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Exodus records the birth of Israel as a nation. During their stay in Egypt the Israelites quickly multiplied so that by the time of the exodus from Egypt the Israelites numbered 2-3 million people.

The Book of Exodus also records their brutal slavery under the tyrannical Pharaohs, and their miraculous release after God brought about a series of plagues and disasters upon Egypt that caused Pharaoh to expel them from Egypt. He also showed them that their gods were nothing compared to the living God of Israel by the fact that their gods were helpless to stop God from performing His works in the land.

The Book of Exodus faithfully records the destruction of Pharaoh's armies in the Red Sea and the journeys of Israel from Egypt to Jebel 'al Lawz (Arabic for the Mountain of the Law) in Saudi Arabia (ancient Midian), the location of the REAL Mount Sinai. There Moses received the Ten Commandments and the rest of the laws set down by God for living and worship.

Exodus 1 - Beginning of Israel's slavery in Egypt, Pharaoh orders male Hebrew babies killed.

Exodus 2 - Birth of Moses; Moses kills Egyptian overseer, flees Egypt to dwell in Midian

Exodus 3 - God appears to Moses in the burning bush, commands him to confront Pharaoh

Exodus 4 - Moses protests to God; God shows him signs to perform; Moses travels to Egypt

Exodus 5 - Moses confronts Pharaoh; Pharaoh increases Israel's tasks; Israel protests

Exodus 6 - God reiterates His promises to Moses; heads of tribes of Israel listed

Exodus 7 - Moses' rod turns into a serpent; first plague (Nile river turns into blood for 7 days)

Exodus 8 - Plague of frogs; plague of lice; Pharaoh hardens his heart, will not let Israel go

Exodus 9 - Death of all livestock in Egypt; plague of boils; massive hail and chain lightning

Exodus 10 - Plague of locusts; three days of darkness (and explanation of possible cause)

Exodus 11 - God promises one final plague, promises Pharaoh will expel Israel out of Egypt

Exodus 12 - Passover; firstborn of Egyptians and cattle die; Pharaoh expels Israel from Egypt

Exodus 15 - Israel travels into the desert, complains of no water; encounters bitter lakes

Exodus 18 - Moses' father-in-law meets him; Moses sets up "chain of command" in Israel

Exodus 19 - Israel arrives at Mount Sinai; God comes down to the mountain in fire

Exodus 22 - Laws concerning thieves, restitution, witchcraft, cursing, lending, borrowing

Exodus 24 - Elders of Israel see God; Moses ascends Mount Sinai for 40 days and nights

Exodus 25 - Moses collects materials for Ark of the Covenant, candlestick, showbread table

Exodus 27 - Instructions for building altar of sacrifice, tabernacle courtyard, tabernacle lamp

Exodus 29 - Consecration of Aaron and his sons, laws of daily morning and evening sacrifices

Exodus 30 - Instructions for altar of incense; recipes for anointing oil and incense

Exodus 31 - Bezalel to oversee manufacture of Tabernacle. Moses given tablets of Law

Exodus 32 - Israel makes golden calf; Moses breaks tablets, 3,000 idolaters killed

Exodus 33 - Moses pleads for God to forgive Israel, sees God's back as He passes by

Exodus 35 - Israel begins manufacture of materials for Tabernacle, priests' clothing, etc.

Exodus 37 - Bezalel makes Ark of Covenant, showbread table, lampstand and altar of incense

Exodus 38 - Bezalel and Aholiab make altar of sacrifice and curtains for Tabernacle

Exodus 39 - Bezalel finishes manufacturing all items for Tabernacle and priests' clothing

Exodus 40 - Moses erects Tabernacle, anoints Aaron and sons, God's glory fills Tabernacle

1 NOW these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob:

5 All those who were descendants of Jacob were seventy persons (for Joseph was in Egypt already).

7 But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.

350 years after Jacob had brought his extended family to be with Joseph, Joseph's wife and two sons the number of descendants of Jacob had grown to approximately 2-3 million!

There has been much debate over this passage. The most likely explanation is that during the time of Joseph, Egypt had been ruled by native Egyptian Pharaohs and was a somewhat weak nation at the time. The estimated date for Jacob's arrival has been placed at 1876 B.C.

In approximately 1650 B.C. Egypt was conquered by Semitic invaders called the Hyksos. These intruders set themselves up as Pharaohs which would explain how there arose a Pharaoh "who did not know Joseph". Note also that the Scriptures say "a new king", not a new Pharaoh.

Pharaoh's during Moses' time with Egypt (Pharaonic years listed are years that they reigned):

Ahmose I (1550-1525 BC) He started the 18th dynasty in Egypt, this was just after the Hyksos had been defeated. His daughter was probably the woman who adopted Moses as her son. Moses' birth (1526 BC).

Amenhotep I (1525-1504 BC) Amenhotep I was the only surviving son of Ahmose I and Queen Ahmose-Nefertari. Amenhotep married his sister Ahmose-Meritamon, but none of their children survived. With no living heirs, he arranged for his sister (known as Queen Ahmose) to marry Thutmose I and for Thutmose I to succeed him as Pharaoh after he died. Moses was raised in this Pharaoh's house between ages 1 to 22.

Thutmose I (1504-1492 BC) Thutmose' father is unknown, but his mother's name was Senseneb, a commoner. He was married to the sister of Amenhotep I, and she was known as Queen Ahmose. Their only child was Hatshepsut. Thutmose I's only surviving son was born to a "minor wife". Moses was raised in this Pharaoh's house from ages 22-34.

Thutmose II (1492-1479 BC) Thutmose II was the son of Thutmose I and a "minor wife". Thutmose II and Hatshepsut were half-siblings. He married Hatshepsut because she had a greater degree of royal bloodline as the daughter of the reigning queen. Moses fled from this Pharaoh at the age of 40 years. (1486 BC)

Hatshepsut (1479-1457 BC) Daughter of Thutmose I and Queen Ahmose. When her husband Thutmose II died, Hatshepsut ruled as Regent for Thutmose III (her nephew (and step-son from her brother/husband Thutmose II) who was too young to rule by himself. Hatshepsut and Thutmose II had only one child, a daughter named Neferure.

Although she proclaimed herself as Pharaoh and even dressed like a male to be accepted and try to take the throne from Thutmose III while he was a child, eventually Thutmose III overthrew Hatshepsut and destroyed all the buildings, statues, writings, etc. that had any connection with her.

Archeologists have only this century discovered much of the life and reign of Queen Hatshepsut. She managed to rule Egypt quite successfully for 22 years, with the Israelite slaves doing all of her building for her.

Thutmose III (1479-1425 BC) Thutmose was so enraged at his aunt trying to take away his kingdom that he destroyed all the buildings, statues, writings, chipped her face off the family archives, etc. anything that had any connection with her. Archeologists have only this century discovered much of the life and reign of Queen Hatshepsut.

Thutmose III married his half-sister Neferure as she was the daughter of the Queen and had a better royal bloodline, securing his claim to the throne.

Moses returns to Egypt to free God's people (1446 BC). Thutmose III would have seen Moses' request as someone trying to take away a vital part of his kingdom of Egypt. This would have probably brought back the anger and hardness of heart from his dealings with Hatshepsut.

9 And he said to his people, "Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we;

10 "come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land."

11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses.

The Hyksos invaders could care less about Joseph's accomplishments, and would have begun oppressing the Israelites to ensure they didn't aid the native Egyptians in rebellion against their rule.

They would also have wanted to leave their mark on the land through buildings and monuments, thus they put the Israelites to work as slaves, afflicting them to keep them cowed and subservient.

Israelites built the treasure cities of Pithom and Raamses, which would have taken many years, as they had to cut limestone, haul it, make the bricks, etc. A daunting and arduous task, even by today's standards!

12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel.

14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.

The Egyptians increased the burden of the Israelites, partly to make use of the free slave labor, partly because they were still angry with the "foreigners" (after the Hyksos' rule the Egyptians were extremely xenophobic (an unreasonable fear and hatred of foreigners or strangers)), and partly because the Egyptians were hoping the hard work and conditions would cause many of the Israelites to die of overwork.

The Egyptians were more than likely worried about the possibility of another overthrow of the Egyptian rulers by foreigners, just like the Hyksos who were Canaanites and Shepherd Kings (like the Israelites). (During WW II, the Nazis forced the Jews in the concentration camps to work under similar inhumane conditions with the ideas of using them as slave labor. And by literally working them to death, they could make use of the work performed by the Jews and at the same time rid themselves of the Jewish people.)

15 Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah;

16 and he said, "When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live."

17 But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive.

18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, "Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?"

19 And the midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them."

20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty.

21 And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided households for them.

22 So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, "Every son who is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive."

Because the midwives did what was right in God's eyes and didn't obey Pharaoh, God blessed the midwives and the Israelites multiplied even more than before. Pharaoh called on his own people of Egypt to kill all Hebrew male babies, since the midwives refused. Under normal circumstances this would seriously decrease the number of Hebrews in the land until they had been reduced to a manageable number.

2 So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months.

This shows that both of Moses' parents were of the Levites. The Levites, as prophesied would become a line of priests to the Lord. Aaron, Moses' brother (older by 3 years) would become the first of the line of priests that would continue until just after the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD.

The actual physical priesthood ended with Jesus, as He is our High Priest before God the Father. God allowed the Romans to destroy the Temple because the Jews continued to sacrifice, not accepting Jesus as the ONLY sacrifice needed for salvation.

With the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., the Jews changed from being ruled by the Priests who taught the Law of Moses to being ruled by the Rabbis who teach the Rabbinical laws, from which books such as the Talmud have sprung.

3 But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river's bank.

This would have been heartbreaking for any mother to do, having to abandon your child like this. Crocodiles frequented the rivers of Egypt and could have devoured the child, but God watched over him to protect him.

It was probably summer time when this happened, because in the fall and winter months the Nile and it's tributaries flood their banks, bringing rich silt from the African interior. If the rivers had been in flood stage, she couldn't have stood so close to the river bank. This also shows it was probably summer time as that is when the reeds would be at their strongest.

The asphalt would more than likely have come from the Dead Sea area, called Lake Asphaltitus by the Romans. Asphalt is a very crude petroleum product and sometimes would float in small islands on the surface of the Dead Sea.

5 Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it.

6 And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children."

7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?"

8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Go." So the maiden went and called the child's mother.

9 Then Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages." So the woman took the child and nursed him.

Again this shows that it was probably the summer period in Egypt, as it was warm enough for the daughter of Pharaoh to be bathing in the river. It is also very possible that Pharaoh's daughter was married but could not have children, so seeing the baby in the river she would have attributed it to being a gift from her gods, and would have adopted the child.

One has to admire the shrewdness of the child's sister who saw an immediate opportunity not only to save her brother but have their own mother care for him under the protection of Pharaoh's daughter. Truly the hand of God can be seen here!

10 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, "Because I drew him out of the water."

11 Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.

12 So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

Moses apparently knew of his origins, probably having learned from his mother. Up to this point he more than likely wouldn't have had much contact with his people, as he would have been kept busy, being educated and trained in Egyptian culture, military skills, etc.

He also apparently had a well-developed sense of right and wrong, for seeing one of the Hebrews being beaten (probably excessively) by an Egyptian overseer, he came to the defense of the slave and killed the oppressor.

Egyptian law must have had provisions for prosecuting what would have been considered the murder of an Egyptian citizen, causing Moses to hide what he had done.

13 And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, "Why are you striking your companion?"

14 Then he said, "Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" So Moses feared and said, "Surely this thing is known!"

15 When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.

Thutmose II (1492-1479 BC) was probably the ruling Pharaoh when this happened. He probably saw Moses' act as a spark of rebellion that could cause the revolt of the entire Hebrew nation and wanted to make an example of Moses, showing that even though Moses was part of the Egyptian court he was still not immune from prosecution.

It was probably about 1486 BC when Moses fled, and he probably hooked up with a caravan headed away from Egypt. Bandits were prevalent at that time, and even though the Egyptians tried to keep the travel routes clear of robbers, a single man traveling alone would have made a tempting target for roving bandits. Caravans were usually heavily armed, and it was understood that if the caravan was attacked, everyone was to aid in its defense. Dressed as an Egyptian and able to pay for passage, the caravan wouldn't have cared if he joined them as long as he had money.

Moses left the caravan in Midian (present day southern Saudi Arabia) as most caravans would have continued either up the Saudi Arabian coast to purchase gold, perfume or spices; or they may have headed into Canaan if they had already bought goods in Egypt.

16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. And they came and drew water, and they filled the troughs to water their father's flock.

17 Then the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

Real he-men here, waiting until the women shepherds had wrestled the large stone off of the mouth of the well (to prevent evaporation and contamination of the water), then driving them away. The men shepherds would apparently bully the women away and water their flocks first, causing the women to have to draw more water and refill the troughs for their own flocks.

Moses saw this and single-handedly fought off the bullying male shepherds. Moses would have been highly trained in battle and hand-to-hand combat tactics as a male member of Pharaoh's household, and I imagine a heavy lance shaft upside some heads would have shown the cowardly shepherds the error of their ways!

While it mentions that Reuel is a priest, he probably worshiped one or more of the pagan gods of the area. Reuel "God is his friend"

18 When they came to Reuel their father, he said, "How is it that you have come so soon today?"

19 And they said, "An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he also drew enough water for us and watered the flock."

It would have been easy for the women to assume Moses was an Egyptian by his clothing. This also shows that they were probably at a stopping place for caravans, as they apparently had been exposed to Egyptians before.

20 So he said to his daughters, "And where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread."

I keep having a comical picture come to mind when I read this. I can easily imagine the young women staring at each other for a moment in shock, confusion and embarrassment as they realize that in their excitement over their deliverance they had committed a serious breach of manners in leaving Moses at the well after he had defended them. I can also imagine Reuel grinning in his beard in amusement as his flustered daughters leave in haste to fetch Moses to the house.

21 Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses.

22 And she bore him a son. He called his name Gershom, for he said, "I have been a stranger in a foreign land."

Reuel was probably getting on in years by the fact that his daughters were shepherdesses while he stayed home and cared for things around the house. There is no mention of a wife, so Reuel probably lived alone with his daughters.

Moses saw an opportunity to settle down and at the same time he could help Reuel and his family, if for nothing else, ensuring that the cowardly shepherds didn't bother Reuel's daughters again. Zipporah "little bird"; Gershom "exile"

23 Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.

24 So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

When Thutmose II died, Hatshepsut reigned as regent for Thutmose III as he was too young. She tried to take supreme power for herself and was even harsher on the Israelites than Thutmose II, to prove she could be as strong as a man. She had great buildings and temples built, even went as far as to wear a false beard to give the image of her being a man, so the common people wouldn't object to a woman ruling over them.

1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

2 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.

3 Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn."

There is a plant scientists have found that secretes an oil that in the hot sun can burst into flames and burn the oil but not damage the plant. Moses had obviously ever seen anything like that before!

Mount Sinai, (also known as Mount Horeb), was in Midian (Saudi Arabia). The present "Mount Sinai in the Sinai Peninsula was identified as "Mount Sinai" by Helen, Holy Roman Emperor Constantine's mother between 312 and 327 A.D. Scholars would be better served to pay attention to Scripture, for the apostle Paul says;

24 which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar

25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children

Paul therefore plainly states that Mount Sinai is in present day Saudi Arabia, and archaeological and geophysical proof has identified the real Mount Sinai as Jebel Al Lawz (Arabic - the Mount of the Law) in southwestern Saudi Arabia with almost 100% certainty. More on this later.

4 So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."

5 Then He said, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground."

6 Moreover He said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.

7 And the LORD said: "I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.

8 "So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.

9 "Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.

10 "Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."

I can't even begin to understand the magnitude of what Moses was feeling at this moment! First a burning bush, then a voice from the bush saying that it was almighty God speaking to him, and then God telling him he was to go back to Egypt and confront Pharaoh and bring the entire nation of Israel out of Egypt!

God, by calling Himself the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, was identifying Himself as the God of the promises given to Abraham and his descendants, therefore identifying Himself as the God who had spoken to Abraham.

11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?"

12 So He said, "I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain."

Moses' first thought was probably, "ME? Bring out Israel BY MYSELF?" And although is has been 40 years since Moses fled Egypt, making him about 80 years old, he is still afraid for his life, knowing that Pharaoh would kill him on sight.

(What he didn't know was that Pharaoh Thutmose II was dead by this time, succeeded by his son Thutmose III who could very well have been a contemporary of Moses when Moses still dwelt in Pharaoh's house. If nothing else, Thutmose III would have known of Moses.)

13 Then Moses said to God, "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?"

14 And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"

15 Moreover God said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: 'The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.'

