9“You shall not oppress an alien, for you know the heart of an alien, since you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
10“For six years you shall sow your land, and shall gather in its increase,11but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the animal of the field shall eat. In the same way, you shall deal with your vineyard and with your olive grove.
9 “You shall not oppress an alien, for you know the heart of an alien, since you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
10 “For six years you shall sow your land, and shall gather in its increase,
11 but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the animal of the field shall eat. In the same way, you shall deal with your vineyard and with your olive grove.
KJVKing James Version
9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:
11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.
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JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
9 And a stranger shalt thou not oppress; for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and gather in the increase thereof;
11 but the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of thy people may eat; and what they leave the beast of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.
Exodus 22:21(v9)“You shall not wrong an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
Leviticus 25:2-7(v11)“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a Sabbath to…
Leviticus 25:3-4(v10)You shall sow your field six years, and you shall prune your vineyard six years, and gather in its fruits; but in the seventh year there…
Deuteronomy 27:19(v9)‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, fatherless, and widow.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
Leviticus 25:11-12(v11)That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee to you. In it you shall not sow, neither reap that which grows of itself, nor gather from the…
Show all 15 cross-references
Leviticus 26:34-35(v11)Then the land will enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies’ land. Even then the land will rest and enjoy…
Deuteronomy 24:14-18(v9)You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the foreigners who are in your…
Matthew 18:33(v9)Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?’
Exodus 21:21(v9)Notwithstanding, if his servant gets up after a day or two, he shall not be punished, for the servant is his property.
Leviticus 25:20(v11)If you said, “What shall we eat the seventh year? Behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase;”
Leviticus 25:22(v11)You shall sow the eighth year, and eat of the fruits from the old store until the ninth year. Until its fruits come in, you shall eat the…
Deuteronomy 10:19(v9)Therefore love the foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
Psalms 94:6(v9)They kill the widow and the alien, and murder the fatherless.
Ezekiel 22:7(v9)In you have they treated father and mother with contempt. Among you they have oppressed the foreigner. In you they have wronged the…
Hebrews 2:17-18(v9)Therefore he was obligated in all things to be made like his brothers, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (20 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn v9For in that that he is a stranger, his…
For in that that he is a stranger, his heart is sorrowful enough.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv9–11Exo 23:9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger:…
Exo 23:9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Ver. 9. Thou shalt not oppress, &c.] {See Trapp on "Exo 22:21"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv9, 11The heart of a stranger, i.e. the disposition, dejection,…
The heart of a stranger, i.e. the disposition, dejection, and distress of his heart, which makes him an object of pity, not of malice or mischief.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry1710 · Public DomainOn v10Here is, I. The institution of the sabbatical year,…
Here is, I. The institution of the sabbatical year, Exo 23:10, Exo 23:11. Every seventh year the land was to rest; they must not plough nor sow it at the beginning of the year, and then they could not expect any great harvest at the end of the year: but what the earth did produce of itself should be eaten from hand to mouth, and not laid up. Now this was designed, 1. To show what a plentiful land that was into which God was bringing them - that so numerous a people could have rich maintenance out of the produce of so small a country, without foreign trade, and yet could spare the increase of every seventh year. 2. To remind them of their dependence upon God their great landlord, and their obligation to use the fruit of their land as he should direct. Thus he would try their obedience in a matter that nearly touched their interest. Afterwards we find that their disobedience to this command was a forfeiture of the promises, Ch2 36:21. 3. To teach them a confidence in the divine Providence, while they did their duty - that, as the sixth day's manna served for two day's meat, so the sixth year's increase should serve for two years' subsistence. Thus they must learn not to take thought for their life, Mat 6:25. If we are prudent and diligent in our affairs, we may trust Providence to furnish us with the bread of the day in its day.
II. The repetition of the law of the fourth commandment concerning the weekly sabbath, Exo 23:12. Even in the year of rest they must not think that the sabbath day was laid in common with the other days, but, even that year, it must be religiously observed; yet thus some have endeavoured to take away the observance of the sabbath, by pretending that every day must be a sabbath day.
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III. All manner of respect to the gods of the heathen is here strictly forbidden, Exo 23:13. A general caution is prefixed to this, which has reference to all these precepts: In all things that I have said unto you, be circumspect. We are in danger of missing our way on the right hand and on the left, and it is at our peril if we do; therefore we have need to look about us. A man may ruin himself through mere carelessness, but he cannot save himself without great care and circumspection: particularly, since idolatry was a sin which they were much addicted to, and would be greatly tempted to, they must endeavour to blot out the remembrance of the gods of the heathen, and must disuse and forget all their superstitious forms of speech, and never mention them but with detestation. In Christian schools and academies (for it is in vain to think of reforming the play-houses), it were to be wished that the names and stories of the heathen deities, or demons rather, were not so commonly and familiarly used as they are, even with intimations of respect, and sometimes with forms of invocation. Surely we have not so learned Christ.
IV. Their solemn religious attendance on God in the place which he should choose is here strictly required, Exo 23:14-17. 1. Thrice a year all their males must come together in a holy convocation, that they might the better know and love one another, and keep up their communion as a dignified and peculiar people. 2. They must come together before the Lord (Exo 23:17) to present themselves before him, looking towards the place where his honour dwelt, and to pay their homage to him as their great Lord, from and under whom they held all their enjoyments. 3. They must feast together before the Lord, eating and drinking together, in token of their joy in God and their grateful sense of his goodness to them; for a feast is made for laughter, Ecc 10:19. O what a good Master do we serve, who has made it our duty to rejoice before him, who feasts his servants when they are in waiting! Never let religion be called a melancholy thing, when its solemn services are solemn feasts. 4. They must not appear before God empty, Exo 23:15. Some free-will offering or other they must bring, in token of their respect and gratitude to their great benefactor; and, as they were not allowed to come empty-handed, so we must not come to worship God empty-hearted; our souls must be filled with grace, with pious and devout affections, holy desires towards him, and dedications of ourselves to him, for with such sacrifices God is well-pleased. 5. The passover, pentecost, and feast of tabernacles, in spring, summer, and autumn, were the three times appointed for their attendance: not in winter, because travelling was then uncomfortable; not in the midst of their harvest, because then they were otherwise employed; so that they had no reason to say that he made them to serve with an offering, or wearied them with incense.
