Part 3: At Sinai

i. God’s covenant with Israel

19:3-8

Covenant Part 1:

• If the people obey God’s voice & keep His covenant, He will make them His treasured possession, a kingdom of priests & a holy nation; the people agree to this

19:9-25

• God is approaching; the people must be consecrated & not touch Mount Sinai
• God arrives!

20:1-17

Covenant Part 2:

• God declares His [Ten] Commandments [The people hear His voice, see Dt 5:23]

20:18-21

• The people are scared that hearing God’s voice [again] will kill them [see Dt 5:24-31, 18:16-19]

20:22-26

Covenant Part 3:

• Do not make idols [but] make earthen altars; wherever God puts His Name [at an altar], He will also bring a blessing; altars must not contain dressed stones, nor steps

21:1 – 23:19

Covenant Part 4:

• (21:1), These are the laws that need to be set before the Israelites:
• (21:2-11), laws for those who have slaves [or servants];
• (21:12-36), any physical (or in v17, verbal) assault done by a person or an ox must be punished;
• (22:1-17), provide restitution for all that is stolen or damaged;
• (22:18-20), enact the death penalty [in certain instances];
• (22:21 – 23:9), laws of justice & mercy;
• (23:10-12), rest during the 7^th Year & the 7^th Day;
• (23:13-19), do not mention idols [but] hold 3 annual feasts to God & keep sacrificial laws

23:20-33

• God says, ‘I will send an Angel before you on your journey; obey Him as He will not forgive (cf. 32:31-35); He has My Name (cf. 3:2); obey & you will receive the Land & be blessed’

24:1-2

• God invites Moses, Aaron, Aaron’s [oldest] 2 sons & 70 elders of Israel to visit Him [on Sinai]

24:3-8

Covenant Part 5:

• The people agree to obey God’s laws, Moses writes them into a Book-of-the-Covenant, and a blood-covenant is enacted between God and the Israelites

24:9-11

• The invited guests (see 24:1-2) ascend Sinai; they see God, then eat & drink in His presence

ii. Instructions about the tabernacle

40 days & 40 nights #1 (+ Stone-Tablets^A)

[Moses fasts for 40 days, see Dt 9:9]

24:12-18

• God promises Stone-Tablets^A with His [ten] commandments written on them
• Moses & Joshua ascend Sinai
• The cloud [of 19:16] descends then God calls to Moses & he enters it

25:1-8

• God tells Moses to receive freewill offerings from the people in order to make a sanctuary [i.e. a tabernacle (tent) that will act as God’s temple] because God will dwell with His people

25:9 – 27:19

• The following items must be made according to God’s pattern (also see 30:1-10, 30:17-38):

#1. (25:10-16) The gold-plated Ark-of-the-Covenant to contain the Testimony of God [the stone-tablets];

[The word 'Ark' simply means a 'box'. It is called the Ark-of-the-Covenant because it would contain the ten commandments, which were the basis of the covenant between God and the Israelites]

#2. (25:17-22) The gold Atonement-Lid with gold cherubim; God will appear to Moses above the Lid;

[The Hebrew word means a 'lid' or 'covering' for the Ark, however the word can also be used figuratively in the sense that God 'covers' over sin by cancelling it and making atonement. Some bible translations refer to this as a 'mercy seat', but the Hebrew word itself has nothing to do with the word 'seat' and instead this has been inferred by the fact that God said He would appear to Moses above the lid]

#3. (25:23-30) The gold-plated Table for showbread [see Lev 24:5-9 for information about the holy bread];

#4. (25:31-40) The gold Lampstand, with seven lights on it;

#5. (ch. 26) The curtained Tabernacle;

#6. (27:1-8) The bronze-plated Sacrifice-Altar;

#7. (27:9-19) The curtained Courtyard [to surround the tabernacle]

27:20-21

• Olive oil must be collected
• Law: The lampstand must remain lit throughout the night

ch. 28

• God says, ‘Aaron & his 4 sons are to serve as priests, and garments must be made for them’:

i. (28:6-14) A linen Ephod [apron] with 2 shoulder-stones engraved with twelve tribal names (cf. 28:21);

ii. (28:15-30) A Pocket [as breastplate] (with 12 engraved jewels) to hold Urim & Thummin [cf. Num 27:21];

iii. (28:31-35) A Robe with gold bells on its hem to give sound when entering the Holy Place [Tabernacle];

iv. (28:36-38) A gold Headplate inscribed ‘Holy to Yahweh’; [the wearer can] bear all guilt from holy gifts;

v. (28:39-43) Tunics;

vi. + A Turban (for Aaron);

vii. + Caps (for priests);

viii. + Belts [sashes];

ix. + Undergarments

29:1-35

• The priests must be consecrated & ordained during a 7-day-long ceremony [see Lev 8]

29:36-42

• Atone for & consecrate the sacrifice-altar for 7 days [see Lev 8:11, v15]; then sacrifice every day

29:43-46

• God will sanctify the tabernacle, the sacrifice-altar & the priests
• God will dwell with His people

30:1-10

#8. The gold-plated Incense-Altar; use it daily, morning & evening, & annually for atonement

30:11-16

• Law: Collect Atonement-Money whenever a census is taken of [men] aged 20+ (see 38:25-28)

30:17-21

#9. The bronze Water-Basin; priests must wash hands & feet before entering the tabernacle

30:22-38

#10. Holy Anointing-Oil (only for the tabernacle & priests)

#11. Holy Incense (only for God)

31:1-11

• God puts Bezalel and Oholiab in charge of the manufacturing; He has given them wisdom

