- : Exodus Chapters 1
- 20
- 23
- 33
- 24
- oses receives the Law
- The 10 Commandments
- An Angel sent before Israel
- Moses on mount Sinai with God
- Key Verses and Themes
- Chapter 19
- Lord in the cloud:
- Exod. 19:16-20
The Lord and His voice are heard from the cloud on Mt. Sinai.
- Chapter 20
- You shall not murder:
Exod. 20:13
This is the 6th commandment. “Your neighbor” is not added to this commandment like in other commandments so that man knows that suicide is against God’s will and counts as murder, even if it is of one’s self.
- God’s Holiness:
Exod. 20:26
God commands Moses not to walk up by steps as to not expose himself! Back then, the loose-fitting tunics and mantles were draped or wrapped around a person, and the clothing tied at the waist with a girdle, or belt, and no undergarments. So they were exposed from underneath.
We learn 2 things here
Dress appropriately in Church and life! God gives this commandment in the literal sense to prevent indecent exposure in and around the altars of worship. We must also dress modestly and appropriately in Church, as there is the altar of worship!
Approach God modestly and humbly, as the steps here signify pride or elevation, and the nakedness that comes from them spiritual sin and weakness.
- Chapter 24
- Saying you will obey God:
Exod. 24:3
The Israelites proclaim they will obey God, but we know that won’t exactly happen...
- The Holy Trinity:
Exod. 24:10
Does God the Father have feet? Or was this the Son who appeared? It could be another instance where Jesus Christ appears in the Old Testament in substance, but “under His feet" could also be an expression to say that at the bottom of the cloud appeared the paved work.
- 40 Day Fast:
Exod. 24:26
Moses remains 40 days on the mountain. We know he fasted because it says so explicitly later in
- Exod. 34:28
when Moses goes up again.
References to the New Testament & our Church practices
- Lord in the Cloud
- Luke 9:34-35
During the Transfiguration of Christ, a cloud appears and covers “them”
(Jesus, Simon Peter, James, John, Moses, and Elijah, read from
- Luke 9:28
for context)
and God the Father’s voice is heard from the cloud, just as it is on Mount Sinai!
- 40 day fast
Matthew 4:2
The Lord fasts 40 days as Moses did. Since Moses could not have gone more than 3 days without water, it is evident that God strengthened him to fast that long without fluid, meaning Moses had divine (Godly) help. Jesus fasting without water for 40 days shows He Himself is divine, as Jesus was not in a cloud with God’s presence like Moses; He did not need to be, because He is God in His divine nature!
- You shall not murder
Matthew 5:21
Christ says “men of old” to show that these laws were old and ready to be superseded by His new commandments! Since the Law that Moses received this week in chapter 20 was in effect from that point on, and still at this moment that Jesus is speaking, He does not directly state that Law is being superseded, but does so this way, subtly, so as to not make it scandalous for the Jews He is talking to.
- Saying you will obey God
Matthew 21:28-32
The Jews are likened to the second son, because they said they would obey God, but did not. The Gentiles are like the 1st, because they never confessed to obey God, but eventually did accept and obey Christ.
- Discussion Questions
- EXODUS 19
What is going on in chapter 19?
The Lord is preparing Moses and the Israelites to receive the 10 commandments and the rest of the laws and statues which we refer to as the Law of Moses, Old Testament Law, Mosaic Law, the Law, etc. So the Lord God is having them sanctify themselves by washing their clothes, abstaining from relations with wives, and preparing themselves for His descent unto Mt. Sinai. He is spiritually preparing them.
What does Moses mean in v. 23 “the people cannot come up... You told us?
Moses is saying the people cannot unwittingly come up, i.e. “the people can’t come up because everyone knows not to and there are boundaries set in place. He’s not reminding God of something He forgot.
- EXODUS 20
What are the 10 Commandments?
I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make for yourself a carved/graven image.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honor your father and your mother.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods. (house, wife, servant, ox, donkey)
Why does Jesus say in Matthew 22:37-40 what He does, if the 1st and 2nd commandments are “I am the Lord Your God” and “You shall not make for yourself a carved image…”?
Because the first 4 laws have to do with loving God, and the last 6 have to do with loving neighbor, or fellow man.
- So that’s why Christ says that “
all the Law and the Prophets hang (are based on) these commandments”
, which are
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”
- and
“Love your neighbor as yourself”.
Two things lead to perdition; evil doctrines/ideology, and a corrupt/evil life. To not fall into unholy doctrines, we must love God. To not lead a corrupt life, we must love our neighbor. He who loves his neighbor fulfils all the commandments, and he who fulfills all the commandments, loves God.
Why does God say he is a jealous God in Exod. 20:5?
St. Origen:
“In my view, just as the bridegroom who wishes to make his bride live chastely so as to give herself entirely to him and beware of any relationship whatever with any man other than her husband, pretends, though he be wise, to be jealous—he uses this pretense as a kind of antidote for his bride—so the Lawgiver [God], especially when He reveals Himself as “the firstborn of every creature,”
(Colossians 1:15)
says to his bride, the soul, that He is a jealous God. In this way He keeps His followers from any fornication with demons and pretended gods.”
Basically it’s God’s way of saying that a pure soul is what we should reserve for Him, not one defiled by worshipping other false gods.
What does the 4th commandment mean (Sabbath)?
In a literal sense, the Jewish Law had the Israelites rest on the 7th day from all type of work, like God rested on the 7th day of creation. Remember, that’s why they gathered 2 times the amount of Manna on the 6th day, to not work the next!
So the Sabbath calls for rest, and that rest for us is a spiritual one, meaning we ought to preserve ourselves to good works, peaceful spirits, reading Scripture, praying, love and charity, in order to observe “the Sabbath”, “resting” in the Lord!
Now we still dedicate a day to the Lord, Sunday, because the Lord resurrected AFTER the Sabbath, which is Sunday.
- EXODUS 23
Who is the Angel God is sending before the Israelites?
- This Angel was to [do]
- *read verses 20-23*
for the Israelites.
This church fathers say this “Angel” refers to Joshua, who we read is Moses’s assistant in
Exod 24:13
, and we know he will later lead after Moses’s death. Why? Because what we read in
v.20-23
are what Joshua would do, leading the Israelites into the promised land. He is also called an angel in the same sort of way that John the Baptist is in
Malachi 3:1/Mark 1:2
Now it’s obviously still God performing these feats; He says “my name is in Him” because Joshua in Hebrew/Aramaic is the same as Jesus, “Esho”
ܝܑܼܫܘܿܥ,
So it’s a type of the Son’s own future name, and because Jesus would lead His people into the inheritance of eternal life, according to the New Testament, of which the Old was a figure.
- EXODUS 24
Why did Moses sprinkle blood on the congregation of Israel?
Because blood was to ratify the Old Covenant just as the blood of Christ would ratify the New Covenant. The OT law used the blood of animals to cleanse and purify sins, although we know that that blood was never like that of Christ in its power, purity, and innocence.
This Week's Study
Use the answer key posted under the "Worksheets & Handouts" page to review your exams and key concepts from Weeks 1-4.