Exodus 22:18–31

The word kashaph means "to use magical formulas or incantations," "to practise sorcery." The law did not allow a witch to live. Ex. 22:18; Deut. 18:10; 2 Kings 9:22; 2 Chr. 33:6; Micah 5:12; Nahum 3:4. In 1 Samuel 15:23 the word is qesem, divination. In Galatians 5:20 it is pharmakeia, sorcery.

The essential idea of a witch was dealing with spirits. The same thing has its counterpart in spiritualism today. So in Leviticus she is described as "a woman who has a familiar spirit" (Lev. 20:27). The witch of Endor is the clearest example of her kind. Saul went to her and said, "Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you" (1 Sam. 28:8). This is the very thing that spiritualists claim to do — to bring the inquirer into contact with departed spirits. It is in fact a turning from God to Satan.

From verse 18 to the end of the chapter we get various judgments. They may not seem closely connected, but they cover both the rights of God Himself and the rights of the poor among His people. The witch commits an outrage against God by trafficking with demons.

The solemn sentence, "You shall not permit a sorceress to live" (Ex. 22:18), arrests the mind because of its severity. By it God shows His hatred of what was, in its true character, a trafficking with evil spirits. Many people make mocking remarks about this repelling evil, either to soften its dreadful influence or to disprove that it exists at all. But God's word names it as one of the marks of the great falling away in the last days: "Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons" (1 Tim. 4:1).

Saul had put down such people in line with this law by carrying out the judgment laid down here (1 Sam. 28:9), but he himself came under it… "Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the LORD in that he did not keep the command of the LORD, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance. He did not seek guidance from the LORD. Therefore the LORD put him to death" (1 Chron. 10:13-14). No one, not even the king, was exempt from the punishment threatened.

The true test of all spirit messages is Christ. What do they say of Him? Do they own Him as "Lord" and "God"? Do they speak with reverence of His atoning sacrifice? Do they acknowledge Him as Judge of living and dead? … Moses says to Israel: "Those nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners." These were what the nations fell back on as they searched for light about life beyond death. But what about God's people? "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers — it is to him you shall listen."

Are there any who take part in table-turning, spirit-rapping, mesmerism, or clairvoyance? We are certain that when people give themselves to the awful business of bringing up the spirits of the departed in any way, they are putting themselves into the hands of the devil, who deceives and deludes them with his lies. What do those who hold in their hands a perfect revelation from God want with table-turning and spirit-rapping?

It is important to see that this power is of Satan, because today far more people try to contact the spirits of the dead. Even Christians may be drawn in — and indeed have been drawn in — out of mere curiosity.

From verse 18 to the end of the chapter we get various judgments. They may not seem closely connected. But they clearly cover both the rights of God Himself and the rights of the poor among His people. The witch commits an outrage against God by trafficking with demons. The sinner of verse 18 outrages His order in creation. He who sacrifices to demon powers is to be destroyed.

Two sins are then named to which is attached the penalty of death. The first is that of the flesh — and of the flesh in its most horrible and revolting form. The second is idolatry. God could not allow the acknowledgement among His own people of any god beside Himself. It would be a denial of His own claims and authority, and the overturning of the very foundations of His relationship with His people.

The unnatural acts named here are plain enough. But few people know how shamelessly the heathen practised them, even the Greeks and the Romans. What an abomination! It is confusion, says the Lord. Israel were not to make themselves unclean in any of these things, as all the nations of Canaan did whom He drove out before them. How much guiltier, then, would Israel be! The very land was made unclean... It is by receiving the good that comes from God — His word and above all His Christ — that souls are kept from evil.

Among the efforts of Satan's power in idolatry, one was to destroy the order, affections, and beauty which God has established in nature. Christianity respects all such natural bonds, though it raises us above them. Satan degrades them in every way by what is unnatural. Anyone who knows even a little about the horrors of idolatry will remember how widespread and systematic such outrages were. All this the law forbade.

The fact that the Lord had to enact laws against certain crimes proves that man is capable of committing those crimes. If the capacity and the tendency were not there, the laws would not be needed. Many people, if you named to them the gross abominations forbidden in these chapters, might be inclined to answer like Hazael: "Is your servant a dog, that he should do this thing?" Such people have not yet travelled down into the deep abyss of their own hearts. Some crimes forbidden here would seem to put man, in his habits and tendencies, below the level of a dog. Yet those very laws prove beyond all question that the most refined and cultivated person carries in his heart the seeds of the very darkest and most horrifying abominations.