The Hebrew name given here, is "YHWH" (pronounced 'Yahweh'; in it's Latinized form, 'Jehovah'). Many of the Jews deem this name too holy to pronounce, so they use other terms when speaking of God.

Note that in verse 15 God tells Moses to tell the people of Israel that "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you." While Moses probably wasn't fully conversant with the promises given to Israel by God, the people he would be speaking to would understand immediately the identity of the God of which Moses spoke, having hoped and cherished these promises for 430 years!

16 "Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, 'The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, "I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt;

17 "and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey."'

18 "Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, 'The LORD God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.'

19 "But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand.

I imagine that some of the Israelites remembered that God had promised Abraham that his descendants would be in Egypt for 400 years, and were looking for the promised deliverance. Therefore Moses' words would be received with great joy by the nation of Israel but with great wrath and indignation by Pharaoh and his people!

God also tells Moses that it will not be an easy task. We need to remember that when God sends us on a mission the task may not be simple, but in the end God will prevail. He will sometimes harden the adversaries that He might show His power and wrath upon them, as we will see later.

20 "So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go.

21 "And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed.

22 "But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians."

Moses immediately knows that the "wonders" that God will bring upon Egypt will not be pleasant! But God also tells him that He will force the Egyptians to repay Israel for the labor that they performed which will both recompense Israel as well as bankrupt Egypt for it's wickedness.

1 Then Moses answered and said, "But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, 'The LORD has not appeared to you.'"

3 And He said, "Cast it on the ground." So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it.

4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail" (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand),

5 "that they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you."

6 Furthermore the LORD said to him, "Now put your hand in your bosom." And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, like snow.

7 And He said, "Put your hand in your bosom again." So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his other flesh.

8 "Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign.

9 "And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land."

Some might believe that Moses was trying to make excuses to God, but if you think about it, these were reasonable questions. He could tell the Israelites that God had spoken to him, and they would say, "Uh huh," while wrapping him in a strait-jacket. So, God gives him three unmistakable signs of His power:

1. The staff turning into a snake (probably a poisonous viper by the fact that Moses fled from it) shows God’s ability to give life to inanimate objects, much as He created Adam from the dust of the ground.

2. Leprosy was a frightening disease (even today) with no known medicinal cure. A person who was a leper was a permanent outcast in society, forced to live in a separate "leper colony" well away from population centers. They were required to shout "Unclean! Unclean!" wherever they went so that people could avoid them, and lived a lonely, agonizing life of pain and illness while their flesh literally rotted from their bodies. In this, God showed His mastery over disease and healing.

3. Water into blood. The Hebrew word for "blood" here is 'dam' (pronounced 'dawm'), meaning literal blood from a man or animal. This would not be a colored water trick, this would be real blood! Again, this would show God's mastery over Creation, able to change one substance into another.

10 Then Moses said to the LORD, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue."

11 So the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD?

12 "Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say."

13 But he said, "O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send."

14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and He said: "Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.

15 "Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do.

16 "So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God.

17 "And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs."

NOW Moses starts making excuses! But God counters each of them, reminding Moses that He chooses whom He will to perform His work in spite of their deficiencies, real or perceived. Oddly enough, Aaron his brother was able to travel from Egypt to seek him out, either by escaping Egypt or by permission from Egyptian authorities. I have often been curious about this, but there is no explanation given in Scripture for this event.

God then essentially tells Moses, "Aaron will speak for you, and you will speak for Me."

18 So Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, "Please let me go and return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive." And Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace."

19 Now the LORD said to Moses in Midian, "Go, return to Egypt; for all the men who sought your life are dead."

20 Then Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

This points to the courage and faith of Moses, in that he was willing to take his family with him to Egypt, trusting God that he would do as He promised and would protect them from harm. Note that Moses also respected Jethro as the patriarch of the family, by asking his permission to take his wife, Jethro's daughter into Egypt.

21 And the LORD said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.

22 "Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the LORD: "Israel is My son, My firstborn.

23 "So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn."'"

This must have shaken Moses, as it gave him an idea of the severity of the punishment that God was about to bring upon Pharaoh.

24 And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the LORD met him and sought to kill him.

25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses' feet, and said, "Surely you are a husband of blood to me!"

26 So He let him go. Then she said, "You are a husband of blood!" because of the circumcision.

This is an odd event. No reason is given as to why God didn't caution Moses to have Gershom circumcised before he left, or why the Lord would seek to kill him for not doing so earlier. Even Zipporah apparently knew why God had come against Moses and saved her son's life by circumcising him with a sharp stone (probably flint).

27 And the LORD said to Aaron, "Go into the wilderness to meet Moses." So he went and met him on the mountain of God, and kissed him.

28 So Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which He had commanded him.

After 40 long years of exile Moses, now 80 years old, meets with his brother Aaron, himself now 83, at Mount Sinai in the wilderness of Midian. God had apparently told Aaron exactly where to meet Moses, and Aaron was probably astounded beyond of measure (as was Zipporah, more than likely) at the signs that Moses showed him.

29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel.

30 And Aaron spoke all the words which the LORD had spoken to Moses. Then he did the signs in the sight of the people.

31 So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel and that He had looked on their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.

God definitely knew what he was doing with this arrangement. Aaron would have been a well-known figure to the elders of Israel in Egypt, whereas Moses would have been a relative stranger. With Aaron explaining the purpose of Moses' return, they would have been listening to a man they knew and trusted, and with Moses showing the signs, anyone who might not have believed Moses, or who might have objected to his mission would have been silenced.

1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.'"

2 And Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go."

3 So they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go three days' journey into the desert and sacrifice to the LORD our God, lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword."

4 Then the king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people from their work? Get back to your labor."

5 And Pharaoh said, "Look, the people of the land are many now, and you make them rest from their labor!"

6 So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying,

7 "You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves.

8 "And you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not reduce it. For they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.'

9 "Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard false words."

10 And the taskmasters of the people and their officers went out and spoke to the people, saying, "Thus says Pharaoh: 'I will not give you straw.

11 'Go, get yourselves straw where you can find it; yet none of your work will be reduced.'"

12 So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.

13 And the taskmasters forced them to hurry, saying, "Fulfill your work, your daily quota, as when there was straw."

Apparently at least Aaron was known to Pharaoh's court, and may even have been one of the leaders of Israel while they were in Egypt, therefore both he and Moses were allowed into Pharaoh's presence. I imagine he was somewhat surprised to see Moses. He had probably heard about Moses while growing up, but had probably been only a small a child when Moses left.

I can also see his amused skepticism when confronted with Moses' demands, and the furious glare he must have aimed at his court officials, essentially saying, "You allowed him in here to bother me with this?"

Remember, Thutmose was still enraged from his aunt Hatshepsut having tried to wrest his kingdom from him, and the last thing he needed was a troublemaker trying to stir up a revolt among the slaves! So he used a tried and true method to cure the problem, namely force the people to work much harder, therefore quelling any thoughts of rebellion and turning them against Moses and Aaron at the same time. And guess what? It worked!

14 Also the officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, "Why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today, as before?"

15 Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, "Why are you dealing thus with your servants?

16 "There is no straw given to your servants, and they say to us, 'Make brick!' And indeed your servants are beaten, but the fault is in your own people."

17 But he said, "You are idle! Idle! Therefore you say, 'Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.'

18 "Therefore go now and work; for no straw shall be given you, yet you shall deliver the quota of bricks."

19 And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble after it was said, "You shall not reduce any bricks from your daily quota."

20 Then, as they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet them.

21 And they said to them, "Let the LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us."

I can understand the frustration of the people here. Before they had been given straw to mix with the mud and clay for making brick and now they had to not only scrape the ground for stubble but make the same number of bricks as before! And the cry of the people to Pharaoh shows that they apparently didn't know of the confrontation between Moses and Aaron with Pharaoh until they met with Pharaoh to ask why such harsh punishment was laid on them.

22 So Moses returned to the LORD and said, "Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me?

23 "For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all."

Moses' frustration can be understood here. God had sent him to speak to Pharaoh as he did, and not only has nothing happened in the way of deliverance, but things have actually become worse!

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land."

God tells Moses: Not only will Pharaoh let the Israelite people go, but he will literally force them out of Egypt when God is finished with him!

3 "I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I was not known to them.

God was known as LORD or I AM, but here God reveals His name for the first time. In Hebrew it is: YHWH (Yahovah).

4 "I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers.

5 "And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.

6 "Therefore say to the children of Israel: 'I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.

7 'I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

8 'And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the LORD.'"

9 So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage.

Although God promises to free Israel, they won't listen because of their bondage, and by the fact that He hasn't moved to free them yet. We may condemn them for their lack of faith, but we have the advantage of history, knowing that God did indeed keep His promises.

11 "Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land."

12 And Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, "The children of Israel have not heeded me. How then shall Pharaoh heed me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?"

13 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a command for the children of Israel and for Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

God is giving Pharaoh a chance to heed Him to let Israel go. Moses however again says that he cannot speak eloquently nor persuasively to Israel, let alone Pharaoh. In this, Moses is subtly pointing out to God that nothing has happened yet, even though Moses has obeyed the Lord in all things.

14 These are the heads of their fathers' houses: The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. These are the families of Reuben.

15 And the sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These are the families of Simeon.

Jemuel "God is light" Spelled Nemuel "God is Speaking" in Numbers 26:12; 1 Chronicles 4:24

16 These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were one hundred and thirty-seven.

18 And the sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were one hundred and thirty-three.

19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their generations.

20 Now Amram took for himself Jochebed, his father's sister, as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were one hundred and thirty-seven.

23 Aaron took to himself Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon, as wife; and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

24 And the sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the families of the Korahites.

25 Eleazar, Aaron's son, took for himself one of the daughters of Putiel as wife; and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites according to their families.

Sons of Amram (son of Kohath): (sons by his father's sister Jochebed "Jehovah is honor or glory")

Aaron's wife: Elisheba "God is an oath"; daughter of Amminadab "my people are willing or noble", sister of Nahshon "oracle" of the line of Judah.

Abiasaph "my father has gathered" His descendants were door keepers of the tabernacle.

26 These are the same Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said, "Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies."

27 These are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt. These are the same Moses and Aaron.

28 And it came to pass, on the day the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,

29 that the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "I am the LORD. Speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you."

30 But Moses said before the LORD, "Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh heed me?"

This is a reiteration of the lineage of the leaders of Israel at the time. It also demonstrates that both Aaron and Moses were of the tribe of Levi, through whom the priesthood of the Lord would come.

1 So the LORD said to Moses: "See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.

2 "You shall speak all that I command you. And Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of his land.

God again tells Moses that Moses will speak as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron will be a prophet to both Moses and Pharaoh. It is interesting that as with Jacob and Esau, the younger (Moses) was set above the elder (Aaron).

3 "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.

4 "But Pharaoh will not heed you, so that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My armies and My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.

5 "And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them."

God has determined to show both Pharaoh and the surrounding nations His might and power by what He plans to do to Egypt. By this, all who hear will know that it was God who brought Israel out of Egypt, not anything that Israel or Moses did. As we will see later, the nations of Canaan were terrified of Israel when they left Egypt because of what they heard that God had done to the Egyptians considered then to be one of the mightiest nation of the time

7 And Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.

9 "When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, 'Show a miracle for yourselves,' then you shall say to Aaron, 'Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent.'"

10 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the LORD commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.

11 But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.

12 For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.

13 And Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the LORD had said.

Satan is a great imitator, and I'm sure that he eavesdropped on God's conversations with Moses and Aaron. When Aaron cast his rod before Pharaoh, it became a real, living serpent for only God has power to create life from nothing.

Satan however snatched the rods of the magicians away and replaced them with serpents snatched from elsewhere, as Satan can only destroy life, he has no power to create life. Aaron's rod eating those of Pharaoh's magicians not only showed God's power over the magicians, it was also a direct strike against the Egyptian serpent god.

14 So the LORD said to Moses: "Pharaoh's heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go.

15 "Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the water, and you shall stand by the river's bank to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand.

16 "And you shall say to him, 'The LORD God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, "Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness"; but indeed, until now you would not hear!

17 'Thus says the LORD: "By this you shall know that I am the LORD. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and they shall be turned to blood.

18 "And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will loathe to drink the water of the river."'"

19 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone.'"

20 And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the LORD commanded. So he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.

21 The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

22 Then the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments; and Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the LORD had said.

23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this.

24 So all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the river.

The first plague strikes. Note that the Nile river and all the water in their streams, rivers, ponds and pools (even containers of wood & stone, vessels that already contained water) throughout all of Egypt were turned to blood.

There have been numerous theories concerning this, such as a plague of "red tide" (one-celled poisonous microorganisms that give the water a reddish color), or a sudden sweep of red silt into the Nile river bed, etc.

However this does not explain how that all of the waters in Egypt, including those already in containers, turned to blood. And note that the word used for "blood" is the Hebrew word "dam", meaning literal blood. The text is clear in that this was literal blood, not blood-colored water. The fact that the river stank and the fish in the river died lends credence to the water becoming blood also.

This was a direct strike against the Nile river, considered by the Egyptians to be divine, as it brought rich silts from the interior of Africa during the autumn flood season, creating rich farmland in the Nile Delta.

This plague affected the Israelites too, showing God's might by effecting ALL of the land of Egypt. But because Pharaoh's magicians could imitate this on a small scale, Pharaoh refused to concede to God as He had prophesied.

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says the LORD: "Let My people go, that they may serve Me.

2 "But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your territory with frogs.

3 "So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls.

4 "And the frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants."'

God warns Pharaoh of a second plague - frogs. Some believe they were really land toads, but the Bible says they came out of the river. This plague affected the Israelites too, showing God's might by affecting all of the land of Egypt, graphically telling the Egyptians that this wasn't a local phenomenon. By this plague, God was also showing His power over the Nile which was considered sacred by the Egyptians, and also over the god associated with the river.

5 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.'"

6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.

7 And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.

8 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, "Entreat the LORD that He may take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the LORD."

While Pharaoh's magicians could "bring up" frogs too by having demons collect them and make them appear, even Pharaoh knew they couldn't get rid of them. So he promises Moses to let the Hebrews go into the wilderness to sacrifice to God, if God would get rid of the frogs.

9 And Moses said to Pharaoh, "Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants, and for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only."

10 So he said, "Tomorrow." And he said, "Let it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God.

11 "And the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only."

12 Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses cried out to the LORD concerning the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh.

13 So the LORD did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields.

15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the LORD had said.

Moses promises to ask God to get rid of the frogs, except the ones in the river which belonged there. God killed all the frogs, except the ones in the river. As soon as the frogs are dead, Pharaoh goes back on his word, hardening his heart as God had foretold in the beginning. Note it says that while the frogs died, the land stank as a reminder to Pharaoh and his servants (to whom cleanliness was extremely important) that God had defiled the whole land of Egypt with the stench of rotting frogs. And you can be sure traveling merchants and traders are seeing this, and are reporting it abroad!

16 So the LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.'"

17 And they did so. For Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and it became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

18 Now the magicians so worked with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not. So there were lice on man and beast.

19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the LORD had said.

Again this affected the Israelites too, showing God's might by affecting all of the land of Egypt. Not even the Pharaoh's magicians could imitate the lice, for in this case God had created lice from the dust of the ground, and Satan cannot create life. Here God begins to show His true power to Pharaoh and Egypt, by doing things that Satan cannot imitate. Even the magicians of Pharaoh now freely admit that God is mightier than they, but again Pharaoh refuses to listen.

Lice are usually associated in society with uncleanness, as in unwashed bodies, dank dungeons, filthy areas, etc. While this is not true, the stigma of lice would have been a terrible moral and emotional blow to the Egyptians who prided themselves on being physically clean.

Such a plague would have driven traveling merchants and caravans from the land also, a crushing blow to the Egyptian economy, as word would quickly spread of the plague.

20 And the LORD said to Moses, "Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water. Then say to him, 'Thus says the LORD: "Let My people go, that they may serve Me.

21 "Or else, if you will not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also

22 "And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the land.

23 "I will make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall be."'"

24 And the LORD did so. Thick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies.

25 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, "Go, sacrifice to your God in the land."

26 And Moses said, "It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not stone us?

27 "We will go three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He will command us."

28 So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Intercede for me."

29 Then Moses said, "Indeed I am going out from you, and I will entreat the LORD, that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. But let Pharaoh not deal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD."

31 And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained.

32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.

Note carefully that God now shows His sovereign power in that He sets the land of Goshen aside and states that it will not suffer the plagues that have afflicted all of Egypt up to this point. Thus Pharaoh is being told that from now on, his people alone will suffer from the plagues.

