Exodus 23:16-26

16 "Celebrate the Festival of the Harvest with the first produce harvested from whatever you plant in your fields. "Celebrate the Festival of the Final Harvest at the end of the year when you harvest your crops from the fields.

17 "These are the three times each year that all your men must come into the presence of the Master, the LORD.

18 "Never offer the blood of a sacrifice to me at the same time you offer anything containing yeast. The fat sacrificed at my festivals should never be left over in the morning.

19 "You must bring the best of the first produce harvested from your soil to the house of the LORD your God. "Never cook a young goat in its mother's milk.

20 "I'm going to send a Messenger in front of you to protect you on your trip and bring you to the place I have prepared.

21 Pay attention to him, and listen to him. Don't defy him, because he will not forgive your disobedience. He is acting on my authority.

22 But if you will listen to him and do everything I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an opponent to your opponents.

23 "My Messenger will go ahead of you and will bring you to [the land of] the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites. I will wipe them out.

24 Never worship or serve their gods or follow their practices. Instead, you must destroy their gods and crush their sacred stones.

25 You must serve the LORD your God, and he will bless your food and water. I will take away all sickness from among you.

26 No woman in your land will miscarry or be unable to have children. I will let you live a normal life span.

Exodus 23:16-26 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 23

This chapter contains several laws, chiefly judicial, relating to the civil polity of Israel, as concerning witness borne and judgment made of cases in courts of judicature, without any respect to poor or rich, and without the influence of a bribe, Ex 23:1-3,6-8, concerning doing good to an enemy in case any of his cattle go astray, or fall under their burden, Ex 23:4,5, and of the oppression of a stranger, Ex 23:9, and then follow others concerning the sabbath of the seventh year, and of the seventh day, with a caution against the use of the names of idols, Ex 23:10-13, next are laws concerning the appearance of all their males at the three feasts, Ex 23:14-17, and concerning the slaying of the sacrifice of the passover, and bringing the first of the firstfruits of the land, Ex 23:18,19 and then a promise is made of sending an angel to them to bring them into the land of Canaan, where they should carefully avoid all idolatry, and show a just indignation against it, and serve the Lord, and then it would be well with them, Ex 23:20-26, and particularly it is promised, that the Lord would send his fear, and his hornets, before them, to destroy the inhabitants of the land, and drive out the rest by little and little, until they should possess the utmost borders of it, which are fixed, Ex 23:27-31, and the chapter is concluded with a direction not to make a covenant with these people, or their gods, nor suffer them to dwell among them, lest they should be a snare unto them, Ex 23:32,33.