Matthew Henry Commentary Exodus 23:10-19

"And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the increase thereof: but the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie fallow; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beast of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, [and] with thy oliveyard. Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest; that thine ox and thine ass may have rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the sojourner, may be refreshed. And in all things that I have said unto you take ye heed: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth. Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep: seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib (for in it thou camest out from Egypt); and none shall appear before me empty: and the feast of harvest, the first-fruits of thy labors, which thou sowest in the field: and the feast of ingathering, at the end of the year, when thou gatherest in thy labors out of the field. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord Jehovah. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my feast remain all night until the morning. The first of the first-fruits of thy ground thou shalt bring into the house of Jehovah thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in it mother`s milk." — Exodus 23:10-19 (ASV)

Every seventh year the land was to rest. They must not plow or sow it; what the earth produced of itself was to be eaten and not stored up. This law seems to have been intended to teach dependence on Providence, and God's faithfulness in sending the larger harvest while they observed His ordinances. It was also symbolic of the heavenly rest, when all earthly labors, cares, and interests will cease forever.

All respect to the pagan gods is strictly forbidden. Since idolatry was a sin to which the Israelites were prone, they must blot out the memory of the pagan gods. Solemn religious attendance on God, in the place which He would choose, is strictly required. They must come together before the Lord.

What a good Master do we serve, who has made it our duty to rejoice before Him! Let us devote with pleasure to the service of God that portion of our time which He requires, and count His sabbaths and ordinances to be a feast for our souls. They were not to come empty-handed; so now, we must not come to worship God empty-hearted; our souls must be filled with holy desires toward Him, and dedications of ourselves to Him; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.