On the third new moon after the land of Egypt, Israel came into Sinai. There they encamped before the mountain, while Moses went up to God. God told Moses to speak to the people.
“You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
-Exodus 19:4-6
So Moses called the elders of the people and spoke the words the Lord had commanded. The people answered together saying, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.”
Moses reported back to the Lord, and the Lord told him that he would be coming to him in a thick cloud; so the people could hear Him when he spoke to Moses, and would then believe Him forever.
God told Moses to have the people consecrate themselves and wash their garments and to get ready for the Lord. On the third day, He would come down to Mount Sinai. However, He made it very clear that no one shall try to come up the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever would touch it, would be put to death.
When the trumpet sounded, they were all to go up to the mountain.
On the third day, there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain. Then, they heard the very long trumpet blast and the whole camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
“Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.”
-Exodus 19:18-20
The Lord told Moses to go down and warn the people, to not break through to the Lord, or many would perish. He was to go and get Aaron and bring him up the mountain.
God spoke the words creating the Ten Commandments and many rules and laws.
The Ten Commandments
1. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.”
2. You shall make no idols. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God.”
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.”
4. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it [no one] shall do any work. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
5. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that 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; your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
The people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightening and the mountain smoking, and heard the trumpet; they were afraid and trembled. They told Moses to speak for them, because they were afraid of God speaking to them. But Moses told them, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.”
Laws about Alters
You may not make gods of silver or gold, but make an alter of earth to sacrifice burnt offerings, peace offerings, sheep and oxen. Everywhere that God’s name is remembered, He would come to them and bless them.
Laws about Slaves
This section had many rules the people were to follow. Everything from buying and selling, to specifics on how to treat each other, and what the consequences were for breaking any of the laws. “But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” Which leads into the next set of laws and restitution.
Laws about Restitution
Basically, this section was about re-compensation for things, and what the “pay back” would be. This covered things from fields and crops, to people and animals, and items.
I love reading this last about the Ten Commandments