Again, God brings an abomination upon the Egyptians, in that flies are known disease carriers and are associated with unclean situations. This would be an abhorrence to Pharaoh and the Egyptians, as they would be afraid to eat any food or drink any water that the flies had been into.

Pharaoh tries to bargain with Moses, saying first that Israel can sacrifice within the borders of Egypt, then telling them they can enter the wilderness, but remain within range of his armies.

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, 'Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: "Let My people go, that they may serve Me.

3 "behold, the hand of the LORD will be on your cattle in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the oxen, and on the sheep a very severe pestilence.

4 "And the LORD will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel."'"

5 Then the LORD appointed a set time, saying, "Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land."

6 So the LORD did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died.

7 Then Pharaoh sent, and indeed, not even one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh became hard, and he did not let the people go.

God now strikes at the riches and the food stocks of the Egyptians, killing their cattle and severely impacting their commerce. By killing their cattle He removes a food source and a labor source for the Egyptians cannot use oxen for plowing and pulling of carts. Chariots now remain idle, for there are no horses to draw them. There is no wool from sheep or goats; camels, a major source of transportation are gone also, bringing Egypt's transportation industry to a screeching halt.

Pharaoh in disbelief sends someone to check the livestock of Israel and finds that as God commanded, so it was that the livestock of Israel in Goshen was unharmed. And yet rather than humble himself and be seen as less of a god in the eyes of his people, he again hardens his heart and defies God.

8 So the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh.

9 "And it will become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and it will cause boils that break out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt."

10 Then they took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses scattered them toward heaven. And they caused boils that break out in sores on man and beast.

11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians.

12 But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh; and he did not heed them, just as the LORD had spoken to Moses.

Disease - a dreaded thing in ancient times now strikes Pharaoh and his people. Boils are a painful affliction causing running sores and can even appear on the bottoms of the feet, which is why Pharaoh's magicians could not stand before Moses and Aaron. Even Pharaoh was afflicted by them, proving to him and all in the land that there was a greater God than he. Yet even in his affliction, he still hardens his heart and refuses to humble himself before God.

13 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, 'Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: "Let My people go, that they may serve Me,

14 "for at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth.

15 "Now if I had stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth.

16 "But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.

17 "As yet you exalt yourself against My people in that you will not let them go.

18 "Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to rain down, such as has not been in Egypt since its founding until now.

19 "Therefore send now and gather your livestock and all that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man and every animal which is found in the field and is not brought home; and they shall die."'

20 He who feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses.

21 But he who did not regard the word of the LORD left his servants and his livestock in the field.

22 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt on man, on beast, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt."

23 And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt.

24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.

25 And the hail struck throughout the whole land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field.

26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.

27 And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, "I have sinned this time. The LORD is righteous, and my people and I are wicked.

28 "Entreat the LORD, that there may be no more mighty thundering and hail, for it is enough. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer."

29 So Moses said to him, "As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the earth is the LORD's.

30 "But as for you and your servants, I know that you will not yet fear the LORD God."

31 Now the flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the head and the flax was in bud.

33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread out his hands to the LORD; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth.

34 And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants.

35 So the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the LORD had spoken by Moses.

This plague would again destroy their commerce further, in which flax (providing fibers for cloth manufacture) and barley, a major grain source would be wiped out. God showed mercy in that He didn't harm their main food supplies of wheat and spelt which had apparently been sown but hadn't broken the ground yet. Again this plague didn't affect the Israelites, but again shows the power of God that the hail will only fall where God chooses.

Along with the bolts of lightning came what appears to have been chain-lightning, a phenomenon in which bolts of lightning travel along wet ground, electrocuting anything conductive (like people and cattle) over large distances. That and the hail was so great that God says there has never been any like it since Egypt was formed as a nation!

Apparently some of the Egyptians believed in Moses and Aaron, as they brought their servants and livestock in from the fields and into shelter for protection, while others in their arrogance left them outside, and suffered loss. Note carefully that God said He could have destroyed all of Egypt with pestilence (disease), but He had personally raised Pharaoh to his present position so that He could demonstrate His power over him. God was also preparing for the departure of Israel, in the fact that the news of what was happening in Egypt was spreading into the surrounding nations. These nation would then know that when Israel left Egypt, their terrible God would be coming with them and would destroy all who opposed them as He did with the mighty Egyptians.

1 Now the LORD said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him,

2 "and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son's son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD."

God is reminding Moses that the great wonders He is doing and His might over Egypt are to be passed down to each generation of His people.

3 So Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, "Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me.

4 'Or else, if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory.

5 'And they shall cover the face of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the earth; and they shall eat the residue of what is left, which remains to you from the hail, and they shall eat every tree which grows up for you out of the field.

6 'They shall fill your houses, the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians which neither your fathers nor your fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.'" And he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

7 Then Pharaoh's servants said to him, "How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?"

8 So Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, "Go, serve the LORD your God. Who are the ones that are going?"

9 And Moses said, "We will go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we will go, for we must hold a feast to the LORD."

10 Then he said to them, "The LORD had better be with you when I let you and your little ones go! Beware, for evil is ahead of you.

11 "Not so! Go now, you who are men, and serve the LORD, for that is what you desired." And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.

12 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land all that the hail has left."

13 So Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.

14 And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all the territory of Egypt. They were very severe; previously there had been no such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them.

15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt.

16 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and said, "I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you.

17 "Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and entreat the LORD your God, that He may take away from me this death only."

19 And the LORD turned a very strong west wind, which took the locusts away and blew them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the territory of Egypt.

20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.

God finally destroys Egypt's complete food supply. These types of locusts will eat everything that is edible, and will strip the bark from the trees, killing them also. God apparently brought them from the Arabian peninsula with the East wind strong enough to bring them over the Red Sea, and sent them back with a West wind that dumped them into the Red Sea.

Pharaoh's servants are literally taking their lives in their hands by telling Pharaoh, supposedly a living god, that he is wrong in keeping Israel in the land and that Egypt is virtually destroyed as a nation! But God keeps hardening his heart so the news of Egypt's destruction will travel far and wide, and that all of the Egyptians will know who is truly God.

21 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt."

22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.

23 They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

24 Then Pharaoh called to Moses and said, "Go, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your little ones also go with you."

25 But Moses said, "You must also give us sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.

26 "Our livestock also shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind. For we must take some of them to serve the LORD our God, and even we do not know with what we must serve the LORD until we arrive there."

28 Then Pharaoh said to him, "Get away from me! Take heed to yourself and see my face no more! For in the day you see my face you shall die!"

There has been much speculation as to the cause of the three days of darkness in Egypt. Some have ventured that the titanic eruption of the volcano Thera in the Aegean Sea (east-southeast of Greece) in 1534 B.C. blew so much ash into the atmosphere that it caused the darkness. While ash from Thera did indeed reach Egypt, there wasn't enough to cause the darkness described in Exodus.

However, another theory has come to light that may be the actual "smoking gun". During the reign of Saddam Hussein there lived a people in the swamps where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers meet who are called "Marsh Arabs". These people lived on large floating mats of reeds and made their living in the marshes.

Saddam Hussein tried to drive them out as he had no control over them and when this failed he began draining the marshes to destroy their culture and drive them out of the marshes. His tactic worked for the most part but it also revealed something interesting, namely the faint outline of a 2 mile wide impact crater in what would have been a shallow sea about 4000 years ago. The size of the crater indicates that a small asteroid struck the area with the power of hundreds of nuclear bombs, and explains the sudden decline of many of the major city-state empires (Ur, Sumer, Akkad, Ebla, Uruk, Mari) in the area.

Such an impact could very well have caused the three days of darkness in Egypt, as the strike would have thrown millions of tons of water, dust and debris into the atmosphere, and prevailing winds could have caused the debris cloud to drift over Egypt. God could also have planned this so that with the decline of the great kingdoms of the area after the impact there would not be any powerful resistance to the Israelites when they left Egypt and moved into the areas occupied by these empires.

1 And the LORD said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether.

2 "Speak now in the hearing of the people, and let every man ask from his neighbor and every woman from her neighbor, articles of silver and articles of gold."

3 And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people.

God tells Moses to have the Israelites get silver and gold from their Egyptian neighbors, essentially wages for the work they have performed for 430 years. God also says that the next plague will be so horrifying that Pharaoh will literally drive Israel out of Egypt.

The Egyptians were terrified of Moses and Israel because of the plagues that had been wrought in Egypt and were already begging Pharaoh to let Israel leave, so the last plague would be (pardon the pun) the last straw.

4 Then Moses said, "Thus says the LORD: 'About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt;

5 'and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the hand mill, and all the firstborn of the animals.

6 'Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again.

7 'But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the LORD does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.'

8 "And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, 'Get out, and all the people who follow you!' After that I will go out." Then he went out from Pharaoh in great anger.

9 But the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh will not heed you, so that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt."

10 So Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; and the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go out of his land.

Moses openly tells Pharaoh and Pharaoh's servants what the last plague will be and when it will take place. The shock and terror of Pharaoh's servants can easily be imagined, considering that every other plague Moses had spoken of had happened as promised. Again this would not affect the Israelites, showing the power of God, showing that He is the Master of life and death. Once again Pharaoh refuses to back down and Moses has had enough. He finishes his last meeting with Pharaoh and leaves in a towering rage.

2 "This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.

God creates the Jewish calendar. Their year will begin every year in the same month as God redeemed the Israelites from their physical bondage in Egypt. The first month of their year would be called "Abib". The 1st month was called Abib until the Babylonian captivity, after which it was called "Nisan".

3 "Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: 'On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.

4 'And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man's need you shall make your count for the lamb.

5 'Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats.

This is where the Temple priests later became corrupt and made a great deal of money. After the priesthood was established the people would have to get the priests to examine the sheep or goats for blemishes. The priests would find "something wrong" with almost every animal (even something as small as a different colored strand of hair on the animal). They would then offer to sell them a "perfect" lamb (of which the priests had plenty) for their sacrifice to God.

The corruption became so rampant that animal sellers brought their "perfect" animals into the Temple itself to sell to those whose animals the priests had deemed imperfect. The animal sellers would sell their animals to the people, and the priests would receive a "kickback" from the sellers. Also the "Temple tax" (money required to maintain the Temple) needed to be a blank silver coin as there could be no images on the coins. As a result, moneychangers would exchange blank silver shekels for common coins that had images on them (for a fee of course). These moneychangers then moved their tables inside of the Temple itself to do their business.

This was the type of corruption Jesus was angry about when He went through the Temple overturning the money changers' tables and driving out the animal sellers.......

14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.

15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables.

16 And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"

6 'Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.

Passover is to begin 14 days after the New Year begins. All the lambs would be killed at the same time, at sunset. (Remember the new day begins at sunset)

7 'And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it.

The lamb's blood is to be painted on both door posts and the overhead post (lintel) of the house where the Passover meal was being eaten.

Note: When Jesus was crucified, His wrists were nailed to the crossbeam of His cross, corresponding to the sides of a doorway. His head was bloodied from the brutal beating He suffered and by the crown of thorns that had been driven into His scalp, corresponding to the blood on the lintel (top beam) of a doorway.

8 'Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.

They are to eat the lamb after roasting by fire (as in sacrificing), and unleavened bread (baked without yeast) to remember the haste with which they left Egypt and bitter herbs to remind them of their bitter bondage and slavery.

9 'Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire its head with its legs and its entrails.

10 'You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire.

NO leftovers, everything was to be eaten or burned to ashes. They were to leave nothing behind when they left.

11 'And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover.

12 'For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.

13 'Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

14 'So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.

God Himself will execute judgement on the Egyptians, killing all of the firstborn in the land. God makes the Passover an everlasting covenant to the Jewish nation, which means that Jews today are still required to observe Passover. Messianic Jews observe it knowing that it is symbolic of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who was sacrificed for the sins of the world on 14 Nisan, 26 A.D. (Jesus was born in 7 B.C. and died at the age of 33.)

For those interested in learning more about the timing of Jesus' birth, please see the study called "Christmas - the real story" in this Web site. )

15 'Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.

The first day of Passover they had to get rid of ALL leaven (yeast) and leaven products (bread, etc.). Anyone Israelite that breaks this command to eat no leaven for seven days will be no longer considered a Jew. Messianic Jews know leaven symbolizes sin in our lives and we need to keep a constant vigil against sin in our lives; we must find it, get rid of it, repent and ask forgiveness from God for whatever the sin may be. Leaven is symbolic of sin and deceit, as Jesus and Paul taught;

15 Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."

1 In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

16 'On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat that only may be prepared by you.

On the 1st and 7th days of the 7 days of the Passover, a gathering is to take place to worship God. On those two days the only work allowed to take place is food preparation.

17 'So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance.

18 'In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening.

The Passover (feast of unleavened bread) is to be observed every year forever, in remembrance of God's bringing the Israelites out of 430 years of physical bondage in Egypt. It is to be observed in the 1st month of the Jewish year (Abib/Nisan) and on the 14th day of that month.

19 'For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land.

20 'You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.'"

The Israelites were not to eat anything with leaven in it. They were not allowed to even have anything leavened in their homes. The consequence if this was not observed was for that person to be cut off (outcast) from Israel! One of the customs the Jews adopted in later centuries was to sell all their leaven to a Gentile for a set price for 7 days, then to buy it back after Passover for the same price. This way they didn't actually own or have anything leavened in their homes. Note also that God states that this applied to both native Jews as well as Gentiles (strangers) who had adopted the Jewish faith.

21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb.

22 "And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning.

23 "For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.

24 "And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever.

25 "It will come to pass when you come to the land which the LORD will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service.

Moses explains the last plague and what they are to observe for the Passover. Notice that they are to observe this forever, but only after they come into the promised land. The Egyptians would consider such a sacrifice an abomination, so there would be no blood on the doorposts of Egyptian houses.

26 "And it shall be, when your children say to you, 'What do you mean by this service?'

27 "that you shall say, 'It is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.'" So the people bowed their heads and worshiped.

28 Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

This is to be a memorial to God's wonders and miracles when He delivered the Israelites out of Egypt, to be passed down from generation to generation, forever.

29 And it came to pass at midnight that the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock.

30 So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

Every house in Egypt was stricken by the Lord!!! This was truly a miracle, as only the firstborn of both man and beast died.

31 Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, "Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the LORD as you have said.

32 "Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also."

33 And the Egyptians urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, "We shall all be dead."

34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders.

35 Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing.

36 And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

37 Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children.

38 A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds a great deal of livestock.

39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.

40 Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.

41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years on that very same day it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.

This is why they were to eat while dressed in traveling clothes. This is also the fulfillment of the prophecy by God to Abraham that his people would be in Egypt for 4 generations (430 years). There were about 600,000 men not counting women and children, so the total number was probably 2-3 million (conservatively).

Note also that the Bible says a "mixed multitude" went with Israel as they left, meaning a large number of non-Jews (Gentiles) left with them after seeing the works of the Lord.

Pharaoh finally humbles himself, and allows Israel to leave. The death of his heir was what finally broke his will.

42 It is a night of solemn observance to the LORD for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the LORD, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations.

43 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "This is the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it.

44 "But every man's servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it.

46 "In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones.

48 "And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it.

49 "One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you."

50 Thus all the children of Israel did; as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

The Passover is to be observed only by the Jews, converts, and the members of their household that are circumcised. Christians (being circumcised of the heart) celebrate the symbolism of Jesus sacrificed as the Passover Lamb, the perfect sacrifice, by partaking in the communion covenant.

51 And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the LORD brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their armies.

God leads His people out of Egypt and on their way to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel).

PASSOVER	ISRAELITES	JESUS
Male lamb or goat without blemish	The most perfect was required for offerings and sacrifices to God	Jesus was male and sinless (without blemish) Hebrews 4:15 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
No bones were to be broken	No bones were to be broken	When Jesus was crucified they pierced his side, but didn’t break any of His bones John 19:31-36 31 Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 32 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. 36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken."
Lamb or goat of the first year	The first and best was required for offerings and sacrifices to God	Jesus was the only Son of God. There was no other sacrifice as perfect.
Lambs would be killed at sundown	Sundown was the start of a new day	Jesus was taken off the cross at sundown.
Blood on the doorposts and lintel	This sealed the house from death.	Jesus seals us from eternal death with His blood. And now we seal our homes against Satan by anointing them with oil.
Roasting in fire	Sacrifices were done by fire.	Jesus was in (fire) hell for 3 days. The final sacrifice, perfect and blameless.
Unleavened bread	Haste with which the Israelites left Egypt.	Leaven is equated to sin. Jesus was sinless.
Bitter Herbs	Bitterness of the physical bondage in Egypt, before God saved them.	Bitterness of bondage in sin, before Jesus saved us.
PASSOVER	ISRAELITES	JESUS
Eating of the lamb	Partaking in the sacrifice to God as part of their covenant of Passover.	Partaking in Jesus’ Communion covenant. Mark 14:22-24 22 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." 23 Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And He said to them, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.
Nothing left out after dusk	The Israelites were to leave NOTHING behind in Egypt, not even leftover food.	Jesus was taken off the cross and put in a tomb at dusk. The tomb was empty when it was opened.
Eat hastily and fully clothed.	The Israelites had to be ready to leave at a moments notice.	Jesus was killed in haste.
Saved from bondage	Through His miracles and wonders, God saved the Israelites from the physical bondage of Egypt.	Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, God saved us from spiritual bondage of sin.

