Okay, you can turn to Exodus chapter 23. Exodus chapter 23, specifically verses 10 to 19, the Sabbaths and annual feasts that Israel was to keep. I suspect this may be a shorter lesson than normal. It's tough to get a whole lot out if you're me, at least in this particular section, but hopefully we can get some understanding of what's happening in this part of the Book of the Covenant. So beginning in chapter 23 at verse 10, six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce. But the seventh year you shall let it rest and life follow, that the poor of your people may eat, and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove. Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed. And in all that I have said to you, be circumspect and make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth. Three times you shall keep a feast to me in the year. You shall keep the feast of unleavened bread. You shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you at the time appointed in the month of Abib. For in it you came out of Egypt, none shall appear before me empty. And the feast of harvest, the first fruits of your labors which you have sown in the field, and the feast of ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field, three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord God. You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread, nor shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until morning. The first of the first fruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk. Amen. So as we've been considering this particular section, chapters 21 to 24 are commonly referred to as the book of the covenant. That comes from chapter 24, verse 7. Then he took the book of the covenant and read in the hearing of the people. Most likely it's the rest of the book of Exodus included, but this section specifically. So the Ten Commandments are given in chapter 20, the moral law. And then chapters 21 to 23 give us a detailed explanation of the application of that law in concrete situations affecting the body politic. And we've noted that this is called the judicial law of Moses. And our confession speaks concerning this judicial law to them, Old Covenant Israel. Also, he gave sundry judicial laws. which expired together with the state of that people, not obliging any now by virtue of that institution, their general equity only being of moral use." So that gives us a principle in terms of the covenantal distinction between the old and the new, but as well it shows us some continuity. If there's a general equity principle in the law before us, then we certainly apply it in our new covenant setting. Now obviously the seventh day Sabbath is perpetual, but the seven year Sabbath is no longer binding upon us, neither are the three feasts specified in verses 14 to 16. So when we look at this particular section we see ceremonial laws, certainly they were legislated as well, there were instructions given, it was in fact moral on the part of the people there to keep those particular feasts, to keep those particular laws alongside of the rest of the code that they were given. So we'll look first at the law of Sabbaths in verses 10 to 13, and then secondly, the annual feasts in verses 14 to 19. And I'm going to draw from Deuteronomy 16 as well, because Deuteronomy 16 covers the same material, but it's a bit more expansive. It gives us a bit more information. concerning these three annual feasts. But notice in the first place, with reference to the Sabbaths, there's a distinction where there's two different Sabbaths going on. There's the seventh year in verses 10 and 11, and then there's the seventh day in verses 12 and 13. So the seventh year principle was something commanded to the nation of Israel that we find in this passage of scripture. It's also found in Leviticus chapter 25 at verses 1 to 7. So in Leviticus chapter 25 verses 1 to 7, you have this Sabbath law of the seventh year, but then in chapter 25 continuing from verse 8 to 55, you have the law of Jubilee. So there was the seventh-day Sabbath, you had a seven-year Sabbath, and then you had this 50-year sort of obligation placed upon the children of Israel. Law of Jubilee is not contained in this particular section, only the seventh year and the seventh day. So if you look at the seventh year in verses 10 and 11, it reads similarly to what you find in the second part concerning the seventh day. There is to be this diligence in terms of labor and then a cessation from activity. So in chapter 23 at verse 10, you have a positive command in verse 10. Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, just like the Sabbath command. It's not only a command to rest, but implied as a command to labor, a command to labor diligently. And the same was to happen in terms of the body politic or in the civil community. Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce. And then you're commanded to let the land lie follow, so that there would be this rest. Notice in verse 11. The seventh year you shall let it rest and lie follow, that the poor of your people may eat, and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove. Now, the reality is that if there was a cessation from all labor on any fields, then there wouldn't have been anything for the people or the poor. And I think Stuart is right when he compares this particular section with the Law of Jubilee. The Law of Jubilee does seem to indicate an absolute cessation from everything. But these particular seven-year ones, he suggests that it was rotated. You had a field that you would rotate. So it wasn't the cessation of all of your fields all the entire year, but a rotation of your crops. So he says, the law on the Jubilee year, which was to be celebrated every 50 years in Israel, clearly demanded full nationwide compliance at the same time by all persons throughout Israel. In Leviticus 25, 8 to 55, the statement of the Jubilee Law follows with specificity as to uniform same-time compliance directly after the law of the land Sabbath. Leviticus 25, 1 to 7, a command that provides no specificity with regard to when a farmer would rest his crops as long as each field, grove, or vineyard was rested every seventh year. This suggests that farmers were given freedom to decide how to rotate or stagger the resting of their crops among their various fields, groves, and vineyards. In that way, farmers were still actively farming each year, and roughly the same food volume would be produced every year throughout Israel. Makes sense to me in terms of the presentation of the data. Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, but the seventh you shall let it lie fallow, or let it rest. But notice again, that the poor of your people may eat, and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat, in like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove. It also shows a priority that man is first, and then beast, and then vegetation. God is more concerned about the image bearer than he is the beast, but he's more concerned about the beast than he is the vegetation. So there is this pecking order built into creation by God Almighty. Now in terms of the specific rationale, it's found in the second part of verse 11. From what I understand, and you guys are all far more familiar with farming and the agrarian life, having grown up in Chilliwack, I guess it's a good thing to let your fields take a rest. It's a good thing, I think, to increase nitrogen and it does help and benefit the field itself. But that's not the specific reason given. It's not ecological and it's not environmental, but it's sabbatarian. It's about rest and it's about refreshment. The benefit to the soil during the rest period is not the argument here. It is rather the benefit to the poor and the beasts. They're the ones that prosper, they're the ones that profit, they're the ones that are blessed by this particular provision. And as well, with reference to this statement, notice in verse 11 that the poor of your people may eat. The implication is, is that the poor of the people, or the poor of your people are going to go out and they're going to glean. You don't typically find instances where people are just given stuff by government or by private parties in the scripture. It's never a good thing for a person to just be handed things. It's always a better thing for them to be involved in work, to have some sort of dignity and the virtue associated with the hard days of hard day labor. So when it comes to these poor people in the Sabbath year, they go out and they glean. There's gleaning laws all throughout the Old Testament, specifically in the Pentateuch. But the idea is that they didn't just show up and get their free cheese or get their handouts or get their welfare and then go continue to do whatever it is that they want to do. No, they had to work insofar as they were able to glean and to collect those items so that they could sustain life. So the benefit was to the poor and to the beasts. And I think Matthew Poole summarizes well. He has five statements concerning this Sabbath year, or the seventh year. He says, first, that the heart and strength of the land might not be eaten out by continual tillage. You're going to destroy and ultimately wreck it. Two, that he might both try and exercise and also secure the obedience of the Israelites. When we look at this particular section of the code, they're commanded to rest. They're commanded to enjoy themselves. They're commanded to do things by God that nevertheless requires obedience. If they're going to stumble and falter and have a difficult time obeying the command to rest and obeying the command to celebrate at the various feasts, well, they're certainly not going to have any, you know, a heart of vigor and joy to obey the other commands of God. He says, three, that he might keep them in dependence upon himself and give to them and all their neighbors a manifest proof of his singular and gracious providence over his people. Four, that by this kind of quit rent they might be admonished that God alone was the Lord and proprietary of the land. and that they were only tenants at his will. And five, that being freed from their great labors about the land, they might have the