Deep as man's ruin is, the love of God is deeper still. Black as his guilt is, the blood of Jesus can wash it all away. Wide as the gulf is that separates man from God, the cross has bridged it. God has come down to the very lowest point of the sinner's condition, so that He might lift him up into a position of infinite favour... Nothing could fathom man's ruin but God's love, and nothing could equal man's guilt but the blood of Christ.

From verse 18 to the end of the chapter we get various judgments. They may not seem closely connected. But they clearly cover both the rights of God Himself and the rights of the poor among His people. The witch commits an outrage against God by trafficking with demons. The sinner of verse 18 outrages His order in creation. He who sacrifices to demon powers is to be destroyed.

God could not allow any god beside Himself to be acknowledged among His own people. It would deny His own claims and authority, and overthrow the very foundations of His relationship with His people. On their part it would deny His true character and reject His absolute rule. The worship of the true God and of false gods could not exist side by side... The acceptance of false gods amounts to a rejection of the true God. So, on the other side, Scripture says this of the Thessalonians after their conversion: "You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God."

The Corinthian believers knew that the idols themselves were nothing. They knew that meat offered to idols was no different from other meat. So they were in danger of arguing that they could attend a pagan temple and eat meat offered to idols. No, says the Apostle, you forget that what they sacrifice to idols they really sacrifice to demons. Demons are the ones stirring up this idol worship. The idol may indeed be a mere nothing, but the demons behind it were very real. In leading men to worship idols, they were leading men to worship demons, and so seizing the homage due to God alone.

The words of the covenant in Exodus open with the first commandment. It requires Israel to worship God and no one else. The same sanction appears among the words of the covenant, in Exodus 22:20: "Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the LORD alone, shall be devoted to destruction." The covenant described in Deuteronomy 29 is just the same. They entered into covenant to have the LORD for their God, and to renounce all other gods.

God had chosen this nation out of all the nations of the earth, and had favoured and enriched it. Is it not a solemn reflection that so early in its history it should be guilty of the most flagrant idolatry?

We may not be guilty of bowing down to a god of our own making, "like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man." But there are other idols always trying to steal our hearts away from Him... The greatest and most subtle idol is self. We badly need this warning. When the apostle describes the features of the last days, the first thing he mentions is this: "people will be lovers of self."

Verses 21 to 27 protect the rights of the weakest in the land — foreigners, widows, orphans and the poor. These people count for less and cannot defend themselves. Fallen mankind tends to take advantage of these, oppressing and defrauding them. Such conduct is hateful to God, and His kindness shines out even as He gives His law. He will be their Defender. As He thinks of them His word is, "I am gracious."

The foreigner comes first. The memory of what they had been in the land of Egypt was to govern how they treated such people. They had been in bitterness of soul through hard slavery under the iron yoke of Pharaoh. So they could enter into the feelings of those who were foreigners in a foreign land. The helpless are next commended to their hearts. Of all the helpless ones who appeal to our compassion, the widow and the orphan have the first claim. So God surrounds them here with the powerful defence of His own arm.

This cuts off in advance the narrow and base pride of later tradition. A foreigner who might live in their land was not only to be left in peace. He was to be loved as one born among them. "You shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God." How touching to remember their oppression in Egypt, not for resentment but for compassion!

God set no exact penalty for mistreating or oppressing a foreigner or widow or orphan, though He firmly forbade it (vv. 21-24). But God warns that if the oppressed cried to Him, He would step in Himself. He would kill the oppressor by means of an enemy with a sword, leaving their wives as widows and their children fatherless.

The ninth verse repeats the instruction given in Exodus 22:21. This shows how important it is in God's eyes. Here it comes with added emphasis: "You know the heart of a stranger." Their own experience qualified the children of Israel to sympathise with strangers. The memory of their own past sorrow was to shape how they treated people in the same position.

The nation should remember God's kindness to them. They had all been "strangers" and slaves in the land of Egypt (Ex. 22:21). So they ought to show kindness to any "strangers" among them. They were to let them glean in their fields and vineyards, making sure the reapers left something behind for the gleaners. The strangers were not of "the seed of Abraham according to the flesh," and they had taken no part in the ploughing or sowing or reaping. Even so, they were to have a full share of God's generous provision at harvest time.