2 "Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine."

God commands that the first born male of man and beast is wholly and holy to God. This was anticipating the birth of God's Son, Jesus Christ who would be foremost in all things.

22 Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord

23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the LORD"),

24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, "A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."

3 And Moses said to the people: "Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.

5 "And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service in this month.

The Israelites are to begin observing the Passover after they enter the land of Canaan. God would not require this of them while they traveled in the wilderness, as it would quickly deplete their stock of sheep and goats. That, and they dwelt in tents during their travels in the wilderness, to there would be no doors or lintels to splash the blood of the sacrificial lamb upon.

6 "Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD.

7 "Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters.

Israel is to eat no leaven (yeast) for 7 days. No leaven is to be anywhere in their home either during these 7 days, as a reminder of the haste in which they left Egypt.

8 "And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, 'This is done because of what the LORD did for me when I came up from Egypt.'

9 "It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the LORD's law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt.

They are to tell each generation every year about the mighty hand of the Lord bringing the Israelites out of Egypt. Once they reach Canaan this is to be observed every year, forever. The "sign on the hand" and the "memorial between your eyes" is where the Jews (especially the Orthodox and the Hasidic sects) get the concept of "phylacteries" (Tefillim in Hebrew), small wooden boxes that they strap on the back of the hand and wear on the forehead above the eyes.

These phylacteries contain a small piece of sheep or lamb skin with a verse of the Law (Torah) written on it. Jesus referred to these when He said of the Pharisees;

3 "Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.

4 "For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

5 "But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.

Unfortunately by the time of Jesus, the phylacteries were seen as a mark of holiness. The bigger the phylactery, the closer to God you were in the eyes of the common folk. Jesus pointed out that the Pharisees did this because they loved adulation from people, and were quite vain in their appearances.

11 "And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you,

12 "that you shall set apart to the LORD all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the LORD's.

13 "But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.

14 "So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What is this?' that you shall say to him, 'By strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

15 'And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.'

16 "It shall be as a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt."

All firstborn male animals (except donkeys) are to be sacrificed to God. This is a reminder of the destruction of the firstborn of man and beast in Egypt during the final plague of the Exodus. Also by sacrificing these animals, a constant supply of food was provided for the house of Levi, whose sole purpose was to minister to the Lord and the things of the Lord. They would own no property, nor would they have an inheritance of land in Israel (unless land was donated to them). Therefore God provided that they would eat of the sacrificial offerings, providing for their welfare as well.

Donkeys were "unclean" animals and were not to be eaten, and therefore could not be sacrificed. As such, they were to be either redeemed with a "clean" animal (a lamb) or they were to be killed, again as a reminder of the destruction of the firstborn in Egypt.

17 Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, "Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt."

18 So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.

God figured that the people would lose heart if they escaped Egypt and immediately ran into a war with the Philistines. There was a well-traveled path between Egypt and Philistia called the Old Horus Road and Israel could have easily reached Canaan within several months by traveling this road. However the Philistines (Sea Peoples) were fierce fighters, and had conquered or destroyed many of the coastal cities from Turkey to Egypt in their quest for a homeland after fleeing the eruption of the volcanic island of Thera (Greek "Fear") in 1546 B.C., the most violent volcanic eruption in recorded history.

The eruption and destruction of the island of Thera destroyed the advanced Minoan culture that ruled the Aegean Sea (creating the legends of Atlantis), and the Minoan survivors fled south and east from the island of Crete (Hebrew "Caphtor") to escape any future catastrophes. The eruption of Thera was so violent, that Zakros palace on the southeast corner of Crete 60 miles to the south of the volcano was destroyed so quickly and thoroughly that looters never found the treasures buried in the rubble. Recent archaeological excavations have revealed vials of expensive perfumes and rare jewelry. Tsunamis washed up on the shores of Crete to a height of 300 feet from the blast, and areas of western Turkey showed evidence of tsunamis reaching a height of 600 feet.

The Minoans (Philistines) were advanced enough that they had learned to smelt and work iron while the rest of the Middle Eastern cultures were still using bronze, giving the Philistines a huge advantage in war. They had systematically moved down the western coast of Asia from Turkey to Egypt, destroying everything in their path until Pharaoh Rameses III finally stopped them at the border of Egypt.

God spoke of the Minoan origin and flight of the Philistine survivors of Thera when He said;

1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before Pharaoh attacked Gaza.

2 Thus says the LORD: "Behold, waters rise out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood; they shall overflow the land and all that is in it, the city and those who dwell within; then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall wail.

3 At the noise of the stamping hooves of his strong horses, at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers will not look back for their children, lacking courage,

4 Because of the day that comes to plunder all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains; for the LORD shall plunder the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor.

God here was speaking of Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar's soon coming attack against the Philistines. And

note that God in verse 4 speaks of the Philistines as being the remnant of the country of Caphtor (Crete).

19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you."

In the area formerly known as Goshen in Egypt, the remains of a luxurious villa have been unearthed with distinct Asiatic origins. It has been speculated that this was the villa of Joseph, and there is supporting evidence for this, covered in the Genesis chapter 50 study. The remains of an elaborate tomb in the villa were also unearthed, and a tunnel had been dug into the tomb at first attributed to grave robbers. But grave robbers do not take the bodies from the graves they plunder, and this tomb did not have a body, so it is speculated that Israelites took the body of Joseph from this tomb when they left Egypt.

20 So they took their journey from Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness.

21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.

22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.

God used a pillar of cloud by day for a visible reminder of His presence, and a pillar of fire by night for light. It was high enough for 2-3 million people to see. This also tells us that they were traveling day and night as needed for their escape from Egypt.

2 "Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea.

God tells them exactly where to make camp. The exact location of Migdol (fortress or tower) is unknown, as Egypt had a string of fortresses along it's borders to control trade and as an advance buffer against attack.

3 "For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, 'They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.'

4 "Then I will harden Pharaoh's heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD." And they did so.

Baal-Zephon and Migdol must have been further south in the Sinai Peninsula, or Pharaoh wouldn't have said "They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in." as Pharaoh knew that the easiest route of escape was for Israel to follow the coast. Besides, he would be hesitant about following Israel northwards, for the Philistines kept close watch on their border with Egypt and if they saw a band of Egyptians led by Pharaoh coming, they would immediately prepare for war with Egypt, something the Egyptians definitely couldn't afford at the time.

And by turning south into the Sinai peninsula Pharaoh would think that Israel was lost in the wilderness of Sinai, having mistakenly trapped themselves in the wilderness and deserts with the Gulf of Suez to the west, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the south, and Pharaoh and his army to the north. A nice, tight trap. And as Egypt had ports on both sides of the Sinai Peninsula, it would stand that fortresses were placed in the Sinai to protect these ports. And as "Migdol" means "fortress" this could have been the name of numerous such fortresses.

The people are warned that Pharaoh will come after them, but God reassures them that He will protect them and conquer the Egyptians by His mighty hand! The Egyptians will know without a doubt this time that He is Lord!

5 Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, "Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?"

7 Also, he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them.

8 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness.

9 So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.

Pharaoh takes the "cream of the crop" of his warriors to go after Israel. Each war chariot usually had 2 men riding in it, one to control the horse, one to handle weapons such as spear and bow. Chariots would be faster than infantry therefore they could pursue the fleeing Israelites faster and would be a devastating terror weapon against the unarmed people.

10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD.

11 Then they said to Moses, "Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt?

12 "Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, 'Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness."

The Israelites panicked, even though God had told them He would protect them from harm, and wanted to return to the slavery of Egypt rather than face this angry Pharaoh. They still had a slave mentality, figuring that as bad as it was for them in Egypt, it was worse now than anything they had suffered to this point.

13 And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.

15 And the LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.

16 "But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

Israel was now at the bottom of the Sinai peninsula with Pharaoh and his troops to the west and the sea to the east. Any military strategist would tell you that this was the worst possible position for Israel to be in, militarily!

Moses must have been incredulous when he heard God tell him that Israel was to travel through the sea! But still he had faith that God would do as He had promised, especially after witnessing the plagues He had already brought upon Egypt.

17 "And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen.

18 "Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen."

God will show Pharaoh and the Egyptians once and for all, that He is God. This will break Egypt's military power, and it would take them years to recover. And it would be many years before Egypt would trouble Israel again.

19 And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them.

20 So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.

Here we see something interesting. It says "the Angel of God" moved the pillar of cloud/fire from before Israel to a place behind them, as a barrier between the soldiers of Pharaoh and Israel. God was the one who dwelt in the pillar of cloud/fire, yet the text speaks of the Angel of God, not an angel of God. In other words, the text is speaking of a select individual. Hold that thought for a few moments.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.

22 So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

23 And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

Satellite radar imagery has shown a heavy track below the sands of the Sinai Peninsula caused by the passage of a large number of people which follows the western coast of the Sinai Peninsula which then turns east and stops at the entrance of the Gulf of Aqaba at the bottom tip of the Sinai Peninsula. And apparently this track continues on the other side of the Gulf into present-day Saudi Arabia.

At the site of this apparent crossing is a stretch of sea floor (the Strait of Tiran) approximately a mile wide that comes very close to the surface of the Gulf and connects the Sinai Peninsula with Saudi Arabia, a form of underwater bridge.

I can only speculate about this next part, as I haven't been able to find any topographic information on the area to prove what I am about to say, so please bear with me. If you notice in verse 2 above, God says Israel is to camp before (in front of) Pi Hahiroth (Mouth of the Gorges). As they were traveling eastward, this would place Pi Hahiroth on the other side of the strait at which they were camped.

A strong east wind could move a large body of water, but for the waters to form walls, it would require a funnel effect to concentrate the wind into a narrow stream of air that could divide the waters into two walls. If high winds came out of a gorge formation, it could funnel the winds into a howling river of air that could conceivably push the waters into walls on either side of the wind stream. Such winds blowing over the shelf of sea floor I mentioned earlier could produce just the effect that the Bible describes.

Notice that Pharaoh himself didn't follow his men and chariots into the sea bed. God intended to leave the highest level person in all of Egypt as a witness to His might!!! God always leaves a witness, and in this case, all of Egypt would know what had happened from the mouth of Pharaoh himself.

24 Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the LORD looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians.

25 And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians."

Remember that I mentioned earlier that the Bible states that the Angel of the Lord was in the cloud that separated Israel from the Egyptians? Note that it now says that God looked from the cloud at the Egyptians!

What does this mean? The word "angel" means "messenger", one who brings word of something or from someone. Therefore the angel was not only the messenger of the Lord, He is the Lord Himself.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

As Jesus is the Word of God and is equal with God, He is the only being who could be both the Angel (messenger) of God, and still be God Himself at the same time. Blasphemy? Not if you consider the Triune nature of God, namely the Father who is supreme, Jesus Christ His Son whom He has exalted to be equal with Himself, and the Holy Spirit of God who dwells within us. So Scripture bears witness that Jesus, God's messenger, was in the cloud between the Egyptians and Israel.

The seabed that Israel crossed would have consisted of soft sand and silt which would have made the wheels of the heavy war chariots of the Egyptians sink into the soft bottom as they drove them. That and the struggles of the horses to try to pull them would have caused torsion on the wheels and axles of the chariots, causing axles to snap and wheels to come off.

This would have given Israel time to reach the other side of the Strait before the Egyptians could reach them. The Egyptians seeing this, and remembering what God had done to Egypt came to the terrifying realization that God was still protecting the Israelites. And I suspect they had a dawning horror of what was coming.

26 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen."

27 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

28 Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained.

29 But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

Having been a sailor in the Navy myself, I have seen first hand the frightening power of the sea, seeing ships weighing thousands of tons being tossed about like small corks.

God caused the east wind to suddenly die down, allowing the walls of water on both sides of the Strait of Tiran to collapse and run together. The violence of such an event can only be imagined, as countless tons of water suddenly lose their support and come crashing down onto the sea bed, and crashing against each other. Imagine also the terror and horror of Pharaoh, seeing his top warriors suddenly caught in this situation and knowing that neither he nor any of Egypt's gods can save them. He must have been a broken man after seeing this.

30 So the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.

31 Thus Israel saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses.

When the dead Egyptians washed up on shore the Israelites finally realized the might and power of the Lord. Then they finally feared and believed the Lord and Moses.

1 Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying: "I will sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!

2 The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will exalt Him.

4 Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.

6 "Your right hand, O LORD, has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O LORD, has dashed the enemy in pieces.

7 And in the greatness of Your excellence You have overthrown those who rose against You; You sent forth Your wrath; It consumed them like stubble.

8 And with the blast of Your nostrils the waters were gathered together; the floods stood upright like a heap; the depths congealed in the heart of the sea.

9 The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.'

10 You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

11 "Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness fearful in praises, doing wonders?

13 You in Your mercy have led forth the people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength to Your holy habitation.

14 "The people will hear and be afraid; sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia.

15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling will take hold of them; all the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away.

16 Fear and dread will fall on them; by the greatness of Your arm they will be as still as a stone, till Your people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over Whom You have purchased.

17 You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which You have made for Your own dwelling, the sanctuary, O LORD, which Your hands have established.

The power of the returning sea is described in the song above, as Pharaoh's troops were sucked down and drowned in the raging waters, yet none of the children of Israel were harmed, indeed showing the power of God in His wrath!

19 For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.

20 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.

21 And Miriam answered them: "Sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!"

Timbrels are small hand cymbals, usually having small straps that allow them to be placed on the thumb and forefinger.

22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.

23 Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah.

25 So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them,

26 and said, "If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you."

27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.

Marah literally means "bitter". The area was once a large lake that has since dried up and looks much like the salt flats in Utah. The people who lived there dug wells as the lake began to dry up, seeking water. The well waters in that area are very high in iron salts causing a very alkaline, bitter taste. These ancient wells have been found and verified in southwestern Saudi Arabia (ancient Midian), close by the Strait of Tiran. The water table has dropped so that these wells have been long abandoned, but by them remains the remnants of an old dead tree, which could very well have been the tree used by Moses to sweeten the waters.

God gives Israel an ultimatum. Listen to God, do His commandments and they will prosper. Disobey, and He will bring disaster upon them, to show His wrath. Even today, this command is with us and we would do well to heed God's voice, and keep His commandments!

The wells of Elim have also been found, an oasis called Al Bad close by the Marah wells. It sits in the middle of inhospitable desert and is a refreshing sight to travelers as there are many palm trees there and the waters of the wells there are exceptionally cold and sweet. Again, the incredible accuracy of the Bible is displayed in the fact that Moses wrote the Book of Exodus 3500 years ago, but events of the Exodus can still be verified today!

1 And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt.

Israel continues it's journey deeper into the wilderness of Sin in western Saudi Arabia.

2 Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.

3 And the children of Israel said to them, "Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."

It certainly didn't take Israel long to forget that God had promised to protect them and provide for them. They still had the slave mentality, complaining that while they were slaves they ate and drank their fill, (conveniently forgetting the harsh treatment they were receiving at the time also).

We shake our heads at how quickly the people turned against the Lord and Moses, but if we take a hard look at our lives, we have cases where we have done the same thing. It is easy to praise the Lord and believe in Him while things are going well, but it is much harder when we are in trouble, or affliction!

4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not.

5 "And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily."

God will provide food to be gathered every day. They are to gather only enough for each day, except on the sixth day of the week when two days worth will be gathered. This is so they will not gather their food on the Sabbath because they are to rest on the Sabbath.

6 Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, "At evening you shall know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt.

7 "And in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD; for He hears your complaints against the LORD. But what are we, that you complain against us?"

8 Also Moses said, "This shall be seen when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the LORD hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the LORD."

9 Then Moses spoke to Aaron, "Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, 'Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your complaints.'"

God is again about to show His mercy to Israel despite their complaints. There are times when we may have legitimate complaints before God and He will hear us in the matter. But it is one thing to bring a legitimate complaint to Him, and quite another to whine and moan because we don't trust Him!

10 Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.

12 "I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"

13 So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp.

14 And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground.

15 So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.

God provided quails for meat in the evening and manna (literally "what is it?") for bread in the morning.

