Exodus 29.
The Law for the Community Life (Exodus 23:20-33)
God, who gave the Ten Commandments, continued to speak of the regulations that the people must follow after
Exodus chapter 20. Today’s passage is the final part of the general law and serves as a conclusion.
God gave us the laws necessary for a life of love for our neighbors to maintain the church community on earth.
In addition, God allowed us to maintain the order of creation by giving us the laws regarding the Sabbath
and the three feasts as a large framework for our lives. In conclusion, God wants us to hold on to and follow the Word
He gives us through His messengers in all aspects of our lives and gave us the promises accordingly.
1. Live with respect for each other and consider others better than yourself.
1) Verses 1-3 are specific regulations to love your neighbors as yourself.
2) Verses 6-9 are about making public judgments fairly.
3) Lastly, God tells us not to oppress aliens.
4) God teaches us that the more active spirit of the law lies in love.
2. You shall observe the Sabbath, the Sabbatical year, and three annual feasts.
1) Verses 10-13 gave the law concerning the Sabbatical year and the Sabbath as the basis of community life.
2) The purpose for which the sabbatical year was established
3) The Sabbath allowed people and animals to rest from their assigned work by working as best as they could for six days
and resting on the seventh day. The reason why God emphasized the Sabbath regulations so much is to make people
realize that they do not live by their own strength, but by the grace of God.
4) Verses 14-19 stipulate the “Feast of Unleavened Bread,” “Feast of Harvest,” and “Feast of Ingathering”
that must be observed every year. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was celebrated seven days after Passover
to commemorate the Exodus. Because the Feast of Harvest was celebrated 7 weeks (50 days)
after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, it is also called the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost.
The Feast of Ingathering is a season to give thanks for the year’s crops, and is also called the Feast of Booths or
the Feast of Tabernacle.
3. All laws are the will of God, the Word.
1) This does not mean that you must keep all these laws by your own strength.
2) Christ is God, the Word, who became flesh (John 1:14).
3) God sends His messengers ahead of us and guides us.
4) God commands us to get rid of all me-centered idols.
Conclusion: Blessings given to the believers who follow Christ
1) The basis of our walk of faith is a life of loving and serving one another.
2) Living according to the Word of God is the wisest life.
3) Live holding on to 3 todays based on the Word God has given you.
4) We must live with a good understanding of the purpose for which God operates the earth.
Whether Israel won or lost the war against Canaan did not depend on their weapons and military power.
The victory or defeat of the war depended entirely on whether Israel listened to and obeyed the words of the Lord.
The same goes for our lives. The only way to live a victorious life in this world is to hold on to the Word of the Lord
and live in obedience to it. God personally promised that if Israel would only listen and obey His words,
He would protect them and lead them safely to the promised land. In the same way, if the Lord's believers living on
this Earth listen carefully to the Word of God and obey it, the Lord will protect our souls and guide us on the path
we must take until the day we reach heaven. I bless you in the name of the Lord that you will be greatly used
while holding onto the three todays as if they are life itself.
