Supporting Cast Moses God Speaks to Moses Back in God s Presence o Exodus 20:21-22 21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was. 22 Then the LORD said to Moses, Tell the Israelites this: You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: God s Laws - How to be God s People (Exodus 20:22-23:33) o Idols & Altars (Exodus 20:23-26) o Hebrews Servants (Exodus 21:1-11) o Personal Injuries (Exodus 21:12-36) o Protection of Property (Exodus 22:1-15) o Social Responsibility (Exodus 22:16-31) o Laws of Justice and Mercy (Exodus 23:1-9) o Sabbath Laws (Exodus 23:10-13) o Three Annual Festivals (Exodus 23:14-19) The Law Makes Us Recognize Sin as Sin Romans 7:12-13 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. 13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. Romans 3:10-31 10 As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. [b] 13 Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. [c] The poison of vipers is on their lips. [d] 14 Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. [e] 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know. [f] 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes. [g] 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. 21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in [h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, [i] through the shedding of his blood to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. 27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. God s Angel to Prepare the Way (Exodus 23:20-33) The Covenant Confirmed Exodus 24:1-11 The Covenant o Exodus 24:3-8 3 When Moses went and told the people all the LORD s words and laws, they responded with one voice, Everything the LORD has said we will do. 4 Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the LORD. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey. 8 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.
Up on The Mountain 40 Days & 40 Nights o Exodus 24:12-18 12 The LORD said to Moses, Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction. 13 Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. 14 He said to the elders, Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them. 15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, 16 and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. 17 To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. 18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. The Tabernacle Details for God s Dwelling Place o Offerings for the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:1-9) o The Ark (Exodus 25:10-22) o The Table (Exodus 25:23-30) o The Lampstand (Exodus 25:31-40) o The Tabernacle (Exodus 26:1-37) o The Altar for Burnt Offering (Exodus 27:1-8) o The Courtyard (Exodus 27:9-19) o Oil for the Lampstand (Exodus 27:20-21) o The Priestly Garments (Exodus 28:1-5) o The Ephod (Exodus 28:6-14) o The Breastpiece (Exodus 28:15-30) o Other Priestly Garments (Exodus 28:31-43) o Consecration of the Priests (Exodus 29:1-46) o The Altar of Incense (Exodus 30:1-10) o Atonement Money (Exodus 30:11-16) o Basin for Washing (Exodus 30:17-21) o Anointing Oil (Exodus 30:22-33) o Incense (Exodus 30:34-38) o Skilled Worker and his helper (Exodus 31:1-11) o The Sabbath (Exodus 31:12-17) o The Stone Tablets Exodus 31:18 18 When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.
The People Rebel The Golden Calf o Exodus 32:1-6 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, Come, make us gods [a] who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don t know what has happened to him. 2 Aaron answered them, Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me. 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, These are your gods, [b] Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt. 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD. 6 So the next day 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. The Lord & Moses Talk about the Situation o Exodus 32:7-14 7 Then the LORD said to Moses, Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. 8 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt. 9 I have seen these people, the LORD said to Moses, and they are a stiffnecked people. 10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation. 11 But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God. LORD, he said, why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever. 14 Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened. Moses Responds to the People s Rebellion o Exodus 32:15-29 15 Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, There is the sound of war in the camp. 18 Moses replied: It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat; it is the sound of singing that I hear. 19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20 And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it. 21 He said to Aaron, What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin? 22 Do not be angry, my lord, Aaron answered. You know how prone these people are to evil. 23 They said to me, Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don t know what has happened to him. 24 So I told them, Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off. Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf! 25 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. 26 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. 27 Then he said to them, This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor. 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. 29 Then Moses said, You have been set apart to the LORD today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day. Moses Asks God to Forgive Them o Exodus 32:30-35 30 The next day Moses said to the people, You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin. 31 So Moses went back to the LORD and said, Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, please forgive their sin but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written. 33 The LORD replied to Moses, Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. 34 Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.
35 And the LORD struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made. God s Presence with His People I m Not Going with You o Exodus 33:1-6 Then the LORD said to Moses, Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, I will give it to your descendants. 2 I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 3 Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way. 4 When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn and no one put on any ornaments. 5 For the LORD had said to Moses, Tell the Israelites, You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you. 6 So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb. The Tent of Meeting o Exodus 33:7-11 7 Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the tent of meeting. Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 8 And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. 11 The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent. The Difference o Exodus 33:12-16 12 Moses said to the LORD, You have been telling me, Lead these people, but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, I know you by name and you have found favor with me. 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people. 14 The LORD replied, My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. 15 Then Moses said to him, If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?