Israel's "Bill of Rights"begins here.
"It is worth noting that the stipulations are enfolded within matching frames that stress the exclusivity of Yahweh (Ex. 20:22-23; cf. 23:24-25, 32-33), His presence in specified places (20:24; cf. 23:14-17, 20, 28-31), and a proper protocol and ritual by which He may be approached by His servant people (20:24-26; cf. 23:18-19). It is within the context of a vertical covenant relationship, then, that the horizontal, societal, and interpersonal relationships of the Book of the Covenant take on their ultimate meaning."348
"The section before us has something to say about each of the ten commandments, even if only incidentally."349
God did not just condemn forms of worship that were inappropriate, but He instructed the Israelites positively how they were to worship Him.
This pericope serves as an introduction to 42 judgments in 21:1-23:12. A similar section repeats the emphases of the introduction and forms a conclusion to the judgments (23:13-19).350
20:22-23 Verse 22 is a preamble and historical background for what follows. On the basis of God's revelation on the mountain, the Israelites were to obey Him as follows.
The Israelites were not to make idols representing gods other than Yahweh nor were they to represent Yahweh by making idols to help them worship Him (v. 23).
20:24-26 Yahweh permitted His people to build altars where He granted special theophanies, that is, manifestations of His presence.351These were in addition to the altars at Israel's central sanctuary (the tabernacle and later the temple; cf. Judg. 6:25-27; 13:15-20; 1 Sam. 9:11-14; 16:1-5; 1 Kings 18:30-40). They were to build these altars for formal worship and for special occasions (e.g., Josh. 8:30; Judg. 6:25-26) out of earth or uncut stone. The Canaanites used cut or "dressed"stone for their altars, and it was probably to distinguish the two that God directed Israel as He did.
Israel's altars were not to have steps, as many Canaanite altars did, so the naked flesh of the priests might not appear as they mounted them to make their offerings.
"Possibly the verse intends to oppose the practice of certain peoples in the ancient East, like the Sumerians for instance, whose priests . . . used to perform every ritual ceremony in a state of nakedness. Likewise the Egyptian priests . . . used to wear only a linen ephod, a kind of short, primative apron."352
"This simple description of true worship is intended to portray the essence of the Sinai covenant in terms that are virtually identical to that of the religion of the patriarchs--earthen altars, burnt offerings, and simple devotion rather than elaborate rituals. A simple earthen altar is sufficient. If more is desired (e.g., a stone altar), then it should not be defiled with carved stones and elaborate steps. The ultimate purpose of any such ritual is the covering of human nakedness that stems from the Fall (Ex 20:26b; cf. Ge 3:7). The implication is that all ritual is only a reflection of that first gracious act of God in covering human nakedness with garments of skin (Ge 3:21)."353
It is very important to note that various law codes already existed in the ancient Near East before the giving of the Mosaic Covenant. These included laws in the Akkadian civilization located in Mesopotamia in the twentieth century B.C. (e.g., the Laws of Esnunna).354There were also the laws in the Sumerian civilization, which replaced that of Akkad in the nineteenth century (e.g., the Code of Lipit-Istar).355Moreover laws in the Babylonian civilization that followed the Sumerian in the eighteenth century (e.g., the Code of Hammurabi)356existed, as did others. People living in the Near East at the time of the Exodus (fifteenth century) knew these laws and lived by them. The Mosaic Covenant presupposes this body of legal literature. It was not given as a comprehensive legal system to a people living without any laws. Rather it was a series of instructions God gave as Israel's king for His people to govern their behavior in certain specific matters. This fact explains why the Torah (Law of Moses, lit. instruction) does not contain fundamental instruction in many basic areas of law such as monogamy, for example. The instructions in the Law of Moses confirmed certain existing laws, cancelled other laws, and changed still others for the Israelites as the will of God for them.357
Moses revealed the laws that follow analogically (i.e., on the basis of the association of ideas). Analogical thinking has been more characteristic of eastern cultures and rational thinking more typical of western cultures throughout history generally speaking.
23:13 This verse is a summary warning against idolatry (cf. 20:22-23).
"The continual return to the theme of idolatry throughout this section of the book is preparation and background for an appreciation of the incident of the golden calf (Ex 32)."399
23:14-17 All the male Israelites had to make a pilgrimage to the sanctuary (tabernacle) three times a year for the feasts of Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits (Weeks, Pentecost), and Ingathering (Booths, Tabernacles). Women and children would have normally accompanied the males. This requirement fostered the maintenance of the national and social unity of the 12 tribes as well as their spiritual unity.
