A Work in Progress….

Exodus 23:14-15 “Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me. “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt. “No one is to appear before me empty-handed.

I tend to overthink everything; therefore, I totally get commentary’s appraisal that verse 19 is why some observant Jews don’t eat cheeseburgers. It is the concern that the meat might be from the offspring and the cheese might come from the milk of the mother. The two could mix, or boil, in the stomach.

Exodus 23:16-17 “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field. “Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field. “Three times a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord.

And while my knee-jerk reaction is to say, “That’s ridiculous,” I truly don’t think God would fault anyone trying to live a life that is pleasing to Him. The problem is our human messiness. Our tendency to overthink. Our desire to adhere to the letter of the law to the point that we utterly miss the spirit of the law. 

Exodus 23:18 “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast. “The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning.

Precious Savior, Again I come back to that old billboard: “Just love everyone. I’ll sort them out later. ~God” I don’t think You would fault anyone who is earnestly trying to live a life that is pleasing to You. Help me to love like You love, to love and not to judge, regardless of my knee-jerk reaction. Help me to shine Your light. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Exodus 23:19 “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God. “Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.

Have a blessed day. 

Exodus 23:10-11a “For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. 

Interpretation is an issue with these laws. I’ve long been familiar with the “don’t work on the Sabbath” idea. But what constitutes work? Some folks didn’t even cook on Sundays. Many folks won’t mow on Sundays. The hubs and I had a serious discussion once about fishing on a Sunday. I thought it definitely was recreation and allowed. He disagreed. 

Exodus 23:11b Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

The point is, any time humanity gets in the mix, there is potential for all kinds of errors. Errors in judgement. Errors in opinion. Unintentional errors. Blatant errors. And those are all human, not divine. What does God want? Why is He telling us these things? That’s what we need to work out.

Exodus 23:12 “Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.

Precious Savior, I truly think that most of us are trying to do what You are calling us to do. The problem is that when we get involved, our messy humanity is involved, too. Help us to earnestly strive to do what You are calling us to do. Help us to love You and love others. Help us to try to not make life difficult for anyone and to point others to You always. Help us, Jesus. Amen.

Exodus 23:13 “Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.

Have a blessed day. 

Exodus 23:6 “Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. 

Again, the billboard from long ago comes to mind: “Just love everyone. I’ll sort them out later. ~God” What would the world look like if we leaned into these words, to the command to love our neighbor as ourself, to love God and love others? 

Exodus 23:7 Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.

We see this kind of unconditional love when folks show up for each other after natural disasters–hurricans, floods, fires, etc. We see it when folks stop looking at who their neighbors vote for, where they worship, who they love and, instead, just act with loving kindness towards each other. 

Exodus 23:8 “Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.

Precious Savior, I am guilty of not always loving my neighbor in the way that I should, of being small or petty because of differences that we have that feel so big. It is frighteningly easy to do. Help me to love, first and foremost, without restriction and without limitation. Help me to be more like You. Amen.

Exodus 23:9 “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.

Have a blessed day. 

Exodus 23: 1 “Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.

Commentary on these verses contains this gem: “How you feel about someone does not determine right and wrong behavior towards them.” Unfortunately, few people keep that idea in mind when they behave. I’m guilty of it, too, though I continue trying to do better. 

Exodus 23:2-3 “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit.

Years ago, I saw a billboard that has stuck with me as a general “This is how to love like God loves” rule of thumb: “Just love everyone. I’ll sort them out later. ~God” Am I perfect at that? Absolutely not. I fail at it every single day. But, thankfully, I get to try again tomorrow. And I know I’m better now at loving others as God loves than I was even yesterday, so I’ll keep trying.

Exodus 23:4 “If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. 

Precious Savior, It is so easy to follow the crowd in doing wrong, especially if that wrongdoing can be justified as innocuous, like not treating someone with basic love and kindness. Forgive me for the many ways I have failed in this area. Thank You for the ability to try again. Help me to do better. Amen.

Exodus 23:5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.

Have a blessed day. 

Exodus 22:28 “Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.

Growing up, I remember vividly a Precious Moments tableau of a girl and a boy with a wagon full of puppies they were giving away. The verse associated with the scene was 2 Cor 9:7, paraphrased as “God loves a cheerful giver.” 

Exodus 22:29 “Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. “You must give me the firstborn of your sons. 

That idea of giving freely, cheerfully, without reservation or coercion, seems to me to be what today’s verses are about. Not holding in reserve for yourself but freely giving to God and for God. And while I can admit that I have come a long way on this front, I know that I still have a long way to go when it comes to giving freely, to not holding back. 

Exodus 22:30 Do the same with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day.

Precious Savior, Thank You for the reminder of the progress I have made on this front. I am not yet who I want to be, but I am not who I once was either, and that is something I often lose sight of. Thank You for progress and perspective. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Exodus 22:31 “You are to be my holy people. So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts; throw it to the dogs.

Have a blessed day. 

Exodus 22:24 My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.

Verse 24 is connected to verse 22, about not taking advantage of the widowed or fatherless. Verse 27 is tied to these verses as well: “When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.” 

Exodus 22:25 “If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest. 

There is a lot that I do not understand, but I know with certainty that God hears us when we cry out to Him, whatever the reason. He hears and He does not turn a deaf ear to our pain. Why we don’t always see His response to our cry, I’m not sure. He’s not too busy. He’s not ignoring us. Maybe some day I’ll understand, but for now I cling to the fact that He hears our cries because He is compassionate. 