V. Some particular directions are here given about the three feasts, though not so fully as afterwards. 1. As to the passover, it was not to be offered with leavened bread, for at that feast all leaven was to be cast out, nor was the fat of it to remain until the morning, lest it should become offensive, Exo 23:18. 2. At the feast of pentecost, when they were to begin their harvest, they must bring the first of their first-fruits to God, by the pious presenting of which the whole harvest was sanctified, Exo 23:19. 3. At the feast of ingathering, as it is called (Exo 23:16), they must give God thanks for the harvest-mercies they had received, and must depend upon him for the next harvest, and must not think to receive benefit by that superstitious usage of some of the Gentiles, who, it is said, at the end of their harvest, seethed a kid in its dam's milk, and sprinkled that milk-pottage, in a magical way, upon their gardens and fields, to make them more fruitful next year. But Israel must abhor such foolish customs.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv9–11And six years thou shall sow thy land, The…
And six years thou shall sow thy land, The land of Canaan, given to their ancestors and to them, and which they were now going to inherit; and when they came into it they were to plant it with vines and olives; or rather, these being ready planted, they were to prune and dress them; and they were to till their land, and plough it, and sow it with various sorts of grain, for six years running, from the time of their possession of it:
and shall gather in the fruits thereof; corn and wine, and oil, into their own garners, treasuries, and cellars, as their own property, to dispose of as they pleased for their own use and profit.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv9–10Thou shalt not oppress the stranger - Though aliens…
Thou shalt not oppress the stranger - Though aliens might not inherit lands among them; yet they must have justice done them. It was an instance of the equity of our law, that if an alien be tried for any crime except treason, the one half of his jury, if he desire it, shall be foreigners; a kind provision that strangers may not be oppressed. For ye know the heart of a stranger - You know something of the griefs and fears of a stranger by sad experience.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv9, 11Verse 9. Ye know the heart of a stranger]…
Verse 9. Ye know the heart of a stranger] Having been strangers yourselves, under severe, long continued, and cruel oppression, ye know the fears, cares, anxieties, and dismal forebodings which the heart of a stranger feels. What a forcible appeal to humanity and compassion!
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv9–10Exo 23:9. Thou shalt not oppress the stranger —…
Exo 23:9. Thou shalt not oppress the stranger — Though aliens might not inherit lands among them; yet, they must have justice done them. It is an instance of the equity of our law, that if an alien be tried for any crime, except treason, the one half of his jury, if he desire it, shall be foreigners; a kind provision that strangers may not be oppressed. For ye know the heart of a stranger — That is, ye know by experience what a distressed, friendless condition that of a stranger is. The disposition, dejection, and distress of his heart, make him an object of pity, not of malice or injustice. Ye know his heart is easily depressed, and very unable to bear repulses. There is a great beauty in the expression.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn v10This is the first mention of the Sabbatical year;…
This is the first mention of the Sabbatical year; the law for it is given at length in Lev 25:2. Both the Sabbatical year and the weekly Sabbath are here spoken of exclusively in their relation to the poor, as bearing testimony to the equality of the people in their covenant with Yahweh. In the first of these institutions, the proprietor of the soil gave up his rights for the year to the whole community of living creatures, not excepting the beasts: in the latter, the master gave up his claim for the day to the services of his servants and cattle.
Exo 23:12
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May be refreshed - Literally, “may take breath.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv9, 11The hearts. You have experienced what sorrow and misery…
The hearts. You have experienced what sorrow and misery they feel. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn v10six years thou shalt sow thy land--intermitting the cultivation…
six years thou shalt sow thy land--intermitting the cultivation of the land every seventh year. But it appears that even then there was a spontaneous produce which the poor were permitted freely to gather for their use, and the beasts driven out fed on the remainder, the owners of fields not being allowed to reap or collect the fruits of the vineyard or oliveyard during the course of this sabbatical year. This was a regulation subservient to many excellent purposes; for, besides inculcating the general lesson of dependence on Providence, and of confidence in His faithfulness to His promise respecting the triple increase on the sixth year (Lev 25:20-21), it gave the Israelites a practical proof that they held their properties of the Lord as His tenants, and must conform to His rules on pain of forfeiting the lease of them.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv9, 119. Not oppress a stranger — This command is…
9. Not oppress a stranger — This command is repeated from Exo_22:21, with some addition, and shows that the foreigner was entitled to protection from judicial wrongs as well as other forms of oppression. Israel should not forget how the heart of a stranger feels.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv9–119. The gêr, or foreigner ‘sojourning’ in Israel, not…
9. The gêr, or foreigner ‘sojourning’ in Israel, not to be ‘crushed.’ Identical, in great measure verbally, with Exo_22:21 : here, no doubt, directed specially against unfair judgement (cf. Deu_24:17 ‘Thou shalt not wrest the judgement of the sojourner,’ Exo_27:19, Mal_3:5).
stranger (each time)] sojourner: see on Exo_22:11.
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for ye (emph.) know …, seeing ye were sojourners, &c.] see on Exo_22:21.
the heart] lit. the soul, i.e. the feelings.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv9–11(9) Thou shalt not oppress a stranger.—See Note on…
(9) Thou shalt not oppress a stranger.—See Note on Exo_22:21. The repetition of the law indicates the strong inclination of the Hebrew people to ill-use strangers, and the anxiety of the legislator to check their inclination.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv9–10Thou shalt not oppress a stranger. This is a…
Thou shalt not oppress a stranger. This is a repetition of Exo_22:21, with perhaps a special reference to oppression through courts of justice. For thou knowest the heart of a stranger. Literally, "the mind of a stranger," or, in other words, his thoughts and feelings. Thou shouldest therefore be able to sympathise with him.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn vv9–10Thou shalt not oppress a stranger, for ye knew…
Exo_23:9
Thou shalt not oppress a stranger, for ye knew the heart of a stranger.
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The logic of law
The argument is that our conduct is to spring out of our experience; we are to go back upon our own history and consciousness for the law that shall guide us in the treatment of our fellow-men. Why, could we do so, no more should we hear the rasping voice of rancour, hostile criticism, mean remark, or severe demand.
1. Thou shalt not oppress the struggling man, for thou thyself hast had thy struggle. Do not be hard upon those who are going up-hill.
2. Thou shall not oppress a doubting man, for thou thyself hast had thy doubts, if thou art more than half a man.
3. The text has a meaning in reference to ourselves, as well as to others. Thou shalt not renew old fears, for all thy fears have been round, black, blatant liars. Six fears have been with you, have lied to you, have made you play the fool in all the higher relations and issues of life, and yet I detect you this morning talking in the corner to a member of the same false family! Why do you not throw it from you, or order it behind you, or mock it with the jibing of perfect rest in God!
4. Thou shalt not--, because--. That is the logic of the text. Now, what must He be who gave such laws? In the character of the laws, find the character of the legislator. God must be tender; He takes care of strangers. Not only so; He must be aware of human history in all its changes and processes. He knows about the strangers who were in the land of Egypt; He knows about their deliverance; He knows that strangers are a tribe that must be on the earth from age to age; He knows us altogether. He speaks a word for the stranger. Oh, man, friendless, lonely man, you should love God. Oh, woman, mother, sister, sinning woman, you should love Christ. Oh, little children, frail flowers that may wither in a moment, you should put out your little hands, if in but dumb prayer, and long to touch the Son of God. Oh, working man, led away by the demagogue, made to scoff where you ought to pray, the Bible has done more for you than any other book ever attempted to do; this is a human book, a book for the nursery, the family, the market-place, the parliament, the universe! (J. Parker, D. D.)
