Exodus 23:19-29

19 "You must bring the best of the firstfruits of your land to the Holy Tentn of the Lord your God. "You must not cook a young goat in its mother's milk

20 "I am sending an angel ahead of you, who will protect you as you travel. He will lead you to the place I have prepared.

21 Pay attention to the angel and obey him. Do not turn against him; he will not forgive such turning against him because my power is in him

22 If you listen care- fully to all he says and do everything that I tell you, I will be an enemy to your enemies. I will fight all who fight against you.

23 My angel will go ahead of you and take you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will destroy them.

24 "You must not bow down to their gods or worship them. You must not live the way those people live. You must destroy their idols, breaking into pieces the stone pillars they use in worship.

25 If you worship the Lord your God, I will bless your bread and your water. I will take away sickness from you.

26 None of your women will have her baby die before it is born, and all women will have children. I will allow you to live long lives.

27 "I will make your enemies afraid of me. I will confuse any people you fight against, and I will make all your enemies run away from you.

28 I will send terror ahead of you that will force the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites out of your way.

29 But I will not force all those people out in only one year. If I did, the land would become a desert and the wild animals would become too many for you.

Exodus 23:19-29 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.