16 "This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: 'Let every man gather it according to each one's need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.'"

18 So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one's need.

20 Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.

Every man was to gather an omer (about 5.1 pints) for each member of their household and in another sign of God's power, each gathered just as much as they would need. Moses told them no manna was to be left until the next morning, God would provide every day for them (just as God provides what we need when we need it). However, some of the people either didn't believe or got greedy and kept the leftovers which decomposed overnight.

21 So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted.

22 And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.

23 Then he said to them, "This is what the LORD has said: 'Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.'"

24 So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it.

25 Then Moses said, "Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field.

26 "Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none."

27 Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none.

28 And the LORD said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws?

29 "See! For the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day."

God shows the Israelites that He is serious about observing the Sabbath!!! We should also observe the Sabbath today. God set one day a week for physical rest, this helps keep you healthier physically, emotionally and spiritually. Remember when God created everything in Genesis He rested on the seventh day.

For those who may work on Sunday (or Saturday, whichever day you observe as a Sabbath), remember God set aside one day a week for rest. There is no mention of which day it is, as long as you observe one day during the week and rest as He commanded. As the Apostle Paul later stated;

5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.

6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it.

31 And the house of Israel called its name manna. And it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

32 Then Moses said, "This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: 'Fill an omer with it, to be kept for your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.'"

33 And Moses said to Aaron, "Take a pot and put an omer of manna in it, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations."

34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.

35 And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

The Israelites ate manna for forty full years, depending on God for their food - one day at a time. The pot of manna would be put into the Ark of the covenant when it was built.

1 Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink.

2 Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, "Give us water, that we may drink." So Moses said to them, "Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the LORD?"

3 And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, "Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?"

4 So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!"

5 And the LORD said to Moses, "Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go.

6 "Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

7 So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"

Once again Israel doubted God and complained to Moses for water (even though God had provided everything they needed every time they needed anything, but in God's timing not theirs). God had Moses use the same rod he used in Egypt to perform miracles to strike a rock and water gushed out, enough for all the people.

We need to remember that God will test us at times to see what is in our hearts. We test drive cars before we buy them, to prove what they can do. We smelt metals and subject them to tremendous heat to burn out impurities that would corrode or weaken the metal, and to get a pure product; people exercise which at the time is painful and strenuous, but results in better health, endurance and strength.

Even so will God test our spirits, to "burn out" sin and unbelief, to strengthen us and give us better spiritual health. Satan will often ask God for permission to test us, to see if he can make us sin. If we do, that shows us an area that we need to have tested more often until we strengthen it, much as a muscle becomes stronger and harder after being tested through exercise.

Note that God says He will stand before Moses on the rock in Horeb. This area was in the vicinity of Mount Sinai, for Mount Sinai and Mount Horeb are the same mountain. Reason would indicate that since Israel was traveling roughly north-east from the lower part of the Saudi Arabian peninsula that this area would be on the south-west flank of the mountain. Remember, Moses would have been familiar with the area, having been a shepherd there for 40 years.

1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

For sheep to have grazed around Mount Sinai, the area at one time must have been well-watered and fairly fertile. I suspect that Moses was at a side of the mountain where there were no springs flowing from the mountain, and it would probably take several days' journey to reach an area where there was water.

I suspect that the "back of the desert" would have been on the north-eastern side of Mount Sinai as the whole area eastward of Mount Sinai is desert. The further east you go from the mountain the worse it gets, until you reach the border of the area known as the Rub' Al Khali (Arabic, "Empty Quarter"), one of the most inhospitable places on Earth, where there is nothing but empty hostile desert that even few bedouin dare to cross.

For God to produce water from the mountain would not have been a hard thing for Him, for apparently He had created springs elsewhere on the mountain, or there would be no forage for sheep to feed on. He could very well have had a underground stream rise close to the surface of the formation, and Moses striking the rock could have cracked the formation enough to create an opening for the water to be released. Remember, there is nothing that is impossible for God to do!

9 And Moses said to Joshua, "Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand."

10 So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

11 And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

12 But Moses' hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

The Amalekites were a fierce, ruthless people who lived in the middle of the Saudi Arabian peninsula, north of what was then Midian and north of Israel's position at the time. They apparently viewed Israel as an invading force and were determined to protect their territory. For Israel to reach Canaan they would need to travel through this area.

I find it interesting that God allowed Israel to fight the Amalekites, but didn't allow them to fight the Philistines when they came out of Egypt. I suspect the reason was that wars with the small desert tribes would act as training for Israel for the larger wars they would face in Canaan.

The Philistines also knew how to smelt and use iron, something the rest of the Middle East didn't know how to use at the time, making their weaponry far more advanced than that of Israel.

This was Israel's first war since leaving Egypt, and it shows God's hand in the matter as these former slaves defeated a well-armed well-trained enemy in battle. Note also that Moses told Joshua to "choose out some men" to go and fight Amalek. Apparently only select men were to fight.

There is an area to the south-west of Mount Sinai near it's base where the ground is hard, flat and about the size of a dozen football fields laid end to end. To the east of this area sits a low hill or rock overlooking the area.

This could very well be the place where Moses sat and watched the battle as Israel fought Amalek. We need to remember that back then many battles were fought in small areas as virtually any ancient battle at the time required hand-to-hand combat between the warring armies.

14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven."

16 for he said, "Because the LORD has sworn: the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation."

God promises Moses that He will destroy Amalek to the point of where people would no longer remember the name. It is interesting that when looking at Biblical maps one can easily find the ancient lands of the Midianites, Amorites, Ammonites, etc., but few even list the territories of the Amalekites, or even mention them.

Ancient scribes when making copies of the Law would test new pens by writing the name of Amalek then would draw lines through the name to "blot it out". If they were satisfied with the writing, the pen could be used to copy the text of the Law.

1 And Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.

2 Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back,

3 with her two sons, of whom the name of one was Gershom (for he said, "I have been a stranger in a foreign land")

4 and the name of the other was Eliezer (for he said, "The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh");

5 and Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness, where he was encamped at the mountain of God.

6 Now he had said to Moses, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her."

Apparently after the circumcision on the mountain of God just before Aaron found Moses, Moses sent Zipporah and their two sons to stay with her father while Moses and Aaron went to Egypt to confront Pharaoh. A wise decision considering what Moses knew he would face there.

7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and kissed him. And they asked each other about their well-being, and they went into the tent.

8 And Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and how the LORD had delivered them.

9 Then Jethro rejoiced for all the good which the LORD had done for Israel, whom He had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.

10 And Jethro said, "Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.

11 "Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the gods; for in the very thing in which they behaved proudly, He was above them."

12 Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt offering and other sacrifices to offer to God. And Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God.

Jethro is so impressed with the wonders that God performed that he abandons his own Midianite gods and sacrifices to the one true God of Moses. The very fact that Moses had defeated Pharaoh and all of Egypt and had brought so many people with him was proof of his story anyway.

Note that God accepts Jethro's offerings and sacrifices, again showing that God will accept anyone who comes to worship Him with a sincere heart.

13 And so it was, on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening.

14 So when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, "What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?"

15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God.

16 "When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws."

18 "Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself.

19 "Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God.

20 "And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do.

21 "Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

22 "And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you.

23 "If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace."

This is the first mention of a "chain of command", a concept much used by military organizations and in businesses today. The idea is to handle any disputes at the lowest possible level and if it cannot be handled at one level, it is taken to the next level. Our courts today do the same thing, with the Supreme Court being the final arbiter of judicial matters.

Jethro was indeed wise in setting up this concept, for with so many people coming only to Moses for judgment, it would take years for them to settle even the smallest dispute.

25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

26 So they judged the people at all times; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.

27 Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way to his own land.

Jethro returns home in peace, knowing that Moses and his family are all right, and that Moses has things well in hand.

1 In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.

2 For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain.

The third month would be Sivan (mid May-mid June). It is amusing that the true Mount Sinai lies in Saudi Arabia, but the peninsula south of Gaza is known as the "Sinai Peninsula". The "Sinai Peninsula" didn't get that name until around 315 AD when Helen, Roman Emperor Constantine's mother identified a mountain in this area as "Mount Sinai".

The mountain she selected as "Mount Sinai" has none of the identifying features of the Biblical Mount Sinai, but as they do with any "holy site" the Roman Catholic Church has built a church (a monastery actually) on the top of it, and the world is content to believe that this is the true Mount Sinai.

3 And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:

4 'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself.

5 'Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.

6 'And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel."

This commandment that God gave Moses is still true today......If you obey God and do His will, you will be one of His children and you will be a priceless treasure to Him.

7 So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD commanded him.

8 Then all the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do." So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.

9 And the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever." So Moses told the words of the people to the LORD.

10 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes.

11 "And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

12 "You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, 'Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.

13 'Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.' When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain."

14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes.

15 And he said to the people, "Be ready for the third day; do not come near your wives."

Before they could come before God the Israelites had to cleanse themselves (this included not being intimate with their wives). To remind Israel of the holiness of God, if any person or animal as much as touches the base

In the fascinating book "The Gold of Exodus" the author describes how two men retraced the route of Israel from Egypt. They sneaked into Saudi Arabia and found the real Mount Sinai, and in an amusing account one of the men actually tripped over one of the many piles of stones set around the base of the mountain by Moses as a warning barrier for the people of Israel!

16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.

17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.

19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice.

20 Then the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

The fire of God's presence burned the top of the mountain so thoroughly that it is still burned and scorched today 3,500 years later. It looks as if there was a great fire that destroyed everything and nothing ever grew back.

Although the area is volcanic (part of the Great Rift Valley that extends down through the Jordan Valley down into east Africa), there has been no volcanic activity on the mountain for many thousands of years.

The mountain top has been blackened by fire, not by volcanic activity. In an interesting twist of irony, the Arabs have long called Mt. Sinai, Jebel al Laws or Mountain of the Laws, and have designated the area as an archaeological site.

21 And the LORD said to Moses, "Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the LORD, and many of them perish.

22 "Also let the priests who come near the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out against them."

23 But Moses said to the LORD, "The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for You warned us, saying, 'Set bounds around the mountain and consecrate it.'"

24 Then the LORD said to him, "Away! Get down and then come up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD, lest He break out against them."

God reiterates His warning about keeping the people back from the mountain, and tells Moses to bring only Aaron with him when he returns.

2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;

5 You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

We are NOT to bow down, worship or serve idols. This includes anyone that bows down before or worships any created thing, living or dead. How many statues of gods are in shrines in India? How many statues and images of Jesus, Mary, Joseph and others are in the Catholic Churches? How many shrines dedicated to dead ancestors are in Asian cultures? In every case, people bow down before these things and worship them.

The Catholics vehemently claim they do not do so, but I have seen them do so, and their leaders set the example for their followers. Besides the very fact that they have such statues and images within their churches condemns them, for as God told Israel;

1 'You shall not make idols for yourselves; neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear up for yourselves; nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it; for I am the LORD your God.

Having any image of anyone for religious purposes falls under this condemnation! This includes pictures, paintings, statues, crucifixes, or any other image of religious significance. We don't need these things to remind us of God or to help us worship Him, He gave us His Word for that purpose!

Some will claim that because Christians worship Jesus Christ that we fall under this condemnation. Let me ask you this. If God Himself appeared before you in human form, would it be forbidden to worship Him, especially if He proves that He is God? Jesus Christ is God appearing to us in the form of His Son.

There are numerous places within the Old Testament where God has appeared in human form and He was treated with all of the honor and respect due to Him. (Remember Abraham bargaining face to face with God concerning Sodom? Remember Melchizedek who appeared to Abraham, to whom Abraham gave tithes which are to be given to God alone?)

This also means we shouldn't have any pictures of images of God because there could be a temptation to worship the image itself and not the One who it supposedly represents. Besides, who knows what God looks like? Can any image portray Him justly especially when He told Moses;

20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.”

God appeared to Abraham and others in the Old Testament in human forms so that they would not die, but no descriptions were given of their faces. In the same fashion, God appeared in the form of Jesus Christ, speaking directly to His people, and setting the example of Godly living for us to follow.

If anyone who has violated this commandment turns away from their idols, turns their worship completely to God alone, keeps His commandments and loves the Lord God, He will have mercy on them and will forgive them of this sin.

7 "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

Don't use God's name as a curse or ask God to curse (damn) someone. I have heard far too many people take the name of God and Jesus Christ in vain (as well as using other foul words) and it makes no impression on them. They have done it so often that it no longer registers on them that this is wrong. This points to a serious problem in the life of such an individual for it shows that their consciences have become so calloused that such things no longer register as sin in their hearts.

7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.

9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.

10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.

12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

33 "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.

34 "Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

35 "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.

36 "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.

Both Jesus and James are saying that you cannot bless and praise God and then turn around and curse men or use foul language. We speak what is in our hearts, and occasional slips are expected, given our fallen nature. But if we curse and use foul language without the fact registering and convicting us, we have a serious spiritual problem that needs to be dealt with. Like any sin, the more we indulge in it the easier it becomes, to the point of where we do it without guilt of conscience.

Note carefully Jesus' words in verse 36 above. We will give an account at our judgment of every word we speak, good or bad. And our own words will justify or condemn us before Him.

10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.

11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

Everyone needs a day of rest every week to stay physically and mentally healthy. This also gives us at least one day each week to set aside as a day to honor God during our sometimes overly busy lives. Some demand that Saturday or Sunday be a dedicated day for this, but there is no commandment from God that this be done. As long as we set aside one day a week as a Sabbath to rest, God will honor it.

12 "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

Respect and honor your parents, including step and adoptive parents. This is the first commandment with a promise attached. If you follow this commandment you will live a long life.

Some versions say "You shall not kill". The Hebrew word for murder is Ratsach which means "to dash to pieces; to kill; to murder". This doesn't refer to capital punishment, for God commanded that murderers be put to death for their sin.

6 "Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man.

Those who commit adultery don't see or think of the ramifications involved with this sin.

First of all they are betraying those to whom they are married, and the betrayed party is devastated when they find out. The bond of trust is broken, sometimes forever.

Secondly, they become married to the person with whom they are sinning with in the eyes of God, for when you become intimate with someone, you become one flesh with them and are now married to them in God's sight.

23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Thirdly, this is one of the most efficient methods of demon transfer that Satan can use.Committing adultery is a sin of disobedience in God's eyes, thereby opening both parties for Satan to enter them. And by becoming one flesh, Satan now has legal access to both parties. How many people realize or think about this?

For more on the subject, please see the pre-marital sex study in this web site. The study deals with pre-marital sex, but pre-marital sex and adultery are merely two sides of the same coin.

This includes all things such as dishonesty, cheating, "scamming", taking advantage of someone, cheating on taxes, school work, etc. Remember adultery? This is stealing the trust, joy and affections of the injured party.

Do not lie or perjure yourself! Don't lie to get yourself out of trouble or to get someone into trouble. Always tell the truth!!! If you do such things to others, I guarantee it will be done to you in turn!

17 You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."

Don't be envious of what anyone else has, such as material goods, spiritual gifts, physical looks, etc. If you are envious of anything someone else has, you are telling God that what He has given you isn't good enough. Remember God only gives us what He feels is the best for us and what we can handle.

These commandments have been the foundation of the laws of our country since it was founded, promoting what is right and decent in the eyes of both God and Man. And yet in our rebellion we have either nullified these laws or have circumvented them so we can indulge our corrupt natures.

18 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.

19 Then they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die."

Israel now understands the true power of God. They had seen His judgments upon Egypt, but they had not physically seen His presence! This would be enough to terrify anyone!

20 And Moses said to the people, "Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin."

21 So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.

The fear of God's wrath will make you think twice before going against God's commandments. That is why so many sin willfully today, for there is no fear of God within them.

This also shows that this wasn't a volcanic eruption, for when a volcano erupts there is devastation extending for many miles around the volcano itself, usually in the form of poisonous gases and fiery ash flows. Yet Moses ascended the mountain and was not harmed.

22 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: 'You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.

23 'You shall not make anything to be with Me gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves.

24 'An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you.

25 'And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it.

26 'Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.'

Altars are to be built at ground level. Many pagan religions had raised altars and the people could look up the robes of the priests as they climbed the stairs. Altars made with cut stone would be monuments to the builders and not to God, therefore all altars were to be made of natural stone or clean earth.

2 "If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing.

A Hebrew servant would serve only six years then be set free in the seventh year. This was to prevent perpetual servanthood. Sometimes people would sell themselves into servanthood to repay debts. The servant would be released without "severance pay" when they left.

3 "If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him.

If the servant was married before he was purchased, when he leaves, his wife and any children born by her go with him.

4 "If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.

