Exodus 23:12

Two of the Ten Commandments are referred to in the next two verses. The Bible says in Exodus 23:12-13, “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.” One of the important things to remember about the Sabbath Day is that it was created for everyone and everything’s benefit. We need the proper amount of rest. Of course, we must work according to the will of God. When Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden, they were told in Genesis 3:19, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Jesus said in John 9:1-4, “And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”

Even though there is work that we must do to serve God and to live the way He wants us to live, God also wants us to take time to rest. Jesus said in Mark 2:27, “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” There is a spiritual meaning to this need for rest. We also need rest for our souls. Jesus is that rest. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

The verse in Exodus 23:13 has to do with the first of the Ten Commandments. That commandment is, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” It says in Exodus 23:13, “make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.” Whenever a person goes the wrong way in life, it starts by stages. One tiny step in the wrong direction, can lead to an entire life going in the wrong direction. It says in Proverbs 14:8, “The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.” And it says in Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” It seems as though false teachings that come from false religions easily attract and grab hold of the minds of some people. The Israelites were told to not even mention the names of the false gods. In the New Testament believers are warned to stay away from false teachers. It says in Romans 16:17, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.”

The Bible says in Exodus 23:14-17, “Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. 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:) 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. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.” Everything possible was put into effect to make it possible for the law to work so that the Israelites would have every opportunity to obey the law and to follow it faithfully. These feasts were part of all that. The feasts were opportunities to remember what the Lord had done for the Israelites, and for the Israelites to remember their responsibilities to God. Of course, we now know that all of these things that were instituted to make the law work did not work, not because of any problem with the law, but because of the sin problem that is inherent in all human beings. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 7:12-14, “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.”

It is interesting to look at the three feasts that were required of all Israelites and the spiritual meaning behind them. The first feast mentioned in this passage is called the Feast of Unleavened bread. This started with the Passover and lasted seven days: seven days of unleavened bread. “Leaven” symbolizes sin. The Passover lamb symbolized Jesus dying for our sins because Jesus is the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world. Also, as symbolized by the Feast of Unleavened Bread we must repent of our sins in order to trust in Jesus and find His forgiveness.

The second feast is called in this passage the Feast of Harvest. It is also called the Feast of Firstfruits and the Feast of Weeks. It took place 50 days after the Passover. The reason that we use the name Pentecost for this feast is found in Leviticus 23:15-17, “And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.” This Feast of the Firstfruits as a celebration of the first of the harvests. The spiritual meaning of this feast was fulfilled at the first Pentecost after Christ was crucified. Once we accept Christ as Savior, we have great blessings that are given to us immediately (the firstfruits), and other great blessings that await us in the future when we will dwell in heaven in our new dwellings that He will provide for us there. The spiritual fulfillment of the Feast of Firstfruits, in other words the fulfillment of the Pentecost, took place fifty days after the crucifixion of Christ. The Bible describes this giving of the firstfruits in Acts 2:1-4, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

One of the initial great blessings that every believer has is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says in Romans 8:18-25, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” This world can have terrible sufferings. The way to ultimately escape these sufferings and find eternal happiness is to experience in a spiritual way the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened bread, the Feast of Firstfruits, and finally in the future the Feast of Tabernacles.

The Feast of Tabernacles, called in Exodus 23:16 the Feast of Ingathering, has at least a two-fold spiritual significance to it. The first has to do with the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt. When the Israelites were delivered from Egypt, they lived in temporary dwellings called “tabernacles.” This symbolizes the fact that while we live in this world, we are here only temporarily. This world is not our home: we are just passing through. But even though it is temporary, God still takes care of us faithfully. Every year His harvest and His bountiful blessings are bestowed upon us. But the Feast of Tabernacles also has a wonderful future significance to it. Notice carefully that it says in Exodus 23:16, “and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.” The fact that it is at the end of the year meant that all year long the Israelites would look forward to this celebration. All of our life believers look forward to the great celebration that will take place when they are granted a blessed entrance into the Kingdom. Concerning the fact that the Feast of Tabernacles is the only one of the three feasts that has not yet been fulfilled, we see in the book of Zechariah the truth that we will all celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles in the future Kingdom of God. It says in Zechariah 14:16, “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.”

In the three feasts we also see the difference between faith and works expressed. We gain the blessings of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread by faith in Christ. We do not gain the blessings of this feast through works, but through faith. The same can be said about the Day of Pentecost: the Feast of Firstfruits. We are given the Holy Spirit as a free gift resulting from believing on Jesus. No works on our part gave us the Holy Spirit. The work of Christ did this. Jesus promised in John 16:7, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” But in some ways the Feast of Ingathering is based upon our works because it speaks of “when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.” Works do not bring salvation, but they do bring rewards that will be given in the Kingdom. Part of the bounty that will be given to you in heaven will be a result of your labours for Christ. The Bible says in Matthew 9:37-38, “Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” The Bible also says in First Corinthians 3:11-15, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”

This is what the true worship of God is all about: you find forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, and thus you enter into the benefits of the Passover and the celebration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Because you are saved by Christ, you are given the indwelling Holy Spirit, and you enter the blessings of the Feast of Firstfruits: known as Pentecost. If you are in tune with the Spirit, He will give you joy and wisdom, and He will guide you through this life close to Jesus. All of that goodness is just the beginning. You now have a great future to look forward to when all of the harvest is brought in at the final ingathering, and you celebrate the Feast of Ingathering: known also as the Feast of Tabernacles. At that time you will be given an eternal dwelling and you will forever enjoy all of the bounty of God. It is wonderful to be a Christian: our sins are washed away through Christ, we have the Spirit within us, and we have the best of all destinies awaiting us in the Kingdom of God. After Jesus becomes your Passover (in other words after you are saved from sin through faith in Christ), your goal should be to live a holy life (a life with unleavened bread).

___________________________________________________