Kindly qualities developed by adversity
I suppose it is adversity that develops the kindly qualities of our nature. I believe the sense of common degradation has a tendency to make the degraded amiable--at least among themselves. I am told it is found so in the plantations in slave-gangs. (Lord Beaconsfield.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary1892 · Public DomainOn v10MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_23:10-12
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_23:10-12
SABBATIC YEARS AND DAYS
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It has been said that a life according to nature is the highest good. Now, most certainly, a life conducted on the principles laid down by Him who is the God of nature and of grace is the highest good,—being productive of the largest amount of happiness The wisdom and benevolence of the Almighty are manifested in the appointment of the Sabbath; and those consult their highest good—not only their future, but their present welfare—who observe that appointment, and devote a seventh of their time to rest, and to the cultivation more especially of the spiritual life.
I. The beneficence of the Sabbatic year.
1. It is beneficent to the land. Every seventh year the land must rest and lie still. Even in high farming it is found needful to give the land a rest by a change of crops. The earth is wonderfully productive, and has a marvellous power of renewing its youth from year to year, and from age to age. But this power of productiveness must not be stretched too far. The land, too, must have its Sabbath. A shortsighted policy works the land until it becomes comparatively barren; and thus selfishness, in the long run, is not as profitable as a spirit directed by Divine regulations.
2. It is beneficent to the owner of the land. He learns by this arrangement to husband his resources, and to be provident. One reason of the poverty of uncultured tribes is, that they are not provident. They do not look into the future, and store up seed for the coming harvest. This Sabbatic year will teach the owner to be provident. It will teach him to have a wise management of affairs. He will be taught to take a large view of God’s dealings. He will see that the world is not conducted on the haphazard principle. There is method in the Divine government Thus the farmer’s reflective faculties are developed. He is not to be a mere working machine; but a king in nature moving in subjection to the Divine King, learning lessons of dependence upon God, and admiring the bounty of that God who in six years gives ample supplies for the seventh.
3. It is beneficent to the poor and to the beasts, “that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave, the beasts of the field shall eat.” The poor have a divine right to the charities of the rich. There is no law against the plenty obtained by six years’ hard labour; but here is a wise limit to the spirit of acquisition. The poor must not envy the rich their six years’ plenty; and the rich must not deny to the poor the power to glean in the seventh year. God cares even for oxen; and the rich must care for those who are God’s care. If God cares for oxen, how much more for those made in His image. That community must be safe and prosperous where there is this mutual consideration. Communistic violence will not be known in that land where the rich do not oppress the poor. There is plenty for all in God’s vast universe. Let there be no waste, but a wise economy. Surely six years’ produce is enough for the reasonable and benevolent owner of property! Let the poor have the gleanings of the seventh year.
II. The beneficence of the Sabbatic day. The blessed Saviour said, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” And in the Old Testament we find that the appointment of the Sabbath was a beneficent arrangement for man’s welfare. But some so read our Saviour’s words that the Sabbath is divested of any binding power. The Sabbath was made for man, and therefore if man does not want to keep a Sabbath he has no need to do so. Put the statement in another form. It is self-evident that food was made for man, and not man for food. No one would ever think that the statement meant that man need not take food. It was made to meet man’s physical necessities, and he cannot do without it. Now, just in the same way as food was made for man, so the Sabbath was made for man’s physical, intellectual, and moral nature. The Sabbath was not made for man as a toy is made for the child, to minister for an hour or two to its amusement, and then to be destroyed. The Sabbath was made for man as the sun was made for man, to give us light, heat, beauty, and productiveness. The Sabbath was made for man as the revolving seasons, as the sweet interchange of day and night were made for man, that this world may be to him a glorious dwelling-place. The Sabbath was made for man, as the Bible was made for man, that he may attain the true conceptions of manhood, that the true royalty of his nature may not be blotted out of existence, that he may rise above mere notions of animality, that he may stand in this world conscious of the dignity of his origin and the greatness of his sublime destiny. The Sabbath was made for man as the Saviour Himself was made a man for men, that the powers of evil may not gain a complete mastery, and that they may sit in heavenly places, clothed in garments of spiritual fashion, and radiant with Divine beauty. The Sabbath was made for man as heaven is made for redeemed man. A refuge from the storms of life. A home of peace after the six days of care and toil. A goal to which we look with glad hearts, and towards which we work with hopeful spirits amid the intense struggles and fervid contests and fierce strifes of existence. There are those who seem to regard the Sabbath as an infringement on their rights, and as a robbery of the time they might otherwise profitably employ in trade or commerce. And they strive to frustrate the purposes of Divine benevolence by putting seven days’ labour into the six, and then taking the seventh day for the purpose of recruiting an over-wrought physical or mental nature. But it will not do. By and by the man will be compelled to pay the penalty of his folly. Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest. To put seven days’ labour into six is like stretching the bow until it snaps and is destroyed. Man needs periods of rest and release from care, from toil, and from business, and this need is met by the appointment of the Sabbath. This is one of the most beneficent of Divine institutions; and it is the one that is the most universally observed. The greater part of civilized humanity, as if by instinctive feeling, seem to appreciate its beneficence. Its infringement is only the result of a narrow selfishness that would soon bring the social fabric to awful ruin. The Sabbath is not for work, is not for pleasure that may be harder toil than our accustomed work, is not for doing little odds and ends for which we have not time in the week, but for rest—rest of body and rest of mind—rest in divine service, rest in peaceful worship, and rest in holy employments. The Sabbath day fosters the spirit of benevolence. The letter of the Old Testament is not binding, but the spirit is. We must do all that lies in our power so that the ox and the ass may rest, and the son of the handmaid and the stranger may be refreshed. In this world of selfishness it will foster a benevolent spirit, and produce restful feelings to strive to minister to the welfare of the lower animals, and the refreshment even of the stranger. The Sabbath throws open the arms of love, and would enfold a wearied universe and impart abiding rest.—W. Burrows, B.A.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
THE SABBATIC YEAR.—Exo_23:9-11
For the whole subject, see Dr. Milligan’s article on “Sacred Seasons” in Cassells’ “Bible Educator.” This law was intended—
1. To show the fertility of the land of promise. Every seventh year, without skill or toil, the land would produce of itself sufficient for the poor and the beasts of the field.
2. To encourage habits of thrift and forethought, so that they might provide for the year of rest.
3. To test
(1.) their faith in the providence, and
(2.) their obedience to the laws of God. The subject suggests—
I. That periods may arrive by the order or permission of God when work must be laid aside. Commercial depression, sickness, old age.
II. That the prospect of such periods should lead us to provide for them. We are not like “fowls of the air,” or “grass of the field,” which have to be literally fed and clothed by the providence of God, and are utterly unable to forecast and provide for contingencies.
