Day 11 · Exodus 19–20; 32–34
Old Testament · Phase 2 · Deliverance, Wilderness & Promised Land
Mount Sinai, Ten Commandments, and the Golden Calf
Exodus 19–20
Section titled “Exodus 19–20”Israel at Mount Sinai
1In the third month, on the same day of the month that the Israelites had left the land of Egypt, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. 2After they had set out from Rephidim, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai, and Israel camped there in front of the mountain.
3Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, “This is what you are to tell the house of Jacob and explain to the sons of Israel: 4‘You have seen for yourselves what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations — for the whole earth is Mine. 6And unto Me you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to speak to the Israelites.”
7So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him. 8And all the people answered together, “We will do everything that the LORD has spoken.”
So Moses brought their words back to the LORD.
9The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and they will always put their trust in you.”
And Moses relayed to the LORD what the people had said.
10Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes 11and be prepared by the third day, for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
12And you are to set up a boundary for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful not to go up on the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 13No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows — whether man or beast, he must not live.’
Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.”
14When Moses came down from the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. 15“Be prepared for the third day,” he said to the people. “Do not draw near to a woman.”
The LORD Visits Sinai
16On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the ram’s horn went out, so that all the people in the camp trembled. 17Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
18Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had descended on it in fire. And the smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. 19And as the sound of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in the thunder.
20The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the summit. So Moses went up, 21and the LORD said to him, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the LORD, lest many of them perish. 22Even the priests who approach the LORD must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them.”
23But Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, for You solemnly warned us, ‘Put a boundary around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’”
24And the LORD replied, “Go down and bring Aaron with you. But the priests and the people must not break through to come up to the LORD, or He will break out against them.”
25So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.
The Ten Commandments
1And God spoke all these words:
2“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3You shall have no other gods before Me.
4You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. 5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
8Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work— neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant or livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates. 11For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
12Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
13You shall not murder.
14You shall not commit adultery.
15You shall not steal.
16You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Moses Comforts the People
18When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sounding of the ram’s horn, and the mountain enveloped in smoke, they trembled and stood at a distance. 19“Speak to us yourself and we will listen,” they said to Moses. “But do not let God speak to us, or we will die.”
20“Do not be afraid,” Moses replied. “For God has come to test you, so that the fear of Him may be before you, to keep you from sinning.” 21And the people stood at a distance as Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
Idolatry Forbidden
22Then the LORD said to Moses, “This is what you are to tell the Israelites: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven. 23You are not to make any gods alongside Me; you are not to make for yourselves gods of silver or gold.
24You are to make for Me an altar of earth, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats and cattle. In every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.
25Now if you make an altar of stones for Me, you must not build it with stones shaped by tools; for if you use a chisel on it, you will defile it. 26And you must not go up to My altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it.’[’’]
Exodus 32–34
Section titled “Exodus 32–34”The Golden Calf
1Now when the people saw that Moses was delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him!”
2So Aaron told them, “Take off the gold earrings that are on your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.”
3Then all the people took off their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”
5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before the calf and proclaimed: “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.”
6So the next day they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.
7Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8How quickly they have turned aside from the way that I commanded them! They have made for themselves a molten calf and have bowed down to it. They have sacrificed to it and said, ‘These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’”
9The LORD also said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people. 10Now leave Me alone, so that My anger may burn against them and consume them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”
11But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God, saying, “O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people, whom You brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 12Why should the Egyptians declare, ‘He brought them out with evil intent, to kill them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce anger and relent from doing harm to Your people. 13Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to whom You swore by Your very self when You declared, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give your descendants all this land that I have promised, and it shall be their inheritance forever.’”
14So the LORD relented from the calamity He had threatened to bring on His people.
15Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
17When Joshua heard the sound of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “The sound of war is in the camp.”
18But Moses replied:
“It is neither the cry of victory nor the cry of defeat;
I hear the sound of singing!”
19As Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he burned with anger and threw the tablets out of his hands, shattering them at the base of the mountain. 20Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, and scattered the powder over the face of the water. Then he forced the Israelites to drink it.
21“What did this people do to you,” Moses asked Aaron, “that you have led them into so great a sin?”
22“Do not be enraged, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know that the people are intent on evil. 23They told me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him!’
24So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, let him take it off,’ and they gave it to me. And when I threw it into the fire, out came this calf!”
25Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them run wild and become a laughingstock to their enemies. 26So Moses stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me.”
And all the Levites gathered around him.
27He told them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each of you men is to fasten his sword to his side, go back and forth through the camp from gate to gate, and slay his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’”
28The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people fell dead.
29Afterward, Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for service to the LORD, since each man went against his son and his brother; so the LORD has bestowed a blessing on you this day.”
