The Pentateuch Exodus

Festivals of Unleavened Bread, Harvest, & Ingathering

Discover Jesus as: Deliverer Exodus 23-24 Read on Bible Gateway (HCSB)

Day 40 of 730
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INTRO

At Mount Sinai, God gave Moses not just the Ten Commandments but also specific ordinances for how to deal with specific situations. Yesterday, we talked about ordinances dealing with theft of animals, crops, and personal belongings. In all of this, God wants us to be holy.

TEACHING

Exodus 23:1–9: These laws are about honesty and justice. These ordinances are harder to live by than to read. They help us to overcome sin. An example of this would be Jezebel, who did what this ordinance warns about; she integrated herself into the situation and killed the innocent and just (1 Kings 21:7–10). The point here is don’t kill the innocent and just. Then the Lord said to not take a bribe. There are worlds out there living by injustice and bribes, and God doesn’t want that to happen.

Exodus 23:10–11: Verses 10–17 talk about the feasts. The Lord commanded the Israelites to leave their land to rest in the seventh year. Why? So the poor among them could eat from their fields. They’re actually still in the wilderness, not yet in the land where this will take place. The principle is, while you rest, God will use that to bless others.

Exodus 23:12–14: God gave everybody a time to breathe, even animals, slaves, and foreigners. God reminded His people throughout these ordinances––No idols! God wanted the Israelites tocelebrate a festival for Himself three times a year.

Exodus 23:15: The Festival of Unleavened Breadcelebrates no sin. Leaven (yeast) is a symbol of sin. The Lord commanded the Israelites to find an unblemished lamb on the tenth day and sacrifice it on the fourteenth day. The festival began on the Passover (day 14) and lasted 15–21 days.The month of Abib was roughly in March or April. The exodus had begun! That’s what all 12 tribes were to celebrate three times a year. God had set them free! (Exodus 12:15-16; Leviticus 23:6; Numbers 28:17)

Over and over, Moses wrote about this festival. In order to connect with the Jewish people, we need to understand the festivals! Because of the Passover and the Exodus, we have a Messiah! We need to understand our own heritage!

Exodus 23:16a: The Festival of Harvest has a time frame of 50 days after Passover (May/June-ish).It was also known as the Feast of Weeks and Pentecost. All 12 tribes were to celebrate!This happens when the firstfruits of the harvest are ready (Exodus 34:22; Leviticus 23:15–21).The Israelites were to bring two loaves of bread (with yeast), seven unblemished lambs, one young bull, and two rams (these are the firstfruits to present to the Lord).God said, “Don’t forget what I’ve done.”The Day of Pentecost was the day the Holy Spirit came to the Church (Acts 2:1).They celebrate this festival for 50 days, seven weeks from Passover to Pentecost,by bringing the best of the best to the Lord in the festival. Don’t hold back what you’re presenting to the Lord!

Exodus 23:16b:The Festival of Ingathering is also known as the Festival of Booths or Tabernacles.The time frame for this festival is September/October (Deuteronomy 16:13; Leviticus 23:34).The Israelites were celebrating how God brought them out of the 40 years in the wilderness where they lived in booths/tabernacles/tents.In Israel today, they celebrate by building little booths on their balconies and sidewalks. They’re celebrating that God delivered them from 40 years in the wilderness.

Exodus 23:17–19: The women and children were not excluded from these festivals. The fat was the best part of the offering. Young goats were a favorite food of the people. To cook it in milk made it taste better, but to cook the goat in the milk of its mother would reveal an attitude of sin in the heart. And it was reflective of a Canaanite ceremony. Wiersbe wrote, “[this] milk was then sprinkled on the trees and fields to help promote fertility.”1God had to explain these things. One commentator writes, “This was disrespect for the God-given relationship between parent and offspring.”2

Exodus 23:20: The Angel was going before the Israelites and then would move behind them at the Red Sea. Eleven times in the Old Testament the Angel shows up (the pre-incarnate Christ) (Genesis 32:1-2, 24-32; 48:16; Exodus 3; 14:19; 23:20; Joshua 5:13–15; Judges 6:11, 22; 13:3–4; 1 Kings 19:7; Isaiah 37:6; Daniel 3:25). God was present with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and He was going to do the same with Moses and His people.