more leisure to meditate upon God's works and to attend upon the law, which was to be solemnly read at this time." Deuteronomy 31.10. Again, good observations in a Puritan framework concerning the blessing of this seven-year Sabbath. But then notice the seventh day Sabbath in verses 12 and 13. This shouldn't be a surprise as we've come out of a consideration of the Decalogue. Remember in chapter 20 at verse 8, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work, you nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." We've seen that there is in fact in the fourth command a moral principle. One day out of seven is to be set apart for rest and refreshment, blessing and sanctification, and for, obviously, public worship of the living and true God. The giving of the Sabbath predates Sinai. It's codified and summarized in the Sinai Covenant for sure, But we see in the very beginning of the creation account, Genesis chapter 2, God Most High sets forth a pattern of Sabbath rest in chapter 2 verses 1 to 3. We see in Genesis chapter 4, Cain and Abel come to make their presentation before God at the end of the days of the week. The New King James renders it in the process of time, but the margin is better. At the end of days, at the end of the days of the week, they brought their sacrifice to God. And then in Exodus chapter 16, prior to chapter 20, You see the people of God being told to go out and collect the manna and collect a double portion on the sixth day so they wouldn't have to go out and violate the seventh day, day of rest. So in the codification of the law in Exodus chapter 20, you see the moral principle. Now as we move through redemptive history, we see a shift in terms of the positive aspect of that law. It has changed from the seventh day to the first day in the New Covenant. But the moral principle binds. The moral principle is perpetual. It is abiding upon us. So back to chapter 23, specifically at verse 12. Notice we have this command to labor six days and then to rest on the seventh day. Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed. Now, when we looked at, just now in Exodus chapter 20, the argument for Sabbath keeping was grounded in creation. So in the presentation of the fourth commandment in the book of Exodus, the rationale is for in six days the Lord your God created the heavens and the earth, and then he rested on the Sabbath. And then in Deuteronomy chapter 5, the rationale for keeping the Sabbath is redemption. So you've got those twin concepts, which I think are at play in Hebrews 4, when the apostle there is arguing in terms of the day change. There remains, therefore, a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 4.9, 4.10 identifies the day upon which that Sabbath rest is to obtain. So creation and redemption is the underlying, undergirding rationale for Sabbath keeping. That doesn't change in verse 12, but notice where the emphasis lies. Verse 12, six days you shall do your work and on the seventh day you shall rest. Rest and refreshment. That's what Sabbath is all about. And then notice the extensiveness or the comprehensiveness of the benefit of this Sabbath provision. that your ox and your donkey may rest. It is an extensive, blessed provision on the part of a gracious God, so that the oxen and the donkeys themselves may rest. If you continue to abuse that beast, you work it seven days without any rest or any refreshment, you're gonna end up killing it. But then notice how it goes on and says, the son of your female servant, Probably one of the more insignificant persons in a body politic would be the son of a female servant. I mean, not the kind of person that would be at the top echelon of society. But then even beyond that, notice, and the stranger may be refreshed. So the Sabbath provision given by God is, in fact, a gift. In fact, turn to Mark chapter 2. It's always good for us to remind ourselves that the Sabbath is not a burden, it's not a grief, it's not something that God has given so that He can ruin our lives, but rather the Sabbath is a gift given by God for the benefit of man. And in Mark 2 at verse 23, it happened that he went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. And as they went, his disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. And the Pharisees said to him, look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath? But he said to them, have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him? How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar, the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him. And he said to them, the Sabbath was made for man. Now man there is generic man. It's not Israelite man. May actually be a reference to Adam. The Sabbath was made for Adam and not man for the Sabbath. It's not that God made man in order that he may obey the Sabbath. He made man in his image and then gave the Sabbath to him as a gift, wherein he may rest, wherein he may be refreshed, and wherein he may specifically commune with his blessed God. So the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore, the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath. So