III. That the prospect of such periods should teach us resignation to the will of God and faith in His goodness (Mat_6:25-34).
Application.—i. There remaineth “a rest” for the people of God; ii. Prepare for that rest by faith and obedience.
—J. W. Burn.
LABOUR AND REST.—Exo_23:12
This verse teaches us—
I. That rest is needful, “May be refreshed.”
1. Rest is needful that the exhausted faculties may repose after past work.
2. Rest is needful that those faculties may be invigorated for future service.
3. Rest is needful that work may not become irksome; for if so
(1.) It will be done slovenly; and
(2.) Done imperfectly.
4. Rest is needful that work may be free and joyous.
II. That rest is mercifully provided.
1. This rest is provided by God, lest man should not overlook its necessity.
2. This rest is provided by God lest the servant, the foreigner, or the beast should be defrauded of their right to it.
III. That rest should be diligently earned. “Six days shalt thou do thy work.”
1. Not lounge over it;
2. Not neglect it; but
3. Do it earnestly, conscientiously, and well.
Application.—i. A lesson to employers. God has provided this rest, beware how you steal what God has given to man. ii. A lesson to working men. This rest is yours by right. Then
(1.) claim it;
(2.) don’t abuse it;
(3.) don’t curtail that of others;
(4.) work during your own time, rest during God’s. iii. A lesson to the world at large. Sabbath-breaking is the direct cause of
(1.) Intellectual evils; overtaxed brains, &c.;
(2.) moral evils; neglect of the rights of God and man;
(3.) physical evils. Science has demonstrated the need of one day’s rest in seven.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WILLIAM ADAMSON
Mosaic Morals! Exo_23:1-19. A modern jurist, Hennequin, says: “Good right had Moses to challenge the Israelites, what nation hath statutes like yours? a worship so exalted—laws so equitable—a code so complex?” A Frenchman and an infidel, he observes that, compared with all the legislations of antiquity, none so thoroughly embodies the principles of everlasting righteousness. Lycurgus wrote, not for a people, but for an army: It was a barrack which he erected, not a commonwealth. Solon, on the other hand, could not resist the surrounding effeminate influences of Athens. It is in Moses alone that we find a regard for the right, austere and incorruptible; a morality distinct from policy, and rising above regard for times and peoples.
“But what could Moses’ law have done
Had it not been divinely sent?
The power was from the Lord alone,
And Moses but the instrument.”
—Newton.
Sacred Seasons! Exo_23:10. The deeper basins of the African Sahara are frequently of great extent, and sometimes contain valuable deposits of salt. Wherever perennial springs rise from the earth, or wherever it has been possible to collect water in artificial wells, green aoses break the monotony of the desert. They might be compared with the charming islands that stud the vast solitudes of the Southern Seas. A wonderful luxuriance of vegetation characterises these oases of the wilderness. And what is life but a wilderness? What are the sacred seasons but these emerald, living oases! Here the pilgrims halt for refreshment and repose. Here they rest beneath the shadow of the lofty palm-trees, dip their vessels in the waters of the calm, clear fount, feed upon the luscious clusters of grape and pomegranate, orange and apricot. Then with recruited strength they go forth again upon their pilgrimage towards the Land of Rest; singing as they press onward over the sands of time, How sweet
“To hold with heaven communion meet—
Meet for a spirit bound to heaven;
And, in this wilderness beneath,
Pure zephyrs from above to breathe.”
—Bowing.
Sabbath Beneficence! Exo_23:12. Stations on the line of your journey, remarks Pulsford, are not your journey’s end; but each one brings you nearer. A haven is not Home; but it is a place of quiet and rest where the rough waves are stayed. A garden is a piece of common land, yet it has ceased to be common. It is now an effort to regain paradise. Such are the Lord’s days. The true Lord’s Day is the rest that remaineth for the people of God—is the upper Eden of eternity. But its earthly type is the ever-recurring weekly world-Sabbath. By cultivating our earthly Sabbaths, we are making an effort to regain the lost Paradise. That benefit God designed, and that blessing God will confer.
“Sabbaths, like waymarks, cheer the pilgrim’s path,
His progress mark, and keep his rest in view.”
“In life’s bleak winter they are pleasant days,
Short foretastes of the long, long spring to come.”
—Wilcox.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann1924 · Public DomainOn v10The Holy Periods and Feasts
The Holy Periods and Feasts
v. 10. And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof, whatever it yields under careful cultivation;
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v. 11. but the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still, let it remain unused, make no attempt to cultivate it, that the poor of thy people may eat, namely, that produced by the land without cultivation, the so-called volunteer grain; and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. This fallowing of the land would give it an opportunity to recuperate. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard and with thy oliveyard. There also the fruits were not to be gathered, but left for the poor and needy, for the beasts of the field, and for the fowls of the air. This was the so-called Sabbath of Years, analogous to the Sabbath of the Week.
v. 12. Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest, mainly by desisting from work, that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid and the stranger may be refreshed. So the slaves and the strangers, as well as the domestic animals, were to be given a breathing spell once a week, the Sabbath thus serving not only religious, but also humanitarian ends.
v. 13. And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect, be on your guard, watch most carefully; and make no mention of the name of other gods, the very reference to them being prohibited, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth. Jehovah was to be adored exclusively in the midst of Israel.
v. 14. Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto Me in the year. This is the enumeration of the great Jewish festivals, as it is repeatedly found in the ordinances given through Moses in the wilderness.
v. 15. Thou shalt keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, in connection with the Passover; (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, Exodus 12, in the time appointed of the month Abib, from the fourteenth to the twenty-first; for in it thou camest out from Egypt, it was the festival in commemoration of the deliverance from the bondage of Egypt; and none shall appear before Me empty, that is, with empty hands, everyone being expected to bring sacrificial gifts to the Lord;)
v. 16. and the Feast of Harvest, afterwards known as the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost, the first-fruits of thy labors, which thou hast sown in the field, the festival of the grain harvest; and the Feast of Ingathering, afterwards known as the Feast of Tabernacles, which is in the end of the year, in the fall of the year, in October, when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the field, not only the grain, but also the fruits, the three great products being usually mentioned as corn, wine, and oil.
v. 17. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God. So it was specifically ordered that on the above-mentioned feasts the men of the congregation were obliged to appear before the Lord, a fact which excludes neither women, 1Sa 1:3, nor children, Luk 2:41 ff.
v. 18. Thou shalt not offer the blood of My sacrifice, that of the Passover, which, in a most particular sense, belonged to the Lord, with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of My sacrifice (or feast) remain until the morning. This is a reference to the institution of the Passover and of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for the Lord had decreed that leaven and leavened bread should not be found in the houses of the Israelites when this great sacrifice was made, and also that no part of the Passover lamb was to remain till the morning.
v. 19. The first of the first-fruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord, thy God. This refers to the festivals in general, for not only were the firstlings of the barley sheaves offered at Passover and two pentecostal loaves during the Feast of Weeks, but the people were expected in general to bring gifts of first-fruits to the Lord. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk, this practice being prohibited as unnatural and tending to make the feasting the central feature, especially in connection with the great festivals. The Old Testament Sabbath and festivals with their ordinances are no longer binding upon the Christians of the New Testament; yet God expects also us to thank and to praise, to serve and obey Him in true faith and love.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v10General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues telling Moses his laws for the people of Israel.
