God told Moses to come up to Him and to bring Aaron, Nadab and Abihu (sons of Aaron), and seventy of the elders of Israel and worship from afar. Then God said that only Moses should come near Him, but the others shouldn’t come near. Neither should the people go up with him. Moses went and told the people all the words and judgments of the Lord. All that the Lord told Moses, the people agreed to do with one accord. Moses wrote all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and twelve pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. He had young Israelite men to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. Moses took half the blood and put it in basins and the other half, he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it for the people to hear. Again, all the people being on one accord agreed to do all that the Lord said in obedience. Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.”

Then Moses went up along with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and the seventy elders of Israel. They saw the God of Israel. Under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. Google sources suggest that they got a glimpse of God’s glory. Notice the only description was related to His feet. God did not harm the nobles of the land. So, they saw God and they ate and drank. This must have been an awesome sight! When is the last time you ate and drank in the presence of the Lord? Physically or Spiritually? Then the Lord told Moses to go up to Him on the mountain and He would give him tablets of stone with the law and commandments that He wrote so that Moses could teach the people. So Moses and his assistant, Joshua arose and went up the mountain of God. He told the elders to wait for them and they would come back to them. He said that Aaron and Hur would help them if any man has a difficulty. So, they should go to them. Moses went up into the mountain and a cloud covered it. The glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai with the cloud covering it for six days. On the seventh day, The Lord called out to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. The glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on the mountain to the Israelites. Moses was in the midst of the cloud and went up the mountain. He was there on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.

Have you been in the “Mountain Time Zone” with God lately?

We’re off to Exodus 25 next week.

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Do Right By Others

1. Don’t spread malicious gossip. Don’t agree with the wicked to be a lying witness.
2. Don’t follow the crowd to do evil. I can hear my Grandma (in heaven now) saying, “If everybody else jumps off the bridge, does that mean you gonna jump off the bridge? Learn how to think for yourself!” The Bible says in Matthew 7:13, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.” Don’t give a false testimony in a dispute to please the crowd and pervert justice.
3. Don’t show favoritism to a poor man in a dispute. Justice for all, “underdog” or not.
4. If you see your enemy’s ox or donkey straying off, you should take it back to him. This is truly a “trust God moment” because your enemy could accuse you of trying to steal the animal or you could win him over and turn the enemy into a friend.
5. If you see the donkey of one of your haters lying helpless under a heavy burden and your natural instinct is not to help it, that’s when you should surely help it. (Another trust God moment, for sure)
6. Don’t pervert the justice for a poor man in a dispute. Just as you’re not to show the poor favoritism in a dispute, don’t deny him true justice either.
7. Stay away from false matters or accusations. Don’t kill the innocent and righteous. God said that He will not justify the wicked.
8. Don’t take a bribe because it blinds discernment and perverts what the righteous would say.
9. The Israelites were told not to oppress strangers, because they knew the heart of a stranger, since they were strangers in Egypt.

Take A Break

1. For six years the Israelites were allowed to sow the land and gather its produce. In the seventh year, they should let the land rest and lie fallow, so that the poor people may eat and what they leave behind, the beasts of the field may eat. They were supposed to do the same with their vineyards and olive groves.
2. For six days the Israelites were allowed to work. On the seventh day they were to rest which would also allow their oxen and donkeys to rest. This would also give the servants and strangers with them the chance to rest and be refreshed too.

God told the Israelites that in all that He said to them, they should be prudent and not to make mention of the name of other gods. They should not even let the mention of other gods be heard from their mouths.

Feasting Before The Lord

The people were to keep a feast to the Lord three times a year.

1. Feast of Unleavened Bread – They were to eat unleavened bread for seven days as commanded by the Lord at the appointed time in the month of Abib. This is the month in which they left Egypt. None was supposed to appear before God empty-handed.
2. Feast of Harvest – The offering of the firstfruits of their labor which was sown in the field
3. Feast of Ingathering – This was at the end of the year when they gathered the fruits of their labor from the field.

It was three times a year that all the males were to appear before the Lord.

The blood of God’s sacrifice was not to be offered with leavened bread. The fat of God’s sacrifice was not to remain until the next morning. The first of the firstfruits was to be taken to the house of the Lord. A young goat was not to boil in its mother’s milk.

