Exodus 19 - 24

The Children of Israel

Exodus 19

The LORD Reveals Himself at Sinai

Exactly two months after the children of Israel left Egypt, they arrived in the wilderness of Sinai. After breaking camp at Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and set up camp there at the base of Mount Sinai.

Then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “Tell this to the house of Jacob; and tell the children of Israel.” ‘

“You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people, for all the earth belongs to me. And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation (see 1 Peter 2:9-10). This is what you shall tell to the children of Israel.”

1 Peter 2:9-10, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; ¹⁰ Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”

So Moses returned from the mountain and called together the elders of the people and told them everything the Lord had commanded him. And all the people responded together, “All that the LORD has said we will do.” So Moses brought the people’s answer back to the LORD.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will come to you in a thick cloud, so the people themselves can hear me when I speak with you. Then they will always trust you.”

And Moses told the LORD what the people had said.

Then the LORD told Moses, “Go down to the people, and sanctify (cleanse) them, today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. Be sure they are ready on the third day, for on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in sight of all the people.

Mark a boundary all around the mountain, and warn the people, ‘Be careful! Do not go up on the mountain or even touch its boundaries. Anyone who touches the mountain will certainly be put to death. No hand may touch the person or animal that crosses the boundary; instead, stone them or shoot them with arrows. They must be put to death.’ However, when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, then the people may go up on the mountain.”

So Moses went down to the people. He sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. He told them, “Get ready for the third day, and do not be with your wives.”

On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a thick cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled.

Moses led the people out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke ascended to the sky as the smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently.

As the blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply. The LORD came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up.

Then the LORD told Moses, “Go back down and warn the people not to break through the boundaries to see the LORD, or they will die. Even the priests who regularly come near to the LORD must purify themselves so that the LORD does not break out and destroy them.”

“But Lord,” Moses protested, “the people cannot come up to Mount Sinai. You already warned us. You told me, ‘Mark off a boundary all around the mountain to set it apart as holy.’”

And then the LORD said, “Go away! Go back down and bring Aaron back up with you. But, do not let the priests or the people break through to approach the LORD, or He will break out and destroy them.”

So Moses went down to the people and told them what the LORD had said.

Exodus 20

The LORD gives the Ten Commandments

Then God spoke all these words to the people, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of bondage, and out of the land of Egypt.

§  You shall have no other gods before Me.

§  You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, and the sins of the parents are upon their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me. But I show mercy to thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

§  You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain. The LORD will not let those go unpunished that take his name in vain.

§  Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days shall you labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: on that day you shall not do any work, you, nor you son, nor your daughter, nor your male or female servants, nor your livestock, nor any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

§  Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God gives you.

§  You shall not kill.

§  You shall not commit adultery.

§  You shall not steal.

§  You shall not testify falsely against your neighbor.

§  You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male or female servants, nor his ox or donkey, nor anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”

The Greatest Commandment (see Matthew 22: 35 - 40)

Matthew 22:35-40, “Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, ³⁶ Master, which is the great commandment in the law? ³⁷ Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

When the people heard the thunder, and all the lightning, and the loud noise of the trumpet, and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear.

And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!”

“Don’t be afraid,” Moses said to them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!”

As the people stood in the distance, Moses approached the dark cloud where God was.

The children of Israel refused to have God run their lives personally.

At Sinai, God wanted to speak to the children of Israel directly – not just through Moses (a human being), God wanted to put the Law in their hearts. But they were afraid of God; they wanted Moses to speak to God, and then Moses to speak to them. God had to write the Ten Commandments on stone, a situation in which they were never able to keep them.

But years later… God speaks of a New Covenant He will make with Israel:

Jeremiah 31:33, “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; after those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

(See also Hebrews 8:10, 10:16)

Hebrews 8:10, “ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:”

Hebrews 10:16, “ This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;”

Christians are to come to the mountain of the Living God! (See Hebrews 12:18-29)

Hebrews 12:18-29, “For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, ¹⁹ And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: ²⁰ (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: ²¹ And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) ²² But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, ²³ To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, ²⁴ And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. ²⁵ See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: ²⁶ Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. ²⁷ And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. ²⁸ Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: ²⁹ For our God is a consuming fire.”

Proper Use of Altars

And the LORD said to Moses, “Say this to the children of Israel: You saw for yourselves that I spoke to you from heaven, and you shall not make any god but me, neither shall you make gods of silver or gold.”

“Build for me an altar made of earth, and offer your sacrifices to me, your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats, and your cattle. Build my altar wherever I cause my name to be remembered, and I will come to you and bless you (a living sacrifice see Romans12: 1-2).”

Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. ² And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

If you use stones to build my altar, use only natural, uncut stones. Do not shape the stones with a tool, for that would make the altar unfit for holy use.

And you shall not go up steps to my altar, because someone may see under your clothing and see your nakedness.

Exodus 21

God gives Moses His Laws

Fair Treatment of Slaves (2 – 12)

Cases of Personal Injury (12 – 36)

Exodus 22

Protection of Property (1 – 15)

Social Responsibility (16 – 31)

Exodus 23

A Call for Justice (1 – 13)

Three Annual Feasts (14 – 19)

A Promise of the LORD’S Presence

“Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you. Pay close attention to him, and obey his voice. Do not provoke him, for my name is him, and he will not forgive your sins.”

“But if you are careful to obey him, and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you. For my angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will destroy them completely.”

“You shall not worship the gods of these nations or serve them in any way or imitate their works, but instead, you must utterly destroy them and break down their images.”

“You shall serve only the LORD your God, and He shall bless you with food and water, and I will protect you from illness. There will be no miscarriages or infertility in your land, and I will give you long, full lives.”

“I will send my fear ahead of you and destroy all the people whose lands you invade, and I will make all your enemies turn and run.”

“I will send hornets ahead of you to drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals would multiply and threaten you. So, I will drive them out a little at a time until your population has increased enough to take possession of the land.”

“And I will fix your boundaries from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the river. I will hand over to you the people now living in the land, and you will drive them out ahead of you.”

“Make no covenant with them or their gods. They shall not live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me. For if you serve their gods, you will be caught in the trap of idolatry.”

Exodus 24

Israel Accepts the LORD’S Covenant

Then the LORD said to Moses: “Come up here to me, and bring along Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders. All of you must worship from a distance. Only Moses is allowed to come near to the LORD. The others must not come near, and none of the other people are allowed to climb up the mountain with him.”

Then Moses went down to the people and repeated all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments He had given him. All the people answered with one voice, “All the words the LORD has said we will do.”

Then Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Early the next morning Moses got up and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He also set up twelve pillars, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Then he sent some of the young men of Israel men to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice oxen as peace offerings to the LORD.

Moses drained half the blood from the oxen into basins. The other half he sprinkled upon the altar.

Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people. Again they all said, “Everything the LORD has said we will do and we will obey.”

Then Moses took the blood from the basins and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold, this blood confirms the covenant the LORD has made with you in all His words.”

Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel climbed up the mountain. There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet it look as if there was a paved stone of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they did eat and drink in his presence!

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain. Stay there, and I will give you the tablets of stone on which I have written the law, and commandments so you can teach the people.” So Moses and his minister Joshua set out, and Moses climbed up the mountain of God.

Moses told the elders, “Stay here and wait for us until we come back. Aaron and Hur are here with you. If anyone has a dispute while I am gone, consult with them.”

Then Moses climbed up the mountain, and a cloud covered it. And the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from inside the cloud.

To the children of Israel at the foot of the mountain, the glory of the LORD appeared at the summit like a consuming fire. Then Moses disappeared into the cloud as he climbed higher up the mountain. He remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.