Skip to content Exodus 23-25: Living by God's Precepts and Principles Feb 16 · 14 min ...more
Exodus 23-25: Living by God's Precepts and Principles
February 16, 2026 · 14 min
Discover how God's commandments emphasize impartial justice, compassion, and integrity in society.
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Overview of Exodus 23-25: Precepts, Principles, and Preferences 0:10 Good morning, and welcome to Stand on the Word. Our journey this morning takes us to Exodus chapters 23 through 25. Verse 25 of chapter 23, so you shall serve the0:22 lord your god, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from the midst of you. Chapters, 23 through 25, it kinda reads like a journal of a0:34 legislative session recording the acts of the first session of Mount Sinai. Then in chapter 24, the people ratify the covenant that god made with Israel. And then in chapter 25, the, the0:45 lord meets with Moses, which begins the, at the end of chapter 24 and goes all the way through to, to chapter 32. Now recall last time, I mentioned something at the very end. I0:57 mentioned precepts, principles, and preferences. So what's a what what what am I talking about? What's a precept? Well, the 10 commandments. Alright? God's moral laws are precepts. They are nonnegotiable.1:10 They give us clear direction. Next, we have principles. What's a principle? Well, these are spiritual principles that we glean from god's civil law that can inform and guide us today. Then1:21 we have preferences. What's a preference? Well, a preference is a choice. For example, we're not commanded to marry. That decision, though, must be guided by god's precepts1:33 and principles. Okay? So what we read today is what god gave Moses for the nation of Israel. Right? Specific to Israel. However, there are principles that1:45 apply to us. Remember, I've said this before. I'll say it again. The Old Testament speaks to the physical and material realm, whereas the New Testament speaks to the spiritual. So let's look at chapter1:57 23 verse 1. You shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. Now this was thePrinciples of Justice, Truth, and Compassion 2:09 civil law for the new nation. There were consequences for violating these laws, but let's look at the principle here. This is talking about gossiping, spreading false reports,2:21 bearing false witness, which goes back to the 10 commandments. This is a very good principle for us to live by today. Can you imagine if this were the law? I mean, there would be2:33 very little cable news. The magazine racks at the checkout counters at the grocery store, well, they would be empty. Verse 2, you shall not follow a crowd to do evil,2:45 nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside from turn aside after many to pervert justice. You know, rarely is the crowd headed in2:57 the right direction. This is like your dad responding to you as a teenager saying, but, dad, everybody's going. And he would say, well, if everyone was jumping off a bridge, would you? Don't follow3:09 the crowd. Verse 3, you shall not show partiality to a poor man in his dispute. And I would point to verse 6 to go along with this, which says you shall not pervert the judgment3:21 of your poor in his dispute. So in other words, there is 1 standard of justice for all. Didn't matter if you're wealthy. Didn't matter if you were poor. This is the foundation of true3:32 justice. And and by the way, we're going to see a lot a lot in the Old Testament about justice. God cares deeply. He cares deeply about3:44 justice. Now this principle is seen in the in the characterization of our system of justice. That's why lady justice is blindfolded, not supposed to look on3:56 who's standing before her. Now your status should not matter should not matter when it comes to justice. The poor should not get more justice nor should they get less. And this is,4:08 frankly, 1 of the greatest threats to our country today. Our society has as it moves farther and farther away from the principles of 2 just for from true justice, it it only creates more of4:20 this clamor for social justice. Alright. Verse 7, keep yourself far from a false matter. Do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not4:32 justify the wicked. And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous. Also, you shall not oppress a stranger, for4:44 you know the heart of a stranger because you were strangers in the land of Egypt. Notice that reference to to Egypt, a subtle reminder a subtle reminder of where they4:56 came from and what did god did for them so they should walk with compassion and humility. Verse 10, 6 years you shall sow your land and gather5:07 in its produce. But the seventh year, you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your land people may eat, and what they leave, the beast of the field may eat.5:19 In like manner, you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove. 6 days, you shall do your work, and on the seventh day, you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and theSabbath Rest, Divine Protection, and Cultural Conquest 5:31 son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed. So what do you make of the spiritual principle for us regarding the Sabbath? Right? It's we're to5:43 prioritize the things of god and we're to, to to rest. Verse 13, and in all that I have said to you, be circumspect and make no mention of the names of other gods nor let it be5:55 heard from your mouth. 