REL 199 Notes Week 5

Exodus 19

Give a brief description of events from Exodus 19

• Chapter takes place three months after Israelites left Egypt
• Entered Desert of Sinai
• YHWH says that if the covenant is kept, then a land will be promised to them
• Moses tells the people this, and YHWH then tells him that the people should “wash their clothes and be ready on the third day because the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people” (Exodus 19:11) and that limits should be put on the people so that they cannot enter the mountain or else they will die.  They will be permitted when they hear that the Ram’s horn is blown
• Moses tells people to abstain from sexual acts
• On the third day, a storm was brewing and there was smoke on the mountain because YHWH had descended onto the mountain; the people stood at the foot of the mountain and trembled at the sound of the trumpet.
• YHWH told Moses to tell his people not to force their way up the mountain or they will perish.  Moses then told YHWH to “put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy” (Exodus 19:23)
• YHWH instructs Moses to bring Aaron up with him and that no priests or people should try to force their way up, for they will perish

What numeric patterns do you find in this chapter?

Everything has a tendency of happening or revolves around the number 3.  The story begins three months after the Israelites leave Egypt.  YHWH descends on the third day, etc.

Exodus 20

State the Decalogue

1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.
3. You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land 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 give false testimony against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

What’s the difference between the terms Decalogue and Ten Commandments?

The Decalogue is the top 10 commandments or rules established by YHWH for the Israelites.  There are a total of 613 that make up the Mitzvot, or commandments.  In Christian tradition, the Decalogue has been adopted as the Ten Commandments.

For a listing of the Mitzvot, visit this link

What does the end of Exodus 20 entail?

At the end of the chapter YHWH tells Moses to instruct the Israelites not to “make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold” (Exodus 20:23) and to also make an altar for burnt offerings of sheep, goats, or cattle.  The altar must be made of plain stones, and if there are steps leading up to the altar, the person must be naked.

Exodus 21-23

Exodus 21-23 cover laws on the following topics:

• Hebrew Servants
• Personal Injuries
• Protection of Property
• Social Responsibility
• Laws of Justice and Mercy
• Sabbath Laws
• The Three Annual Festivals

Chapter 23 also discusses how YHWH will send an angel to guard the Israelites and YHWH will wipe out the people in the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites.  YHWH also instructs the people not to bow down or worship their gods.  Other victories of the native tribes are also mentioned.

Exodus 24-25

In Exodus 24, YHWH establishes the covenant with the Israelites.  YHWH allows for Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel to worship at a distance while Moses is to approach YHWH alone.  Moses wrote down everything YHWH instructed him to.  The next morning, an altar was built and twelve pillars to represent each tribe were constructed.  Offerings were made and the Book of the Covenant was read to the people of Israel.

After that “Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank” (Exodus 24:9-11).  YHWH instructed Moses again to come up to the mountain again to receive the tablets of stone, with the laws and commandments written on them.

“For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights” (Exodus 24:16-18)

In Exodus 25, offerings for the Tabernacle are requested.  YHWH asks for “gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece” (Exodus 25:3-7).

Furthermore, guidelines for the Ark, the Table, and the Lampstand are established.  Pay note to the numerology used throughout Exodus 24 and 25.

Exodus 32

Exodus 32 highlights the creation of the Golden Calf, which was created out all of the gold everybody owned because they wanted to have gods would “go before them”.  YHWH finds out and sends Moses to resolve the problem by destroying everyone, but Moses convinces YHWH to do otherwise.  Instead Moses goes back to the settlement and sees the reveling of the Israelites, becomes angry, destroys the tablets, burns the calf in the fire, and takes the powder from the burned calf and makes the drink the powder that he mixed with water.