Exodus 23:10  And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:
11  But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.
12  Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.
13  And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
14  Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
15  Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
16  And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
17  Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.
18  Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.
19  The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.

Wicked people constantly demonstrate their pride. In Australia, the government has decreed what kind of prayer can be made. Prayers that are addressed to changing or suppressing someones sexual orientation or gender are banned. Interestingly, again we see how weak the “faith community” is. They are expressing concern that this will infringe on private and pastoral prayers.
Peter and John were told not to speak in Jesus’ name and they knew better than to listen to such rubbish. They publicly stated they could not stop doing that. True faith is found only in trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
True born again Christians are not intimidated by wicked people who love themselves but hate God. Obviously the “officials” who are trying to decree this wickedness must believe there is power in prayer. They do not want God to interfere in the wickedness of the people. Prayer is a blessing God has given to His people. The world should be shuddering because God is already withdrawing His hand of blessing and protection in so many ways. The world is continuing to press toward the Tribulation time. They are looking for the antichrist.
In our text God reminds us that He created all things. He knows what each thing He created needs to function properly. He divided the dry land from the waters. He has the power to make the land fertile and fruitful. He can also bring a drought.
Most modern farmers never consider God as they do their work. Some might refer to ‘mother nature’ which is a fictional entity. In our text, God was giving the nation of Israel instruction on how to be successful in farming. According to God’s Word, a farmer at that time could plough a half acre of land in a day. There were many farmers in Israel in Bible times. Those farmers would be able to feed themselves but also have seed to sell for those who were not farmers.
Today, we have fewer farmers and many of them function like a corporation. The concern for quality grains is diminishing. The most important factor today is quantity and profits. Farming is quite expensive today. Equipment is quite costly. Land is also often quite expensive. We have just about lost the family farm in Canada. This is not a good thing. Man needs to learn how to be a good steward of the land.
God commanded that the people needed to sow their land six years and gather in the crops from that. On the seventh year they were to let the land rest. During that off year, the poor would have opportunity to glean grain from the land as it rested. The beasts would also graze on that land in the seventh year. God commanded the same thing applied to the vineyard and the olive yard.
In verse 12 God reminded the nation again that they needed to work six days and they were to rest on the seventh day. This was not just good for the people, but it was also good for the livestock. The purpose of this day of rest was that all might be refreshed. Thus it was not designed to get involved in sporting events, etc. For the people, it was a time to be reminded of God’s provision for them. In order to do that they would need to be gathered together for the study of God’s Word. That is how people get to know the Lord.
In verse 13 they were reminded that they were to be “circumspect” in all things. The Hebrew word translated as “circumspect” means “to keep, to guard, to watch”. God expected the people to pay close attention to what He was commanding them. This was not teaching ‘works salvation’. It was teaching that if their hearts were right with Him, then they would follow His commands out of an expression of love for Him.
They were not to make mention of false gods. There was not to be utterance of false gods and false religion from their mouths. God is not in favour of the ecumenical movement of today which suggests that the many different religions are all good even though they have some differences. Israel was to be taught the truth and they were to be reminded of the truth constantly. The seventh day was a day for them to gather and be taught the Word of God.
In verses 14-16 God instructed them regarding three important feasts they needed to keep. The feast of unleavened bread was to last seven days. It was associated with the Passover. The time of this feast was in the month Abib. God set specific times when His feasts were to be remembered by all the children of Israel. The feast of unleavened bread was to remind them of God’s deliverance of them from the land of Egypt. In that feast they were to bring sacrifices before the Lord. The greater picture was of the deliverance from sin that is afforded only through the shed blood of the “Lamb of God” — the Lord Jesus Christ. His blood must be applied to the heart of the lost sinner in order to be saved.
The feast of harvest was another important feast. It was also known as the firstfruits. This feast was to acknowledge God’s provision in giving them a good harvest. This feast would also be known as “Pentecost” This feast was fifty days after the feast of the Passover and unleavened bread.
The third feast was the feast of ingathering. This feast was to be kept at the end of the year, when the harvest was completed. God established these feasts as a memorial for the nation. None of them were designed as a way to be forgiven of sin. They were a reminder of God’s goodness to them.
In verse 17 we read that the males needed to appear before the Lord three times in the year. The male adults needed to stop their daily activities in order to observe these feasts. Nothing was more important for all the males than to observe these three feasts in their proper times. Again we are reminded of the fact that God designed a patriarchal system. The adult males were to be the spiritual leaders of the nation.
In verse 18 they were reminded that they were not to offer God’s sacrifices with leavened bread. Leaven was a picture of sin. The sacrifices were to deal with sin, not preserve sin. The sacrifices were a picture of the nature of the repentant sinner. He is not coming to God to have Him sanctify his sin. He is coming to God because he wants to be free from sin.
In verse 18 we also read that nothing of the Passover lamb was to be kept over until the morning. That lamb was either to be entirely consumed by the people or it was to be burned. That Passover lamb was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. He would lay down His life for the sheep. He did not just faint. He suffered and died for our sins. He shed His sinless blood on that cross. He was taken off that cross and buried. Three days later He rose victorious over sin and death. Eternal life is found only in trusting in the true Jesus of the Bible, for salvation.
In verse 19 we read that the firstfruits of the land were to be brought before the LORD in His house. The firstfruits belonged to Him. They were to be given to Him as an offering of thanksgiving. We have already been told that they were to keep any animal until the eighth day before bringing it to the Lord. They were also not to seethe this young animal in its mother’s milk. The animal was not to be cooked in milk to make it more tender. This offering was not for their pleasure. It was for God’s glory.
Pastor Bartel