Exodus 22:29

The Bible says in Exodus 22:29-30, “Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me. Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.” For Christians living as we do in the times of the New Testament, we must take verses like these and find the spiritual meanings in order to be able to apply them to our lives. The key words in these verses are the words “first” and “firstborn.” God wants us to put Him first in our lives. Both possessions and children are mentioned in Exodus 22:29-30. No one and nothing should be more important to you than your Savior Jesus Christ. Everything that you have God has given to you, but have you given them back to God and placed them in His hands. Have you truly dedicated all that you have to the glory of Christ? Perhaps God has given you children, but have you let go of them and given them back to God? Some people hold too tightly to the very things and the very people that God has given to them.

God wants us to lead holy lives. The entire world around us might become more wicked each day, but He wants His believers to lead holy lives no matter what is going on around them. The Bible says in Exodus 22:31, “And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.” The spiritual meaning of this verse tells us how to become more holy. Physical food symbolizes spiritual food. There is physical food that strengthens you body and keeps it healthy. There is also spiritual food that strengthens your soul and spirit and keeps you on a holy path in life. It says in Psalms 119:9, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.” It says in Second Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” Not only do we need to take in good spiritual nourishment, we also need to reject taking in anything that will corrupt us or weaken us. False teachings and any of the humanistic concepts of the world fall into this category. Many people have been led astray because they took the wrong advice and accepted the wrong philosophy of life. Young people who start taking alcohol or drugs fall into this category. They listen to an unspiritual peer who talks them into taking these substances in spite of the clear warnings of scripture. Countless lives have been ruined or tragically shortened because they did not heed Exodus 22:31, “neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.” They would have saved their lives if they had cast the false ideas to the dogs.

The first three verses of Exodus chapter 23 give a warning about having the wrong kind of associations. We are social creatures, and we are therefore affected by those around us. Be careful who you hang around, and who you allow to be a part of your inner circle. As Shakespeare said, “Do not dull thy palm with entertainment of each new-hatched unfledged comrade.” If you are not careful, other people will lead you stray. Other people might influence you to do things that you would have never done on your own. It says in Exodus 23:1-3, “Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment: Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.” If you are going to follow Christ faithfully, you are going to have to be willing sometimes to not be a part of the in-crowd. Proverbs chapter one gives a similar warning about following the wrong kind of people. It says in Proverbs 1:10-16, “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.”

The first three verses in Exodus chapter 23 can be applied to any sinful activity that wicked people try to get you to do. But these three verses are specifically talking about the fact that wicked people will tell lies in a court of law in order to gain an advantage over decent people. This is a very serious matter. Telling lies in a court of law are not only a violation of the Ten Commandments, but of course, such lies also cause a perversion of justice that will ruin an entire society if it becomes commonplace. Court proceedings must be impartial and must be fair. The only way that such proceedings can be fair is if everyone is truthful and if everyone is treated equally. Equality is what Exodus 23:3 is talking about. It says, “Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.” The meaning of this verse is clarified when we look at a similar verse in Leviticus 19:15 that says, “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness thou shalt judge thy neighbor.” A poor person should not be given special privileges because he or she is poor, and a rich person should not be judged more harshly because he or she is rich. Both rich and poor should be treated equally before the law, and before any judgment of any cause.

Of course, the Bible teaches the greatest of equality. We are equal because we are all descendents of Adam. We are equal because we are all sinners. We are equal because there is one God over all. We are equal because God loves us. We are equal because Jesus died for us all on the cross of Calvary. We are equal because we are all saved in the same manner whether we are rich or poor and whether we are black or white: we are saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no greater equality than can be found in true Christianity. It says in Galatians 3:26-29, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

The Bible says in Exodus 23:4-5, “If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.” Of course, this is one of the teachings that stands out in what Christ had to say. When Jesus gave an additional emphasis to it, He said basically the same thing. It sounded like something new, but as we see here in Exodus chapter 23, the basic idea of this was also in the Old Testament all along. Jesus said in Matthew 5:43-48, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” This may be the hardest of all commandments for those who want to be followers of the Father of us all. But the Lord does not give us easy commandments. To live the true Christian life is a calling to strive after perfection. It is not a calling to a do-whatever-you-want-after-the-flesh religion. The flesh wants to strike out against enemies, and see punishment brought to them. After all, they deserve to be punished, do they not? That is the normal human reaction. In order to avoid the normal human reaction you will have to have an extraordinary closeness to Jesus Christ. When is the last time that you said something nice to someone or something nice about someone right after they were mean or hateful to you?

The Bible says in Exodus 23:6-13, “Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause. Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked. And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous. Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: 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. 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. 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.” Verses 6 through 8 emphasize the importance of being fair and honest in judicial proceedings. First of all the poor are mentioned. Poor people should not be taken advantage of because of their lack of money or their lack of power. God will judge all people equally and fairly, and we should do the same. Notice the list of individuals given that we should be careful to make certain that we treat properly: the poor, the innocent, the righteous, and strangers. In contrast to these are mentioned the wicked (the ones whom God will condemn.) How terrible it is when judgment is turned upside-down: when the wicked are rewarded, and the poor and innocent are punished. It is no wonder that a free and just society must have an independent judiciary. The judiciary must not be tied to any side in a cause, but must be fair to all and must apply the law equally to all, whether rich or poor. That is how God will judge people at His judgment. Whether a person is rich or poor, they will be judged according to the same standard. Whether a person is rich or poor, the key question will be: do you know Jesus Christ as your Savior. Jesus said in Matthew 7:23, “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

In Old testament times they did not have welfare to help take care of the less fortunate people of society, but they were told in Exodus 23:11, “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.” What this means is that each person was told to help the poor and the hungry. That system was much more efficient than the governmental agencies that we have now. With a government agency there is red tape, computer systems, administrative staff, and other machinery of government that cause waste, abuse, and inefficiency. The best way to improve any of the ills of society is for citizens to volunteer their help and their money. That will always be much better than having the government taking everyone’s money with taxes. It would be much better to have appeals for donations for various projects, and then once the project is fully funded to go forward with it. That would be much better than constantly increasing taxes or constantly increasing the government debt.

In the Bible believers are told to think about the plight of the poor and to have a part in helping the poor. Proverbs 31:20 says about a righteous woman, “She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.” It says in Psalms 41:1, “Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.” Life can be difficult and have many sorrows and sufferings. To add poverty to such sufferings is a great tribulation. Jesus gave a spiritual meaning to poverty. Jesus said in Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Spiritual poverty is much more serious than physical poverty. Spiritual poverty refers to someone who has not yet had a spiritual birth through faith in Christ. Blessed are those who wake up to their own poverty of spirit and who turn to Jesus Christ for the spiritual nourishment that they need.

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