What was the purpose of God in giving the law to the Israelites? God is about to form a legal agreement between Himself and Israel as a church and also a nation under His governance. He’s been leading them from Egypt all the way to Mount Sinai. He’s been protecting them and caring for them as parents would care for their children.

Now God calls Moses, as the leader of the Israelites, up to the mountain to speak to him. He has a message for them through Moses.

Exodus 19:4-6
4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. 5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

• God reminded them of how He has already helped them and cared for them. And now He is about to ask if they want to be His people.
• He says if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, then He would make them a peculiar treasure above everyone else on the earth.

What was their reply? Did they want to enter into a covenant with God and be His people?

• Exodus 19:8
  And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.
• Without hesitation, they made that agreement and entered into a solemn covenant with God. They pledged themselves to Him to accept Him as their ruler and their God.

Exodus 19:9
And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD.

• God wanted the children of Israel to hear His conversation that He would have with Moses.
• Why? His purpose was to magnify and honour Moses in the sight of the whole nation so they might be careful to stop murmuring and blaming Moses for every small problem that came up.

So instruction was given for some preparation.

• Exodus 19:10-11
  10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, 11 And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.
• They had to wash themselves and their clothes.
• God would come down on the third day to give them ample time in solemn preparation before coming before God.
• They even needed to set up boundaries to make sure they didn’t come near the mountain otherwise whatever touched the mountain would be put to death.
• It was a serious event, a solemn event!

Then the day came.

• Exodus 19:16-20
  16 And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. 18 And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. 19 And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. 20 And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.
• All the people got to see the conversation that Moses was having with God. It was a grand scene, God coming down onto the mountain.
  • Thunder, lightning, a thick cloud, smoke, fire, and even an earthquake.
• This is probably the first time in the history that we see that God is speaking publicly.
  • He has communicated privately to man before. With Adam and Eve, with Noah, with Abraham, with Jacob.
  • But this is the first time He is coming publicly to a whole nation. Everyone gets to see and hear the communication that Moses has with Him.
• Truly Moses was magnified in the sight of everyone!
• But not only that, this is the first time they get to hear their deliverer.
  • God to them was the pillar of fire and pillar of cloud. There was no speaking except through Moses.
  • But now everyone would hear God speak and would see with awesome majesty His presence.

It is right after this that God speaks the 10 commandments to the children of Israel. He actually doesn’t write it down first on tablets of stone.

• Exodus 20:1-2
  1 And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
• God reminds them that He was the One that brought them out of the house of bondage under the Egyptians.
• He was their guardian through the 10 plagues, and the Red Sea crossing. He was their Deliverer and their Guide. And it is that same God who was now speaking to them His law.
• But even then, this law was not just a law of justice, but it was a principle of love.
• Deuteronomy 6:4-6
  4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart.
  • In Deuteronomy 5, the previous chapter, Moses has just reiterated the 10 commandments to them (Deuteronomy 5:6-21). But now he reminds them that they are based on the fundamental principle of love.
• Matthew 22:36-40
  36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 — Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
• The great principle of love was given to the Israelites there in Exodus 20. That is how God runs His kingdom. The foundation is love.
• The first four commandments pertain to love for God. If we love Him, we would keep those first four.
• And the last six commandments show our love for man. If we love man, we would not kill him or steal for him or lie to him.
• The foundation of it all, as you can see, is all about love.

So God comes down and He is about to speak the 10 commandments to the children of Israel. We are not going to study in detail each commandment, but it is certainly worth our time to refresh our understanding of it and just read through it.

• Exodus 20:3-17
  3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. 12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 13 Thou shalt not kill. 14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. 15 Thou shalt not steal. 16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
• If in fact we can memorize the 10 commandments it would be even better. God wants His law of love embedded into the very fabric of our being.
• Deuteronomy 6:6-9
  6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
• And in the New Testament God has not changed.
  • Hebrews 10:16
    This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them.
• If not word for word, at least we can see a pattern when it comes to the last six commandments. We know that the fifth commandment always relates to our parents and to honour them.
• But after that we see this pattern from six to ten. It goes from very bad to not so bad.
  • Don’t kill. That is the worst we can do to someone.
  • Then – don’t commit adultery.
  • Don’t steal.
  • Don’t lie.
  • And finally, don’t covet which is something that begins in our heart.

So the 10 commandments were spoke from Mount Sinai by God Himself. And when He spoke it, it was accompanied with awesome grandeur amid flames, thunders, lightning, clouds, and even the earthquake.

• God wanted it to be such an amazing sight so that they might never forget this scene, and that the law of God would leave such an impression on them that they might understand the great importance and the high regard that God has for His law.
• God wanted to show them how sacred and important the law was to Him and also to them.

