Exodus 23

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FOLLOW CHRIST NOT THE CROWD

February 5, 2023

“You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong” (Exodus 23:2 NLT). After giving the Ten Commandments to Moses, the Lord gave specific examples of how to apply them. He warned that following the crowd in doing wrong would not excuse the breaking of the commandments. How many of us as teens tried this excuse

“You must not oppress foreigners. You know what it’s like to be a foreigner, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23:9 NLT).

February 5, 2022

HOW DO YOU TREAT FOREIGNERS? God inspired Moses to write this instruction, including an appeal to the memories of the Israelites. Namely, that they should remember how it felt to be oppressed as foreigners in Egypt. This injunction has at least two motivating factors: First, obey because God said so, and second, obey because you

“Also you shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23:9 NKJV).

February 5, 2020

WHO IS A STRANGER? God inspired Moses to write this instruction, including an appeal to the memories of the Israelites. Namely, that they should remember how it felt to be oppressed as strangers in Egypt. This injunction has at least two motivating factors: First, obey because God said so, and second, obey because you know

“Each year you must celebrate three festivals in my honor” (Exodus 23:14 NLT).

February 6, 2018

The Lord commanded that three annual festivals be celebrated in His honor. These festivals were:
1) The Feast of Passover
2) The Feast of Pentecost
3) The Feast of Tabernacles

The Lord may have had other reasons for commanding these festivals, but several reasons seem apparent:
1) To perpetuate remembrance of what God had done.
2) To keep them faithful to the Lord
3) To put seasons of rest and celebration in the annual calendar
4) To offer instruction, as the appropriate Scripture was read at each festival.
5) To renew their corporate identity as they came from all over Israel to the Temple to celebrate together.
6) To pass on the spiritual legacy of God’s people to the next generation.

“You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong” (Exodus 23:2 NLT).

February 6, 2018

How many of us as teens explained to our parents, “But everyone was doing it”? If your parents were like mine, then that excuse didn’t go over too welll. And it doesn’t go over well with God either. The Bible is clear. We are not to just follow the crowd. Wrong is still wrong even if the majority view it as acceptable. Live for the approval of the Lord, not the crowd. Following Jesus almost always means going against the flow of the crowd.

“Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him” (Exodus 23:20-21 NKJV).

February 6, 2017

Who is this “Angel?”

The word in the Hebrew means “messenger.” So, some say it refers to Moses. Others suggest it was the archangel Michael. Some Jewish scholars say it refers to the Hebrew Scriptures. But let us consider the clues given in the Lord’s description of this unidentified “Angel.”

Clues to the identity of the “Angel:”
1) Masculine singular pronouns “He” and “Him” are used.
2) He goes before the Israelites to “keep” them.
3) He goes before them to lead (“bring”) them to a …
4) A place He has prepared for them.
5) They were to beware and obey His voice.
6) The Lord’s “name is in Him.”

I believe this “Angel” is the second person of the Trinity, the preincarnate Christ, the Son of God. It was Christ who kept and brought the Israelites through the wilderness, giving them manna to eat and water to drink. It was Christ who prepared the Promised Land for them. It was Christ who had the “NAME” and nature of the Lord “in” Him. No angel or man would have all these attributes. Yet, they did not obey His voice, but provoked Him, so that most of that adult generation died in the wilderness without seeing the Promised Land.

“You shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. You shall not follow a crowd to do evil” (Exodus 23:1-2 NKJV).

February 5, 2017

After giving the Ten Commandments to Moses, the Lord gave instructions on the implications of following them. This verse illustrates the following of the 9th commandment, namely, “You shall not bear false witness” (Ex. 20:16). One cannot resist noting how following these words would eliminate most of the nonsense shared as news on social media today. “You shall not circulate,” might be restated for modern ears, “You shall not hit the share button to spread false reports.” This would help both teens and adults alike to resist lying to themselves and others, blaming their own behavior on following the “crowd.” These illustrations of the ten commandments show the far-reaching and perfect nature of God’s law. They also show how impossible they are for fallen humanity to keep. What if they were given to show the depth of our sinfulness and the desperate need we have of a Divine rescue? Indeed. As the apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Gal. 3:24). The law is perfect, but it cannot save. Only Christ saves and sets us free from slavery to sin, so that we no longer walk in the darkness of falsehood, but in the light of truth.