He often quoted the words, "You know the heart of a stranger." He said them when he heard of anyone lonely, or of a stranger he might show kindness to. No difference of rank hindered the welcome he gave to any whom he believed to be followers of his Lord.

Next the law commends the helpless to their hearts. Of all the helpless ones who appeal to our compassion, the widow and the fatherless surely have the first claim. God here surrounds them with the powerful defence of His own arm. If anyone afflicts them, that man will be killed, and his wife and children will become a widow and orphans. All through Scripture these two groups are shown as the special object of God's care, and so they should be the objects of our compassionate concern.

Here Moses speaks not only of God's doings, dealings and ways, but of Himself — of what He is. He is high over all, the great, the mighty and the terrible. But He has a heart for the widow and the fatherless. They are helpless ones stripped of every earthly and natural support — the poor grieving, broken-hearted widow, and the lonely orphan. God thinks of such people and cares for them in a very special way; they have a claim on His loving heart and mighty hand. "Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation." "Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive; and let your widows trust in me."

The law set no exact penalty for mistreating or oppressing a stranger, a widow or a fatherless child, though it firmly forbade this (vv. 21-24). But God warns that if the oppressed cried out to Him, He would step in Himself. He would kill the oppressor by the hand of an enemy with a sword, leaving their wives as widows and their children fatherless.

Verses 21-27 safeguard the rights of the people who count for least and can defend themselves least — strangers, widows, the fatherless and the poor. Fallen mankind tends to take advantage of these people. It oppresses them and cheats them. God hates such conduct, and His kindness shines out even as He gives His law. He will be their Defender. As He thinks of them His word is, "I am gracious."

They knew God in the wonderful work He had done for them, and also in the commandments that displayed His character. God called them to imitate Him. If He cared for the fatherless and widows, and for the stranger, they too must care. And had they not known what it was to be strangers in Egypt? He had brought them out of that land with an outstretched arm, and He had multiplied them wonderfully through all their suffering.

In Exodus 22:22 we read, "You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child." In James 1:27 it says, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." Christ, as seen in the Gospels, is the perfect example of this verse. Think of the son of the widow of Nain as one instance.

The stranger comes first, and the memory of what they had been in the land of Egypt was to govern their conduct toward such people. They had known bitterness of soul under Pharaoh's hard slavery. So they could enter into the feelings of those who were strangers in a strange land. The helpless are next commended to their hearts. Of all the helpless who appeal to our compassion, surely the widow and the fatherless have the first claim. So God surrounds them here with the powerful defence of His own arm. All through Scripture these two groups are marked out as the special object of God's care. So they should be the objects of our compassionate concern. So James says, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."

God set no precise penalty for mistreating or oppressing a stranger or widow or fatherless child, though He firmly forbade it (vv. 21-24). But God warns that if those who were oppressed cried to Him, He would step in Himself. He would kill the oppressor by means of an enemy with a sword, leaving their wives as widows and their children fatherless.

The verses in between (21-27) safeguard the rights of the less important and more defenceless folk — strangers, widows, fatherless and poor. The tendency of fallen mankind is to take advantage of these, oppressing and defrauding them. God hates such conduct. His kindness shines out even as He gives His law. He will be their Defender. As He thinks of them His word is, "I am gracious."

These "judgments" reveal the true character of the law: inflexible righteousness, with its inescapable demands of restitution and penalty. There could be no escape from their responsibility. Yet the spirit in which the children of Israel dealt with each other, following these divine instructions, expressed the beautiful features of grace and compassion. These words support what I am saying. They were not to mistreat a stranger, or afflict the widow and the fatherless (Ex. 22:21-22). They were not to charge interest to a poor man who borrowed money (Ex. 22:25). They were not to keep a neighbour's pledged garment overnight (Ex. 22:26-27). To this last God adds this beautiful expression, "for I am gracious."

If the unjust judge hears and acts for the defenceless, whatever his motive, will not God? But this is far from all. God has His affections — not only His character, but objects of His delight. "And will not God give justice to his elect?" The righteous God, who takes vengeance, can never make light of evil or let the wicked go unpunished. For then how would He judge the world? He notices the cry from the oppressed day and night, and it is the cry of His own elect. "I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily."

