Hello and welcome to today’s exciting Bible study on Exodus 21, 22, and 23. In these chapters, we will read and study about the various laws that God Almighty gave to the Israelites. According to biblical scholars, the events of Exodus 21, 22, and 23 occurred around 1446 B.C.
As usual, I encourage you to turn to Exodus 21,22, and 23 in your Bible. Kindly invite the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read and study these chapters. I mention this in all the Bible Studies because it is only through the Holy Spirit that we get fresh revelation and knowledge to understand the word of God. No one else can teach you better than the Holy Spirit Himself. I am using the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, just in case you want to know.
In the Bible Study on Exodus 20, we read and learned about God giving the Israelites the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. In these chapters on Exodus 21, 22, and 23 we will read and learn about the various laws that God gave His people regarding various situations.
Backstory on Exodus 20
In Exodus 20, the Israelites camped in the wilderness before Mount Sinai. Moses then went to meet God and He said that if the people would keep His covenant and obey Him, they would be a special treasure to Him above all the people of the earth to which the people agreed. God then instructed them through Moses to consecrate and sanctify themselves for three days because on the third day God would descend on the Mount Sinai. They were not supposed to come near the mountain or touch its base or gaze at the Lord because they would be put to death.
Therefore, Moses set up bounds all around the mountain. The Lord descended on the mountain in fire and the smoke went up from the mountain as from a furnace and the entire mountain quaked greatly and the people trembled because of thunders and lightnings. Moses then went to God and He said that neither the people nor the priests should come near the mountain and He commanded Moses to go down the mountain and return with Aaron, his brother.
Now, without any further delay, let us study together and learn what is Exodus 21, 22, and 23 are about, shall we?
Exodus 21,22,&23 Summary
God gives the Israelites the law concerning male and female servants and when they shall be set free. He also gives them the law concerning violence against other human beings and laws against violence towards parents and pregnant women. Here is where we see the phrase eye for eye, tooth for tooth, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound and stripe for stripe. God also gave laws about injury or death from an ox, and laws concerning farm animals.
God gives the Israelites laws about responsibility for different properties including ox, sheep, fields, vineyards, cattles and articles given to neighbours. The judges were to judge any kind of theft and trespass concerning ox, donkey, sheep or clothing or any lost thing that another claimed to be his. And whoever was condemned had to pay double to their neighbour. The Lord also gave laws concerning morality and ceremonies.
God forbids His people from circulating a false report and from doing evil or showing partiality. He also forbid them from oppressing strangers and from perverting the judgment of the poor in his dispute. The Lord gave the law about the Sabbath. On the seventh day of every week, they shall rest and so will their oxen, donkeys, and slaves. God speaks to the people about the three annual feasts – the feast of the unleavened bread, the feast of the harvest, and the feast of the ingathering at the end of the year.
God also sent His Angel before them to keep them in the way and lead them into the place that He had prepared. He instructed the people to obey the Angel and not provoke Him because God’s name is in Him. God warns the Israelites about serving other gods and instructs them to serve Him so that He would bless their bread and water and take sickness away from their midst, and no one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren. He would send His fear before them and cause confusion among all the people to whom they came to. He said that He would drive out their enemies from them and set bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the Euphrates River. He warned them about serving the gods of their enemies because it would become a snare to them.
Exodus 21,22,23 Commentary
1. Exodus 21:1-11
There is no partiality with God. He ensured that even the slaves would receive fair treatment. They were to be set free in the seventh year. No man was a slave forever. We were also once slaves to satan through our sins. Satan was our master. And he wouldn’t be willing to let any of his slaves leave. Praise God that we don’t have to be in bondage to satan even for one millisecond. Our freeing from slavery under satan is instant because of Jesus Christ. Even this very moment you can choose to turn from your sins and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour by believing in your heart that God raised Him from the dead for you and confess with your mouth that He is your Lord, and He will set you free right now from every bondage and every shackle.
2. Exodus 21:23
God is a just God. He taught the people how to judge among them. The punishment of sins had to be equal to the sin committed. If someone kills another, he also shall be killed. A life for life, an eye for an eye, tooth for tooth and so on shall be the punishment. In short, what you did to others would be done to you. This was the way they were to judge before Jesus arrived on the scene.
