January
28th Exodus
19
D. The Law given Mount Sinai
1:
In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out
of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of
Sinai. 2:
For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of
Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped
before the mount. 3:
And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the
mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell
the children of Israel; 4:
Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on
eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. 5:
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant,
then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for
all the earth is mine: 6:
And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.
These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of
Israel. 7:
And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid
before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him. 8:
And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD
hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people
unto the LORD. 9:
And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud,
that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for
ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD. 10:
And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them
to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, 11:
And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will
come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. 12:
And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take
heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the
border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to
death: 13:
There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or
shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the
trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount. 14:
And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified
the people; and they washed their clothes. 15:
And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not
at your wives. 16:
And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were
thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the
voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was
in the camp trembled. 17:
And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God;
and they stood at the nether part of the mount. 18:
And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended
upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a
furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. 19:
And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and
louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. 20:
And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and
the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.
21:
And the LORD said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they
break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish. 22:
And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify
themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them. 23:
And Moses said unto the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount
Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and
sanctify it. 24:
And the LORD said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come
up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people
break through to come up unto the LORD, lest he break forth upon
them. 25:
So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them.
Exodus
20 The Ten Commandments
1:
And God spake all these words, saying, 2:
I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of
Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3:
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4:
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of
any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath,
or that is in the water under the earth: 5:
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the
LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers
upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that
hate me; 6:
And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my
commandments. 7:
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the
LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 8:
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9:
Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10:
But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou
shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy
manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger
that is within thy gates: 11:
For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that
in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed
the sabbath day, and hallowed it. 12:
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the
land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 13:
Thou shalt not kill. 14:
Thou shalt not commit adultery. 15:
Thou shalt not steal. 16:
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 17:
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy
neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his
ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. 18:
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the
noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people
saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. 19:
And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but
let not God speak with us, lest we die. 20:
And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove
you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. 21:
And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick
darkness where God was.
How
to build an altar
22:
And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children
of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. 23:
Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto
you gods of gold. 24:
An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice
thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and
thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto
thee, and I will bless thee. 25:
And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it
of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast
polluted it. 26:
Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness
be not discovered thereon.
In today’s reading we
have the record of the momentous event of the giving of the ten
commandments at Mt Sinai. It took three months for Israel to get from
Egypt to Mt Sinai. This mountain in south west Saudi Arabia. It can
be seen today. The Lord gave a clear and great promises of blessing
if only Israel will keep the Commandments of the Lord. He promises
that if they obey him then he will make them a peculiar people above
all of the nations of the earth. They will be a kingdom of priests
and a holy nation. (This expression call only be used of Israel - not
the church. The Church is never a nation, It is made up of
individuals of every nation) These words were spoken before the
people of Israel and the people responded saying, ‘All that the
Lord has said we will do’. Then the Lord told Moses to prepare the
people wby washing themselves and their clothes, because in three
days the LORD will come down onto the top of the mountain. Then the
Lord told Israel to be very careful not to come near to the mountain.
Anyone who did come near was to be executed. And when they hear the
long trumpet blast they are to gather to the Lord at the bottom of
the mountain. On the third day first thing in the morning when the
Children of Israel woke up, they heard thundering and saw lightening
and a thick cloud on the top of the mountain and they heard the sound
of a very loud trumpet which caused everyone in the camp to be very
afraid. When the Lord came down onto the top of the mountain the
whole top of the mountain was burning like a furnace and smoke
ascended like a huge cloud and the mountain quaked. The Lord called
Moses to go up the mountain, so he went up. Then the Lord told him to
go down the mountain and warn the people not to break through the
boundary of the mountain - lest they die. He told the people that the
priests are to sanctify themselves (wash) lest the Lord should
destroy them. Moses and Aaron went up the mountain and the Lord gave
them what we call today the ten commandments. The Lord began by
setting the context of these laws. He said 'I am the LORD thy God who
brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage'.
This law was specific to Israel. It applied only to them and is never
applied to uncircumcised gentiles
Commandments related
to God.
- You shall have no other gods before me.
Worship is sacred.
- You shall not make graven images.
Work is sacred.
- You shall not misuse the name of God.
God’s name is sacred
Commandment related to
the Sabbath day
- Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy
Rest is sacred
Commandments related
to family
- Honour your father and mother
Respect and the Provision
for parents sacred
- You shall not murder
Life is sacred
- You shall not commit adultery
Marriage is sacred
Commandments related
to neighbours
- You shall not steal
Possessions are sacred
- You shall not give false witness
Reputations are sacred
- You shall not covet
Desires are sacred
When the People saw the
mountain quake and the thunder and lightening they went back and
stood afar off to look on. But Moses drew near to the thick darkness
where God was. Then the Lord instructed Moses that when the children
of Israel want to offer a sacrifice it must be on an altar of stones.
There the Lord promised to be with them and bless them. The stones
must be taken from the earth not having any tool working on them. If
men work on the stones then the stones are polluted. And the altar is
not to be high up because as the priest climbs his legs will be
exposed and this would be showing ones nakedness. This would be a
great sin.
- What was God doing by putting Israel under the Law of Moses?
- Describe in your own words what these commandments meant.
- How momentous was this event for Israel?
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