Scroll to the bottom for thoughts/discussion questions!
One-sentence summary: The Lord gives Moses more detailed laws to give to the people, Moses sprinkles blood on the people as a sign of their covenant (agreement) with God, and God calls Moses to the top of Mt. Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights to write His laws on tablets of stone.
More detailed laws are given. Some are discussed here.
If a thief is struck while breaking into a house, the one who kills him will not be held accountable, unless the sun has already risen, in which case he will be.
If a thief is caught with an item "he shall restore double." (This is where the expression "double for your trouble" comes from.)
(Note: These must have been the types of situations brought frequently to Moses to judge!)
If a man "entices a virgin to lie with her," he must pay the full bridal price for her.
Sorcerers must not be permitted to live.
Whoever has sex with an animal with be put to death.
Whoever sacrifices to another god will be destroyed.
The Israelites should not oppress strangers, widows, or orphans, lest God's wrath will be against them and He kill them "with the sword."
Whoever lends to the poor should not charge interest.
They must not revile God or any ruler.
They must offer their first fruits to God, the first of their produce and livestock.
They must be holy and therefore not eat animals that have been killed by other animals.
There is more detail about not "bearing false witness," and also a part about not "following a crowd to do evil."
There should be no partiality.
They must help their enemy if his donkey or livestock is in trouble.
They must not take bribes.
A command not to oppress strangers is given twice, as "[Israel knows] the heart of a stranger, because [they] were strangers in the land of Egypt."
They must let the land lie fallow and rest the seventh year so the poor may eat, and the bests will eat whatever the poor leave, and they should do this with vineyards and olive groves, and also keep the Sabbath by resting on the seventh day.
They must not even mention other gods.
They must keep three feasts a year: The Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Harvest (the first fruits of their labors), and the Feast of Ingatherings at the end of the year, when they have gathered in the fruit of their labor from the field. Three times a year, all the males should appear before the Lord.
They must "bring the first fruits into the house of the Lord."
God says He is sending an Angel before them to "keep them in the way and bring them to the place [God] has prepared." They are to beware of him and hear (listen to) His voice, for God's name is in him. If they obey, God will fight for them and bring them into the land He has promised.
They Lord says that if they serve Him, He will bless their bread and water and take sickness and bareness from them, and there will be no miscarriages, and He will "fulfill the number of [their] days." He will send His fear before them and cause confusion to their enemies.
God says He will drive out their enemies "little by little," until "they (His people) have increased and inherit the land,."
He says they are to make no covenant with the people or their gods, and they must drive them all out.
The Lord tells Moses to come up to Him with Aaron, two other men named Nadab and Abihu, and the elders to worship, with Moses alone drawing near to the Lord. So Moses tells the people all the Lord's words and judgments, and they answer in one voice: "All the words which the Lord has said, we will do." Moses writes down all God's words, and he rises early in the morning and builds an altar at the foot of the mountain with 12 pillars for the 12 tribes of Israel. Then, he sends young men who offer burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord, and he takes half the blood and puts it in basins and sprinkles half the blood on the altar. Then, he takes the Book of the Covenant and reads it in the hearing of the people and they say again, "All that the Lord has said, we will do and be obedient." And Moses sprinkles the blood on the people and says, 'This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you., according to all these words." So Moses, with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and 70 elders, "[see] the God of Israel." Under His feet is sapphire, which is "clear," "like the heavens." God does not "lay His hand on them," but they "[see] God and ]eat and drink.]"
The Lord tells Moses to come up to Him on the mountain so that He can give him tablets of stone for the law and commandments. So Moses and Joshua, his assistance, go up to the mountain, and he tells the elders to wait with Aaron and Hur. Moses goes up, and a cloud covers the mountain. The glory of the Lord rests on Mt. Sinai and a cloud covers it for six days. On the seventh day, the Lord calls to Moses out of the cloud, and "the sight of the glory of the Lord [is] like a consuming fire in the sight of the children of Israel." Moses stays on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights.
Woah!
Thoughts/Discussion Questions:
The description of God coming down on the mountain paints such a formidable sight! Can you see why the people were afraid? How often do we contemplate this side of God? "Consider, therefore, the kindness and severity of God." (See Romans 11:22.) This is exactly why we need a Savior. God is holy, and we are not. He gave Israel rules, but it could never make them holy from within; it could only "keep them in line" on the outside. Only God's grace on the human heart through Christ brings about real, everlasting change.