Category: Scripture

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing:

‘May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord smile on you and be gracious with you.
May the Lord sho you His favor and give you His peace.’

Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel, I Myself will bless them.” (vvv. 22-27, NLT)

Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord fled the Tabernacle. Moses could no longer enter the Tabernacle because the cloud had settled down over it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.

Now whenever the. cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out on their journey, following it. But if the cloud did not rise, they remained there where they were until it lifted. The cloud of the Lord hovered over the Tabernacle during the day, and as night fire glowed inside the cloud so that the whole family of Israel could see it. This continued throughout all their journeys. (vv. 34-38, NLT)

Next Bezalel made the Ark of acacia wood-a sacred chest 45 inches long, 27 inches wide and 27 inches high. He overlaid the inside and outside with pure gold, and he ran a molding of gold all around it. He cast four gold rings and attached them to its four feet, two rings on each side. Then he made poles from acacia wood and overlaid them withe gold. He inserted the poles into the rings at the sides of the Ark to carry it.

Then he made the Ark’s cover-the place of atonement-from pure gold. It was 45 inches long and 27 inches wide. He made two cherubim from hammered gold and placed them on the two ends of the atonement cover. He molded the cherubim on each end of the atonement cover, making it all one piece of gold. The cherubim faced each other and looked down on the atonement cover. With their wings spread above it, the protected it. (vv. 1-9, NLT)

Then Moses called together the whole community and told them, “These are the instructions the Lord has commanded you to follow. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the Lord. Anyone who works on that day must be put to death. You must not even light a fire in any of your ones on the Sabbath.” (vv. 1-3, NLT)

Moses immediately threw himself to the ground and worshiped. And he said, “O Lord, if it is true thatI have found favor with You, then please travel with us. Yes, this is a stubborn and rebellious people, but please forgive our iniquity and our sins. Claim us as Your own special possession.”

The Lord replied, “Listen, I am making a covenant with you in the presence of all your people. I will perform miracles that have never been performed anywhere in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people around you will see the power of the Lord-the awesome power I will display for you. But listen carefully to everything I command you today. Then I will go ahead of you and drive out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

Be very careful never to make a treaty with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you do, you will follow their evil ways and be trapped. Instead, yiou must break down their pagan altars, and cut down their Asherah poles. You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a Goe who is jealous about His relationship with you..” (vv. 8-14, NLT)

Then the Lord told Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones. I will write on them the same words that were on the tablets you smashed. Be ready in the morning to climb up Mount Sinai and present yourself tome on the top of the mountain. No one else may come with you. In face no one is to appear anywhere on the mountain. Do not even let the flocks or heard graze near the mountain.”

So Moses chiseled out two tablets of stones like the first ones. Early in the morning, he climbed Mount Sinai as the Lord had commanded him, and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands.

Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him: and He called out is own name, Yahweh. The lord passed in front of Moses calling out,

“Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren: the entire family is affected-even the children in the third and fourth generations.” (vv. 1-7, NLT)

One day Moses aid to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Take these people up to the Promised Land.’ But You haven’t told me whom you will send with me You have told me, ‘I know you by name, and I look favorably on you.’ But if it is true that You look favorably on me, let me know Your ways to I may understand you more fully and continue to enjoy Your ways more fully and continue to enjoy Your favor. An remember that this nation is Your very own people.”

Then the Lord told Moses, “I will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give your rest-everything will be fine for you.”

Then Moses said, “If You don’t personally go with us, don’t make us leave this place. How will anyone know that You look favorably on me-on me and on Your people-if yo don’t go with us? For Your presence among us sets Your people and me apart from all other people on the earth.”

The Lord replied to Moses, “I will indeed do what you have asked, for I look favorably on you, and I know you by name.”

Moses replied, “Then show me Your glorious presence.”

The Lord replied, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out My name, Yahweh, before you. For I will show mercy to anyone I choose. But you may not look directly at My face, for no one may see Me and live.” The Lord continued, “Look, stand near me on this rock. As My glorious presence passes, by I will hide you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove My hand and let you see from behind. But My face will not be seen.” (vv. 12-23, NLT)

It was Moses’ practice to take the Tent of Meeting and set it up some distance from the camp. Everyone who wanted to make a request of the Lord would go to the Tent of Meeting outside the camp.

Whenever Moses went out to the Tent of Meeting, all the people would get up and stand in the entrances of their own tents. They would all watch Moses until he disappeared inside. As he went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and hover over at its entrance while the Lord spoke to Moses. When the people saw the cloud standing at the entrance of they tent, they would stand and bow down in front of their own tents. Inside the Tent of Meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face-to-face, as one speaks to a friend. Afterward Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua son of Nun, would remain behind in the Tent of Meeting. (vv. 7-11, NLT)

The next day Moses said to the people,”You have committed a terrible sin, but I will go back up to the Lord on the mountain. Perhaps I will be able to obtain forgiveness for your sin.”

So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a terrible sin these people have committed. They have made gods of gold for themselves. But now, if you will only forgive their sin-but it not, erase my name f rom the record you have written!”

But the Lord said to Moses, “No, I will erase the name of everyone who has sinned against me. Now, go. lead the people to the place I told you about. Look! My angel wil lead the way before you. And when I come to call the people to account, I will certainly hold them responsible for their sins.”

Then the Lord sent a great plague upon the people because they had worshiped the calf Aaron had made. (vv. 30-35, NLT)

When Joshua heard the boisterous noise of the people shouting below them, he exclaimed to Moses, “It sounds like war in the camp!”

But Moses replied, “No, it’s not a shout of victory nor the wailing of defeat. I hear the sound of celebration.”

When they came near the camp, Moses saw the calf and the dancing, and he burned with anger. He threw the stone tablets down to the ground, smashing them at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf they had made and burned it. Then he ground it into powder, threw it into the water, and forced the people to drink it.

Finally, he turned to Aaron and demanded, “What did these people do to you to make you bring such a terrible sin upon them?”

“Don’t get so upset, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know how evil these people are. They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt’. So I told them, ‘Whoever has gold jewelry, take it off.’ When they brought it to me, I simply threw it into the fire-and out cam a calf!”

Moses saw that Aaron had let the people get completely out of control, much to the amusement of their enemies. So he stood at the entrance to the camp and shouted, “All of you who are on the Lord’s side, come here and join me.” And all the Levites gathered around him.

Moses told them, This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: Each of you, take your swords and go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other. Kill everyone-even your brothers, friends and neighbors. The Levites obeyed Moses’ command, and about 3,000 people died that day.

Then Moses told the Levites, “Today you have ordained yourselves for the service of the Lord, for you obeyed Him even though it meant killing you own sons and brothers. Today you have earned a blessing.” (vv. 17-29, NLT)