Exodus
Moses wrote the Book of Exodus. Most of the story takes place within his lifetime and focuses on God’s activity through him in leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.
Exodus Chapter 1
Including Joseph’s family, Jacob’s family numbered 70 people when they went to Egypt. After Joseph and his brothers died, their descendants multiplied greatly.
Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.
“Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us.
Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous
and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”
- Exodus 1:8-10
Pharoah made the Israelites slaves and had them build the cities of Pithom and Rameses. Still the Israelite population grew, so Pharaoh told the Israelite midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, to kill all Israelite boys as they were being born.
The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do;
they let the boys live.
- Exodus 1:17
God blessed Shiphrah and Puah and gave them families of their own.
Then Pharaoh ordered that all Israelite boys be thrown into the Nile River upon birth.
Exodus 2
A man and woman of the tribe of Levi (descendants of Levi) had a son. He was a healthy child, so they hid him for three months instead of throwing him into the Nile. Then his mother placed him in a floating basket and put it into the Nile. The baby’s sister watched what happened to him.
Pharaoh’s daughter saw the basket when she went to bathe in the river. She felt sorry for the baby and adopted him, knowing he was an Israelite. Seeing what happened, the baby’s sister asked if the princess needed someone to nurse the baby, and the baby was given back into the care of his own mother until he was old enough to stay with the princess. Pharaoh’s daughter named the baby Moses.
When Moses grew up, he went out to see the Israelites slaving. He saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite and killed the Egyptian. He hid the Egyptian’s body in the sand and thought no one had seen what happened, but the next day, when Moses tried to break up a fight between two Israelites, one of the men said,
“Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?”
Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”
- Exodus 2:14
When Pharaoh heard about the murder, he tried to have Moses put to death, but Moses fled to Midian. There, he defended the daughters of a priest as they were coming to draw water from the well. He stayed with the priest and married his daughter Zipporah.
As time passed, the current Pharaoh died, but the Israelites were still in slavery.
God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.
So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.
- Exodus 2:24-25
Exodus 3
Moses was tending his father-in-law’s sheep and came to Mount Horeb. There, he saw a bush on fire but not being burned up, so he went to see what was happening. As he approached…
“Do not come any closer,” God said.
“Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
- Exodus 3:5
God said He was going to rescue the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and bring them into Canaan.
“So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
- Exodus 3:10
Moses, however, felt unable to carry out the work God was sending him to do. Moses wasn’t anyone important. He didn’t think Pharaoh or the Israelites would listen to him.
God told Moses to tell the Israelites I AM had sent him. God knew Pharaoh would not listen to Moses, so God promised to show Pharoah God’s “mighty hand” and compel him to obey. He also told Moses that when the Israelite women leave Egypt, they are to ask the Egyptian women for gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing, because God would make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the Israelites so that they would not leave Egypt empty-handed.
Exodus 4
Moses was unsure the Israelites would believe God sent him, so God turned Moses’ staff into a snake and back again, implying Moses would be able to repeat this miracle as proof. He also changed Moses’ hand from healthy to leprous to healthy again. The third sign would be turning water from the Nile into blood.
Moses then doubted his abilities, saying he wasn’t a good speaker.
The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths?
Who makes them deaf or mute?
Who gives them sight or makes them blind?
Is it not I, the Lord?
Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
- Exodus 4:11-12
Still Moses asked the Lord to send someone else. God was angry then but informed Moses that his brother Aaron was already on his way to meet Moses. Aaron was a good speaker and could be the spokesman as Moses told him what to say.
Moses took his family to Egypt. One night, God appeared to Moses and was going to kill him, but Zipporah took their son and circumcised him, appeasing the Lord as she carried out the instructions of God’s covenant with Abraham.
God sent Aaron to meet Moses, and when they arrived in Egypt, Moses performed the signs for the Israelites, and they believed him. They worshiped God for being concerned for them in their slavery.
Exodus 5
Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him God commanded him to let the Israelites leave and celebrate a festival to Him in the wilderness.
Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go?
I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”
- Exodus 5:2
Pharaoh then told the slave drivers to work the people harder. Then the Israelites blamed Moses and Aaron, saying,
“May the Lord look on you and judge you!
You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials
and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
- Exodus 5:21
Moses then blamed God for bringing trouble on the people instead of helping them.
Exodus 6
God then reminded Moses of the covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give them the land of Canaan and promised to fulfill His promise. Bringing the Israelites out of Egypt would prove Himself to them.
Exodus 7
God said to Moses,
“You are to say everything I command you,
and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country.
But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart,
and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you.
Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment
I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites.
And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord
when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”
- Exodus 7:2-5
Moses was 80 years old, and Aaron was 83 when they went to talk to Pharaoh. To prove God was speaking to them, Aaron threw down his staff in front of Pharaoh, and it became a snake, but the magicians of Egypt did the same thing. Aaron’s staff, however, swallowed their staves. Still, Pharaoh would not listen.
Next, Aaron stretched out his staff over the Nile and the whole land, and all the water turned into blood. But the magicians did the same thing.
Exodus 8
Seven days later, God sent the brothers to Pharaoh again, and when he refused to let the Israelites go, God brought a plague of frogs on the land, which the Egyptian magicians mimicked. Pharaoh then asked the brothers to pray for the frogs to leave, and he would let the Israelites go. But when the frogs left, Pharaoh “hardened his heart” and would not let the people go.
Afterward came a plague of gnats, but the magicians could not do the same thing.
Then came a plague of flies, but God kept the plague of flies from Goshen. Each time, Pharaoh said he would let the people go, then changed his mind.
Exodus 9
Next was the plague on livestock. All the livestock in Egypt died except for those in the land of Goshen.
Next came the plague of boils on people and animals.
Next came the plague of hail destroying the growing crops growing in that season.
Each time, Pharaoh said he would let the people go, then changed his mind.
Exodus 10
Next came the plague of locusts, which ate up the fruit growing on the trees and the grain left in the fields. At this point, even Pharaoh’s officials encouraged him to let the Israelites go, but he would not.
Then came the plague of total darkness for three days, but there was light in Goshen.
Exodus 11
God told the Israelites to ask the Egyptians for articles of gold and silver, and He made the Egyptians want to give them. Then God told Moses about the final plague on Egypt, and Moses announced it to Pharoah:
“This is what the Lord says:
‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt.
Every firstborn son in Egypt will die,
from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne,
to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill,
and all the firstborn of the cattle as well.’”
- Exodus 11:4-5
Exodus 12
Then God instructed that each Israelite family should sacrifice a year-old male sheep or goat (sharing with another family if need be) and smear the blood on the door frames of their houses. They were to “eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast,” then burn up any leftover meat. It was to be called the Passover because:
“The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are,
and when I see the blood, I will pass over you.
No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.”
- Exodus 12:13
The Israelites were to celebrate the Passover Festival for seven days henceforth, eating no bread with yeast in it because the people had to flee Egypt in haste, not having time to let their bread dough rise.
At midnight, the Lord went through Egypt and killed every firstborn. Pharoah summoned Moses and Aaron during the night and told them to take the Israelites out of Egypt. There were 600,000 Israelite men who marched out of Egypt, besides Israelite women and children. Many non-Israelites also went with them.
The Israelites had lived in Egypt for exactly 430 years.
Regarding the Passover meal, only converts to Judaism were to eat it. For males, this included being circumcised. The bones of the sacrificial lamb were not to be broken.
Exodus 13
After the Passover in which God spared the firstborn of the Israelites, He said every firstborn male among the Israelites, human or animal, belonged to Him. They could redeem a donkey (keep from sacrificing it) if they sacrificed a lamb in its place. They were also to redeem their firstborn sons in this way.
“And it will be like a sign on your hand
and a symbol on your forehead
that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.”