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its produce
"the food its plants produce"
unplowed
uncultivated, untilled
fallow
in its natural state, not used for to grow food
so that the poor among your people may eat
The poor can eat any food that grows on its own in a field that is not cultivated. This can be stated clearly in the translation. AT: "so the poor among your people may harvest and eat any food that grows on its own in that field" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v1023:10-12 Renewal, rest (23:12), and refreshment are important. Just…
23:10-12 Renewal, rest (23:12), and refreshment are important. Just as humans and animals are to enjoy these in the weekly Sabbath, so the land is to be given rest every seven years (23:10-11; see study note on 20:8-11).
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v9 For in that that he is a stranger, his…
For in that that he is a stranger, his heart is sorrowful enough.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv9–11 Exo 23:9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger:…
Exo 23:9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Ver. 9. Thou shalt not oppress, &c.] {See Trapp on "Exo 22:21"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv9, 11 The heart of a stranger, i.e. the disposition, dejection,…
The heart of a stranger, i.e. the disposition, dejection, and distress of his heart, which makes him an object of pity, not of malice or mischief.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v10 Here is, I. The institution of the sabbatical year,…
Here is, I. The institution of the sabbatical year, Exo 23:10, Exo 23:11. Every seventh year the land was to rest; they must not plough nor sow it at the beginning of the year, and then they could not expect any great harvest at the end of the year: but what the earth did produce of itself should be eaten from hand to mouth, and not laid up. Now this was designed, 1. To show what a plentiful land that was into which God was bringing them - that so numerous a people could have rich maintenance out of the produce of so small a country, without foreign trade, and yet could spare the increase of every seventh year. 2. To remind them of their dependence upon God their great landlord, and their obligation to use the fruit of their land as he should direct. Thus he would try their obedience in a matter that nearly touched their interest. Afterwards we find that their disobedience to this command was a forfeiture of the promises, Ch2 36:21. 3. To teach them a confidence in the divine Providence, while they did their duty - that, as the sixth day's manna served for two day's meat, so the sixth year's increase should serve for two years' subsistence. Thus they must learn not to take thought for their life, Mat 6:25. If we are prudent and diligent in our affairs, we may trust Providence to furnish us with the bread of the day in its day.
II. The repetition of the law of the fourth commandment concerning the weekly sabbath, Exo 23:12. Even in the year of rest they must not think that the sabbath day was laid in common with the other days, but, even that year, it must be religiously observed; yet thus some have endeavoured to take away the observance of the sabbath, by pretending that every day must be a sabbath day.
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III. All manner of respect to the gods of the heathen is here strictly forbidden, Exo 23:13. A general caution is prefixed to this, which has reference to all these precepts: In all things that I have said unto you, be circumspect. We are in danger of missing our way on the right hand and on the left, and it is at our peril if we do; therefore we have need to look about us. A man may ruin himself through mere carelessness, but he cannot save himself without great care and circumspection: particularly, since idolatry was a sin which they were much addicted to, and would be greatly tempted to, they must endeavour to blot out the remembrance of the gods of the heathen, and must disuse and forget all their superstitious forms of speech, and never mention them but with detestation. In Christian schools and academies (for it is in vain to think of reforming the play-houses), it were to be wished that the names and stories of the heathen deities, or demons rather, were not so commonly and familiarly used as they are, even with intimations of respect, and sometimes with forms of invocation. Surely we have not so learned Christ.
IV. Their solemn religious attendance on God in the place which he should choose is here strictly required, Exo 23:14-17. 1. Thrice a year all their males must come together in a holy convocation, that they might the better know and love one another, and keep up their communion as a dignified and peculiar people. 2. They must come together before the Lord (Exo 23:17) to present themselves before him, looking towards the place where his honour dwelt, and to pay their homage to him as their great Lord, from and under whom they held all their enjoyments. 3. They must feast together before the Lord, eating and drinking together, in token of their joy in God and their grateful sense of his goodness to them; for a feast is made for laughter, Ecc 10:19. O what a good Master do we serve, who has made it our duty to rejoice before him, who feasts his servants when they are in waiting! Never let religion be called a melancholy thing, when its solemn services are solemn feasts. 4. They must not appear before God empty, Exo 23:15. Some free-will offering or other they must bring, in token of their respect and gratitude to their great benefactor; and, as they were not allowed to come empty-handed, so we must not come to worship God empty-hearted; our souls must be filled with grace, with pious and devout affections, holy desires towards him, and dedications of ourselves to him, for with such sacrifices God is well-pleased. 5. The passover, pentecost, and feast of tabernacles, in spring, summer, and autumn, were the three times appointed for their attendance: not in winter, because travelling was then uncomfortable; not in the midst of their harvest, because then they were otherwise employed; so that they had no reason to say that he made them to serve with an offering, or wearied them with incense.
V. Some particular directions are here given about the three feasts, though not so fully as afterwards. 1. As to the passover, it was not to be offered with leavened bread, for at that feast all leaven was to be cast out, nor was the fat of it to remain until the morning, lest it should become offensive, Exo 23:18. 2. At the feast of pentecost, when they were to begin their harvest, they must bring the first of their first-fruits to God, by the pious presenting of which the whole harvest was sanctified, Exo 23:19. 3. At the feast of ingathering, as it is called (Exo 23:16), they must give God thanks for the harvest-mercies they had received, and must depend upon him for the next harvest, and must not think to receive benefit by that superstitious usage of some of the Gentiles, who, it is said, at the end of their harvest, seethed a kid in its dam's milk, and sprinkled that milk-pottage, in a magical way, upon their gardens and fields, to make them more fruitful next year. But Israel must abhor such foolish customs.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv9–11 And six years thou shall sow thy land, The…
And six years thou shall sow thy land, The land of Canaan, given to their ancestors and to them, and which they were now going to inherit; and when they came into it they were to plant it with vines and olives; or rather, these being ready planted, they were to prune and dress them; and they were to till their land, and plough it, and sow it with various sorts of grain, for six years running, from the time of their possession of it:
and shall gather in the fruits thereof; corn and wine, and oil, into their own garners, treasuries, and cellars, as their own property, to dispose of as they pleased for their own use and profit.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv9–10 Thou shalt not oppress the stranger - Though aliens…
Thou shalt not oppress the stranger - Though aliens might not inherit lands among them; yet they must have justice done them. It was an instance of the equity of our law, that if an alien be tried for any crime except treason, the one half of his jury, if he desire it, shall be foreigners; a kind provision that strangers may not be oppressed. For ye know the heart of a stranger - You know something of the griefs and fears of a stranger by sad experience.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv9, 11 Verse 9. Ye know the heart of a stranger]…
Verse 9. Ye know the heart of a stranger] Having been strangers yourselves, under severe, long continued, and cruel oppression, ye know the fears, cares, anxieties, and dismal forebodings which the heart of a stranger feels. What a forcible appeal to humanity and compassion!