23:18 "The first part of this verse has nothing to do with eating anything leavened. Rather it means that individual Israelites were not to kill the Passover lamb while leaven was still in their houses. The second half of the verse makes no reference to fat as such; but as the parallel verse in 34:25b says, the sacrifice from the Passover Feast' (here lit., sacrifice of my feast') shall not remain until morning' (cf. 12:10)."400
23:19 The commentators have accounted for the prohibition against boiling a kid (young lamb) in its mother's milk in many different ways. Some scholars believe it was the opposition to commingling life and death, a source of life and its product, or Israel and the nations, that was the basis for this prohibition (cf. Lev. 22:27-28; Deut. 22:6).401Another view is that it was a way of specifying that only weaned animals were acceptable as sacrifices (cf. 34:18-26).402The most popular explanation is that this was a pagan practice that showed disrespect for the God-given relationship between parent and offspring.403The Ras Shamra tablets have shown that boiling sacrificial kids in their mother's milk was a common ritual practice among the Canaanites.404This ordinance is the basis for the separation strict Jews make in their diet by not mixing dairy and meat products. Observant Jews even provide separate equipment and kitchens for the preparation of these dishes.
In this final part of the Book of the Covenant, which concludes with 23:33, God gave the Israelites promises and precepts relating to their conquest of the Promised Land. Suzerainty treaties normally concluded with an explanation of the benefits that would come to the vassals if they obeyed the king's commands and the difficulties they would experience if they disobeyed. That is characteristic of this section of the covenant, though the emphasis is positive.
"Similar opening [20:22-26] and closing remarks are also found in the codes of Hammurabi and Lipit-Istar."405
"Following the text of the covenant code Yahweh assures His people of His ongoing commitment. He had not brought them out of Egypt and made covenant with them only to forget them in the wilderness. He had promised to give them land, so now He speaks of the process by which they would enter the land and the circumstances they would face there (Ex. 23:20-33)."406
23:20-23 God stressed the importance of obedience in these verses. The angel referred to was undoubtedly the Angel of the Lord (cf. Josh. 5:13-15).
23:24-26 Moses stressed the worship of the true God as opposed to the idols of Canaan again. Note the emphasis on obedience and worship again in verses 20-26.407
23:27-28 God promised His people various provisions if they would be obedient. We should probably understand the hornets (v. 28) figuratively. There is no reference in the text to God using real hornets to drive out the Canaanites, but He did use other hornet-like forces (cf. Josh. 24:12).
"Perhaps the hornet' is a symbol of Egypt, just as Isaiah 7:18 uses the fly' and the bee' as symbols of Egypt and Assyria, respectively."408
23:29-30 God told the Israelites that they would not drive out all their enemies the first year after they entered the land (v. 29). This is what happened. However, Israel was less successful than she might have been due to incomplete obedience.
"Little by little' does the work of God proceed through the individual soul. Little by little' do the conquests of the Cross win over the world. Little by little' is the unfolding purpose of Redemption made manifest to men and angels."409
23:31 God further promised a wide land area. It stretched from the Red Sea (probably the Gulf of Aqabah, the southeastern boundary) to the Mediterranean Sea (the western boundary). It also ran from the wilderness (probably the northeast border of the Sinai wilderness, the southwest boundary) to the Euphrates River (the northeastern boundary; cf. Gen. 15:18).410Israel did not occupy all of this territory due to her disobedience to God.
23:32-33 These verses contain a final warning. Israel was to make no covenants with the Canaanites or their gods because she already had a covenant with Yahweh. The Israelites failed here too (e.g., Josh 9:3-15).
"The Decalogue begins with the command that Israel have no god other than Yahweh. The Book of the Covenant begins (20:23) and ends (23:32-33) with that same command, and all that lies between that beginning and that ending is designed to assure its obedience."411
It is very important to observe that God conditioned obtaining all that He promised the Israelites as an inheritance on their obedience. They could only enter into it by obeying God. Their inheritance was something different from their salvation, which came to them only by faith in God (Gen. 15:6; Exod. 12:13; 14:31). The New Testament likewise teaches that justification comes solely by faith in God, but only obedient Christians will obtain the full inheritance that God has promised us (cf. Heb. 3:12-4:14).412