If he marries during his time of service, his wife and any children belong to his master even after he is freed. He can then wait for her time to be up if he wishes. But this only applied to Hebrew servants. Servants of another nationality did not fall under this rule. Servants of another nationality could be kept forever.

5 "But if the servant plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,'

6 "then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.

If he wants to stay with his wife and children, he can choose to serve his master forever. The servant would be taken before the judges to show this was of his own free will, then a leather punch tool was used to pierce the earlobe as an outward sign of his commitment to his master forever.

7 "And if a man sells his daughter to be a female slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do.

8 "If she does not please her master, who has betrothed her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt deceitfully with her.

9 "And if he has betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters.

10 "If he takes another wife, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marriage rights.

11 "And if he does not do these three for her, then she shall go out free, without paying money.

The selling of a daughter to be a servant was the dowry for a marriage contract. She was not to be sent to work in the fields as the male servants were to do (for her own protection). If the buyer wasn't happy with her, one of her relatives could buy her marriage contract back. The buyer couldn't sell her to a foreign people.

He could buy her for his son instead of himself. If this was done he must treat her like a daughter!

If he buys her as his wife and then takes another wife, he must continue to give his first wife the same food, clothing and marriage rights as before the second marriage. If any of these things diminish, the first wife is free to leave without her contract being purchased by a relative. She must however leave without taking anything with her.

13 "However, if he did not lie in wait, but God delivered him into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee.

14 "But if a man acts with premeditation against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, you shall take him from My altar, that he may die.

If one man kills another man with premeditation he should be put to death without refuge or mercy (upholding the death penalty). If it wasn't premeditated then there were cities of refuge that God appointed for them to flee to and live until the current high priest died, then all non-premeditated crimes were forgiven.

If a relative of the deceased hunted you for vengeance, they were to be killed, but if they came across your path accidentally they had the right to seek vengeance against you. Apparently one of the things people would do was to run up and grab hold of an altar of God, because it would defile God's altar to have human blood spilled on it.

If you hit either your father or mother, you are to be put to death. God is very serious about honoring and respecting your parents.

16 "He who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death.

Kidnappers are to be put to death, whether they still have the person or have sold him to someone else. Joseph's brothers would have been put to death if this had been a law during their lifetime. Watching the news, we would see a lot of executions today!

If you curse either your father or mother, you are to be put to death. God is very serious about honoring and respecting your parents.

18 "If men contend with each other, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to his bed,

19 "if he rises again and walks about outside with his staff, then he who struck him shall be acquitted. He shall only pay for the loss of his time, and shall provide for him to be thoroughly healed.

If men fight and a man is hurt as a result but doesn't die the other man has to pay for his loss of time in whatever his profession is and he must provide and pay for any medical help and supplies. No further punishment is to be laid on him.

20 "And if a man beats his male or female servant with a rod, so that he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished.

21 "Notwithstanding, if he remains alive a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his property.

If you beat your servant and he dies, you are to be punished. The Hebrew word for "punish" in verse 20 is "nawkam" which means: punish, revenge or take revenge. If the servant lives for at least 1-2 days after the beating the master will not be punished, as it would be treated as manslaughter rather than murder.

22 "If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman's husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.

If a pregnant woman is hurt from men fighting and delivers prematurely, but the mother and baby are alright, the husband will decide the punishment and the judges will set a fine to be paid to the husband in addition to the punishment. If there is any harm to the mother or child, the punishment will be paid in kind.

26 "If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye.

27 "And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he shall let him go free for the sake of his tooth.

If a master hits a servant so that he loses a tooth or an eye, the servant is free to leave. This was to prevent excessive punishments of servants.

28 "If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then the ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be acquitted.

If an ox kills anyone, the ox is to be killed and NOT eaten, as I suspect disease (mad cow disease?) would cause such behavior. The owner is not responsible in such a case.

29 "But if the ox tended to thrust with its horn in times past, and it has been made known to his owner, and he has not kept it confined, so that it has killed a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death.

30 "If there is imposed on him a sum of money, then he shall pay to redeem his life, whatever is imposed on him.

31 "Whether it has gored a son or gored a daughter, according to this judgment it shall be done to him.

If the owner knew the ox had a history of killing and the owner didn't confine the ox, then both the ox and the owner were to be killed for the ox was known to murder and the owner did not prevent recurrence of the matter. This would prevent callousness on the part of the owner, an "Oh well" or a "Your loss, not mine" attitude. If the owner paid the amount set by the judges, he could redeem his own life.

32 "If the ox gores a male or female servant, he shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

If it was a servant that was injured or killed, their master would be paid and the ox killed. 30 shekels of silver was about 4 ounces of silver, the selling price of a slave.

33 "And if a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls in it,

34 "the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money to their owner, but the dead animal shall be his.

If a man digs a hole or well and doesn't cover it up and an animal falls in the hole and dies, he will buy the dead animal from its owner. Again, this enforces accountability and safety.

35 "If one man's ox hurts another's, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the money from it; and the dead ox they shall also divide.

36 "Or if it was known that the ox tended to thrust in time past, and its owner has not kept it confined, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall be his own.

If one ox kills another ox, the live ox will be sold and the money split between both parties and the dead ox will be divided for the meat. If the owner knew the ox had a history of killing then he would have to buy a new ox to replace the dead one and keep the dead ox for himself. Oxen were expensive in those days!

1 "If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.

Oxen were more valuable because they could be used as meat, sold for money or for plowing fields. The payback was meant to be so expensive that a potential thief would think hard before stealing another man's property! We need laws like this today!

2 "If the thief is found breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed.

"Breaking in" (some versions say "breaking up") is when a thief would break into a house he would break or dig a small hole in the outside wall or the roof, as the walls and roofs of houses were made of straw and mud bricks. They thief would then crawl through the hole and see what could be stolen inside.

If the items stolen were small enough he could take them out the hole in the wall, if it was livestock (which lived in the house with the family, in one of the outer rooms if the family was wealthy enough to afford a large house) the thief would try to take it out the front door. If the owner caught the thief and it was still dark, the owner could kill the thief and there would be no crime committed.

3 "If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his bloodshed. He should make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.

4 "If the theft is certainly found alive in his hand, whether it is an ox or donkey or sheep, he shall restore double.

If the owner caught the thief after sunrise, the owner could not kill the thief. The owner could subdue the thief and take him before the judges. The thief would have to restore twice what he tried to steal (if the livestock is still alive), if he couldn't afford this he could be sold into slavery and the money received for the sale would be paid to the person the thief tried to steal from as recompense.

5 "If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed, and lets loose his animal, and it feeds in another man's field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.

If you allow your animals to graze in someone's field or vineyard this was the same as stealing. The thief must pay back the best produce from his own field or vineyard to replace the damaged one. Again this reinforces responsibility on the part of the owners of livestock.

6 "If fire breaks out and catches in thorns, so that stacked grain, standing grain, or the field is consumed, he who kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.

Hedges of thorns were grown around each persons property (including fields and vineyards). This was a line of demarcation and to keep the animals in their own fields. At the end of the harvesting season it was common to burn the fields, this would burn any stubble left from the crops (wheat, barley, etc.) and fertilize the field for spring planting.

If your fire got out of control and the hedge of thorns caught on fire (thorns burn quite well when dry!) and it caused your neighbors fields to be burned while there were still crops in it, the judges would decide the worth of the crops that were burned and you would have to pay accordingly.

7 "If a man delivers to his neighbor money or articles to keep, and it is stolen out of the man's house, if the thief is found, he shall pay double.

8 "If the thief is not found, then the master of the house shall be brought to the judges to see whether he has put his hand into his neighbor's goods.

If you gave your neighbor valuables or livestock to keep for you and they are stolen:

2) If the thief is not caught, the neighbor must go before the judges for them to decide if he stole your goods.

9 "For any kind of trespass, whether it concerns an ox, a donkey, a sheep, or clothing, or for any kind of lost thing which another claims to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whomever the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor.

If someone accuses another of stealing, both are to go before the judges to decide who is the thief. Which ever one is found guilty either of stealing or falsely accusing (bearing false witness), he must pay back double what was stolen (or accused of being stolen) to the innocent party.

10 "If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies, is hurt, or driven away, no one seeing it,

11 "then an oath of the LORD shall be between them both, that he has not put his hand into his neighbor's goods; and the owner of it shall accept that, and he shall not make it good.

12 "But if, in fact, it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to the owner of it.

13 "If it is torn to pieces by a beast, then he shall bring it as evidence, and he shall not make good what was torn.

If the animal you give to your neighbor for safekeeping dies, gets hurt or disappears and nobody sees what happened, if the neighbor swears an oath to the Lord that he is innocent, the owner must accept the neighbor's word with no malice toward the neighbor.

If the animal(s) were stolen, the neighbor must restore another animal to the owner, because the neighbor didn't take the proper precautions against thievery.

If the animal is killed by a predator (wolf, bear, lion, etc.), the neighbor must bring the pieces before the judges as proof of what happened. There is no restoration to the owner required, as this could happen to anyone.

14 "And if a man borrows anything from his neighbor, and it becomes injured or dies, the owner of it not being with it, he shall surely make it good.

15 "If its owner was with it, he shall not make it good; if it was hired, it came for its hire.

If you borrow an animal from your neighbor and it gets hurt or dies, if the owner is with you and the animal when this happens, you don't have to replace the animal. This way the owner was there and saw that nothing unusual was done to his animal to cause the hurt or death of his animal. It was an accident.

16 "If a man entices a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he shall surely pay the bride-price for her to be his wife.

17 "If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the bride-price of virgins.

If a man seduces an unmarried woman and the woman is not engaged already, he is to become engaged for marriage to the woman, paying her parents a dowry for their daughter. The dowry was paid to the parents as compensation for the "loss" of their child.

If her father refuses the man as his daughter's future husband, the man must pay the father the dowry price required for a marriage contract.

God didn't want Israel to be seduced into worshiping Satan and his demons through the powers of the witch or warlock. No mercy was to be shown in this case.

Bestiality - having sex with animals is an abomination and is forbidden. No mercy was to be shown in this case.

20 "He who sacrifices to any god, except to the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

You are not to sacrifice to any god other than the LORD GOD. This was to prevent Israel from worshiping the detestable gods of the Canaanites around them. No mercy was to be shown in this case.

21 "You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

The Israelites were not to do any kind of oppression to Gentiles who were not their enemies. There were many Gentiles who had come from Egypt with Israel when they left, and God wanted to make sure that Israel didn't become an oppressing nation when they had become strong, reminding them of their treatment in Egypt.

23 "If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry;

24 "and My wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

How many times do we hear of business (especially investment) scams targeting the elderly and widows? Or hear of orphaned children being abused in foster homes? If more people knew of this, we would have less of this kind of abuse in the world. People who do this may not get caught here on Earth, but they will stand before God in judgment, and will know His wrath in greatest measure for their actions!

25 "If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest.

Obviously there would be no credit card companies in Israel if this law were enforced today! This law was designed to help the poor better themselves in that they could receive a loan, better their situation and then repay back the same amount of the loan to the lender.

26 "If you ever take your neighbor's garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down.

27 "For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am gracious.

This may seem trivial, but in ancient times clothing was of great value because it was all hand-made. Many people had only one set of clothes to their name, as they couldn't afford multiple sets of clothing. So if a person used their cloak as collateral, it was to be returned by sundown so they would not be cold in the night.

Don't hate, hold grudges against, disrespect or curse the judges or rulers of the people. The word used here for "God" in Hebrew is "Elohim" (in this case meaning gods - magistrates or judges).

Judges and rulers of the people had the power to discern good from evil, deciding life or death for many people, just as God does. They judged under God's authority.

29 "You shall not delay to offer the first of your ripe produce and your juices. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me.

30 "Likewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.

Don't delay the sacrifices and offerings of the first fruits and animals that belong to God. First-born males were to be redeemed with a lamb.

31 "And you shall be holy men to Me: you shall not eat meat torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

Don't eat any animal that was killed by wild beasts (wolves, bears, etc.). Carrion eaters are known to carry diseases such as rabies, etc. Flies would also corrupt the carcass and would introduce disease. This was a hygienic law.

1 "You shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

Do not start or spread rumors or gossip! Always tell the truth, do not perjure yourself or bearing false witness in judgment

2 "You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice.

Do not participate in rioting or looting! Going along with the crowd is no excuse for doing what you know is wrong! Don't crumble under peer pressure to lie about something you know so as to please others. If you do either of these things you will be responsible after the fact for what ever damages you caused.

Don't support a poor man in his case, if you know he is wrong, just because he is poor. The opposite applies also, don't support the rich if you know they have done wrong so as to receive an award. Judge fairly and justly, as you will want to be judged by God.

4 "If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again.

5 "If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.

We are to be kind to our enemies, as God is kind to us even when we sin against Him. Besides, if you help your enemy, he may be impressed with your actions and he may turn from his wrath against you.

Be a righteous witness. Don't lie to get a judgement in favor of a man just because he is poor, nor do the same for the rich

7 "Keep yourself far from a false matter; do not kill the innocent and righteous. For I will not justify the wicked.

Stay away from conspiracies and plots, as they usually target the innocent. "Following orders" is no justification for such actions, as many a Nazi solder who was "just following orders" in exterminating the Jewish people during WWII will find out!

8 "And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.

Bribes or gifts are to get you to choose evil over righteousness. How many politicians and government officials would be out of jobs if this law were followed today?

9 "Also you shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Again God stresses that Israel is not to oppress Gentiles in their midst. He repeats things that are important for Israel to remember.

11 "but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove.

Let your fields, vineyards and olive yards rest every seventh year and for the six years you grow food on it there will be an abundance to sustain you during the seventh year of no crops. What ever grows on its own in the seventh year is to be left for the poor people to eat. Anything they leave is for the beasts of the field to eat. This will replenish the soil, giving better harvests in the other years, essentially giving the land a "Sabbath" rest.

12 "Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.

Everyone is to keep the Sabbath as a day of REST, even the animals. You should never work more than six days in a row without one day for resting. Military personnel can tell you of this, as many times they are required to work weeks or months on end without a day of rest, and it quickly becomes exhausting.

13 "And in all that I have said to you, be circumspect and make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.

15 "You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty);

16 "and the Feast of Harvest, the first fruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.

18 "You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor shall the fat of My sacrifice remain until morning.

19 "The first of the first fruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.

3) Feast of Ingathering (Feast of Booths) Giving of the last fruits of the harvest

At each of these feasts all men were to present, themselves and their sacrifices or fruits of harvest, to the priests for God in the Tabernacle of the Lord, then later to the Temple of the Lord. This was a perpetual reminder to Israel to worship and thank the One who gave them these harvests, so that they wouldn't become proud and forget God.

Also a reminder to eat no yeast during the Passover, nor were they to offer yeast-filled bread with their sacrifices. (Yeast represented sin in this case). Nothing of the burnt offering was to be left until morning, the ashes were to be disposed of at nightfall.

Don't boil a baby goat in its mothers milk. This is why some Jews, especially Orthodox Jews don't mix dairy products and meat, because they don't know for sure that it the milk didn't come from the mother of the baby goat. Boiling a kid in its mother's milk was part of a Canaanite ritual for one of their gods, and the Israelites were NOT supposed to partake of these things........Boiling a kid in its mothers's milk referred to the ritual used in the worship of a Canaanite god of Fertility and Prosperity

Worship of this god began about 300 years before the Israelites left Egypt and lasted for about 100 years after the Israelites entered the land of Canaan. The ritual was done on the first day after the first full moon in the spring (the day of Passover). This ritual was only done once a year. This is the time of year when sheep and goats have their young. Goats were very abundant in all villages.

All males of each village who had turned sixteen years of age during the previous year participated. Each one would kneel before the altar of this god and pray for him to bless them.

Then the village priest would slaughter a new born kid (baby goat) on the altar of this god. He would then cut the kid into pieces and boil them in a pot with its mother's milk (because the mother would be full of milk having just given birth and water was scarce). Each male participant was given a piece of this meat to eat, then the priest would take some of the blood off the altar and swipe their foreheads with it.

All the girls who have turned twelve years of age during the past year and all girls over twelve years of age that were not married would line up in a straight line. Each male who had participated in this ritual on that day would walk down the line of girls and choose a wife. The girls had no say in the matter, neither did their families. Then the priest would pray for the god to bless each of the marriages with much prosperity and many children.

20 "Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.

21 "Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him.

22 "But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

23 "For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off.

This has been a hard Scripture for the Jewish Rabbis to interpret. As they refuse to acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God and refuse to believe that He pre-existed with the Father before all Creation, they have invented an angel who supposedly has the same name as God, but is only an angel.