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv9–10 Exo 23:9. Thou shalt not oppress the stranger —…
Exo 23:9. Thou shalt not oppress the stranger — Though aliens might not inherit lands among them; yet, they must have justice done them. It is an instance of the equity of our law, that if an alien be tried for any crime, except treason, the one half of his jury, if he desire it, shall be foreigners; a kind provision that strangers may not be oppressed. For ye know the heart of a stranger — That is, ye know by experience what a distressed, friendless condition that of a stranger is. The disposition, dejection, and distress of his heart, make him an object of pity, not of malice or injustice. Ye know his heart is easily depressed, and very unable to bear repulses. There is a great beauty in the expression.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v10 This is the first mention of the Sabbatical year;…
This is the first mention of the Sabbatical year; the law for it is given at length in Lev 25:2. Both the Sabbatical year and the weekly Sabbath are here spoken of exclusively in their relation to the poor, as bearing testimony to the equality of the people in their covenant with Yahweh. In the first of these institutions, the proprietor of the soil gave up his rights for the year to the whole community of living creatures, not excepting the beasts: in the latter, the master gave up his claim for the day to the services of his servants and cattle.
Exo 23:12
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May be refreshed - Literally, “may take breath.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv9, 11 The hearts. You have experienced what sorrow and misery…
The hearts. You have experienced what sorrow and misery they feel. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v10 six years thou shalt sow thy land--intermitting the cultivation…
six years thou shalt sow thy land--intermitting the cultivation of the land every seventh year. But it appears that even then there was a spontaneous produce which the poor were permitted freely to gather for their use, and the beasts driven out fed on the remainder, the owners of fields not being allowed to reap or collect the fruits of the vineyard or oliveyard during the course of this sabbatical year. This was a regulation subservient to many excellent purposes; for, besides inculcating the general lesson of dependence on Providence, and of confidence in His faithfulness to His promise respecting the triple increase on the sixth year (Lev 25:20-21), it gave the Israelites a practical proof that they held their properties of the Lord as His tenants, and must conform to His rules on pain of forfeiting the lease of them.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv9, 11 9. Not oppress a stranger — This command is…
9. Not oppress a stranger — This command is repeated from Exo_22:21, with some addition, and shows that the foreigner was entitled to protection from judicial wrongs as well as other forms of oppression. Israel should not forget how the heart of a stranger feels.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv9–11 9. The gêr, or foreigner ‘sojourning’ in Israel, not…
9. The gêr, or foreigner ‘sojourning’ in Israel, not to be ‘crushed.’ Identical, in great measure verbally, with Exo_22:21 : here, no doubt, directed specially against unfair judgement (cf. Deu_24:17 ‘Thou shalt not wrest the judgement of the sojourner,’ Exo_27:19, Mal_3:5).
stranger (each time)] sojourner: see on Exo_22:11.
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for ye (emph.) know …, seeing ye were sojourners, &c.] see on Exo_22:21.
the heart] lit. the soul, i.e. the feelings.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv9–11 (9) Thou shalt not oppress a stranger.—See Note on…
(9) Thou shalt not oppress a stranger.—See Note on Exo_22:21. The repetition of the law indicates the strong inclination of the Hebrew people to ill-use strangers, and the anxiety of the legislator to check their inclination.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv9–10 Thou shalt not oppress a stranger. This is a…
Thou shalt not oppress a stranger. This is a repetition of Exo_22:21, with perhaps a special reference to oppression through courts of justice. For thou knowest the heart of a stranger. Literally, "the mind of a stranger," or, in other words, his thoughts and feelings. Thou shouldest therefore be able to sympathise with him.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv9–10 Thou shalt not oppress a stranger, for ye knew…
Exo_23:9
Thou shalt not oppress a stranger, for ye knew the heart of a stranger.
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The logic of law
The argument is that our conduct is to spring out of our experience; we are to go back upon our own history and consciousness for the law that shall guide us in the treatment of our fellow-men. Why, could we do so, no more should we hear the rasping voice of rancour, hostile criticism, mean remark, or severe demand.
1. Thou shalt not oppress the struggling man, for thou thyself hast had thy struggle. Do not be hard upon those who are going up-hill.
2. Thou shall not oppress a doubting man, for thou thyself hast had thy doubts, if thou art more than half a man.
3. The text has a meaning in reference to ourselves, as well as to others. Thou shalt not renew old fears, for all thy fears have been round, black, blatant liars. Six fears have been with you, have lied to you, have made you play the fool in all the higher relations and issues of life, and yet I detect you this morning talking in the corner to a member of the same false family! Why do you not throw it from you, or order it behind you, or mock it with the jibing of perfect rest in God!
4. Thou shalt not--, because--. That is the logic of the text. Now, what must He be who gave such laws? In the character of the laws, find the character of the legislator. God must be tender; He takes care of strangers. Not only so; He must be aware of human history in all its changes and processes. He knows about the strangers who were in the land of Egypt; He knows about their deliverance; He knows that strangers are a tribe that must be on the earth from age to age; He knows us altogether. He speaks a word for the stranger. Oh, man, friendless, lonely man, you should love God. Oh, woman, mother, sister, sinning woman, you should love Christ. Oh, little children, frail flowers that may wither in a moment, you should put out your little hands, if in but dumb prayer, and long to touch the Son of God. Oh, working man, led away by the demagogue, made to scoff where you ought to pray, the Bible has done more for you than any other book ever attempted to do; this is a human book, a book for the nursery, the family, the market-place, the parliament, the universe! (J. Parker, D. D.)
Kindly qualities developed by adversity
I suppose it is adversity that develops the kindly qualities of our nature. I believe the sense of common degradation has a tendency to make the degraded amiable--at least among themselves. I am told it is found so in the plantations in slave-gangs. (Lord Beaconsfield.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v10 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_23:10-12
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_23:10-12
SABBATIC YEARS AND DAYS
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It has been said that a life according to nature is the highest good. Now, most certainly, a life conducted on the principles laid down by Him who is the God of nature and of grace is the highest good,—being productive of the largest amount of happiness The wisdom and benevolence of the Almighty are manifested in the appointment of the Sabbath; and those consult their highest good—not only their future, but their present welfare—who observe that appointment, and devote a seventh of their time to rest, and to the cultivation more especially of the spiritual life.
