A Settled Nation

Sermon 64 in Series

Exodus 23:20-33
[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.”

DEEP SHEET: Sermon Study Questions
1.   How does God’s Law demonstrate that he never leaves his people in the dark? In what ways can you rely more on his Word as you navigate the practicalities of life?
2.   What are the two big obligations that God puts on Israel in this passage? How do these function for us as a summary of godliness?
3.   How are these obligations situated in the context of grace? What does this say about God and how he motivates his people?
4.   In what ways does this passage point us to Christ? How does it increase our appreciation for the New Covenant?
5.   What blessings does God promise Israel if they remain faithful to the covenant? How do they highlight his sovereignty and love?
6.   How does this passage present two ways to live? What is the relationship between obedience and blessing, and how does this apply to us as Christians?

References: Genesis 12:7; Exodus 3:7-8, 2; 14:19; John 1:1; Judges 2:1, 11-13; Exodus 20:2; Jeremiah 31:33; 32:40; Deuteronomy 28; Ephesians 1:3.