it is a good gift given by God, and in the civil polity in Old Covenant Israel, everybody benefited from it. It was a provision that not only extended to the Israelite, to the citizen, but it extended to their animals, their beasts of burden, it extended to the sons of their female servants, and it extended to the strangers. The strangers that were already mentioned in chapter 23 at verse 9. The judges were not supposed to oppress the stranger back in chapter 22. Verse 21, you shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. So not only were they not to be mistreated, not only were they not to be oppressed, but the strangers also got to benefit from the Sabbath provision being an Old Covenant Israel. It is a gift given by God Almighty. And then notice what you find in verse 13, an emphasis on prohibition against idolatry. And in all that I have said to you, be circumspect, be wise, be prudent. The Apostle Paul uses the same language in Ephesians 5. Be circumspect and make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth. And it's interesting because that's right in the center structurally of the Sabbath and then the annual feast. I think one of the purposes involved in the Sabbath and involved in the annual feast was a conscious recognition of the living and true God. And so it's a good time to remind them to be circumspect and make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth. We've already seen that in chapter 22 at verse 20. He who sacrifices to any god except to the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed. Verse 13 in chapter 23, make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth. The idea, most likely, is that if you get too comfortable with, in conversation, those other gods, it may not be long before you start to engage in a vile reneging upon your faithfulness to the Lord God Almighty. Is there something on that window? There's a what? Which verse it was up there. Oh, OK. I'm looking at you. I'm thinking there's a spider or something that's coming after me. All right. So the emphasis here is on God. And then that brings us to these three annual feasts. So you've got the mention of them in verses 14 to 17. And then you have directions for sacrifice in verses 18 and 19. So notice in the first place you've got the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This also encompasses Passover. In Deuteronomy 16, 1 to 8, you see these two sort of put together. The feast was celebrated in the month of Abib, which is called Nisan, after the exile. This would be March or April on our calendar. And so this first feast is Passover, and then the last one we'll see is the Feast of Tabernacles. We've seen this, we're familiar with this in our studies in John's Gospel. So in John chapter 6, Jesus is teaching in the at the time of the Passover in a synagogue in Capernaum. And then in John chapter 7, he's at the Feast of Tabernacles, and as I've indicated, it's about a six-month period that is between those times. So this is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. So the feast was, as I said, March or April of our particular calendar. Parallel legislation, we've already seen it in Exodus chapter 12. It is rehearsed in Leviticus 23, Numbers 28 and 29. And then there's an instance of obedience when they come into the promised land in Joshua chapter 5. As well, the specific purpose for this feast, if you notice in verse 15, it says, you shall keep the feast of unleavened bread, you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. So it is a reflection upon and a remembrance of God's redemption of the nation of Israel, from the land of Egypt. It was to commemorate that. It was a time to reflect upon that powerful act of God when he vindicated his people from Egyptian bondage. And then notice at the end of chapter, I'm sorry, verse 15, none shall appear before me empty. That probably means empty handed. In other words, when you come before the Lord God in worship, you come with sacrifice. Now that's not because God has any need. It's not because God is lacking. It's not because God is wanting. It's not that God needs to be supplemented or be fed by his people. No, the idea is there is a reciprocity. God is the Lord of all, He owns all, and in His goodness He provides for His people. And by way of reciprocation, His people bring sacrifice to Him. It honors Him, it glorifies Him, and it reflects the reality that we're dependent upon Him and thankful for the good gifts that He has given to us. And that emphasis again in Deuteronomy 16 is on a remembrance of or commemoration of that freedom from Egypt. The second feast is in verse 16a. Here it's called the Feast of Harvest. It's also referred to as the Feast of Weeks in Deuteronomy 16. the Feast of First Fruits in Numbers 28-26, and more commonly, at least in our mindset, the Feast of Pentecost. And that's in the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures in Leviticus chapter 23, 15 to 16. So this particular feast was celebrated in the month Sivan, which is May, June on our calendar. So most likely, or most typically, these feasts were