I. The beneficence of the Sabbatic year.
1. It is beneficent to the land. Every seventh year the land must rest and lie still. Even in high farming it is found needful to give the land a rest by a change of crops. The earth is wonderfully productive, and has a marvellous power of renewing its youth from year to year, and from age to age. But this power of productiveness must not be stretched too far. The land, too, must have its Sabbath. A shortsighted policy works the land until it becomes comparatively barren; and thus selfishness, in the long run, is not as profitable as a spirit directed by Divine regulations.
2. It is beneficent to the owner of the land. He learns by this arrangement to husband his resources, and to be provident. One reason of the poverty of uncultured tribes is, that they are not provident. They do not look into the future, and store up seed for the coming harvest. This Sabbatic year will teach the owner to be provident. It will teach him to have a wise management of affairs. He will be taught to take a large view of God’s dealings. He will see that the world is not conducted on the haphazard principle. There is method in the Divine government Thus the farmer’s reflective faculties are developed. He is not to be a mere working machine; but a king in nature moving in subjection to the Divine King, learning lessons of dependence upon God, and admiring the bounty of that God who in six years gives ample supplies for the seventh.
3. It is beneficent to the poor and to the beasts, “that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave, the beasts of the field shall eat.” The poor have a divine right to the charities of the rich. There is no law against the plenty obtained by six years’ hard labour; but here is a wise limit to the spirit of acquisition. The poor must not envy the rich their six years’ plenty; and the rich must not deny to the poor the power to glean in the seventh year. God cares even for oxen; and the rich must care for those who are God’s care. If God cares for oxen, how much more for those made in His image. That community must be safe and prosperous where there is this mutual consideration. Communistic violence will not be known in that land where the rich do not oppress the poor. There is plenty for all in God’s vast universe. Let there be no waste, but a wise economy. Surely six years’ produce is enough for the reasonable and benevolent owner of property! Let the poor have the gleanings of the seventh year.
II. The beneficence of the Sabbatic day. The blessed Saviour said, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” And in the Old Testament we find that the appointment of the Sabbath was a beneficent arrangement for man’s welfare. But some so read our Saviour’s words that the Sabbath is divested of any binding power. The Sabbath was made for man, and therefore if man does not want to keep a Sabbath he has no need to do so. Put the statement in another form. It is self-evident that food was made for man, and not man for food. No one would ever think that the statement meant that man need not take food. It was made to meet man’s physical necessities, and he cannot do without it. Now, just in the same way as food was made for man, so the Sabbath was made for man’s physical, intellectual, and moral nature. The Sabbath was not made for man as a toy is made for the child, to minister for an hour or two to its amusement, and then to be destroyed. The Sabbath was made for man as the sun was made for man, to give us light, heat, beauty, and productiveness. The Sabbath was made for man as the revolving seasons, as the sweet interchange of day and night were made for man, that this world may be to him a glorious dwelling-place. The Sabbath was made for man, as the Bible was made for man, that he may attain the true conceptions of manhood, that the true royalty of his nature may not be blotted out of existence, that he may rise above mere notions of animality, that he may stand in this world conscious of the dignity of his origin and the greatness of his sublime destiny. The Sabbath was made for man as the Saviour Himself was made a man for men, that the powers of evil may not gain a complete mastery, and that they may sit in heavenly places, clothed in garments of spiritual fashion, and radiant with Divine beauty. The Sabbath was made for man as heaven is made for redeemed man. A refuge from the storms of life. A home of peace after the six days of care and toil. A goal to which we look with glad hearts, and towards which we work with hopeful spirits amid the intense struggles and fervid contests and fierce strifes of existence. There are those who seem to regard the Sabbath as an infringement on their rights, and as a robbery of the time they might otherwise profitably employ in trade or commerce. And they strive to frustrate the purposes of Divine benevolence by putting seven days’ labour into the six, and then taking the seventh day for the purpose of recruiting an over-wrought physical or mental nature. But it will not do. By and by the man will be compelled to pay the penalty of his folly. Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest. To put seven days’ labour into six is like stretching the bow until it snaps and is destroyed. Man needs periods of rest and release from care, from toil, and from business, and this need is met by the appointment of the Sabbath. This is one of the most beneficent of Divine institutions; and it is the one that is the most universally observed. The greater part of civilized humanity, as if by instinctive feeling, seem to appreciate its beneficence. Its infringement is only the result of a narrow selfishness that would soon bring the social fabric to awful ruin. The Sabbath is not for work, is not for pleasure that may be harder toil than our accustomed work, is not for doing little odds and ends for which we have not time in the week, but for rest—rest of body and rest of mind—rest in divine service, rest in peaceful worship, and rest in holy employments. The Sabbath day fosters the spirit of benevolence. The letter of the Old Testament is not binding, but the spirit is. We must do all that lies in our power so that the ox and the ass may rest, and the son of the handmaid and the stranger may be refreshed. In this world of selfishness it will foster a benevolent spirit, and produce restful feelings to strive to minister to the welfare of the lower animals, and the refreshment even of the stranger. The Sabbath throws open the arms of love, and would enfold a wearied universe and impart abiding rest.—W. Burrows, B.A.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
THE SABBATIC YEAR.—Exo_23:9-11
For the whole subject, see Dr. Milligan’s article on “Sacred Seasons” in Cassells’ “Bible Educator.” This law was intended—
1. To show the fertility of the land of promise. Every seventh year, without skill or toil, the land would produce of itself sufficient for the poor and the beasts of the field.
2. To encourage habits of thrift and forethought, so that they might provide for the year of rest.
3. To test
(1.) their faith in the providence, and
(2.) their obedience to the laws of God. The subject suggests—
I. That periods may arrive by the order or permission of God when work must be laid aside. Commercial depression, sickness, old age.
II. That the prospect of such periods should lead us to provide for them. We are not like “fowls of the air,” or “grass of the field,” which have to be literally fed and clothed by the providence of God, and are utterly unable to forecast and provide for contingencies.
III. That the prospect of such periods should teach us resignation to the will of God and faith in His goodness (Mat_6:25-34).
Application.—i. There remaineth “a rest” for the people of God; ii. Prepare for that rest by faith and obedience.
—J. W. Burn.
LABOUR AND REST.—Exo_23:12
This verse teaches us—
I. That rest is needful, “May be refreshed.”
1. Rest is needful that the exhausted faculties may repose after past work.
2. Rest is needful that those faculties may be invigorated for future service.
3. Rest is needful that work may not become irksome; for if so
(1.) It will be done slovenly; and
(2.) Done imperfectly.