3 times you shall keep a feast to me in the year. So are there principles here for us? I would say yes. We are to prioritize and focus on the6:07 things of god, not because we're commanded to, but because it addresses our spiritual needs. Verse 20. Behold, I send an angel before you6:19 to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him and obey his voice. Do not provoke him, for he will not pardon your transgressions, for6:30 my name is in him. Verse 22. But if you indeed obey his voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to6:42 your adversaries. Now this was most likely the angel of the Lord, which was the Lord himself. Notice where it says, for my name is in him. I tell you what, I I want god6:54 I wanna be on god's side. Alright? I want him to be an enemy to my enemies and to to be an adversary to my adversaries. And then I'm talking our spiritual, and he is. And he will he will he7:06 will fight for us. We are to go in the strength of the lord. Verse 24, you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them nor do according to their works, but you shall7:18 utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars. So here's a principle for us. Okay? Here's how we would glean the this is what we call a biblical worldview,7:30 extracting the principles of scripture and applying them to our lives. We are not to conform to the culture. Right? That's what the principle here tells us. We are to conquer the7:41 world's culture. Okay? I know that that is, an anathema to the ears of some, not on this video, but if someone stumbles upon it, of those who are counter to7:53 God in his truth that they would they would be screaming about that. But listen, we're to conquer it with the weapons of our spiritual warfare. Okay? Prayer,8:05 fasting, and most importantly, yes, you guessed it, the word of God. Now look at the benefits that flow to the nation from yielding to the precepts and principles8:17 of God. Alright? Look at this. Verse 25. So you shall serve the lord your god, and he will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of8:29 you. No 1 shall suffer and be barren in your land. I will fulfill the number of your days. I you will fulfill your days. You will have the fullness of life. I will send my8:41 fear before you. I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come and will make all your enemies turn their backs on you. In other words, I'll make them run. This is god's divine8:53 provision and protection as well as the natural benefits that flow from following god's design. I mean, god created us. He knows us. And guess what? If we live according to9:05 his instructions, things work better. Now that doesn't mean that doesn't mean there's not gonna be difficulties. We've talked about this before. We saw it in the book of Job. We live in a fallen world. Right?9:17 And bad things happen to good people. Sometimes it's spiritually driven. Sometimes it's just the the consequences of living in a fallen corrupt world. But as a nation and as a people,9:28 we're more likely to do well if we follow God's design. America has experienced over the the, we we've experienced the blessing of God, the protection of God over these9:39 250 years. I mean, think about it. We have the longest lasting constitution of any nation. We we've been blessed. But increasingly, as we depart from the truth of9:51 God, we're beginning to see this this this, diminishing, level of protection and provision upon our nation. Now this last portion of the chapter speaks to the conquest10:03 of the promised land. Remember, the old testament, I'm gonna sound redundant here, repetitive. Remember, the old testament speaks to the physical whereas the new testament speaks to the spiritual. These are principles in10:15 the old testament that have a spiritual application to us today. Now from this passage, I think we gain spiritual principles on cultural engagement. How do we operate10:27 in a culture that rejects god's truth? Would that define today? I think it would. How should the church function in such a culture? The principles we glean from this passage would tell us that we10:38 cannot accommodate the culture by acting like it or becoming a part of it. Alright? We are to be separate in our ways and in our conduct. Jesus said that we're to be10:50 in the world, but not of the world. Peter said this, first Peter 2 9, but you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people that you may11:02 proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Yes. We're in the world, but we shouldn't look like the world. We shouldn't act like the world. That means we shouldn't talk like the11:12 world. We are different, but we're here and we're here for a purpose. So what this passage tells us is that our power to overcome and conquer, yes, conquer11:24 with the truth because the truth or the truth will set the captives free. It our power to overcome and conquer the culture is in our distinctiveness to the lord. Right? And11:36 that's what the world wants to drive us from. Don't don't don't quote scripture. Don't pray in public. Don't acknowledge Jesus Christ. You can talk about god, but don't talk about Jesus. That's11:48 the very power of our ability to overcome. Because he says, as as we're set apart to him, as we're distinct, as we honor him, as we are his people,12:00 he will put his fear before us, and those that resist the truth of God will be put on the run. Look. There is no12:12 power of God in accommodating a world that rejects God and his truth. God works on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal to him. Next12:24 time, we'll look at why god spent 40 days and nights discussing the details of the tabernacle and the things related to it with Moses. Father, thank you for your word. And and, lord, I think12:36 this was a, this is a very important passage of scripture from which we can glean principles of how to live today. We're called to be separate and apart. Yes. We're living in the world, but we're not to look like the12:48 world, not to act like the world, not to talk like the world. Lord, we we are to draw our strength and our power from you. Because, lord, our our mission is to take the gospel forward12:59 conquering the culture of of death and destruction with life and hope that others might find freedom. Give us the boldness and the obedience and the courage to do13:11 that through the power of the holy spirit. And we thank you for the holy spirit that's leading us on this journey, opening our eyes and understanding to the truth of your word. And we pray this all in the name of13:23 Jesus Christ, our lord and our savior, our redeemer, the way, the truth, and the life. In his name, we pray. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning. Great to have you along. And until13:35 next time, keep standing on the word.13:41 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you13:53 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Overview of Exodus 23-25: Precepts, Principles, and Preferences1:58 Principles of Justice, Truth, and Compassion5:31 Sabbath Rest, Divine Protection, and Cultural Conquest
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