coordinated with times of harvest. There would be bounty, there would be a celebration, and there would be provision for the people of Israel to give sacrifice to God. This feast, as well, was a time to remember God's blessing and provision, Deuteronomy 16.10, which you shall give as the Lord your God blesses you. So at this time, in this feast, you're returning as the Lord your God blesses you, and as well, according to Deuteronomy 16.12, it was a time, as well, to reflect upon redemption by God out of the land of Egypt. And then the third feast is in 16b, and that's referred to as the Feast of Ingathering. We also call it the Feast of Booths or Feast of Tabernacles. That's the feast that we're looking at or we're just after in John 8. So John 7 is the Feast of Tabernacles where Jesus is in Jerusalem. John 6 is around the time of Passover. Jesus is teaching in a synagogue in Capernaum. So about a six-month period between Passover and Tabernacles, and in between there is this Feast of Pentecost. So the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles was celebrated in the month of Tishri, which is about September or October on our calendar. So the John 8 is in that time frame, September, October-ish. in the first century. As well, the feast was a time of celebration at the later harvest and the feast was also a time when they would live in booths, they would live in tabernacles, they would live in little dwelling places according to Leviticus 23, 42, and 43. Meredith Klein says, the name tabernacles reflects the custom of dwelling in booths during the festival which served as a memorial of life in the wilderness. So again, all of this has, as its focus, the glory of God in the redemption of Israel out of the land of bondage, and all the things that were unique to that. Verse 17 is the command for the men to attend. I don't think it prohibits women, but there is a mandate that the men will appear before the Lord on those three annual feasts. And then in terms of the sacrifice, the specification for sacrifice in verses 18 and 19. This is going to get a lot more detailed instruction in the book of Leviticus. So what you find somewhat introduced in the book of Exodus, you'll see later amplified as you move through the Pentateuch. So some of this is tentative. Again, I'm not living at that time. I'm not part of the old covenant system. I don't know all the significances. I kind of rely on the commentators for some help here. But with reference to the prohibition in verse 18a, you shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread. Now, the best The best I could see was Stewart's suggestion that this idea of not offering blood with leavened bread possibly meant the yeast aspect or the bread agent was combined with the blood, that it would have been a temptation on the part of Israelites, especially as they were surrounded by heathen and pagan that had various and sundry customs and rituals and things that were more magical. And I don't mean, you know, pick a card, any card type of magic, but the kind of magic that seeks to manipulate either natural or supernatural forces to try to get what we want. Well, blood has always loomed large in paganism. You ingest blood for certain benefits. You ingest blood for certain life-giving properties. Well, the children of Israel were strictly prohibited from ingesting blood. Leviticus 17 is very, very clear on that prohibition in terms of ingesting blood. So the prohibition here might be something like a blood pudding. In England, they eat blood, they mix it with oats or they mix it with some other stabilizer, and it's essentially coagulated blood that they're ingesting. So I think Stewart's probably on the right track when he says most likely or perhaps that's what's being prohibited. If you mix or offer blood with leavened bread, the tendency might be to combine the two because not many people, I'm sure there maybe are many people, but to simply drink blood would probably be a difficult haul. but to make a blood pudding or a black pudding or something like that might be a little bit easier and a little bit more tempting. And so God cuts him off at the pass and says, do not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread. The second thing concerns the fat. Again, the detailed instructions will ultimately come in Leviticus chapters 1 to 9 when you get that legislation. Here the prohibition is simple. Nor shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until morning. The next one deals with the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord. So again, this idea of reciprocity, God's blessed you richly, therefore bring the firstfruits into the house of the Lord by way of sacrifice. And this would be a necessary command because of the temptation. You couldn't bring half a living animal. You could actually hold back fruits and vegetables and the produce of your ground. So, you know, this sort of legislation, it is on the one hand a command to obey, but it's also on the other hand preventative maintenance. You know, cheap out, don't think you can hide this from your neighbors or hide this from God. There is this mandate for you to bring the first fruits of your land into the house of the Lord your God. And then this final prohibition concerning the young goat. It's an interesting passage to be sure. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk. It's here, it's in Exodus chapter 34, and then it's again in Deuteronomy chapter 14. There's two predominant interpretations of the passage. The first is that it prohibits cheeseburgers. And that's probably one of the more common ones. The idea was you couldn't mingle meat and dairy. You couldn't ingest meat and dairy. You're looking quizzical at me. It's the cheeseburger mixes meat and dairy, right? I'm not suggesting in Old Covenant Israel they had cheeseburgers. But the prohibition usually runs along the line that it was part of their food laws that prohibited them from having dairy along with their meat as they went to eat. I think the second explanation, and again, Gill speaks to it, not in as much detail, but Stewart deals with it as well. And he makes this observation, he said, Canaanite fertility religion imitated the fertility practices generally found throughout the ancient world. These included marrying seeds when planting a field, on the theory that such a ritual would magically stimulate the powers of nature to procreate, producing more fertile crops. Now remember, this is not, you know, sort of out there in terms of the biblical narrative. The god Baal was a fertility god, so was Asherah. And the idea was that when they got together, there would be good things that would benefit the people on the ground. He goes on to say, since mother's milk, the milk of the goat doe, was what made the goat kids grow big and strong, the folk theory developed that doe's milk employed in the process of a sacrifice, in this case by boiling rather than by roasting on an altar, would somehow impart strength to the goat flock, making the whole flock more fertile. Such nonsense, if believed, could have led the Israelites to conclude that the power to shape their destiny and to live the abundant life was to be found in magical practices and fertility religion rather than in the only true and living God. Even if all other people groups known to them practiced these sorts of rituals, The Israelites could not. As Yahweh's people, they were to be above such things, attributing all life to the single source thereof." I think that makes good sense, as far as I'm concerned. Whether they should eat cheeseburgers or not, that's up to them, but I think that the emphasis here is probably on the pagan rituals that were going on around the nation of Israel at that particular time. Well, in conclusion, the principle of the Sabbath, rest and refreshment. Rest and refreshment. We get that rest and refreshment in our blessed God in the means of grace that he has provided for the church. Now, in terms of the purpose of the feasts, why these feasts? Why this emphasis on calendar in Old Covenant Israel? Well, there's several things that we ought to consider. First, to remind the covenant community of their history. That's one of the sad things that we are facing in the decline of Western civilization. The tearing down of monuments, the destruction of statues, the uprooting of historical things because we're too sanctimonious to approve of anything that happened, you know, a couple of hundred years ago. A destruction of culture is ultimately a destruction of history. And when you destroy a people's history, you untether them from those ultimate standard or that ultimate standard that governs history. So these, the covenant community would be reminded of the living and true God and of his acts in history. Why do we take the Lord's Supper? Do this in remembrance of me. It's not only a corporate means of grace, which it is, it is an individual blessing for the people of God, but it's a historical reminder. As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim what? You proclaim the Lord's death. You proclaim history when you do this. So this would remind the covenant community of their history, especially redemption from Egypt through the power of God. Secondly, it would promote joy in the covenant community. This is where the stress falls in Deuteronomy 16, verses 11, 14, and 15. These were times of celebration, times of rejoicing, times for happiness. This wasn't a drudgery, this wasn't, oh man, we have to you know, eat good food and drink good wine for a week. Oh, this is miserable and horrible. This would be a blessed time in the nation of Israel. God is not anti-celebration. God is not anti-joy. God is not against us reaping the benefit of the blessings that he provides to us. Thirdly, it would encourage community participation in the covenant community. Again, you see that sort of comprehensiveness in Deuteronomy 16. All sectors of society are participating together as the covenant people of God. Fourth, it would promote reciprocity among the covenant community. They would return a portion to the God who had given them good things. Remember, they were to bring no empty hands, according to verse 15. Fifth, it would protect the covenant