Exodus 22:28-31

Regulations About Duty to God (Exodus 22:28).

Again we might discern a pattern as follows:

a Not to revile God or ruler (Exodus 22:28).

b Not to delay offering firstfruits of corn and vintage (Exodus 22:29 a).

c The firstborn of their sons to be given to Yahweh (Exodus 22:29 b).

c Firstborn of ox and sheep to be given to Yahweh (Exodus 22:30).

b Israel to be holy to Yahweh (Exodus 22:31 a).

a And is not eat torn flesh but must cast it to the dogs (Exodus 22:31 b).

Note that in ‘a' God and the rulers are seen as worthy to be treated with reverence, while torn flesh is seen as unworthy and to be treated with scorn. Furthermore reviling God is in the parallel compared with eating torn flesh. Both are an insult to God and depict someone not in the right with God. The dogs contrast with the rulers, rulers must be reverenced, dogs are despised. In ‘b' there must be no delay in the offering of firstfruits, in the parallel they must not delay in recognising that they have offered themselves. Alternately we might link the firstborn of beasts with Israel's holiness, paralleling the firstfruits of corn and vintage with the firstfruits of beasts. In ‘c' both types of firstborn are to be given to Yahweh. There is also a forward movement, contrasting those who revile authority with those who through offering their firstfruits and firstborn become holy to Yahweh and are thus not of those who eat what is unclean and thus dishonour God.

Exodus 22:28 “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.”

The two thoughts are in parallel. The ruler stands in the place of God. As such, to curse or revile him is to curse or revile God. And to revile God in any way is to commit the greatest of sins (compare Leviticus 24:15). How careful we should be in our dealings with those whom God has set over us. Note the use of ‘God' rather than ‘Yahweh'. The emphasis is on authority not covenant relationship. In contrast Israel are to be holy to Yahweh, not only regarding His authority but walking in covenant obedience.

The thought in this verse is of our stance in relation to authority. Authorities, while they are acceptable authorities, are to be treated with respect because of the position that they hold under God as Creator. The people as a whole may replace them, but while they are there, their position deserves respect even if they do not.

Exodus 22:29 a

“You shall not delay to offer the abundance of your fruits and of your liquors.”

Literally in the Hebrew ‘to offer the abundance of your fruits and of your liquors' is strictly, ‘your fullness and your trickling ‘. Both nouns are rare but what is in mind is the offering of firstfruits. Later, and possibly even at this stage in the light of Genesis 28:22 (compare Genesis 14:20), this is a tenth (Deuteronomy 14:22; Deuteronomy 26:1).

It may refer to fullness of harvest and trickling of the vintage. Deuteronomy 22:9 refers to ‘the fullness of your seed' in contrast with the vintage. However, in Numbers 18:27 ‘fullness' is used of ‘the fullness of the winepress' and some have seen the ‘fullness' as the vintage and the ‘trickling' as oils. Either way it is an expression of gratitude and recognition that all belongs to God.

But the principle point is that these are firstfruits which belong to Him and are to be made holy to Him.

“Liquors” or ‘trickling'. A word unknown elsewhere. In Jeremiah 13:17 a word from the same root means to ‘shed tears'. Thus it probably means some form of liquid or liquid movement.

Exodus 22:29 a (29b-31a)

“The firstborn of your sons you will give to me. You will do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. Seven days it will be with its dam, on the eighth day you will give it to me. And you shall be holy men to me.”

This reflects Exodus 13:2, ‘sanctify to me all the firstborn --- both of man and of beast'. The principle of the redemption of the firstborn of man has already been laid down in Exodus 13:12. The principle of the eighth day parallels circumcision (Genesis 17:12). On the eighth day the firstborn of the ox or sheep is sacrificed as given to God (compare Leviticus 22:27), the firstborn of man is circumcised as given to and belonging to God, and redeemed by the offering of a sacrifice.

Note that here (Exodus 22:31) and in Leviticus 22:32 these ideas are directly linked with the holiness of God's people. The offering of the firstborn is the sign that the people are holy to God, separated to Him and His special people. And the people must continually be holy to Him like the offered firstfruits.

“You (plural) shall be holy men to me.” The commands, which have been in the singular as addressed to each Israelite, are now completed by a statement which is in the plural. But a glance will show that the change was necessary for the sense. It is the holiness of the people as a whole, as represented by the men, that is in mind, because their firstborn have been consecrated to Yahweh. This is the opposite of reviling God, and consonant with those who gladly offer their firstfruits.

Exodus 22:31 b

“Therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field. You shall cast it to the dogs.”

One sign of the man of the covenant is that he abstains from all flesh that would render him ‘unclean' and thus displeasing to Yahweh. In Leviticus 22:8 such flesh is contrasted with the ‘holy things', including the flesh of sacrifices given to the priests as ‘holy things' for their consumption when holy. So there is there the thought that the flesh of slain beasts is not ‘holy'. That is why here, because the people are holy to God, they should not eat of it. Besides to eat of the flesh of slain beasts would be to eat flesh from which the blood has not been properly drained. (It could also be dangerous medically, and this, unknown to them, was a health safeguard for the people of Israel. It could, however, be that Moses did know of it from his experiences among a desert people.).

“You shall cast it to the dogs.” Dogs are rarely mentioned but their presence is assumed (Exodus 11:7; Deuteronomy 23:18; Judges 7:5; 1 Samuel 17:43 and often). They are usually seen as scavengers and not highly thought of. They were domesticated from earliest times, and in Egypt were held in reverence and used in hunting. Job 30:1 suggests they were used by shepherds, but despised. They were seen as so unholy that even the price paid for their hire (compared with a prostitute's wages) was not acceptable as payment for any vow, although the thought there might have been catamites (Deuteronomy 23:18). Thus they were seen as suitable recipients for ‘unholy' meat. They were presumably hired as guard dogs.

But the use of ‘dogs' here may indicate foreigners, not in an insulting way but as being ‘unclean', and not of the true stock. For such meat could be given or sold to resident aliens and foreigners (Deuteronomy 14:21).