- Exodus 13:16
As the Israelites came out of Egypt, God did not lead them into Philistine country, though that would have been the shorter route back to Canaan. Instead, He took them toward the Red Sea. He said that if they faced war with the Philistines, they might change their minds and go back to Egypt. The Israelites did come out of Egypt ready for battle.
Moses took Joseph’s bones with the Israelites when they left, as Joseph made his brothers promise to do.
By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud
to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light,
so that they could travel by day or night.
Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night
left its place in front of the people.
- Exodus 13:21-22
Exodus 14
God told Moses to turn the Israelites around to make Pharaoh think they were lost.
“And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them.
But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army,
and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”
- Exodus 14:4
When the Israelites saw Pharaoh and his army approaching, they were terrified.
Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
-Exodus 14:13-14
Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.
-Exodus 14:19-20
Once the Israelites were hidden from the view of the Egyptians, God told Moses to raise his staff over the waters of the Red Sea, and it divided so that the Israelites could walk through on dry ground. God divided the waters with a “strong east wind” so that there was a “wall of water” on the right and left of the Israelites.
Near dawn, the Egyptians saw the Israelites crossing the Sea and pursued them. God looked down from the pillar of fire and jammed the wheels of the Egyptians’ chariots. Then He told Moses to stretch out his staff over the sea from the other side, and the waters flowed back to their place and drowned the Egyptians.
Exodus 15
Moses and the Israelites sang a song of praise to God for rescuing them. The song calls the wind that parted the waters God’s breath and says all the surrounding nations will hear what God did and be afraid to attack the Israelites as they pass through their lands to Canaan.
The Israelites traveled in the Desert of Shur without finding water. At Marah, the water was bitter, so they couldn’t drink it. But God showed Moses a piece of wood. When Moses threw the wood into the water, the water became drinkable. God told the people that if they obeyed Him, He would not bring on the Israelites any of the diseases He brought on the Egyptians.
Exodus 16
In the Desert of Sin, the people complained about having no food, so God said He would rain down bread from heaven. The people were only to gather as much as they needed each day. On the sixth day, they could gather twice as much because there would be no bread the seventh day.
That evening, quail flew into the camp. In the morning, flaky bread covered the ground. The Israelites asked “What is it?”, translated as “Manna?” There was enough for everyone. Those who tried to gather more than they needed for the day found that it was spoiled and full of maggots the next day. On the sixth day, when they gathered twice as much in order to honor the Sabbath, the leftovers did not spoil or get maggots in it. There was no manna on the ground the seventh day. The bread was “white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.”
God told Moses to put some of the bread in a jar to keep as a testimony to future generations. It would soon be placed in the Ark of the Covenant, alongside the two tablets of the Ten Commandments.
The Israelites ate manna for 40 years, until they settled in Canaan.
Exodus 17
At Mount Horeb in Rephidim, the people complained about having no water. God told Moses to take his staff and strike a rock. When he did, water came out for the people to drink.
The Amalekites attacked the Israelites at Rephidim, and Joshua led the Israelites in battle while Moses, Aaron, and Hur watched from the top of a hill.
As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning,
but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.
When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it.
Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—
so that his hands remained steady till sunset.
- Exodus 17:11-12
God then said He would someday completely destroy the Amalekites.
Exodus 18
Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, brought Moses’ wife and two sons to him at Mount Horeb. Moses had previously sent them back home.
Jethro saw Moses judging disputes among the people and saw that it was too much for Moses to hear every complaint. He suggested that Moses teach the people and judge difficult cases but to appoint others to judge simpler cases. Moses followed Jethro’s advice, and Jethro returned to his own home.
Exodus 19
At Mount Sinai, God said,
“You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt,
and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.
Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant,
then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.
Although the whole earth is mine,
you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
- Exodus 19:4-6
Then God told the people to consecrate themselves for two days. On the third day, the Lord appeared as a fire in a thick cloud of smoke over the mountain, with thunder and lightning and a loud trumpet blast. The people were to stay away from the mountain. If anyone touched the mountain, the other Israelites were to put them to death. Only Moses and Aaron were allowed to go up the mountain.