They knew God in His wonderful work for them, and in the commandments which displayed His character. God called them to imitate Him. If He cared for the fatherless and widows, and for the stranger, they too must care. And had they not known what it was to be strangers in that land? He had brought them out of it with an outstretched arm, a people wonderfully multiplied through all their suffering.

Next, the helpless are entrusted to their hearts. Of all the helpless people who appeal to our compassion, the widow and the fatherless have the first claim. So God surrounds them here with the powerful defence of His own arm. Anyone who harmed them would be killed, and his wife and children would become a widow and orphans.

The law set no exact penalty for mistreating or oppressing a stranger, a widow, or a fatherless child, though it firmly forbade this (vv. 21-24). But God warns that if the oppressed cried to Him, He would step in Himself. He would kill the oppressor by the sword of an enemy, leaving their wives as widows and their children fatherless.

He counts every wrong done to His people as done to Himself. Through them the same evils would come back in judgment on the nations that inflicted them.

The verses in between (21-27) protect the rights of the lowlier and more defenceless people — strangers, widows, the fatherless, and the poor. Fallen mankind tends to take advantage of them, oppressing and cheating them. God hates such conduct, and His kindness shines out even as He gives His law. He will be their Defender. As He thinks of them His word is, "I am gracious."

No one may take advantage of the weak or of those under authority. Violence cannot go unpunished, and neither can disrespect where we owe honour... No one may harass or mistreat a stranger, a widow, or an orphan. No one may weigh down the poor or insult judges.

Here (vv. 1-4) the sin is the injustice of the judges. They stood in the place of God Himself... yet they badly misrepresented His character and wronged His people, especially the defenceless... The highest will be brought lowest. Those will fare worst who least of all should have turned their high position and great power into greed that dishonours God, and into oppression of the weak and wretched.

The answer is that God, our Father, has a special care for the fatherless and the widow, and so He puts this call first. Could the reason also be that we are slow to care for the fatherless and the widow? In any case, this is a very powerful call — and we do well to take it to heart.

These laws, spite of the fact that the children of Israel were now governed from Sinai, permit us to see into the depths of the heart of God.

In Scripture this word does not mean, as it does now, excessive interest, but simply interest of any kind. The Israelites were forbidden to charge interest to their brothers. The law always assumed the borrower was poor; otherwise he would not need to borrow. To strangers, however, they could lend at interest. Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:35-38; Deuteronomy 23:19-20. When the Jews returned, Nehemiah sharply rebuked the nobles and rulers for taking interest from their poorer brothers. Nehemiah 5:3-13. Scripture strictly commands the rich to help the poor. The only time the New Testament mentions usury is in the parables of the talents and the pounds. There the master blamed the servant for not putting the gifts to use, so that he might have received his own back with interest, or increase. Matthew 25:27; Luke 19:23.

Exodus 22:25 explicitly warns Israelites against charging interest when lending money to the poor. Of course, it is only proper business to expect interest from a bank, as Luke 19:23 tells us. But if someone is poor and needs financial help, it is certainly cruelty to charge him interest. By faith a believer would gladly lend without such a condition. He may in fact gladly give without conditions (2 Corinthians 9:7), expecting nothing in return.

The two directions that follow concern the poor. The first saves him from extortion and stops the rich from making gain out of his poverty. The second keeps him from destitution and nakedness. The children of Israel were now governed from Sinai, yet these laws let us see into the depths of the heart of God.

Verses 21-27 safeguard the rights of the less important and more defenceless people: strangers, widows, the fatherless and the poor. Fallen mankind tends to take advantage of these, oppressing and defrauding them. Such conduct is detestable to God, and His kindness shines out even as He gives His law. He will be their Defender. As He thinks of them His word is, "I am gracious."

Now, who had taken advantage of them when, in their hunger, they needed bread? It was their brothers — and yet the law of Moses forbade them to do this. The Israelite could lend to the nations, but he could not charge his brother interest (Deuteronomy 23:19-20; Exodus 22:25). So the love of money led them into this great sin.

The Jews under law were forbidden to charge interest when lending to another poor Israelite. Now that we are under grace, should we ignore such instruction? Rather, under grace we might go much further, by giving instead of lending.

The other main garment was the simlah, a cloak or wide outer mantle. Men and women wore it, and they wrapped themselves in it at night. If a lender took this garment in pledge, he had to give it back in the evening, for without it 'what shall he sleep in?'