community from idolatry. I don't think verse 13 is haphazard. I don't think he just needed filler. I don't think he just wanted to sort of throw something else in there. What's the point in Sabbath? It is to rest in Yahweh. What's the point in the end of individual annual feasts? It is to remember Yahweh. So right smack dab in the middle of that is this prohibition against even mentioning the name of other gods. Craigie, a commentator on Deuteronomy, says, thus the Passover was a celebration of freedom, but at the same time it was a reminder that freedom from Egypt and worldly dominion had been exchanged almost immediately for a new commitment. The new commitment was made evident in that the celebration was made by the Israelites as the covenant people of God. So it wasn't freedom from bondage without any sort of commitment or allegiance on the other end. No, there was commitment, there was allegiance to the God who had delivered them. And then as well it would promote obedience in the covenant people. Freedom from slavery meant joyful obedience to the God who had liberated them or the God who had saved them. Well let us pray and then if there's any questions we can take those. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this emphasis on Sabbath rest and this emphasis on feasts that are calculated to rehearse and recall the glorious acts of our God. We thank you for baptism. We thank you for the supper in this new covenant setting. We thank you, God, that we have all of the scriptures that remind us of your power demonstrated in history. We have the promise of the coming of our blessed Savior in the future. and all of these things calculated to cause us to walk in obedience to you and to express allegiance to you, our great and living God. We thank you for your grace. We thank you for the gospel of our salvation. We thank you for the entirety of your word, and we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Any questions or comments? When it says don't mix bread with leavened bread, does it mean only leavened bread or any kind of bread? Probably the idea is that you would use, good question, that you would use leaven as an agent to probably do other things with it. So yeah, I would suggest that if you had unleavened bread, you shouldn't put blood on that and eat that either. So it's a prohibition, but probably a prohibition that would be most likely to happen. That would be the most potential. You typically don't have to criminalize suicide. So you typically don't have to criminalize suicide. So normally, I would just take exactly that. If something gets banned, there has to be a reason for the ban. There's a propensity there. that this leaven is almost like this symbol or illustration of impurity we're mixing. So it seems to me, too, that there's that, too. And if we're talking about general equity or principles, this could be seen as a metaphor for RBW. Like, we don't want to. We don't want to. Yeah. We don't want blood rituals being mixed. That's true. We do not want blood rituals mixed. We're not Freemasons or anything like that. No, we're not Freemasons. Yes, sir? I was going to say, the explanation of the crop rotation, that there's still active farming every year, just some fields are. That's right. I think that's fine. Yeah. But again, there's certainly a good case we made. If this year seven, all of the fields that Right, yeah, I wouldn't die on either interpretation, for sure. Well, when you think about it, I was thinking about when you were quoting that commentator, and I kind of thought that made sense. I never really thought, because when you look at it, it says, you know, it talks about the poor eating it on that seventh year. Well, they can't go seven years without food. It would have to be a, you'd think it would mean that vocational thing, so. Well, there's greening laws built in elsewhere, too, so. Oh yeah, God's provision, and you really see it. I mean, I think we really see it too, we just don't see it the way we should. You know, it's easier to see it in the pages of scripture than to see it in our own refrigerators. I mean, but it's the same. God's providing for us in the same way, right? I mean, thankfully we've been blessed very richly, Should those things change in the future? Maybe we will look back and say, wow, he really provided that. So yeah, it is a good display of God's kindness and goodness. I was really struck by this this afternoon in verse 12. I mean, everybody benefits from the Sabbath. you know, this drudgery, it's not a punishment inflicted upon the people. The son of your female servant is refreshed and the stranger may be refreshed. I've read stories where people in paganism or, you know, outside of Christianity heard that your God gives you a day off. You know, that's shocking. You know, your Lord gives you that? It's built in. You know, we're commanded to rest. We're commanded to be joyful. Those are, you know, really flies against this notion of God's law being this sort of imposition and restriction that's only, you know, intended to ruin our lives. It's not that at all. Did you have your hands up? So I'll make