30The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. Now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”
31So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made gods of gold for themselves. 32Yet now, if You would only forgive their sin.... But if not, please blot me out of the book that You have written.”
33The LORD replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot out of My book. 34Now go, lead the people to the place I described. Behold, My angel shall go before you. But on the day I settle accounts, I will punish them for their sin.”
35And the LORD sent a plague on the people because of what they had done with the calf that Aaron had made.
The Command to Leave Sinai
1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of the land of Egypt, and go to the land that I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ 2And I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 3Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people; otherwise, I might destroy you on the way.”
4When the people heard this bad news, they went into mourning, and no one put on any of his jewelry. 5For the LORD had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I should go with you for a single moment, I would destroy you. Now take off your jewelry, and I will decide what to do with you.’”
6So the Israelites stripped themselves of their jewelry from Mount Horeb onward.
The Tent of Meeting
7Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it at a distance outside the camp. He called it the Tent of Meeting, and anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the Tent of Meeting outside the camp. 8Then, whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would stand at the entrances to their own tents and watch Moses until he entered the tent. 9As Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and remain at the entrance, and the LORD would speak with Moses. 10When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they would stand up and worship, each one at the entrance to his own tent.
11Thus the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young assistant Joshua son of Nun would not leave the tent.
The Promise of God’s Presence
12Then Moses said to the LORD, “Look, You have been telling me, ‘Lead this people up,’ but You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have found favor in My sight.’ 13Now if indeed I have found favor in Your sight, please let me know Your ways, that I may know You and find favor in Your sight. Remember that this nation is Your people.”
14And the LORD answered, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
15“If Your Presence does not go with us,” Moses replied, “do not lead us up from here. 16For how then can it be known that Your people and I have found favor in Your sight, unless You go with us? How else will we be distinguished from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
17So the LORD said to Moses, “I will do this very thing you have asked, for you have found favor in My sight, and I know you by name.”
18Then Moses said, “Please show me Your glory.”
19“I will cause all My goodness to pass before you,” the LORD replied, “and I will proclaim My name — the LORD — in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
20But He added, “You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live.”
21The LORD continued, “There is a place near Me where you are to stand upon a rock, 22and when My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. 23Then I will take My hand away, and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen.”
New Stone Tablets
1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the originals, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2Be ready in the morning, and come up on Mount Sinai to present yourself before Me on the mountaintop. 3No one may go up with you; in fact, no one may be seen anywhere on the mountain — not even the flocks or herds may graze in front of the mountain.”
4So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the originals. He rose early in the morning, and taking the two stone tablets in his hands, he went up Mount Sinai as the LORD had commanded him.
5And the LORD descended in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed His name, the LORD. 6Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out:
“The LORD, the LORD God,
is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger,
abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,
7maintaining loving devotion to a thousand generations,
forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin.
Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished;
He will visit the iniquity of the fathers
on their children and grandchildren
to the third and fourth generations.”
8Moses immediately bowed down to the ground and worshiped. 9“O Lord,” he said, “if I have indeed found favor in Your sight, my Lord, please go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our iniquity and sin, and take us as Your inheritance.”
The LORD Renews the Covenant
10And the LORD said, “Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will perform wonders that have never been done in any nation in all the world. All the people among whom you live will see the LORD’s work, for it is an awesome thing that I am doing with you.
11Observe what I command you this day. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 12Be careful not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land you are entering, lest they become a snare in your midst. 13Rather, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, and chop down their Asherah poles. 14For you must not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
15Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices. 16And when you take some of their daughters as brides for your sons, their daughters will prostitute themselves to their gods and cause your sons to do the same.
17You shall make no molten gods for yourselves.
18You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, you are to eat unleavened bread as I commanded you. For in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt.
19The first offspring of every womb belongs to Me, including all the firstborn males among your livestock, whether cattle or sheep. 20You must redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb; but if you do not redeem it, you are to break its neck. You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one shall appear before Me empty-handed.
21Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in the seasons of plowing and harvesting, you must rest.
22And you are to celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. 23Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel. 24For I will drive out the nations before you and enlarge your borders, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the LORD your God.
25Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to Me along with anything leavened, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Feast remain until morning.
26Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God.
You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
27The LORD also said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”
28So Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant — the Ten Commandments.
29And when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was unaware that his face had become radiant from speaking with the LORD. 30Aaron and all the Israelites looked at Moses, and behold, his face was radiant. And they were afraid to approach him.
31But Moses called out to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. 32And after this all the Israelites came near, and Moses commanded them to do everything that the LORD had told him on Mount Sinai.
33When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34But whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would remove the veil until he came out. And when he came out, he would tell the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35and the Israelites would see that the face of Moses was radiant. So Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.