People took articles as security for loans very early on. The law set limits on this, so that no one could take unfair advantage.

If a borrower were to give his garment as security, the lender must not keep it even overnight. My righteous demands must in no way take precedence over proper compassion (vv. 26-27).

Here again the law limits the pledge. The creditor must not push into the debtor's house to get it. And if it is something the debtor can spare only for the day, the creditor must give it back by nightfall.

These "judgments" show the true character of the law: unbending righteousness, demanding repayment for loss and punishment for wrong. No one could escape that responsibility. Yet the way the children of Israel dealt with each other under these instructions from God showed the beautiful features of grace and compassion... They were not to charge interest to a poor man who borrowed money (Ex. 22:25), and they were not to keep a neighbour's pledged garment overnight (Ex. 22:26-27). To this last God adds these beautiful words, "for I am gracious."

The children of Israel were now governed from Sinai. Even so, these laws let us see into the depths of the heart of God. What deep tenderness there is in the rule that a pledged garment must be handed back "by the time the sun goes down: for that is his covering only, it is his clothing for his skin: what shall he sleep in? And when he cries to Me, I will hear; for I am gracious." His people must show the heart of God. And He is touched by the sight of a man who has nothing to cover his body when he lies down to sleep!

Touches of this kind go far to remind us of how detailed God's regard is, and of the depth of His gracious consideration for the details of our life.

They care nothing for the sufferings of the poor. Yet even at the altar — which is supposed to be the Lord's — they lie down on garments pledged because of poverty. And they make merry with the fines imposed for wrongdoing.

If a Jew had pawned his bedclothes, God in His mercy required them back before night. "For," He says, "that is his covering; what shall he sleep in?" (Ex. 22:27). Hope is the believer's covering. He wraps himself in it when he lays his body down to sleep in the grave: "My flesh," says David, "shall rest in hope" (Ps. 16:9). The man who has no hope of a resurrection to life goes sadly to the bed of the grave.

The other main garment was the simlah, a cloak or wide outer mantle, worn by men and women, and in which they wrapped themselves at night. This might be of any material according to the season, and according to the wearer's position in life. The peasants often wear such a garment, called an "abba," of camel's or goat's hair. If a lender took this garment as security, he had to return it in the evening, for without it "in what else shall he sleep?"

The sun has gone down; the chill of midnight creeps over his sleeping form. It disturbs the rest he needs and endangers his health. His skin needs a covering and warmth. Where can he find this if he has pledged his garment and the lender keeps it? Nowhere.

If a borrower were to give his garment as security, the lender must not keep it even overnight. My righteous demands must in no way take precedence over proper compassion.

These "judgments" reveal the true character of the law: inflexible righteousness, with its inescapable demands of restitution and penalty. There could be no evading that responsibility. Yet the children of Israel dealt with each other in a spirit that expressed the beautiful features of grace and compassion, following these divine instructions... no one was to keep a neighbour's pledged garment overnight. To this last God adds this beautiful expression, "for I am gracious."

Even though God now governed the children of Israel from Sinai, these laws let us see into the depths of the heart of God. What indescribable tenderness in the rule that a lender must hand back a pledged garment before the sun went down. His people must express the heart of God, and He is touched by the sight of a man who has nothing to cover his body when he lies down to sleep!

Verses 21-27 protect the rights of the less important and more defenceless people — strangers, widows, the fatherless and the poor. The tendency of fallen mankind is to take advantage of these, oppressing and defrauding them. Such conduct is hateful to God, and His kindness shines out even as He gives His law. He will be their Defender. As He thinks of them His word is, "I am gracious."

Touches of this kind go far to remind us how detailed God's regard is, and how deep His gracious consideration for the details of our life. He clothes the lily, He numbers the hairs of the head, and takes note of the falling sparrow. He tells us to be anxious for nothing. In everything we are to make our requests known to Him by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, and to cast all our care on Him, for He cares for us.

Respect for the authorities in place is also commanded: "You shall not revile the gods, nor curse a ruler of your people." Here the word "gods" means the authorities, or judges, as the margin shows. So, when it comes to kings, governors, and magistrates, the path of God's people is very simple. To all authority, of whatever form, they owe respect and obedience as long as it does not clash with what is due to God. The Lord Himself has put them in this place of subjection.