Exodus 23:21–29:Jesus was showing up for the Israelites (Jude 5)! The Lord was the one who was delivering His people from Egypt(Isaiah 7:18; Deuteronomy 7:20).God was the one who went ahead.God’s timing is so good! We have to trust Him!

Exodus 23:30–33:Let things happen in God’s timing, even if it’s slow. In life, who wants little by little? Everybody wants the land now. Meyers wrote, “‘Little by little’ does the work of God proceed through the individual soul. ‘Little by little’ do the conquests of the cross win over the world. ‘Little by little’ is the unfolding purpose of Redemption made manifest to men and angels.”3Little by little let the purpose of redemption manifest itself throughout the earth. Little by little God has a plan. We want it all now, but God has it differently.

God set the borders for the land. He kept reminding them: Keep your eyes on Me, not on other gods, or it will be a trap. Over and over again, God said, “I’m with you, just trust Me in the timing and keep your eyes on Me; celebrate Me through the festivals, and I’ll go with you one day at a time.”

Exodus 24: Moses told the elders all of the ordinances. They said, “We’ll do it!” and set up an altar and performed offerings. They read the covenant and sprinkled the blood on the people. Moses and Joshua went up. Moses in verse 18 goes up into the cloud where the Lord was and stayed there for 40 days and 40 nights.

CLOSING

As you go through the readings of Exodus, the Lord will speak to you about what you need to hear. Keep pressing in. Even in the ordinances, God wants to speak to you. I’m greatly encouraged by how God says, “Celebrate all that I’ve done in your life. And as you do, remember, I’m with you, little by little.”

  1. Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Delivered (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 1998), p. 145.

  2. F. B. Meyer, Devotional Commentary on Exodus (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1978), p. 270.

  3. Meyer, pp. 281–282.

Questions

  1. What are some laws God gave in Exodus 23:1–9? Knowing Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), how do these laws translate today?
  2. How did the law of the sabbatical year set the Israelites apart (Exodus 23:10–11)? Were the Israelites successful in keeping this law? What was their punishment? (Leviticus 26:32–35; 2 Chronicles 36:21)
  3. What were the three festivals the Israelites were commanded to keep? What is the significance of each one (Exodus 23:14–16)?
  4. In Exodus 23:16, God said to bring the firstfruits of their labor they had sown in the field. What do you think this looked like?
  5. What are your thoughts on the angel in Exodus 23:20 being the preincarnate Christ? What were the blessings and promises given by God through the angel (Exodus 23:22–30)?
  6. In John 1:18, it states no one has seen God at any time. That being true, what do you think they saw in Exodus 24:10–11?
  7. What did the Holy Spirit highlight to you in Exodus 23—24 through the reading or the teaching?

Next: the Daily Word →

Daily Word

Laura Martin Exodus 24:17

“The appearance of the LORD’s glory to the Israelites was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop.”

After Moses shared the entirety of the law with the Israelites, they agreed to do all the Lord had spoken and be obedient. Then Moses went up the mountain where the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and a cloud covered it. To the eyes of the people, the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire.

Do you ever picture God as a consuming fire, able to consume and utterly destroy? It’s an image of God deserving of our reverence and awe. He will conquer our enemies and wipe out evil. Even so, grace is available to all who receive it freely through His Son, Jesus. Allow the Consuming Fire to fight for you while you stand in awe of His power.

“The appearance of the LORD’s glory to the Israelites was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop.”

— Exodus 24:17

FURTHER SCRIPTURE

  • Deuteronomy 9:3 — “But understand that today the LORD your God will cross over ahead of you as a consuming fire; He will devastate and subdue them before you. You will drive them out and destroy them swiftly, as the LORD has told you.”
  • Psalm 50:3 — “Our God is coming; He will not be silent! Devouring fire precedes Him, and a storm rages around Him.”
  • Hebrews 12:28–29 — “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us hold on to grace. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.”