Exodus 22:26 If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset, 

Compassionate Savior, Thank You that You hear us when we cry out to You. Always. Help us to cling to the fact that You promised to never leave us nor forsake us, that You are with us always, that You hear us and love us beyond measure. You are working, making a way, even if we cannot yet perceive it. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.

Exodus 22:27 because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

Have a blessed day. 

Exodus 22:18-19 “Do not allow a sorceress to live. “Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal is to be put to death.

As a retired English teacher, verse 18 makes me think of the Salem Witch Trials and all the lives that were destroyed over what became grudges and rumors. God’s word can so easily be perverted for man’s goals. Verse 21 is one we aren’t doing so well with at the moment, either.

Exodus 22:20 “Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the Lord must be destroyed.

But verse 20 has my attention today because, especially in today’s society, we place so many other things above God–power, influence, money, etc. Where do we focus our efforts and attention? What is of utmost importance to us? We’d probably all like to say God, but if we really look at where the majority of our time and talents go, I’m not sure that would be the case.

Exodus 22:21 “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.

Precious Savior, It is so easy to use Your word to punish those we don’t feel are living right while utterly ignoring the blatant ways we are not living up to Your word. Help us to quit casting stones at others and, instead, clean up within our own houses, our own hearts, so we can draw closer to You. Amen.

Exodus 22:22-23 “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.

Have a blessed day. 

Exodus 22:14 “If anyone borrows an animal from their neighbor and it is injured or dies while the owner is not present, they must make restitution. 

It is hard for me, with my modern sensibilities, to read verses 16 and 17, knowing that women were seen as extensions of fathers, brothers, husbands and not as people in their own right. Commentary and further searching adds insult to injury as one tells the story of an expensive table to illustrate the meaning of verse 16 while the other says the verse is less “marry your victim” and more “you break it, you buy it.”

Exodus 22:15 But if the owner is with the animal, the borrower will not have to pay. If the animal was hired, the money paid for the hire covers the loss.

To me, even in the pre-Jesus Old Testament, it is still about fairness and kindness, taking care of those who are more vulnerable. It’s not about making the rich richer or the powerful more powerful. It’s not about the value of property or “you break it, you buy it.” To Jesus, people–ALL people–are important, valued, loved.

Exodus 22:16 “If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife. 

Precious Savior, Even when Your word gives us rules and consequences to help navigate the ins and outs of daily life, we still manage to get it wrong, making life more about us and our own gains, instead of focusing on others, their inherent worth, and caring for each other. Forgive us. Help us to do better. Amen.

Exodus 22:17 If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.

Have a blessed day. 

Exodus 22:9 In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any other lost property about which somebody says, ‘This is mine,’ both parties are to bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges declare c guilty must pay back double to the other.

The problem with boiling life down to rules and consequences is that then each decision becomes “Am I ok with the consequences if I do this thing?”. It feels very “a child deciding if breaking curfew is worth a week of grounding” to me. Like “Do I want to do this thing bad enough to pay the cost if I am caught?”.

Exodus 22:10-11 “If anyone gives a donkey, an ox, a sheep or any other animal to their neighbor for safekeeping and it dies or is injured or is taken away while no one is looking, the issue between them will be settled by the taking of an oath before the Lord that the neighbor did not lay hands on the other person’s property. The owner is to accept this, and no restitution is required. 

But, these consequences don’t often include a look at the damage caused by our own carelessness, the unintended consequences to self and others. Our relationship with our Creator is all about RELATIONSHIP. Those consequences matter because real people are hurt. 

Exodus 22:12 But if the animal was stolen from the neighbor, restitution must be made to the owner. 

Precious Savior, It is easy to just look at consequences to self when we are pondering something. But we don’t exist in a vacuum. We have people who love us, who could be injured–physically, mentally, emotionally–in ways we haven’t even thought of. Help us not to reduce life to rules and consequences. Help us to make others a part of the equation. Amen.

Exodus 22:13 If it was torn to pieces by a wild animal, the neighbor shall bring in the remains as evidence and shall not be required to pay for the torn animal.

Have a blessed day. 

Exodus 22:5 “If anyone grazes their livestock in a field or vineyard and lets them stray and they graze in someone else’s field, the offender must make restitution from the best of their own field or vineyard.

Commentary says about these verses of restorative justice that it is not just about being held accountable for what we willfully do but also for what we fail to do and the harm and damage that our carelessness can cause. I totally get that idea and see the merit there. 

Exodus 22:6 “If a fire breaks out and spreads into thornbushes so that it burns shocks of grain or standing grain or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make restitution.

Then commentary goes on to say, to illustrate this idea of not being careless about another’s property, that a Christian who backs into someone’s car will not only leave a note but also will have insurance to be able to cover the damage. This example as a “proper concern for the property of others” seems absurd given all that is going on in the world.

Exodus 22:7 “If anyone gives a neighbor silver or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house, the thief, if caught, must pay back double. 

Precious Savior, Today’s study has left me feeling angry and unsettled. You never intended for our goodness to be reduced to a simple checklist of rules and insurance coverage. Help me to live a life that shines Your light and points others to You. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Exodus 22:8 But if the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges, and they must determine whether the owner of the house has laid hands on the other person’s property.

Have a blessed day.