Blessings

God promised to send an Angel to guide the Israelites on the way to take them to the place that He prepared for them. They were to be aware of the Angel and obey His voice. They were not to provoke the Angel because He would not pardon their transgressions; because God’s name is in Him. If they did obey His voice and did all that God spoke, then God said that He would be an enemy to their enemies and an adversary to their adversaries. God is on our side. The Angel would guide them to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, and Hivites and the Jebusites. God promised to cut them off. The Israelites were not to bow down to nor serve their gods. Nor were they to do according to their works. They were to utterly overthrow them and break down their sacred pillars completely. The Israelites were to serve the Lord only and He would then bless their bread and water. God promised to take sickness from them. No woman would have a miscarriage or be barren, God promised to fulfill the number of their days. God was going to send His fear ahead of the Israelites and cause confusion among all the people they encountered. God promised to make their enemies turn their backs to the Israelites. He promised to send hornets that would drive out the Hivites, Canaanites and the Hittites. He said that He would not drive them out before them in one year, because the land would become desolate and the beasts of the field would become too numerous for them. God promised to drive them out little by little, until the Israelites increased and inherited the land. He promised to set bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia and from the desert to the River. He would deliver the inhabitants of the land into the hand of the Israelites and they shall drive them out. God always has a plan. Do you trust His plan? The Israelites were not to make covenants with them nor their gods. They were not to dwell in the land with the Israelites because they might cause them to sin against God. If they served their gods, it would surely be a snare to the Israelites. God also gives warnings. Do you heed to God’s warnings?

The next stop is Exodus 24.

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If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and then kills or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for the one ox and four sheep for the one sheep. With God restitution isn’t just replacing what was taken/stolen, but replacing it many times over (basically, with interest).

If a thief is caught breaking in and gets killed, there shall not be any guilt for his death. If the sun rises on him, there shall be guilt for his bloodshed. A number of googled commentaries interpret the scripture as saying that if the thief broke in during the night and was killed, the killer would not be guilty of the bloodshed. The reason being that at night the person really couldn’t be seen or the intent could be to cause harm because the residents of the home would be more defenseless at night, perhaps asleep in bed. However, if the thief broke in during the day and was killed, the killer would be guilty of the bloodshed. The reason being that the thief may have just been there to steal or the owner could call for help since others would be around. So, to kill him would be too harsh of a reaction. This line of thinking means that the owner, in the heat of the moment, has to second guess the thief’s intentions. The action of breaking into someone’s home is already an ill willed intent. I found one source that suggested that the statement, “If the sun has risen on him…..”, means that if the thief does not die when caught in the act, then to kill him would be merciless and not affording the thief the opportunity to make restitution. Therefore, the killer would be guilty of the bloodshed. Verse 3 continues to say that the robber should make full restitution. If he has nothing, then he should be sold for his theft. If the theft is found alive in the thief’s possession, whether an ox, donkey or sheep, the thief shall restore double.

If a man allows his animals to graze in another man’s field or vineyard, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field or vineyard.

If a fire is started and catches in thorns so that stacked grain, standing grain or the field is consumed, the one who started the fire has to make restitution.

If a man gives his neighbor money or articles to keep on his behalf and they are stolen from him and the thief is found, he shall pay double. If the thief isn’t found, then the master of the house shall go before the judges to determine if he has stolen his neighbor’s goods.

For any kind of trespass, whether it regards an ox, donkey, sheep, clothing or any lost object which another person claims to be his, both parties should go before the judges. Whichever party the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor.

If a man gives a donkey, an ox, sheep or any animal to his neighbor to keep and the animal dies, or is hurt or driven away and nobody sees it, both parties should take an oath of the Lord between them that he did not do anything to harm the animal and the owner shall accept it. The neighbor does not have to make it good. If the animal is stolen from the neighbor, then he shall make restitution for it. If another animal kills it and the neighbor has the evidence, he does not have to make restitution.

If a man borrows anything (assuming an animal) from his neighbor and it is injured or dies without the owner being present, he does have to make it good. If the owner was with it, he shall not make it good. If the animal was for hire, then the rental fee covers it.

If a man entices a virgin who is not betrothed and he takes her virginity, he shall pay the bride-price for her to be his wife. If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, then he shall pay money for the bride-price of virgins. Either way, the man is paying for his sexual actions whether he got to keep the woman or not.

A sorceress was not to be permitted to live.

Anyone who has sex with an animal should be killed.

Anyone who sacrifices to any god, except to the Lord only, was to be utterly destroyed.

Strangers were not to be mistreated or oppressed by the Israelites, because they were strangers in Egypt.

Any widow or fatherless child should not be afflicted. If they are afflicted and cry out at all to the Lord, He promised to hear their cry and He would become extremely angry. God said that he would kill the perpetrator with the sword and their wives shall be widows and their children will be fatherless.

Those who lend money to the poor among them, were not to charge interest on the money like moneylenders did.

