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Exodus 23 English Standard Version (ESV)

Conquest of Canaan Promised

²⁰ “Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.²¹ Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.

²² “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

²³ “When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, ²⁴ you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. ²⁵ You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you. ²⁶ None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. ²⁷ I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. ²⁸ And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. ²⁹ I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. ³⁰ Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land. ³¹ And I will set your border from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates, for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.³² You shall make no covenant with them and their gods.³³ They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”

REFLECTION

• If time allows, read the whole chapter. Then read this passage slowly once more.
• How does the emphasis on worship fit into these chapters on law? Very simply, worship is not simply going to church and singing hymns.  Worship is putting our faith into practice by loving God and following His commandments.
• When God gave Moses these laws to share with Israel, He identified them with worship and with success. God promises to provide the Israelites with abundant food, pure water, and bodily health when they worship him, needs that are physical.  When we put God first and honor Him with obedience, God provides what we need and we grow towards the person God created us to be.
• Jesus told the Samaritan woman that “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). Examine the reasons why you worship God and the spirit in which you worship.  Are they at odds with each other?  If so, what actions could you take to bring them into harmony?

PRAYER

Do you worship because you desire to receive abundance in life?  Do you worship God simply and authentically?  If not, ask God to show you what to do so that your worship may be pleasing to HIm.