of your soil you must bring to the house of the Lord your God.
“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
### The Angel of the Presence
[[#Verse 20.]]  “I am going to send an angel before you to protect you as you journey and to bring you into the place that I have prepared.Â
[[#Verse 21.]] Take heed because of him, and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgressions, for my Name is in him.Â
[[#Verse 22.]] But if you diligently obey him and do all that I command, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will be an adversary to your adversaries.Â
[[#Verse 23.]]Â For my angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I will destroy them completely.
[[#Verse 24.]] “You must not bow down to their gods; you must not serve them or do according to their practices. Instead you must completely overthrow them and smash their standing stones to pieces.Â
[[#Verse 25.]] You must serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will remove sickness from your midst.Â
[[#Verse 26.]] No woman will miscarry her young or be barren in your land. I will fulfill the number of your days.
[[#Verse 27.]] “I will send my terror before you, and I will alarm all the people whom you encounter; I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.Â
[[#Verse 28.]] I will send hornets before you that will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite before you.Â
[[#Verse 29.]] I will not drive them out before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild animals multiply against you.Â
[[#Verse 30.]] Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you become fruitful and inherit the land.Â
[[#Verse 31.]] I will set your boundaries from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River, for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.
[[#Verse 32.]] “You must make no covenant with them or with their gods.Â
[[#Verse 33.]] They must not live in your land, lest they make you sin against me, for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
[[#Verse 33]] They must not live in your land, lest they make you sin against me, for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
## đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
###### Verse 23.
###### Verse 24.
###### Verse 25.
###### Verse 26.
###### Verse 27.
###### Verse 28.
###### Verse 29.
###### Verse 30.
###### Verse 31.
###### Verse 32.
###### Verse 33.
## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. "Do not follow the crowd" (23:2) applied especially to giving testimony in court.
2. Bribes blind those who see clearly and twist the words of the righteous (23:8).
3. God reminds Israel that they know what it feels like to be foreigners (23:9).
4. Every seventh year the land was to rest so the poor and wild animals could eat from it (23:10-11).
5. The weekly Sabbath gave rest to animals, servants, and foreigners as well (23:12).
6. Israel had three pilgrim feasts each year: Unleavened Bread, Harvest, and Ingathering (23:14-17).
7. The Feast of Harvest later became known as Weeks (Pentecost), and Ingathering as Tabernacles or Booths.
8. The command not to boil a young goat in its mother's milk (23:19) appears three times in the Law and later shaped Jewish dietary customs.
9. The "hornet" (23:28) may be literal or a picture of the terror God would send ahead of Israel.
10. The borders described in 23:31 came closest to being realized under David and Solomon (1 Kings 4:21).
## 🧠Chapter Summary
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the One who loved His enemies and calls us to do the same. God commanded Israel to help an enemy's struggling donkey (23:4-5), and Jesus teaches us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).
## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đź’¬ Discussion Questions
1. God warns against following the crowd in doing wrong (23:2). Where do you feel pressure to go along with the crowd?
2. Why do you think God commanded kindness even to an enemy's animal (23:4-5)?
3. God drove out the nations "little by little" (23:29-30). How has God worked in your life gradually rather than all at once?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- đź“– verse 2: Do not follow a crowd in doing evil.
- đź“– verses 4-5: Help even your enemy when his animal is in trouble.
- đź“– verse 20: God sends His angel ahead to guard Israel on the way.
## đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference
- đź”— [[Matthew 05#Verse 44.|Matthew 5:44]] - Love your enemies.
- đź”— [[Romans 12#Verse 20.|Romans 12:20]] - If your enemy is hungry, feed him.
- đź”— [[Proverbs 25#Verse 21.|Proverbs 25:21-22]] - Kindness to an enemy.
- đź”— [[Leviticus 23#Verse 04.|Leviticus 23:4-44]] - The appointed feasts of the Lord.
- đź”— [[Deuteronomy 07#Verse 22.|Deuteronomy 7:22]] - God will drive out the nations little by little.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
đź“ť SOAP: [[Exodus 23- SOAP|Kindness Because it is the Right Thing to Do]]
## đź“‚ Internal Notes