Year 7, Day 72: Exodus 23

Theological Commentary: Click Here

There is a dichotomy in Exodus 23 that I always find disturbing.  I know I am not the only one who finds it disturbing, either.  How is it that the same God who says, “Do not oppress the foreigner or sojourner among you,” can also say, “I am going to drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hivites, Perizzites, Hittites, Jebusites, etc?”  What should we do, love the foreigner or drive them out?

I think that this is an incredible dichotomy to study.  I also think that this is an absolutely necessary dichotomy to keep.  When we lose either end of the dichotomy, culture gets messed up.  The reason is because I think that this topic – as with all areas with God – has more to do with motivation of the heart than anything else.

When we talk about the foreigner or sojourner in our midst, we are talking about people who want to live among us because they want to be a part of our culture.  I’m not saying that they desire to forsake their home culture completely; I am saying that they like what they see in us and they desire to genuinely be a part of it.  These are absolutely people who should be accepted.  Their hearts are open to assimilation.  their hearts are desiring to become a part of a collective.  These people can be brought into a culture, introduced to a meaningful relationship with God, and benefit greatly from it while contributing to the culture.

On the other hand, there are the ones who are to be driven out.  These people are not interested in assimilation.  They want to be themselves.  They want to corrupt the culture, not assimilate into it.  they want to fight the culture and resist against it because it is not their own.  Their hearts are not open.  these are the ones who are to be driven away.

This is why I think the dichotomy needs to exist.  When we lose either side, we end up with destructive policies in our culture.  When we forget to drive out the closed in their hearts, our culture splits and fragments and we become taken advantage of.  When we forget to embrace to sojourner, we become xenophobic and culture stagnates because we have no mission whatsoever.  The dichotomy between teachings in Exodus 22 and Exodus 23 are vitally important to proper balance in life and culture.

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