If a neighbor’s garment is taken for a pledge, the garment should be returned before sundown. “What will he sleep in?” God said that when that person cries to Him that He would hear because He is gracious.

The Israelites should not revile God nor curse their rulers. They should not delay to offer the first of their ripe produce and juices. They were to give the firstborn of their sons to God also. They were to do the same with their oxen and sheep. It shall be with the mother seven days and then given to God on the eighth day.

They shall be holy men to God. They should not eat meat torn by beasts in the field. That meat should be thrown to the dogs.

We will journey to Exodus 23 next week.

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The following are the judgments that God told Moses to set before the Israelites.

Animal Control Laws – Verses 28 – 36 If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox surely should be stoned to death and its flesh shouldn’t be eaten. The owner shall be acquitted. If the ox had thrust its horn in the past and killed somebody and the owner did not confine it, the ox shall be stoned and the owner shall be put to death. If a sum of money is imposed on him, then he can pay whatever it takes to redeem his life.

If the ox gores a son or daughter, the same judgment shall be in place. If the ox gores a male or female servant, the owner of the ox shall give their master thirty shekels of silver and the ox should be stoned.

If a man opens a pit or digs a pit and doesn’t cover it and an ox or donkey falls into it, the owner of the pit shall give money to their owner, but the dead animals belong to him.

If one man’s ox hurts and kills another man’s ox, then they shall sell the live ox and split the money from the sale. They shall also divide the dead ox. If the ox has been known to thrust in the past and the owner did not keep it confined, he shall pay ox for ox and the dead animal shall be his.

We move on to Exodus 22 next week.

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Exodus 19 ended with Moses going down the mountain to speak to the people. Chapter 20 begins with God speaking and giving the Ten Commandments. So, I wondered if God was speaking with all of Israel or just Moses. So, I googled. Enduringword.com – a. And God spoke: It is proper to believe that God spoke these words to Israel as a whole, as they assembled together at the foot of Mount Sinai. Biblehub.com refers to Deuteronomy 5:22 which reads “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice…” The verses before Verse 22 are the Ten Commandments reviewed and verses after Verse 22 talk about the people being afraid to hear from God in His glory and His greatness. They feared that they would die. This research has changed my thinking that God only spoke to Moses when He initially gave the Ten Commandments. Now, on with the summary – God spoke saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

The Ten Commandments

1. You shall have no other gods before Me. (God first)
2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image – any likeness of anything that is in the heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth (God only); you shall not bow down to them nor serve them (just in case of disobedience and the carved image was made). For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. (Only God or else suffer the consequences – Follow The Rules).
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. (Are you guilty?)
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it Holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. (Are you taking a day of rest?)
5. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.

The people witnessed the thunderings, lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking. When they saw all of this, the people trembled and stood afar off. They told Moses, for him to speak with them and they will hear. They didn’t want God to speak with them because they thought they would die. Moses told the people not to fear because God had come to test them that His fear would be before them to keep them from sinning. Have you ever been tested by God to see if you would be obedient? Again, the people stood afar off, but Moses went near the thick darkness where God was. Have you ever been drawn towards someone or something of which everyone else was seemingly afraid? God told Moses to tell the Israelites that they have seen Him talk to Moses from heaven. God reiterates that the people should not make anything to be with Him, like gods of silver or gold.

God told Moses that an altar of earth was to be made for Him. The altar was to be for sacrifices for burnt and peace offerings, their sheep and oxen. In every place where God records His name, God promised to come to them and bless them. Has God recorded His name in your heart, in your life, in your home? God said that if the altar was made of stone, it shouldn’t be made of hewn stone, because it would become profaned if they put a tool on it. Also, they shouldn’t go up steps to His altar so that their nakedness wouldn’t be exposed on it. Most googled commentaries stated that based on the make of the garments of worship, for an act of decency, they shouldn’t go up any steps.

The next stop is Exodus 21.

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Exodus 19 – Got A Meeting At The Mountain

In the third month after Israel left Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. They left Rephidim and came to the Wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness before the mountain.

Moses went up to God and the Lord called to him from the mountain (first trip up the mountain). God told Moses to tell the Israelites that they had seen what He did to the Egyptians and bore them on eagles’ wings and brought them to Him. The imagery of eagles’ wings conveys the idea of a loving Father lifting His children far beyond their inherent capacity. He sustained them through tribulation while magnifying their best efforts and endowing them with power to attain His desires for them. Also, the imagery shows the care and protection that eagles instinctively give their offspring learning to fly (source: thechurchnews.com). God told Moses to tell them that if they obeyed His voice and kept His covenant, then they would be a special treasure to Him above all people, for the earth belongs to God. He also said that the people would be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. So Moses called the elders of the people and told them all the words that the Lord commanded him. The people agreed to do all that the Lord had spoken.