Remember that God is a jealous God, meaning that He will not share His glory or His name with anyone or anything else, which is understandable, for with the name comes the glory and honor associated with that name.

8 I am the LORD, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images.

So in their desperate attempts to explain this Scripture, the Rabbis had to create an angel and give him God's name in violation of God's own Scriptures! God never gave the angels power to forgive sins as He has given His Son, therefore the Angel spoken of by God is a being equal to Himself who has the power to forgive sin, namely Jesus Christ.

24 "You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.

When the Jews go into the promised land, all other gods or idols found are to be smashed and destroyed by them. Don't bow down, participate in their rites, serve them or keep them. These idols are the property of the demons they are dedicated to and as long as they remain intact, the demon has a legal right to remain. Smash the idol and dispose of the refuse and you remove the legal right of the demon to remain in the location.

25 "So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.

26 "No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.

If you serve the Lord God alone, He will bless you and keep you healthy. He will also multiply your food and water and will multiply and keep safe your offspring and your livestock's offspring.

27 "I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.

28 "And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you.

God promises to get rid of their enemies by fear and confusion. The reference to hornets is that He will drive them out much as a man will flee from a swarm of hornets.

29 "I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.

30 "Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land.

Israel is to conquer Canaan a little at a time. This way the Israelites can care for the land and establish their way of life. God will never give us more than we can handle. He makes the changes in our lives gradually, as we are able to understand and handle them.

31 "And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.

33 "They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you."

The boundaries of the promised land are from the Red Sea (Gulf of Aqaba) to the south, to the Mediterranean Sea to the west, to the Euphrates River to the north and east.

1 Now He said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar.

2 "And Moses alone shall come near the LORD, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him."

Aaron, his two eldest sons, seventy of the Israelite elders and Moses were to come to the base of the mountain to worship. Only Moses was allowed to come up onto the mountain into God's presence. That way Moses would remain the chosen leader of Israel, lest others figure themselves to be equal with him and create rebellion.

3 So 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 has said we will do."

4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

Moses wrote down the laws God had given to him. Moses would have to have been literate, being raised in Pharaoh's house unlike the Israelites that were slaves. Moses built an altar at the base of the mountain and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. The remains of the twelve pillars have been found at the base of Mt. Sinai in Saudi Arabia.

5 Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD.

6 And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, "All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient."

8 And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, "This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words."

Moses chose some young men to perform the sacrifice (the Levites had not been separated and designated as priests, except by the prophecy of Jacob over his son Levi 430 years earlier). Moses sanctified the altar and the people by the sprinkling of blood from the sacrifice, sealing a blood covenant between God and the Israelites. This covenant was to be the forerunner of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, in which His blood cleanses us from all sin. The sacrifices of animals would only cover the sins, it could not remove them as we shall see later.

Israel promises to follow God's laws and commandments and God would in turn protect and care for them as His special people.

9 Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,

10 and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity.

11 But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank.

Moses, Aaron and his two eldest sons, and the seventy elders of Israel saw God! His feet were on a stone that looked like clear sapphire. We don't know how much or exactly what they saw, but it was clearly not his face, for as we shall see soon, no man can see His face and live.

12 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them."

Moses is to come up the mountain top and God will give him stone tablets on which God has already written His commandments and laws. Moses is then to teach these laws to Israel. Note that by writing His laws in stone, they will endure for a long period of time. Even now we say of rules and laws that cannot be changed that they are "set in stone".

13 So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God.

14 And he said to the elders, "Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed, Aaron and Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them."

16 Now the glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.

17 The sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.

18 So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Joshua went part of the way up with Moses, and before they left, Moses put Aaron and Hur in charge of judgments and the administration of the people. Again this shows that it was not a volcanic eruption, or Moses would have been killed by the heat and gases from the volcanic vent.

2 "Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering.

3 "And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze;

6 "oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense;

9 "According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.

God tells Moses what offerings He will accept for materials to make God's sanctuary. All of these offerings from the people must be given willingly. This applies to us today, God wants us to give willingly, not out of obligation, guilt, in hope of reward or by force!!! Acacia wood (Some versions say "Shittim wood") was a very light, hard wood.

The materials for the offerings would come from the plunder of Egypt just before the Exodus and the plunder of the war with the Amalekites.

The ephod was a sacred upper garment made of plain linen for the regular priests. For the high priest it was multi-colored and embroidered. The breastplate was worn only by the high priest, over the ephod. It was square and contained 12 inset precious stones (1 for each tribe). It went from the shoulders to the waist and was connected at the shoulders by a gem stone on each side.

10 "And they shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height.

A cubit was the length of the arm from the elbow to the tips of the fingers, considered to be 18 inches. Therefore the Ark of the Covenant would be 45" long x 27" wide x 27" high

11 "And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and shall make on it a molding of gold all around.

12 "You shall cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in its four corners; two rings shall be on one side, and two rings on the other side.

The rings were cast so that poles could be placed through the rings on each of the two longest sides to carry the Ark with the Israelites in their travels.

14 "You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, that the ark may be carried by them.

15 "The poles shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it.

The poles to carry the Ark were to be made out of Acacia wood (very light, hard wood) and covered in gold. The poles, once placed thru the gold rings for carrying the Ark, were never to be removed!

The tablets of stone containing God's laws and the pot of manna were to be placed within the Ark of the Covenant.

17 "You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width.

The mercy seat is to be the full length and width of the top of the Ark (45" long x 27" wide). This is the seat where God will meet the High Priest during special occasions.

18 "And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat.

19 "Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat.

20 "And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat.

The cherubim were to not to be cast in molds, they were to be of hammered work and were to be of one piece with the mercy seat. The role and purpose of cherubim is uncertain, but they seem to accompany God when He reveals Himself to prophets in visions (Ezekiel saw them).

21 "You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you.

22 "And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.

God sets the mercy seat as the point of contact that will be between Himself and Moses (and the High Priests after Moses). Note: it is interesting that after the death of Moses, God never again spoke from the mercy seat.

23 "You shall also make a table of acacia wood; two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its width, and a cubit and a half its height.

24 "And you shall overlay it with pure gold, and make a molding of gold all around.

25 "You shall make for it a frame of a handbreadth all around, and you shall make a gold molding for the frame all around.

The table of acacia wood was to be 36" long x 18" wide x 27" high, covered with gold and a raised gold molding similar to that of the lid of the Ark. A handbreadth was called a span, and was about six inches.

26 "And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings on the four corners that are at its four legs.

27 "The rings shall be close to the frame, as holders for the poles to bear the table.

28 "And you shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be carried with them.

Just under the frame on the legs of the table, were to be four gold rings for carrying the table. Again, two poles of acacia wood covered in gold were to carry the table.

29 "You shall make its dishes, its pans, its pitchers, and its bowls for pouring. You shall make them of pure gold.

Plates, bowls, utensils of gold are to be made. The show bread (twelve loaves baked daily), one for each tribe is to be set before God always, as a reminder of His provision of food for Israel. This would also provide bread for the priests at the end of the day.

31 "You shall also make a lampstand of pure gold; the lampstand shall be of hammered work. Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs, and flowers shall be of one piece.

The candlestick (the Great Menorah) is to be made from one piece of beaten gold! This would require consummate skill to create!

32 "And six branches shall come out of its sides: three branches of the lampstand out of one side, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side.

33 "Three bowls shall be made like almond blossoms on one branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower, and three bowls made like almond blossoms on the other branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower and so for the six branches that come out of the lampstand.

The candlestick will have three branches on each of two sides. Each branch will have three bowls shaped like almond blossoms with an ornamental knob and flower. The candlestick would look like a very fancy menorah.

34 "On the lampstand itself four bowls shall be made like almond blossoms, each with its ornamental knob and flower.

The center light will have four almond blossom shaped bowls, each bowl with an ornamental knob and flower. We don't know if this would be on the top or the bottom of the stand.

35 "And there shall be a knob under the first two branches of the same, a knob under the second two branches of the same, and a knob under the third two branches of the same, according to the six branches that extend from the lampstand.

36 "Their knobs and their branches shall be of one piece; all of it shall be one hammered piece of pure gold.

There are to be a three knobs on the main shaft , one at each of the three junctures of each set of two branches (probably to bear the weight of the branches). All this is to be made from a single piece of beaten gold! Oddly enough, the Menorah shown on the Arch of Titus doesn't show such elaborate workmanship, it shows a plain seven-stemmed Menorah.

Perhaps when the First Temple treasures were hidden when the Babylonians were besieging Jerusalem, just as the Ark was hidden and never recovered, the rest of the Temple instruments were hidden also and never recovered. This would require replacing the menorah and such (the Ark was never replaced) and perhaps the workmanship was of far less quality than the original. (But I can only speculate here.)

37 "You shall make seven lamps for it, and they shall arrange its lamps so that they give light in front of it.

Although they didn't know it then, the seven lamps were to represent the seven Spirits of God.

4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,

1 "And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, 'These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: "I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.

5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

The tool for wick trimming (a form of scissors) and the holding trays are to be made of gold.

The Ark of the Covenant, candlestick, utensils and tools are to be made from 75 pounds of pure, refined gold. (75 pounds = 1 talent) This gives an idea of how much gold Israel plundered from Egypt and the Amalekites!

40 "And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.

God showed Moses exactly what the finished items should look like. Each part was symbolic of something, and was an impure copy of something in Heaven.

1 "Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine woven linen, and blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with artistic designs of cherubim you shall weave them.

Hebrew word for tabernacle is "mishkaw" (residence or habitation). The 10 curtains were to be of finely woven linen with blue, purple and scarlet (colors of royalty) thread, with cherubim woven into the curtains. These curtains would become the walls surrounding the Ark of the covenant and separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the tabernacle.

2 "The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits. And every one of the curtains shall have the same measurements.

Each of the curtains will be 42' long x 6' wide (tall). Total length would be 420 feet long, by 6 feet wide. Remember, this would have to be hand-woven, hand-dyed and hand-embroidered!

3 "Five curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another.

Two sets of five curtains were to be sewn together, making two long curtains each 210' long x 6' wide.

4 "And you shall make loops of blue yarn on the edge of the curtain on the selvedge of one set, and likewise you shall do on the outer edge of the other curtain of the second set.

5 "Fifty loops you shall make in the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make on the edge of the curtain that is on the end of the second set, that the loops may be clasped to one another.

6 "And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains together with the clasps, so that it may be one tabernacle.

Fifty loops of blue yarn were to be on one short end of each of the curtains. Fifty gold clasps would couple the ends of the curtains together in the back

7 "You shall also make curtains of goats' hair, to be a tent over the tabernacle. You shall make eleven curtains.

8 "The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; and the eleven curtains shall all have the same measurements.

9 "And you shall couple five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves, and you shall double over the sixth curtain at the forefront of the tent.

10 "You shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain of the second set.

11 "And you shall make fifty bronze clasps, put the clasps into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one.

Eleven curtains (45' long x 6' wide) were to be made of woven goat hair. The first set of five curtains was to be sewed together on the short ends to make one curtain 225' long x 6' width. Then six curtains were to be sewn together to make one curtain 270' long x 6' width. Again, yarn loops on each end of each of the curtains and bronze clasps were to hold the curtains together. The sixth curtain was to be doubled as a thicker piece over the front of the tabernacle.

12 "The remnant that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remains, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle.

13 "And a cubit on one side and a cubit on the other side, of what remains of the length of the curtains of the tent, shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on this side and on that side, to cover it.

The remnant of the curtain will be 18" on each side to cover the back and sides of the tabernacle.

14 "You shall also make a covering of ram skins dyed red for the tent, and a covering of badger skins above that.

The covering of the tabernacle will be ram skins dyed red, then on top of that a covering of badger skins. The badger skins would make the covering waterproof.

15 "And for the tabernacle you shall make the boards of acacia wood, standing upright.

16 "Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the width of each board.

17 "Two tenons shall be in each board for binding one to another. Thus you shall make for all the boards of the tabernacle.

18 "And you shall make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards for the south side.

19 "You shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards: two sockets under each of the boards for its two tenons.

20 "And for the second side of the tabernacle, the north side, there shall be twenty boards

All boards were to be 15' long x 27" wide. All boards were to be connected with 2 tenons (clasps) and two silver sockets under each board. Each set of boards (45' x 15') would be for the north and south sides of the tabernacle. These were the long sides of the tabernacle and it is assumed that the front of the tabernacle faced northwards.

23 "And you shall also make two boards for the two back corners of the tabernacle.

24 "They shall be coupled together at the bottom and they shall be coupled together at the top by one ring. Thus it shall be for both of them. They shall be for the two corners.

The corners of the three walls were to be held together by two boards, each 27" x 15'. In each corner was to be a ring at the top and bottom, holding them together.

25 "So there shall be eight boards with their sockets of silver sixteen sockets, two sockets under each of the boards.

Each socket would hold 2 corners of 2 boards. The end result would be that the tabernacle would be a squared "U" shape. ( |_| )

26 "And you shall make bars of acacia wood: five for the boards on one side of the tabernacle,

27 "five bars for the boards on the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the far side westward.

A middle cross beam on each of the three sides. Each one ran the entire length of its side.

29 "You shall overlay the boards with gold, make their rings of gold as holders for the bars, and overlay the bars with gold.

All support and cross beams will be covered in gold. The gold ring attached to the vertical boards to hold the horizontal beams in place.

30 "And you shall raise up the tabernacle according to its pattern which you were shown on the mountain.

Moses is to build the tabernacle of God, exactly as God showed him up on the mountain.

31 "You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim.

32 "You shall hang it upon the four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Their hooks shall be gold, upon four sockets of silver.

33 "And you shall hang the veil from the clasps. Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy.

34 "You shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy.

The veil (made of royal colors) was to hang from four pillars of gold-covered acacia wood with gold hooks and

silver sockets. It represented a literal separation between all men (even priests) and God, representing the barrier of sin that separated Man from God.

The veil would separate the holy of holies (where the Ark of the covenant, the mercy seat and the table of laws

resided) from the holy place (with the candlestick, table and show bread) in the tabernacle. After the First and Second Temple were built, there was a heavy woven veil that separated the outer and inner courts in the same fashion and for the same reasons.

Once a year the high priest was allowed to enter the holy of holies on the day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). On that day he would take the blood of bull and goat to atone for his sins and the sins of the people. The reason for this was to remind the Israelites that they were separated from God because of sin and could approach God only through the blood presented by the high priest each year.

When Jesus Christ died on the cross, the veil of the Second Temple was torn in two from top to bottom (showing it was not done by human hands). With His death, Jesus became our eternal High Priest, entering into God's presence through His own blood and making a FULL end to our sins.

51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,

23 Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing.

25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

26 For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;

27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people's, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

11 But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.

12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh,

14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

11 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,

35 "You shall set the table outside the veil, and the lamp stand across from the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; and you shall put the table on the north side.

36 "You shall make a screen for the door of the tabernacle, woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver.

37 "And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold; their hooks shall be gold, and you shall cast five sockets of bronze for them.

The tabernacle door covering was to be woven with royal colors of fine linen and hung on pillars of acacia wood covered in gold with gold hooks and bronze sockets. This veil would more than likely be thinner in composition than the veil to the most holy place, being made only of linen.

1 "You shall make an altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide the altar shall be square and its height shall be three cubits.

The altar will be 7.5' long x 7.5' wide x 4.5' high. The altars of uncut stone or earth were for the altars built if you were not close enough to the tabernacle (or later the Temple) and needed an altar to sacrifice to God.

2 "You shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it. And you shall overlay it with bronze.

The "horns" were pyramid shapes on the corners of the altar. Covering the altar with bronze would make it more durable when the sacrifices were burnt upon it.

3 "Also you shall make its pans to receive its ashes, and its shovels and its basins and its forks and its firepans; you shall make all its utensils of bronze.

The utensils for the sacrifice (cleaning the ashes, pulling the priests' meat out, ash pans, shovels and bowls for the blood) were to be made of bronze (85% - 90% copper and 10% - 15% tin).

4 "You shall make a grate for it, a network of bronze; and on the network you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners.

5 "You shall put it under the rim of the altar beneath, that the network may be midway up the altar.

The altar would be hollow inside. The fire would be placed on the bronze grate (about half-way between the top and bottom), and the sacrifice would be offered on the top of the altar. The altar was to have rings on the corners to allow the Levites to carry it.

6 "And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze.

7 "The poles shall be put in the rings, and the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar to bear it.

Again, two poles covered in bronze were to be put through the rings to carry the altar wherever God leads the Israelites.

8 "You shall make it hollow with boards; as it was shown you on the mountain, so shall they make it.

