23:21-23
Vows made to the Lord were to be taken seriously. So if one was made it was to be fulfilled quickly. We also see that God took the vows seriously. In fact it was better not to make a vow unless you meant to keep it, and had the ability to do so. With the case of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) the problem was not that they gave only half the money, but that they claimed to be giving all of it and then gave only half. The key issue is if we make a vow are we doing it for God, or to make us look good, whether in our own eyes, or the eyes of others. We need to be careful about what we say.
23:24,25
There were property rights, but these were not absolute in the sense of being all encompassing. So if you were wandering through someone’s vineyard or cornfield, you could help yourself to a few grapes or ears of corn, but you were not to harvest the crop! The Laws demonstrate a shrewd awareness of human character. The two faults that we are prone to fall into are (i) if something is ours then we will not let anyone else have any use of it at all under any circumstances; and (ii) if there is some sharing then some will take advantage of this. This law takes a middle ground.
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