God commissioned them to represent Him — the judges of Israel. In this way they were identified with the One they represented. They carried the most solemn responsibility to show His character too, both in His righteousness and in His love to men.

They carry this name above all in the instructions given from Sinai. In cases brought before them, the parties were to settle the matter by the award of Elohim — God, or the judges. So the Lord says: "You admit that the Scriptures have authority no one can break. If they give the name of Elohim to men taught by the word, how can you call it blasphemy when I apply the title 'Son of God' to one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world?" The force of the argument shows their injustice, and that is the Lord's aim.

When they challenged him for speaking as he did to "God's high priest," he had to withdraw his words. He said he had not known the man was high priest, for the law had said, "You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people." In honesty, no one could really call Ananias God's high priest, since the Romans had appointed him. Yet Paul recognized his place of rule.

She knew the penalty for blasphemy against Jehovah was death. She would find helpers to prove Naboth guilty of this. In that way she could take revenge on the man who had dared to say No to the desire of power. But Jewish teachers said that a man found guilty of blasphemy alone kept his property for his heirs, just as if he had died a natural death. So, to secure the vineyard, they had to invent a further charge of treason against him. In such a case the estate of the condemned man went to the royal treasury. So they accused Naboth of blasphemy against both "God and the king."

Honour is not based at all on their personal character. So we have nothing to do with where they came from, how they got their power, or how they use it. All we have to do, as believers, is to own God and the magistrate. Perhaps the magistrate, or the king, does not own God himself. That is a serious thing for him, but it does not change our relation.

Other Scriptures clearly show that the only limit to our subjection to men is the fear of God. When men insist on direct disobedience to God, we must set God first. So here the order is, "Fear God. Honour the king."

From verse 18 to the end of the chapter we get various judgments. They may not seem very closely connected, but they clearly cover both the rights of God Himself and also of the poor among His people... Verse 28 demands respect for the "gods" — the judges who represented the one true God in matters of judgment. The verses after it demand a steady yielding of the firstfruits to God, as befitted holy people.

In Exodus 22:29 we have another word, dema. In the text it is translated "liquor," and in the margin "tear," which is its literal force. Here it pictures the new wine and oil dropping from the press, so our English version gives the sense.

The firstfruits and the firstborn are to be offered to God (vv. 29, 30; see Ex. 13:12-13). In this way they acknowledged both their dependence and the source of their blessing, and declared that they themselves belonged to the Lord. God would give the ripe fruits and the "liquors," and as a token of this He required an offering to Himself. He claimed the firstborn of their children too. But the ground of that claim, as explained in chapter 13, was the destruction of the firstborn of Egypt on the night of the Passover, and their own redemption through the blood of the Passover lamb.

Before that oppressed people had even left Egypt, He told Moses of the claim He had on all their firstborn males, and He would not give it up... He asserted that claim again and put it into the covenant made at Sinai between the people and God, as stated in Ex. 22:29. And to keep it from becoming obsolete or forgotten, He reminded them of it again in another covenant... So three times within one year God spoke of it to Moses, and through him to Israel.

In a special way God said of every firstborn, "It is MINE." This meant it had to be offered in sacrifice, and with every clean animal this was the case... They were to redeem unclean domestic animals: "The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb." And the same principle applies to man: "All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem." (Ex. 34:20.)

All through Scripture godliness makes one vital claim: God must have His portion first, before the believer can rightly take and enjoy his own. One feels how right it is to consider God first. It is due to Him, and true in everything; and if we do not render it, we must suffer the bitter consequence. Israel's statutes and ways impressed this so clearly that no godly person then would have touched his corn before the first sheaf was waved before Jehovah. How wonderfully this applies to Christ! Once Christ is the waved firstfruits, what blessing may not follow?

We see, therefore, that the consecration that flowed from redemption was entire and personal. As the sacrifice was wholly consumed on the altar, so the redeemed person is regarded as belonging wholly to the Lord, soul and body, and set apart in every respect for His service.

The firstfruits and the firstborn are to be offered to God (verses 29, 30; see Exodus 13:12-13). In this way they were to acknowledge two things: their dependence, and the source of their blessing. They were also to declare that they themselves belonged to the Lord. It was God who would give the ripe fruit and the juice of the presses, and as a token of this He required an offering to Himself. He claimed the firstborn of their children too. But the ground of that claim, as explained in chapter 13, was the destruction of the firstborn of Egypt on the night of the Passover, and their own redemption through the blood of the Passover lamb.