Exodus 20
And God spoke all these words:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
God instructed that altars for sacrifices be made of earth. Altars could be made of stone, but they weren’t to be carved stones. He also did not want anyone climbing steps to get to the altar, “or your private parts may be exposed.”
Exodus 21
Israelites could buy other Israelite men as slaves, but they had to free them after six years. The slave, however, could choose to belong to the master permanently. Female slaves did not have to be freed.
Men who married more than one woman were to treat each woman fairly in regard to daily necessities and sex.
Someone who killed another person was to be put to death. If they killed someone unintentionally, they could run and live in a city of refuge.
People who attacked their father or mother were to be put to death, or even if they cursed their father or mother.
Kidnappers were to be put to death.
If people fought with each other, and one was injured, the other must pay for their healing and any loss of time from work.
“But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth,
hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
- Exodus 21:23-25
If someone hit a pregnant woman and she lost the baby, he was to pay whatever fine the husband of the woman demanded.
If someone hit their slave and knocked out an eye or tooth, they were to let the slave go free.
If a bull gored a person, the bull was to be stoned and the meat left uneaten. If the bull had the habit of goring and the owner didn’t already kill it, both the bull and the owner were to be put to death. The owner could also pay a fine if the injured person allowed it. He could always pay for goring a slave. The cost was 30 shekels.
If someone dug a pit, and another’s person’s animal fell into it, the person who dug the put had to pay for the animal.
If someone’s bull killed another person’s bull, the two people were to sell the live bull and divide both the money from the live bull and the meat from the dead bull. If the bull had the habit of goring and the owner didn’t keep it penned, the owner was to pay for the dead bull.
Exodus 22
If someone stole livestock and killed it or sold it, they were to pay back four or five times as much, depending on the animal. If the animal was still alive and in their possession, they were to pay back double. Thieves who couldn’t pay what they owed were to be sold as slaves.
If someone broke into another person’s house at night and the owner killed them, they wouldn’t be guilty of murder. If they killed the thief breaking in during the day, they would be guilty.
Persons responsible for any kind of loss – whether for starting a fire or not controlling animals – were to pay money to cover the loss.
If a man had sex with a woman, he was to marry her. If the woman’s father refused to allow the marriage, the man was still to pay the bride-price.
The Israelites were to put to death:
- Sorceresses
- Anyone having sex with an animal
- Anyone sacrificing to other gods
They were not to take advantage of the widow or fatherless. They were to charge no interest for lending to the needy.
They were not to blaspheme God or curse their ruler. They were not to withhold offerings from God.
The were not to eat the meat of animals killed by wild animals.
Exodus 23
The Israelites were not to gossip about other people or lie in court.
They were not to show favoritism in legal issues. They were not to accept bribes.
They were to return lost property they found, even if it belonged to an enemy. They were to help even their enemies if they needed help.
They were not to oppress foreigners, because they knew what it was like to be foreigners in Egypt.
They were to farm their fields for six years, but leave it alone the seventh and let the poor pick whatever grew on its own.
They were to work six days but let their animals and slaves and other workers rest on the seventh.
They were to celebrate three Festivals per year, during which every man was to offer a sacrifice:
- The Festival of Unleavened Bread to commemorate coming out of Egypt
- The Festival of Harvest as the first crops appear
- The Festival of Ingathering at the main harvest time
Sacrifices could not contain yeast. The fat was to be burnt up, not left until morning. The people were to bring the best of their first crops. A young goat was not to be cooked in its mother’s milk.
God sent an angel to lead the people. God’s Name was in this angel, and he would not forgive rebellion. If the people obeyed God, He would bless them with health, successful pregnancies, and long life. He would defeat their enemies and drive them out of the land.
They were not to let the other peoples live in their land because they would tempt the Israelites to worship other gods.
Exodus 24
Moses told the people of Israel these laws. He sacrificed bulls and splashed some of the blood against the altar he built next to the mountain.
Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said,
“This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you
in accordance with all these words.”
- Exodus 24:8
Then Moses, Aaron, Aaron’s two sons Nadab and Abihu, and 70 elders of Israel went up the mountain, where they saw God.
Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky.
But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites;
they saw God, and they ate and drank.
- Exodus 24:10-11
Then God called Moses back up the mountain to receive the tablets of stone with the law written on them. Moses stayed on the mountain for forty days and nights.
Exodus 25
God told Moses to collect an offering from anyone whose heart prompted them to give. The materials were for building the Tent of Meeting (Tabernacle) and its furnishings. God told Moses exactly how to build the Tent of Meeting and fashion the objects within it.
First was the Ark of the Covenant, which was to contain the tablets of the Law. The Atonement Cover on top of the Ark was to have two cherubim facing each other.
Next was the Table, on which was to be the Bread of the Presence.
Then the Lampstand.
Exodus 26
The Tent of Meeting was to have a curtain separating the Most Holy Place (or the Holy of Holies) from the Holy Place. Inside the Most Holy Place was the Ark of the Covenant and Atonement Cover. Outside the curtain, in the Holy Place, was to be the Table and the Lampstand.
Exodus 27
Next was the Altar of Burnt Offering, with horns on the four corners.
There was also to be a courtyard for the Tent of Meeting.
Aaron and his sons were to keep lamps burning olive oil throughout the night to light the Holy Place.
Exodus 28
Aaron and his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar were to be priests. They were to wear special garments when carrying out their priestly duties.
First was the robe of the Ephod, with the names of the sons of Israel engraved on stones.
Next was the Breastpiece with different gems representing each of the sons of Israel. It was also to contain the Urim and the Thummim. It was to be a way of making decisions.
Priestly robes were to be made of blue cloth with bells attached to it. The bells would sound so that when he entered the Holy Place, he wouldn’t die.
A plate was to be put on the front of the priest’s turban that said Holy to the Lord.
There was also to be a tunic, sash, and undergarments.
The priests were to wear these garments whenever they approached the altar or entered the Tent of Meeting, or else they would die.
Exodus 29
To consecrate the priests, Moses was to have Aaron and his sons stand at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water, dress them in their priestly garments, and anoint them by pouring oil on their heads. Only Aaron the High Priest was to wear the Ephod, Breastpiece, and Turban.
They were then to make a sacrifice on the altar and eat those portions of the sacrifice that were given to the priests as their food.
The sacrifices were to continue for seven days to consecrate both the priests and the altar and the Tent of Meeting.
Exodus 30
There was also to be an Altar of Incense, on which the priest was to burn incense every morning and evening.
The Israelites were then to pay a set offering as a ransom for their lives, and God promised that no plague would come one them. The money was to be used for the Tent of Meeting.
The Basin for Washing was to stand between the Altar of Burning Offering and the Tent of Meeting for the priests to wash their hands before making sacrifices and before entering the Tent.
Moses was to make the Anointing Oil with a blend of specific ingredients and use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting and its furnishings and the priests.
Moses was to also make a special blend of incense. Anyone who made incense like it for personal use was to be put to death.
Exodus 31
God told Moses He had chosen a man named Bezalel to lead the artisans in making the Tent of Meeting and its furnishings.
“I have filled him with the Spirit of God,
with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—
to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze,
to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.”
- Exodus 31:3-5
A man named Oholiab and other skilled workers were to help him.
The Israelites were to observe the Sabbath as a sign between themselves and God. If anyone did not observe the Sabbath, they were to be put to death.
God gave Moses all these instructions on Mount Sinai. Then He gave him the two tablets of stone, “inscribed by the finger of God.”
Exodus 32
The Israelites grew impatient waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain, so they told Aaron to make them gods. Aaron instructed the people to give him their gold earrings, and he melted the gold and formed it into a calf. He built an altar and held a festival to God in front of the calf.
The people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings.
Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.
