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Exodus 34:18–28
“Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the LORD God, the God of Israel. For I will cast out nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land, when you go up to appear before the LORD your God three times in the year” (vv. 23–24).
Continuing our study of Exodus 34 and how it shows the restoration of the covenant enacted before the golden calf by repeating many of the same statutes as that covenant, we come to verses 18–28, where various laws given before Israel’s idolatry are provided again. The rules for redeeming the firstborn, keeping various feasts, observing the Sabbath, discarding leftovers from the sacrifice, and not boiling young animals in their mothers’ milk are all found earlier in Exodus 13:12–16; 23:10–19. We refer you to the daily studies based on those texts for a fuller explanation of the laws in today’s passage. Exodus 34:24, however, represents a significant addition that addresses the question, “What if my unscrupulous Israelite neighbors who do not make the pilgrimage to keep the feasts or my enemies try to seize my land while I am away obeying the law?” The answer is that God will protect His people’s possessions when they are worshiping Him according to His Word. Although others may attack us or our belongings while we are serving the Lord, God will provide for us.
Speaking of the feasts, Matthew Henry comments on what their institution means for the Christian life: “In all our religious approaches to God, we must eye him as the Lord God, infinitely blessed, great, and glorious, that we may worship him with reverence and godly fear, as the God of Israel, a God in covenant with us, that we may be encouraged to trust in him, and to serve him cheerfully. We always are before God; but, in holy duties, we present ourselves before him, as servants to receive commands, as petitioners to sue for favors, and we have reason to do both with joy.” God instituted celebrations for the old covenant people, in part, to teach them the importance of joy in worshiping Him and in keeping His law. We may infer as much from the repeated admonitions to rejoice in the Lord. Joy is not optional for the believer; indeed, it is commanded in the Christian life. Paul tells us in Philippians 4:4 to “rejoice in the Lord always.”
The Apostle wrote that line while he was in prison for preaching the gospel (Phil. 1:12–13). This indicates both that joy is possible while we are suffering and that true joy does not demand that we pretend that our hardships do not exist. Biblical joy does not ignore suffering but transcends suffering, not pretending that the pain is an illusion but finding encouragement that suffering will not have the last word. Even in sadness, we have joy deep down that God is working everything together for the good of His people (Rom. 8:28).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Christian joy is not incompatible with sorrow. We mourn the effects of sin on the world, but we can nevertheless rejoice that sin will not have the last word, that Jesus will set creation free from its bondage to corruption (Rom. 8:18–23). This joy need not lead to exuberant outbursts of happiness, though at times it may. Nevertheless, the joy is real no matter the outward manifestation it takes.
FOR FURTHER STUDY
- Psalm 13
- Ecclesiastes 5:19
- 1 Thessalonians 5:16
- 1 Peter 4:12–14