In a special way God said of every firstborn, "It is MINE." This meant it had to go to God as a sacrifice, and with every clean animal this was the case… The people had to redeem unclean farm animals: "The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb." The same principle applies to man: "All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem." (Exodus 34:20.)

As to age, the law of circumcision is the law of offering, and for a similar reason. In its first seven days the animal was unclean; the stamp of the old creation was on it… Here God sets the old creation aside. Yet the second command, not to kill the young and its mother on the same day, still recognises the natural links.

Here the animal, when born, had to be seven days with its mother. It was otherwise in nature. The Jews say a Sabbath must pass over it. The Lord says He will accept it from the eighth day on. The great point is not the test of creation or of the law, important as both are. It is the witness of the all-important resurrection day. On that day He rose who is the Beginning — not the first but the last Adam, Firstborn from among the dead — so that He might have the foremost place in everything. Is it not His due?

In Exodus 13 we meet the first command about the firstlings. The Lord claimed them as His for ever. He had the right to dispose of them as He would. In Exodus 22:30, Exodus 34:19 and Leviticus 27:26 He reminded the people of His claim. In Numbers 18:17-18 He gave them to the priests to eat. In Deuteronomy 12:6, 17-18; 14:23; 15:19-20 He told the people who brought them to share them with their families and the Levites within their gates. This was at the place where He would choose to put His name. Now it is clear that there is a change in the law. The principle, however, that God claimed the firstlings as His, to dispose of as He would, remains the same throughout.

So the consecration that flowed from redemption was complete and personal. The fire consumed the whole sacrifice on the altar. In the same way the redeemed person counts as belonging wholly to the Lord, soul and body, set apart in every respect for His service.

In short, they were to "be holy men to" the Lord, away from evil and set apart to God; for He who had made them His own was holy, and He wanted them suited to Himself. For this reason they were not to defile themselves with unclean food — flesh polluted by unclean animals, and fit only for dogs. A holy people must be holy in their ways, as suits a holy God.

The Lord is the living God. Death is sin's wages; not all of it, for judgment remains, as every Christian should know, since Christ revealed the whole truth. So the touch of death defiled anyone, and the priest much more. No Israelite was free even to eat what was torn by beasts of the field; he had to throw it to the dogs (Exodus 22:31).

Scripture constantly refers to the dog as an unclean and debased animal. So it compares the unclean Gentiles, the nations outside Israel, to dogs (Psalm 22:16; Psalm 59:6, 14). The law forbade putting the price of a dog into the Lord's treasury; it was an abomination (Deuteronomy 23:18)… They were, and are, the scavengers of Eastern cities. People throw all refuse into the streets, and the dogs eat it… In the New Testament it is the same: "Outside are the dogs," "Look out for the dogs" — used as symbols of those shut out and of the unclean.

In Exodus 22:31, in the covenant made with Israel at Mount Sinai, they were forbidden to eat the carcass of any animal that had been torn by beasts in the field… the law of Leviticus 17:15 may have concerned finding a carcass out in open country while hunting, while Leviticus 11:41 deals with death among their flocks or herds. If that is the case, they could eat what had died of itself or been torn by beasts in exceptional circumstances, as long as they carried out the purification required. But once they entered the land, they could not eat what died of itself (Deuteronomy 14:21), or what had been torn by beasts. A stranger, though, might eat what had died of itself.

The priests who came near to God were sanctified in a special way, for God said, "I will be sanctified in those who come near Me" (Exodus 29; Leviticus 8; 10:3). And the law summed it up like this: "You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy" (Exodus 22:31; Leviticus 19:2, and so on). This passage is quoted and applied to Christians (1 Peter 1:16).

Worldly people often think Christians are very self-righteous for keeping apart from others and refusing to share the pleasures and amusements of the world. But they do not really understand the question. In picture language, a Christian who takes part in the vanities and follies of a sinful world is like an Israelite eating something that had died of itself. The Christian, thank God, has something better to feed on than the poor dead things of this world. He has the living bread that came down from heaven, the true manna… It is not a question of the right or wrong of things looked at in themselves. No one could have known that eating something which had died of itself was wrong, if God's word had not settled it.