- Exodus 32:6
God told Moses what was happening and told him to go down the mountain. He told Moses to leave Him alone so that He could destroy the Israelites. Moses, however, argued that God should not destroy the people because the people of other nations would say God brought the Israelites out of Egypt just to kill them. He also reminded God about the covenant He had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Moses came down the mountain with the tablets of the Ten Commandments written by God. Joshua was waiting for him further down the mountain. When Moses saw what was happening, he was so angry, he threw the tablets down and broke them.
Then he melted the golden calf down again, ground it up, mixed it with water, and made the people drink it. Moses confronted Aaron, and Aaron said he put the gold in the fire “and out came this calf!”
Moses saw that the people were running wild
and that Aaron had let them get out of control
and so become a laughingstock to their enemies.
So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said,
“Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.”
And all the Levites rallied to him.
- Exodus 32:25-26
Then Moses told the Levites that God commanded them to strike down the Israelites with their swords. The Levites killed 3,000 Israelites.
The next day, Moses prayed for God to forgive the people for their sin, or else “blot me out of the book you have written.”
God told him He would blot out of His book whoever had sinned. He then instructed Moses to go lead the people and promised His angel would go before them. Then God further punished Israel by sending a plague.
Exodus 33
God told Moses He would send His angel with them to Canaan, but He Himself would not go “because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.”
The people mourned when they heard this.
Moses used to enter a “tent of meeting” to meet with God. The pillar of cloud would come hover over the entrance of the tent, and…
The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.
- Exodus 33:11
In the tent, Moses argued that if God was pleased with him, He should show it by going with him to lead the people. God’s Presence would be what distinguished Israel from the other nations. God agreed to go with the people.
Moses then asked to see God’s glory.
And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you,
and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence.
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock.
When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock
and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.
Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back;
but my face must not be seen.”
- Exodus 33:19-23
Exodus 34
God told Moses to come back up Mount Sinai with two new stone tablets, and God would write the Ten Commandments on them again since Moses threw down and broke the first ones.
And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming,
“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,
maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.
Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished;
he punishes the children and their children
for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
- Exodus 34:6-7
Moses worshiped God, and the Lord repeated His laws and promises to Moses for another 40 days and 40 nights, without Moses eating or drinking anything.
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai
with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands,
he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord…
When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face.
But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him,
he removed the veil until he came out.
And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded,
they saw that his face was radiant.
- Exodus 34:29, 33-35
Exodus 35
Moses repeated the Sabbath laws, stipulating that the Israelites were to do no work on the Sabbath, not even to light a fire. He then collected the materials for building the Tent of Meeting and sewing the priestly garments and gave them to Bezalel and Oholiab and the other artisans.
Exodus 36
The people kept bringing so many offerings for the Tent of Meeting that Moses had to tell them to stop. Meanwhile, the artisans constructed the Tent of Meeting according to the instructions God gave Moses.
Exodus 37
The artisans made the Ark of the Covenant and Atonement Cover, the Table of the Bread of the Presence, the Lampstand, and the Altar of Incense along with the special blend of incense to burn on it.
Exodus 38
The artisans made the Altar of Burnt Offering, the Basin for Washing, and constructed the Courtyard. Ithamar son of Aaron kept count of the materials used for the Tent of Meeting and its furnishings.
Exodus 39
The artisans made the Ephod, the Breastpiece, and the other garments for the priests to wear. Moses approved of all the work the artisans had performed.
Exodus 40
God told Moses to set up the Tent of Meeting, with everything in its place, and to anoint the Tent and its furnishings with oil. He put the tablets of the Ten Commandments inside the Ark of the Covenant. He was then to anoint Aaron and his sons in their priestly garments.
Once everything was completed, the cloud of the Presence of God came and filled the Tent. The glory of God filled the Tent, and the cloud was so thick that Moses could not enter the Tent for a time.
In all the travels of the Israelites,
whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out;
but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted.
So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day,
and fire was in the cloud by night,
in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels.
- Exodus 40:36-38
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