But when the Israelites saw all this and heard the voice of God, how did they react?

• Exodus 20:18-19
  18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. 19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
• They were afraid. They wanted Moses to speak with them instead.
• But Moses comforted them.
  • Exodus 20:20
    And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
• He explained to them that they had nothing to fear and that they were to keep this experience with God before them in their hearts and minds that they would not sin against God.

After this God calls Moses up to speak to him privately.

• Exodus 20:21
  And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

What was God doing with Moses? Why did He call him up?

• Exodus 21:1
  Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.
• God was not done yet. He had given broad principles for the governance of the Israelites in the 10 commandments, but now He needed to be more specific on certain topics.
• Exodus 21:2
  If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
  • He gave laws concerning the treatment of servants.
• Exodus 21:12
  He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.
  • Laws concerning violence. What happens when someone kills another person?
• Exodus 21:28
  If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.
  • Laws concerning animals and what happens if they kill someone or the treatment of animals.
• Exodus 22:1
  If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.
  • Laws about the treatment of others property.
• Exodus 22:16
  And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.
  • Laws about moral and ceremonial principles. Things like treatment of virgins, not letting witches live, not to lie with an animal, treatment of strangers. Seems like miscellaneous laws.
• Exodus 23:1
  Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
  • God reiterates the law of not lying and expounds on it.
• Exodus 23:10-11
  10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: 11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.
  • Law about the Sabbath is also reiterated in relation to the land and also annual feasts. The feasts are further expounded upon in Leviticus.
• These laws were specific to the running of a nation. And although they don’t apply specifically today, the principles should still be taken and applied.

All these laws were given to Moses privately from God. Let’s continue reading.

• Exodus 24:3
  And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.
• When Moses came down and told them all these laws, the Israelites responded emphatically that they would do all that the Lord has instructed them just as they did at the very beginning in Exodus 19.
• But Moses and God were not done yet. They had to ratify this covenant, they had to confirm this covenant. How?
  • Exodus 24:4-6
    4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD. 6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
  • An altar would be built where they would offer sacrifices.
  • Moses would take the blood and sprinkle it on the altar.
• After that?
  • Exodus 24:7
    And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
  • Moses would read the covenant to them again.
  • And once again they would reply saing that all God had said to them, they would do it and be obedient.
• Exodus 24:8
  And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.
  • Then finally Moses would take the blood and sprinkle it on the people.
• Thus, the covenant was confirmed between God and the people.

After all of this, God would call Moses up and with him the priests and seventy of the elders of Israel to further establish the Israelites as a nation.

• Exodus 24:12-13
  12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. 13 And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.
• And so it is here that we have the beginnings of the nation of Israel with God as their leader. This is what we call a Theocracy. A nation under God.
• Moses was not the leader, he was just the messenger of God’s judgments and guiding.

We can clearly see that the Israelites willingly entered into covenant with God.

• God did not force Himself upon them. He bore them up on eagles wings. He provided for them. He protected them. He delivered them. He had the very best good for them in His heart and mind.
• It was obvious to them as well. That is why they replied emphatically each time that everything God had said, they would do it!
• If we took a step back to assess the whole situation and see the big picture so that we could make that decision of whether to accept God as our leader or not, I think we would have been amongst them saying the exact same thing. It would be foolish of us not to accept such a covenant.
• God had been such a merciful and loving God to them.
• But yet, God still did not force them. He gave them a choice as to whether they wanted to accept it or not. They were not deceived into accepting this covenant, this relationship. God was not hiding any part of His character from them.
• Not only through His actions from Egypt all the way to Mount Sinai, but even as He spoke His commandments and then gave more clear laws through Moses, they willingly accepted.
• And from that time forth, God would honour them with His abiding presence.
• Exodus 29:45
  And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.
• He would fight for them, He would be their provider and protector.
• He would exalt them from a race of slaves to be a people that was a peculiar treasure to the whole world. They would be exalted far above all the other nations. And His light and truth would shine out to everyone.

God still does the same for us today. He wants to enter into a covenant with us today. He wants us to be His people. We are reminded about that at every communion.

1 Corinthians 11:25
After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

His blood has been shed for us. He is willing to make that covenant. But He leaves it up to us as to whether we want Him to be our God or not. He gives us that freedom to choose.

But if we would enter into this covenant with Him, He would do for us as He wished to do for the children of Israel. To exalt us to also be that peculiar treasure, to be that blessing to everyone. He would be our provider and also our protector. Why not taste today and see that God is good? Let us recommit to Him today, to enter into covenant relationship with Him today, to be fully His, and His alone.