When you read Scripture to know God’s heart for you, how can you not find His tender care for us? Exodus 23 is as relevant today as it was for ancient Israel. “Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness. Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit. v. 1-3. Do we ever consider what the world would be like if we truly embraced God’s love? I realize the whole world considers that foolishness, naive and not practical. Be hopeful in God anyway! One day it will be reality.

He shows us how to care for the land and each other. “For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove. Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.” v. 10-12. The land, too, could rest and so be productive.

He tells us how to celebrate His provision for us in Festivals of celebration. The provision of being brought out of slavery in Egypt; the provision of the firstfruits of crops in the spring and the wonder of seeds planted and the beautiful crops emerging from the soil nourished by the sunshine and rain God provides; the provision of the ingathering of crops in fall and the bounty of food to enjoy together and in the presence of God who provides generously. God’s tender care? “Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.” v. 19.

In v. 20-33 God tells them he will send an angel ahead of them and that they will take possession of the land He promised to Abraham for his descendants little by little. As I was reading all that he would do I couldn’t help but think about what would have happened had Israel been faithful to God. The surrounding nations that had been dispossessed of their lands would have had powerful witness of who the true God is. They would see that the false gods they worshipped were incapable of providing and protecting. They would witness what it would be like for a nation to honor and love God. God’s tender care and provision for all of our needs in full display. He knew the worship of their gods would become a snare for Israel as indeed it did. What are our snares? We are no different from ancient Israel. Read the headlines.

I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:1-8.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s great power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:3-9.

This promised inheritance will never perish, spoil or fade because it isn’t dependent upon us to achieve. This inheritance is from God in His great love and provision for us. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. Remember, He’s with us now…walk with Him on your journey to Him. Know true love, joy, peace and hope now in His love and provision for you. It’s personal.