Scroll to the bottom for thoughts/discussion questions!
One-sentence summary: The Lord comes down on Mt. Sinai to speak to Moses in the presence of all the people and give them rules for living.
Three months to the day when Israel had come out of Egypt, they come to the wilderness of Sinai and camp there before the mountain of the Lord. Moses goes up the mountain to speak to God, and God tells him to remind the people how they have seen the way He brought them up out of Egypt and "bore them on eagle's wings and brought them to [Him]self." He says that if they will obey His voice and keep His covenant, they will be His "special treasure" above all people, and also "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."
So Moses calls for the elders and relays God's words, and all the people answer together, "All that the Lord has spoken, we will do." So Moses returns to the Lord with the people's message. And the Lord tells Moses that He speaks to him in a thick cloud so that the people can hear when He speaks to him and believe Moses. The Lord tells Moses to go to the people and to consecrate them that day and the next, to have them wash their clothes and get ready, because on the third day, the Lord will come down on Mt. Sinai before all the people. He warns him to tell the people not to go up to the mountain or touch its base, because anyone who touches it will die, whether man or beast (and be stoned or shot with an arrow!) He says when the people hear the sound of a long trumpet, they should come near. So Moses does all this (he also tells them to abstain from marital intercourse during that time.)
On the morning of the third day, there are "thunderings and lightnings," and a trumpet sound is so loud that the people are trembling, and Moses brings them out of the camp to meet with the Lord. And the Lord comes down in fire. Smoke covers Mt. Sinai, and the whole mountain shakes.
When the people hear the loud trumpet, Moses speaks, and the Lord answers him by voice, and then the Lord comes down on Mt. Sinai on the top of the mountain and calls Moses to the top of the mountain. He tells him to warn the people so they won't try to break through and gaze at Him, and also for the priests to consecrate themselves so that He will not have to "break out against them." But Moses replies that the people cannot come up because He had told them to set bounds around the mountain and consecrate it. The Lord tells him to go back and get Aaron but not to let the people or priests break through, so that He will not "break down against them."
And God speaks the ten commandments to Moses: (These are all paraphrased. Please see Exodus 20:2-17.)
1. He says He is the Lord their God who brought them out of Egypt and that they are to have no other "gods" before Him.
2. They should not make idols to worship and serve, because He is "a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the third and fourth generation of those who hate Him, but showing mercy to thousands of those who love Him and keep His commandments.
3. They should not take His name in vain.
4. They should remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy by resting on the seventh day and doing no work., to remember how God rested on the seventh day after creating the world.
5. They should honor their father and mother so that they will live a long life.
6. They should not murder.
7. They should not commit adultery.
8. They should not steal.
9. They should not lie.
10. They should not covet anything that belongs to their neighbor.
The people are afraid, having see the lightnings and smoke and having heard the thunderings and trumpets, and they stand afar off. They tell Moses to speak to God for them because they say if God speaks to them, they will die. But Moses tells them not to fear, that God has come to test them and so that "His fear may be before them" so that they will not sin. Moses "draws near the thick darkness where God [is]."
The Lord gives Moses more detailed commands. He tells him to tell the people that they have witnessed God speaking to them from heaven, and that they should not make idols to represent Him, but that He asks for offerings from the earth. They are to sacrifice "burnt offerings" and "peace offerings" of sheep and oxen. He says that in every place where He causes His name to be remembered (and the revelation of His name is found), He will come to them and bless them. They should not use any stone which requires tools or walk up the stairs of the altar so that their "nakedness is exposed on it." He also tells them that on the seventh year, all slaves should go free. (There are more directions in here regarding slavery and especially how female slaves are to be protected.) If a man kills another man, he must be put to death, but only if it is premeditated. If not, God will appoint a place where He may flee. If anyone strikes his father or mother or treats them contemptuously, he must be put to death. Whoever kidnaps a man and sells him must be put to death. (There are many more detailed laws given here on how to deal with liabilities regarding physical injuries, some of which get very odd, such as if what to do if a pregnant woman gets hurt when two men are fighting. Also, some seem rather offensive, such as the part about slaves being property.) There are verses in here often quoted that read: "You shall require life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth..." Other laws are when an owner has been previously warned about a dangerous ox and has refused to take caution and confine him, if that ox kills anyone, both the man and ox must die, or he can pay a sum of money to the family if they request it and his life be redeemed. (There are many more specifics about oxen.)
Thoughts/Discussion Questions:
The first command seems to be: "I am the Lord." They are divided differently at times with the part about having no other "gods" sometimes being put with the second commandment about idols. It seems that knowing and believe the Lord is God is a presupposition for all the other commandments.
The people are afraid of God, because there is a side to Him that is very scary. Jesus is the only answer to this. (See Hebrews 12: 18-24.)
This is a difficult thing to discuss: Why did God allow slavery in the Old Covenant (agreement?)