Moses took the words of the people to the Lord (second trip up the mountain). For Moses to go tell the Lord was not for God’s sake (because He already knew, after all He is omniscient), but for the people’s sake. Then God told Moses to go to the people and consecrate them that day and the next day. They were to wash their clothes. This was to get them ready for the third day, which was the day that the Lord would come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. God told Moses to set bounds all around the mountain. He was to tell them not to go up the mountain or touch the base of it because whoever touched the mountain would be put to death. The one touching the mountain was to be stoned or shot with an arrow, regardless as to whether a man or animal. Then this person or beast was not to be touched by anyone. The signal to come to the mountain was going to be a long sounding trumpet.

Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified them and they washed their clothes. He told them to get ready for the third day. One of the stipulations was that there was not to be any sexual intimacy with their wives.

On the morning of the third day, there was thunder and lightning and a thick cloud on the mountain. The sound of the trumpet was very loud so much so that it made all of the people in the camp tremble. Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was completely in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire. The smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace and the whole mountain quaked greatly. When the blast of the trumpet sounded long and louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him by voice. The Lord came down on top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up (third trip up the mountain). The Lord told Moses to go down the mountain and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at Him and many perish because of it. The Lord told Moses to let the priests who come near Him, consecrate themselves lest He smite them. Moses said to the Lord that the people couldn’t go up to Mount Sinai and reminded God that He warned them to set bounds around the mountain and consecrate it. God told Moses to go away and get down the mountain. Then he and Aaron could come back up, but not to let the priests and the people break through to come up to Him, lest He would smite them. Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.

The next stop on this journey is Exodus 20.

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Exodus 18 – You Are Doing Way Too Much!

Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard all that God had done for Moses and the Israelites. He heard that the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt. Jethro took Moses’ wife Zipporah back to Moses with their two sons, Gershom (for Moses said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land”) and Eliezar (for Moses said,”The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). Jethro took them to the wilderness, where Moses was encamped at the mountain of God. Jethro sent word to Moses that he was bringing Zipporah and the boys to him. Moses went out to meet Jethro and bowed down and kissed him. They exchanged “niceties” and went into the tent. Moses told his father-in-law all that God had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians on Israel’s behalf. He told him all of the hardship they endured on the way and how God delivered them. Jethro rejoiced for all the good God had done for Israel by delivering them out of the hand of the Egyptians, Have you ever rejoiced after hearing how God has blessed someone else? Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.” Jethro also said that he now knows that the Lord is greater than all the gods because in the very thing in which they behaved proudly, God was above them. Jethro took a burnt offering and other sacrifices to offer to God. Aaron and all of the elders of Israel came to eat with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

On the next day, Moses sat to judge the people. The people stood before Moses from morning until the evening. When Jethro saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he questioned it. He asked Moses why was he sitting alone while the people came before him from morning to evening. Moses told Jethro it was because the people came to see him to inquire of God. He said that when there is an issue, the people came to him and he judged between one and the other. He would let them know the statutes and laws of God. Jethro told Moses that this wasn’t good for him or the people. He said that they would wear themselves out. In other words, Moses was doing way too much! Do you ever feel that you are doing way too much? I can only imagine the toll this was taking on Moses, sitting all day long listening to dispute after dispute. The people must have gotten weary also, standing in line waiting for their turn to argue their cases before Moses. Can’t we all just get along? Jethro told Moses that this was too much for him to perform by himself. Jethro proceeds to give Moses good advice and told him that if he listens to this counsel, God would be with him. He told Moses to stand before God for the people so that he could take their difficulties to Him. Moses was to teach the people the statutes and laws showing them the way they must walk and the work they must do. Jethro told Moses to select capable men who feared God; men of truth, hating covetousness. Moses was to put them as rulers of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. These men would judge the people at all times. They would bring the great matters to Moses, but small matters they would handle themselves. This would be easier for Moses to have these men to help him bear the burden. He said if Moses followed his advice, and God so commands him, then he would be able to endure and all the people would go to their place in peace. Moses heeded Jethro’s advice and did all that he said. Moses chose able men and made them rulers as told by Jethro. They judged the people at all times, but brought the hard cases to Moses and judged the small cases themselves. Have you ever received wise counsel from an older person? Did you listen and follow the advice? Have you ever given wise counsel to someone younger than you? Then Jethro departed and went to his own land.

The next stop on this journey is Exodus 19.

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