31:12-17

• Law: Keep the Sabbath [Rest] because it signifies that God makes the people holy [cf. Gen 2:3]

31:18

• God gives to Moses the two stone-tablets^A that He has inscribed [as promised in 24:12]

iii. The covenant is broken then renewed

The Golden Calf

32:1-6

• The people give up waiting for Moses, so they ask Aaron to make gods for them; from gold ear-rings he makes a Golden Calf, builds an altar & holds a feast [allegedly] for Yahweh

32:7-14

• God tells Moses, ‘Go down [the mountain]; the people have turned corrupt; I will destroy them & make you into a great nation!’ but Moses intercedes, so God relents [cf. Num 14:11-20]

32:15-24

• Moses (carrying the stone-tablets^A) & Joshua descend Sinai; they hear the people singing;
• Moses breaks the stone-tablets^A in anger, destroys the Golden Calf, and rebukes Aaron

32:25-29

• Moses asks, ‘Who is on God’s side?’ & the Levites gather round;
• God says they must kill the other Israelites [who are NOT on God’s side];
• 3,000 men are killed but the Levites are blessed

32:30-33

• Moses asks God to forgive [cf. Paul in Rom 9:3] but God will not [cf. Ex 23:21, Jer 15:1, Rev 20:15]

God remains outside the camp

32:34 – 33:6

• God says, ‘Go [to Canaan]; an angel will go before you’ [NOT the Angel-of-Yahweh in 23:20-23]
• God afflicts the people [with a plague]
• God will not go in their midst [nor dwell in the tabernacle (contrast 25:8, 29:45-46)] as He would kill them (cf. 32:9-14)
• The people grieve

33:7-11

• Moses pitches a Tent-of-Meeting outside the camp to meet with God; Joshua stays at the tent

33:12-23

• Moses asks, ‘Who will go with us?’

[God had mentioned an angel in 32:34, 33:2, but who is he?];

• God says He will go with them now as Moses has found grace;
• He promises to show Moses His glory (see 34:5-7)

40 days & 40 nights #2 (+ Stone-Tablets^B)

[Moses fasts for 40 days, see 34:28]

34:1-9

• God tells Moses to carve stone-tablets^B & ascend Sinai
• God reveals His glory & declares His love & justice
• Moses asks God to walk among them & forgive them [cf. Deut 9:25-29]

34:10-27

• God makes a covenant to do miracles & to drive out the nations [from Canaan];
• the Israelites must not make a covenant with the Canaanites, and they must keep God’s religious laws

34:28

• Moses fasts for 40 days & nights [cf. Dt 9:18-19, 25-29]
• [God] engraves stone-tablets^B (Ex 34:1)

34:29-35

• When Moses descends Sinai, his face is radiant [reflecting God’s glory, cf. 2 Cor 3:13, v18] so he wears a veil when speaking to the people, but removes the veil when he is with God

iv. Building the tabernacle

35:1-3

• Moses begins instructing the people by saying, ‘Keep the Sabbath [Rest]!’ (see 31:12-17)

35:4-19

• Moses asks for freewill offerings;
• Moses asks for wise-hearted people to help manufacture the items

35:20-29

• All of the willing-hearted people respond by giving precious items or by spinning cloth

35:30 – 36:2

• Moses appoints Bezalel, Oholiab & other wise men to do the work [cf. instructions at 31:1-11]

36:3-7

• Too many offerings are being received for the work, so Moses tells the people to stop giving

36:8 – 38:20

• They build the following items [following the patterns given by God]:

#1. (36:8-38) The Tabernacle [pattern: Ex 26];

#2. (37:1-5) The Ark-of-the-Covenant [pattern: 25:10-15];

#3. (37:6-9) The Atonement-Lid [pattern: 25:17-20];

#4. (37:10-16) The Table [for bread; pattern: 25:23-29];

#5. (37:17-24) The Lampstand [pattern: 25:31-40];

#6. (37:25-28) The Incense-Altar [pattern: 30:1-5];

#7. (37:29a) Anointing-Oil [see: 30:23-25];

#8. (37:29b) Incense [see: 30:4-36];

#9. (38:1-7) The Sacrifice-Altar [pattern: 27:1-8];

#10. (38:8) The Water-Basin [mentioned: 30:18];

#11. (38:9-20) The Courtyard [pattern: 27:9-19]

38:21-31

• List: The weight of gold, silver and bronze used in construction; the silver was collected from a census [as instructed at 30:12-16; additional gifts of silver (at 35:24) were not recorded (cf. 36:7)]

39:1-31

• The priestly clothing is made [designs: Ex 28 / Oholiab was the chief embroiderer, see 38:23]

39:32-43

• Moses sees that everything has been built according to its pattern and he blesses [the workers]

40:1-15

• God tells Moses, 'Set up the tabernacle' [done in Ex 40:16-33];
• God tells Moses, 'Anoint the tabernacle as holy' [done in Lev 8:10-11];
• God tells Moses, '[Ceremonially] wash, dress & anoint the priests' [cf. Ex 29:4-9; done in Lev 8:6-9, v12-13]

40:16-33

• Moses sets up the tabernacle on Day 1, Month 1, Year 2 [of the religious calendar]

40:34-35

• The [pillar-of-] cloud descends, and God’s glory fills the tabernacle so Moses cannot enter it

40:36-38 Subsequent travel arrangements:

• Whenever the [pillar-of-] cloud [signalling God’s presence] lifted up from the tabernacle, the people began to journey [following the cloud, cf. Num 9:15-23]

Gen / EX / Lev / Num / Deut