3. Exodus 22:1-15
These verses tie in with the eighth commandment – You shall not steal. These laws were given regarding property, which included anything that belonged to anyone. Stealing is a sin, and the consequences for it were heavy.
4. Exodus 23:1-8
God hates injustice. He wants His people to be just and be separate from the rest of the world. He warned against taking bribes to manipulate judgment by giving a false testimony. Taking bribes would cause even a righteous person to sin.
5. Exodus 23:10-12
These verses talk about sowing and reaping. Just as people were to rest on the seventh day, they were not to work also in their fields, vineyards, and olive groves in the seventh year. They were to leave what was in the fields for the poor people and the wild animals. God insisted that His people rest and that their farm animals also rest with them on the seventh day so that they could all be physically refreshed. He didn’t want his people to be workaholics. They had to work hard for 6 days but completely rest on the seventh day. Spiritually speaking, our rest is in the Lord Jesus Christ. We rest in Him and in His finished work on the cross.
6. Exodus 23:21-23
God talks about the Angel of the Lord, who is His representative, and how the people were to be mindful of Him and obey Him. He would send His Angel before the people. There seems to be a difference between the angels and the Angel of the Lord. Angels are ministering spirits sent to minister to those who would inherit salvation. However, God instructed His people to obey this Angel of the Lord and that His name was in this Angel.
This Angel of the Lord is the visible image of the invisible God, who is Jesus Christ Himself. You find the Angel of the Lord appearing in many places in the Old Testament. Jesus didn’t suddenly appear out of nowhere. He is God’s word in the flesh in the New Testament. But He was always present. It was He who created the heavens and the earth. God, through His word, created them, and His word is Jesus.
7. Exodus 23:24-25
God warns the Israelites about worshipping other gods and falling into sin because they could be tempted easily by the people in the surrounding region. When God sends you to other countries on a mission, you are to do the same. Even when you, as a believer, travel to other nations on a mission or business, or vacation where they worship pagan idols, no matter how enticing it looks, we as believers are not to participate in it. It is a disservice to God Almighty. We can’t just blindly follow their customs to blend in. We are called to stand out and not blend in. As believers, we are to be true to God and be separate unto God. When you pray to other gods or visit temples or such structures and participate in idol worship, you enter into treaties and covenants with them as outlined in these scripture verses.
Exodus 21,22,23 Lessons
What can we learn from Exodus 21, 22, and 23?
1. God’s instructions are clear
There is no confusions, ifs and buts with God. His instructions are clear about every single matter. So, if you have confusion concerning a certain matter in your life and you keep going back and forth on your decision know that God’s will is certain. It is the devil that sends you confusing thoughts. God’s thoughts are always clear and always right.
2. He teaches His people to be just
God cares about every detail of His people’s lives. This is why He gave instructions about every situation and taught them how to judge. He taught them how to judge rightly according to His standards not according to what they think is right in their own eyes.
3. Rest is important
God insists on His people resting. This is how our human body rejuvenates. If God tells something and keeps emphasizing it over and over again, then we must pay attention. Rest is fundamental to our existence. We are to rest in Him. When we rest physically, we must simply rest from working, social media, endless scrolling, striving, etc. Also our thoughts are to rest on Him. We can do this by studying and meditating on His word and by casting our cares on the Lord. This is how we rest in Him.
4. God hates idolatory
God warned His people not to practice the customs of the people in the foreign land. His people and the other people were not one. There is a clear separation. This might seem contrary to today’s day and age, where some believers openly embrace other cultures, customs, and religious practices to show that they are open-minded and tolerant, but this is where they sin against God. We are not to mix in with the world but stand out and be separate unto God and serve Him only. We should seek to please God through obedience to Him rather than try to please people by our tolerance. Don’t tolerate sin and don’t tolerate that which is against God in your personal life.
Conclusion
This concludes the bible study on Exodus 21,22, ane 23. I hope you enjoyed this free bible study and found it helpful in your Bible study journey. Feel free to share it with your friends and family. Also, share your thoughts and what the Holy Spirit has revealed to you about Exodus 21,22, and 23. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Until next time!