4. Rest is needful that work may be free and joyous.
II. That rest is mercifully provided.
1. This rest is provided by God, lest man should not overlook its necessity.
2. This rest is provided by God lest the servant, the foreigner, or the beast should be defrauded of their right to it.
III. That rest should be diligently earned. “Six days shalt thou do thy work.”
1. Not lounge over it;
2. Not neglect it; but
3. Do it earnestly, conscientiously, and well.
Application.—i. A lesson to employers. God has provided this rest, beware how you steal what God has given to man. ii. A lesson to working men. This rest is yours by right. Then
(1.) claim it;
(2.) don’t abuse it;
(3.) don’t curtail that of others;
(4.) work during your own time, rest during God’s. iii. A lesson to the world at large. Sabbath-breaking is the direct cause of
(1.) Intellectual evils; overtaxed brains, &c.;
(2.) moral evils; neglect of the rights of God and man;
(3.) physical evils. Science has demonstrated the need of one day’s rest in seven.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WILLIAM ADAMSON
Mosaic Morals! Exo_23:1-19. A modern jurist, Hennequin, says: “Good right had Moses to challenge the Israelites, what nation hath statutes like yours? a worship so exalted—laws so equitable—a code so complex?” A Frenchman and an infidel, he observes that, compared with all the legislations of antiquity, none so thoroughly embodies the principles of everlasting righteousness. Lycurgus wrote, not for a people, but for an army: It was a barrack which he erected, not a commonwealth. Solon, on the other hand, could not resist the surrounding effeminate influences of Athens. It is in Moses alone that we find a regard for the right, austere and incorruptible; a morality distinct from policy, and rising above regard for times and peoples.
“But what could Moses’ law have done
Had it not been divinely sent?
The power was from the Lord alone,
And Moses but the instrument.”
—Newton.
Sacred Seasons! Exo_23:10. The deeper basins of the African Sahara are frequently of great extent, and sometimes contain valuable deposits of salt. Wherever perennial springs rise from the earth, or wherever it has been possible to collect water in artificial wells, green aoses break the monotony of the desert. They might be compared with the charming islands that stud the vast solitudes of the Southern Seas. A wonderful luxuriance of vegetation characterises these oases of the wilderness. And what is life but a wilderness? What are the sacred seasons but these emerald, living oases! Here the pilgrims halt for refreshment and repose. Here they rest beneath the shadow of the lofty palm-trees, dip their vessels in the waters of the calm, clear fount, feed upon the luscious clusters of grape and pomegranate, orange and apricot. Then with recruited strength they go forth again upon their pilgrimage towards the Land of Rest; singing as they press onward over the sands of time, How sweet
“To hold with heaven communion meet—
Meet for a spirit bound to heaven;
And, in this wilderness beneath,
Pure zephyrs from above to breathe.”
—Bowing.
Sabbath Beneficence! Exo_23:12. Stations on the line of your journey, remarks Pulsford, are not your journey’s end; but each one brings you nearer. A haven is not Home; but it is a place of quiet and rest where the rough waves are stayed. A garden is a piece of common land, yet it has ceased to be common. It is now an effort to regain paradise. Such are the Lord’s days. The true Lord’s Day is the rest that remaineth for the people of God—is the upper Eden of eternity. But its earthly type is the ever-recurring weekly world-Sabbath. By cultivating our earthly Sabbaths, we are making an effort to regain the lost Paradise. That benefit God designed, and that blessing God will confer.
“Sabbaths, like waymarks, cheer the pilgrim’s path,
His progress mark, and keep his rest in view.”
“In life’s bleak winter they are pleasant days,
Short foretastes of the long, long spring to come.”
—Wilcox.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v10 The Holy Periods and Feasts
The Holy Periods and Feasts
v. 10. And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof, whatever it yields under careful cultivation;
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v. 11. but the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still, let it remain unused, make no attempt to cultivate it, that the poor of thy people may eat, namely, that produced by the land without cultivation, the so-called volunteer grain; and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. This fallowing of the land would give it an opportunity to recuperate. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard and with thy oliveyard. There also the fruits were not to be gathered, but left for the poor and needy, for the beasts of the field, and for the fowls of the air. This was the so-called Sabbath of Years, analogous to the Sabbath of the Week.
v. 12. Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest, mainly by desisting from work, that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid and the stranger may be refreshed. So the slaves and the strangers, as well as the domestic animals, were to be given a breathing spell once a week, the Sabbath thus serving not only religious, but also humanitarian ends.
v. 13. And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect, be on your guard, watch most carefully; and make no mention of the name of other gods, the very reference to them being prohibited, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth. Jehovah was to be adored exclusively in the midst of Israel.
v. 14. Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto Me in the year. This is the enumeration of the great Jewish festivals, as it is repeatedly found in the ordinances given through Moses in the wilderness.
v. 15. Thou shalt keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, in connection with the Passover; (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, Exodus 12, in the time appointed of the month Abib, from the fourteenth to the twenty-first; for in it thou camest out from Egypt, it was the festival in commemoration of the deliverance from the bondage of Egypt; and none shall appear before Me empty, that is, with empty hands, everyone being expected to bring sacrificial gifts to the Lord;)
v. 16. and the Feast of Harvest, afterwards known as the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost, the first-fruits of thy labors, which thou hast sown in the field, the festival of the grain harvest; and the Feast of Ingathering, afterwards known as the Feast of Tabernacles, which is in the end of the year, in the fall of the year, in October, when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the field, not only the grain, but also the fruits, the three great products being usually mentioned as corn, wine, and oil.
v. 17. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God. So it was specifically ordered that on the above-mentioned feasts the men of the congregation were obliged to appear before the Lord, a fact which excludes neither women, 1Sa 1:3, nor children, Luk 2:41 ff.
v. 18. Thou shalt not offer the blood of My sacrifice, that of the Passover, which, in a most particular sense, belonged to the Lord, with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of My sacrifice (or feast) remain until the morning. This is a reference to the institution of the Passover and of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for the Lord had decreed that leaven and leavened bread should not be found in the houses of the Israelites when this great sacrifice was made, and also that no part of the Passover lamb was to remain till the morning.
v. 19. The first of the first-fruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord, thy God. This refers to the festivals in general, for not only were the firstlings of the barley sheaves offered at Passover and two pentecostal loaves during the Feast of Weeks, but the people were expected in general to bring gifts of first-fruits to the Lord. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk, this practice being prohibited as unnatural and tending to make the feasting the central feature, especially in connection with the great festivals. The Old Testament Sabbath and festivals with their ordinances are no longer binding upon the Christians of the New Testament; yet God expects also us to thank and to praise, to serve and obey Him in true faith and love.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v10 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues telling Moses his laws for the people of Israel.
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its produce
"the food its plants produce"
unplowed
uncultivated, untilled
fallow
in its natural state, not used for to grow food
so that the poor among your people may eat
The poor can eat any food that grows on its own in a field that is not cultivated. This can be stated clearly in the translation. AT: "so the poor among your people may harvest and eat any food that grows on its own in that field" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
plant
vineyard
olive
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v10 23:10-12 Renewal, rest (23:12), and refreshment are important. Just…
23:10-12 Renewal, rest (23:12), and refreshment are important. Just as humans and animals are to enjoy these in the weekly Sabbath, so the land is to be given rest every seven years (23:10-11; see study note on 20:8-11).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.