God has come down on to the top of Mount Sinai and has told the children of Israel the basic foundation for His laws- the 10 Commandments.
But, the sight of God's power and the sound of God's voice scared the people so much that they asked Moses if he would talk to God and then tell them what God said.
Exodus 19:20- 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.
God told Moses all the different laws that He would require of the people. There were laws about slaves, laws about when people got injured, laws about property rights, laws for crimes against humanity, laws about the land and Sabbaths, laws about what to eat and not eat, even laws about how to worship. There were laws on what clothes to wear and how to wear them. So many laws!
God even told Moses about three special feasts that they should observe and keep every year.
Exodus 23:14-16- Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, [which is] in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
There were a lot of rules!
Then, God told Moses how to build the Tabernacle. This would be the special place where the priests would sacrifice to God. This would also be where men could go to pray and get things right with God. God also told Moses about the clothes that the priests would wear. Those were going to be special, too. God even told Moses who the priests were going to be.
Exodus 24:3-4- 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. 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.
Moses told the people what God had said, and then he built an altar and 12 pillars. Then they offered sacrifices to the LORD.
Exodus 24:6-8- And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 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. 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.
Covenants with God usually are made with blood. Moses made the sacrifice and then told the people what God's words were again, just to make sure they understood. When they agreed to what God said, Moses sprinkled the blood to confirm the covenant.
Exodus 24:1, 9-10 - And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off. Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.
These men saw God. They saw where he sat and what his feet were like. They got to see something that most people don't ever get to see- A part of God.
Exodus 24:12-15- 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. And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God. And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them. And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
God called Moses to come up onto Mount Sinai. Moses said he was going to have Joshua come with him to the borderline, where Joshua would wait for Moses. Then he told the elders that Aaron and Hur would be there if they had any problems.
Exodus 24:16-18- And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