The altar will be hollow, for ease of maintenance and carrying, just like God showed Moses.

9 "You shall also make the court of the tabernacle. For the south side there shall be hangings for the court made of fine woven linen, one hundred cubits long for one side.

A courtyard was to be made for the tabernacle with a south wall consisting of 150' of fine woven linen.

10 "And its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets shall be bronze. The hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be silver.

11 "Likewise along the length of the north side there shall be hangings one hundred cubits long, with its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of bronze, and the hooks of the pillars and their bands of silver.

12 "And along the width of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits, with their ten pillars and their ten sockets.

The north and south walls will each be 150' long. 20 pillars for each the north wall and the south wall with each pillar having a bronze socket, silver bands and silver hooks (to hold the cloth wall). The west wall will be the same as the south and north walls, except that it will be half (75') as long as the north and south sides. Again, the courtyard, like the tabernacle, will be in a squared "U" shape. (I_I)

14 "The hangings on one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets.

15 "And on the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets.

The east wall will be 75' long. The cloth on both sides of the opening of the court will be 22.5' with three pillars and sockets of bronze for each, leaving a 30' opening in the center between the two parts of the eastern side.

16 "For the gate of the court there shall be a screen twenty cubits long, woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver. It shall have four pillars and four sockets.

17 "All the pillars around the court shall have bands of silver; their hooks shall be of silver and their sockets of bronze.

The 30' opening in the center of the east wall is for a gate. A 30' cloth with royal colors will hang in front of the entrance gate, supported with four pillars, sockets of bronze, and bands and hooks of silver.

18 "The length of the court shall be one hundred cubits, the width fifty throughout, and the height five cubits, made of fine woven linen, and its sockets of bronze.

The courtyard will be 150' long x 75' wide x 7.5' high, made of woven cloth with bronze sockets. The height was set that no one could lookover the top and see what was going on inside.

19 "All the utensils of the tabernacle for all its service, all its pegs, and all the pegs of the court, shall be of bronze.

All utensils, altar tools and pegs to hold the curtains will be bronze, a more durable metal for the service being performed, than gold..

20 "And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually.

The lamp (candlestick) will be lit every evening, the lamp burned from evening to morning, using olive oil as fuel.

21 "In the tabernacle of meeting, outside the veil which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the LORD. It shall be a statute forever to their generations on behalf of the children of Israel.

Aaron and his sons were to tend the lamp evening and morning when the two daily sacrifices were done. Here is where God is separating the line of priests (Levites) starting with Aaron.

1 "Now take Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to Me as priest, Aaron and Aaron's sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

Aaron and his direct descendants were to become the Priests of Israel. Although they were from the tribe of Levi, only Aaron's lineage were supposed to become Priests, the rest of the Levites would be to care for and maintain the Ark of the Covenant and eventually the Temple of God.

2 "And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.

3 "So you shall speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments, to consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest.

4 "And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a skillfully woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. So they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to Me as priest.

A robe which was worn under the ephod. It was a sleeveless robe of linen that reached to their ankles

The ephod was a sacred upper garment (like a vest) for the priests. Made of plain linen for the regular priests, for the high priest it was multi-colored and embroidered.

The woven tunic (embroidered coat) worn only by the High Priest was an outer coat worn under the breastplate and over the robe and ephod.

The breastplate was worn only by the high priest over the ephod and the coat. It was square and contained twelve inset precious stones, (one for each tribe). It went from the shoulders to the waist and was connected at the shoulders by a gem stone on each side.

Note that God had already put in the hearts of the craftsmen exactly how to manufacture the required garments.

5 "They shall take the gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and the fine linen,

6 "and they shall make the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, artistically worked.

7 "It shall have two shoulder straps joined at its two edges, and so it shall be joined together.

8 "And the intricately woven band of the ephod, which is on it, shall be of the same workmanship, made of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen.

The ephod and belt were both to be made out of fine linen with gold, blue, purple and red thread. The ephod was a front and a back piece sewn together at the shoulders (the sides were not sewn, taking into account the different sizes of future high priests). The belt held the sides together around the high priest.

9 "Then you shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel:

10 "six of their names on one stone and six names on the other stone, in order of their birth.

11 "With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall set them in settings of gold.

12 "And you shall put the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. So Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders as a memorial.

These must have been huge onyx stones, to have the names of the twelve tribes of Israel engraved in them!

14 "and you shall make two chains of pure gold like braided cords, and fasten the braided chains to the settings.

15 "You shall make the breastplate of judgment. Artistically woven according to the workmanship of the ephod you shall make it: of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, you shall make it.

16 "It shall be doubled into a square: a span shall be its length, and a span shall be its width.

This breastplate would be made of cloth, two layers thick and about 6" square on each side.

17 "And you shall put settings of stones in it, four rows of stones: The first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald; this shall be the first row;

20 "and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold settings.

21 "And the stones shall have the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, each one with its own name; they shall be according to the twelve tribes.

Ancient equivalents of these stone descriptions according to the King James Version (KJV) , the Jewish Publication Society (JPS) and the New King James Version Bibles. Many of the stones we know today were called something different in ancient times. Some must be guessed at, for no real descriptions are given of the stones in question.

"Zebulun" Sapphire Sapphire Sapphire (Lapis Lazuli - dark blue / non-translucent)

22 "You shall make chains for the breastplate at the end, like braided cords of pure gold.

23 "And you shall make two rings of gold for the breastplate, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.

24 "Then you shall put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate;

25 "and the other two ends of the two braided chains you shall fasten to the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod in the front.

26 "You shall make two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the edge of it, which is on the inner side of the ephod.

Two gold chains and gold rings connect the two onyx stones (each with 6 names engraved on them) sewn on the shoulders of the ephod to the top two corners of the breastplate.

27 "And two other rings of gold you shall make, and put them on the two shoulder straps, underneath the ephod toward its front, right at the seam above the intricately woven band of the ephod.

28 "They shall bind the breastplate by means of its rings to the rings of the ephod, using a blue cord, so that it is above the intricately woven band of the ephod, and so that the breastplate does not come loose from the ephod.

On the two bottom corners of the breastplate were two gold rings. Blue lace ties attached to the gold rings to enable the breastplate to be secured around the priest at the bottom of the breastplate. Once the ephod and the breastplate are attached they are never to be separated. Only the blue lace ties can be untied for the High Priest to put it on and take it off.

29 "So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, as a memorial before the LORD continually.

30 "And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron's heart when he goes in before the LORD. So Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the LORD continually.

Scholars have no idea what the "the Urim and the Thummim" are supposed to be. Urim means "lights" and Thummim means "perfections". These were used to get "yes" or "no" responses from God.

32 "There shall be an opening for his head in the middle of it; it shall have a woven binding all around its opening, like the opening in a coat of mail, so that it does not tear.

33 "And upon its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, all around its hem, and bells of gold between them all around:

34 "a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe all around.

35 "And it shall be upon Aaron when he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he goes into the holy place before the LORD and when he comes out, that he may not die.

The ephod is to be blue with reinforced weaving at the collar to keep it from fraying or tearing. At the bottom of the robe they were to embroider blue, purple and red pomegranates (pomegranates were a symbol of fertility).

Between the pomegranates golden bells were to be sewn on to the ephod. As the high priest walked the bells would announce his presence. If the High Priest were to walk into the holy of holies unannounced, God would kill him!!

(According to Jewish tradition, the High Priest went into the holy of holies with a slender cord tied around one ankle. If he displeased God and God killed him, the priests would hear the clash of the bells as he fell, and could drag him out without having to enter the holy of holies themselves. As far as I know, no High Priest died before the Lord during their ministration in the holy of holies.)

36 "You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE LORD.

37 "And you shall put it on a blue cord, that it may be on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban.

38 "So it shall be on Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.

A gold plate engraved with "HOLINESS TO THE LORD" would be attached to two blue lace ties to be tied to the back of the turban with the plate hanging over the forehead of the high priest. This was a symbol of God bearing the sins of the people and a reminder to the people of this.

39 "You shall skillfully weave the tunic of fine linen thread, you shall make the turban of fine linen, and you shall make the sash of woven work.

40 "For Aaron's sons you shall make tunics, and you shall make sashes for them. And you shall make hats for them, for glory and beauty.

41 "So you shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him. You shall anoint them, consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister to Me as priests.

The embroidered coat, turban and girdle will be made of fine linen and needle work. The sons of the high priest would have coats, belts and hats of lesser quality than the high priest. Moses would anoint each of them with oil (representing the Holy Spirit), sanctifying them before God.

42 "And you shall make for them linen trousers to cover their nakedness; they shall reach from the waist to the thighs.

43 "They shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they come into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister in the holy place, that they do not incur iniquity and die. It shall be a statute forever to him and his descendants after him.

The under shorts would be like boxer shorts. That way if an errant breeze lifted the bottom of their robes, no one would see anything.

1 "And this is what you shall do to them to hallow them for ministering to Me as priests: Take one young bull and two rams without blemish,

2 "and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil (you shall make them of wheat flour).

3 "You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, with the bull and the two rams.

4 "And Aaron and his sons you shall bring to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and you shall wash them with water.

5 "Then you shall take the garments, put the tunic on Aaron, and the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the intricately woven band of the ephod.

The unleavened bread represented a clean (sinless) offering to the Lord which would later be represented by the body of Jesus Christ. The oil in the cakes and on the wafers represented faith in the purpose of the offering. The anointing oil represented the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon Aaron.

The bull was seen (and worshiped in many ancient cultures) as a god and was a representation of mighty physical strength and power. The Egyptians worshiped a bull god (whose name I will not mention in accordance with God's commandments), and as we shall soon see, the Israelites would make golden calves for themselves to worship as gods. I can only speculate here but the bull could represent the future sacrifice of Jesus Christ, in that God, even though mighty in power was put to death by men because of sin, and His blood like that of the bull, was for our atonement and cleansing of sin.

The rams were to be used as a substitute for our sins, in that their blood would cover the sins of the people in the eyes of God. But only the later sacrifice of Jesus Christ would completely remove and destroy the sins of Man forever.

The clothing worn by Aaron was to represent separation from the people, and representation of the people before the Lord, and to show that he was clothed with the holiness and righteousness of the Lord. Aaron would represent the congregation of Israel before the Lord in religious matters.

9 "And you shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the hats on them. The priesthood shall be theirs for a perpetual statute. So you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons.

The line of priests would ONLY be from the direct line of Aaron, not just any Levite. The Levites ministered and took care of the tabernacle and later the Temple, but they were NOT priests unless they were of the direct line of Aaron.

10 "You shall also have the bull brought before the tabernacle of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the bull.

11 "Then you shall kill the bull before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

12 "You shall take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour all the blood beside the base of the altar.

13 "And you shall take all the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar.

14 "But the flesh of the bull, with its skin and its offal, you shall burn with fire outside the camp. It is a sin offering.

The bull was killed just outside the tabernacle (just as Jesus was killed just outside the city of Jerusalem, within sight of the Temple). Then blood would consecrate the altar and the rest of the blood was to be poured on the ground at the outside bottom of the altar.

The blood of Jesus Christ sanctified God's altar in Heaven, and just like the bull, His blood was poured out at the base of His cross as a sin offering for all of Mankind.

The fat of the offering was a symbol of the destruction of sin by fire (fire is a merciless but thorough cleanser), and the burning of the flesh and entrails of the bull was symbolic of the total destruction of sinners by fire. As we shall see later, Jesus Christ was sent to Hell by God to pay the awful price of Mankind's sins, in which He burned in the fires of Hell until the sins had been destroyed and He had been cleansed of the sins heaped upon Him by God for our atonement.

15 "You shall also take one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram;

16 "and you shall kill the ram, and you shall take its blood and sprinkle it all around on the altar.

17 "Then you shall cut the ram in pieces, wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and with its head.

18 "And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the LORD; it is a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.

Again this is symbolic of our atonement, as an innocent life was given to atone for the guilty. The cutting in pieces of the ram represented God's wrath against sin and sinners (later to be fulfilled in the horrifying scourging of Jesus Christ, in which His flesh would literally be torn to ribbons with Roman whips). And just as the ram was to be washed before it was offered, the body of Jesus was washed before burial after His crucifixion.

And again, the fact that the entire ram was to be burnt represented the total destruction of both sins and the sinner by fire before the Lord.

19 "You shall also take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram.

20 "Then you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar.

21 "And you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar, and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and on his garments, on his sons and on the garments of his sons with him; and he and his garments shall be hallowed, and his sons and his sons' garments with him.

Again, symbols are used here. The blood of the sacrificial ram was placed on the tip of the right ear (listening to God), the right thumb (doing the work of God with their hands) and the right big toe (to walk in God's path and not stray) of Aaron and his sons.

Blood from the altar and anointing oil were to be sprinkled on Aaron and his sons and their clothing to cleanse and sanctify them, just as the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses and sanctifies us and we receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit today.

22 "Also you shall take the fat of the ram, the fat tail, the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, the two kidneys and the fat on them, the right thigh (for it is a ram of consecration),

23 "one loaf of bread, one cake made with oil, and one wafer from the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD;

24 "and you shall put all these in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons, and you shall wave them as a wave offering before the LORD.

25 "You shall receive them back from their hands and burn them on the altar as a burnt offering, as a sweet aroma before the LORD. It is an offering made by fire to the LORD.

All of the fat covering the intestines, liver and kidneys; the entire fatty tail is to be offered, as well as the right thigh. Again the fat represents sin, and the right thigh represented strength. (In ancient cultures, the legs were considered symbols of power and strength.)

10 He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.

11 The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy.

The purpose of waving the symbols of offering before the Lord isn't explained in Scripture, but it obviously had some definite significance.

26 "Then you shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron's consecration and wave it as a wave offering before the LORD; and it shall be your portion.

27 "And from the ram of the consecration you shall consecrate the breast of the wave offering which is waved, and the thigh of the heave offering which is raised, of that which is for Aaron and of that which is for his sons.

28 "It shall be from the children of Israel for Aaron and his sons by a statute forever. For it is a heave offering; it shall be a heave offering from the children of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, that is, their heave offering to the LORD.

Moses is to take the breast and wave it before the Lord as a wave offering and this will be Moses' portion of meat. The left thigh is a heave offering (tribute or peace offering) and is to be the meat portion for Aaron and his sons.

After this first offering to sanctify the tabernacle and altar, Aaron will take over as high priest and Moses will no longer make sacrifices before the Lord. However, he will still have his meat portion of the daily offerings.

29 "And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons' after him, to be anointed in them and to be consecrated in them.

30 "That son who becomes priest in his place shall put them on for seven days, when he enters the tabernacle of meeting to minister in the holy place.

When the high priest died, his eldest son would wear the High Priest clothing for seven full days when going into the holy place (not the holy of holies). This would sanctify him as the next High Priest.

31 "And you shall take the ram of the consecration and boil its flesh in the holy place.

32 "Then Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

33 "They shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but an outsider shall not eat them, because they are holy.

34 "And if any of the flesh of the consecration offerings, or of the bread, remains until the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

The breast and left thigh of the ram were to be boiled in the holy place (with the table, show bread, plates, utensils, etc). Aaron and his sons (and Moses) were to eat the boiled meat and the bread left in the basket. Any food left over is to be burned, nobody else may eat any of it.

This is also a hygienic law to prevent meat from spoiling and to ensure that anything harmful such as bacteria would be destroyed by the boiling of the meat. It also provided food for the priests for their service to the Lord.

35 "Thus you shall do to Aaron and his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. Seven days you shall consecrate them.

36 "And you shall offer a bull every day as a sin offering for atonement. You shall cleanse the altar when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to sanctify it.

37 "Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and sanctify it. And the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar must be holy.

Moses is to sacrifice a bull every day for a week as a sin offering. Every day the altar was to be cleaned and anointed to make it ready for the next sacrifice. After this the altar would be holy and anything or anyone that touched the altar would be made holy.

38 "Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs of the first year, day by day continually.

39 "One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight.

40 "With the one lamb shall be one-tenth of an ephah of flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of pressed oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering.

Every day there is to be a morning and evening sacrifice to atone for sins committed during the day and during the night. The grain and drink offerings were to thank God for His provision of food and drink to Israel.

The morning lamb sacrifice was offered with an offering of: 10.2 cups of flour mixed with 1 quart pressed olive oil and a drink offering of 1 quart of wine. (1/10 Deal = 1/10 Ephah = 1 omer = 5.1 pints or 10.2 cups. 1 Hin = 1 gallon; 1/4 Hin = 1 quart)

41 "And the other lamb you shall offer at twilight; and you shall offer with it the grain offering and the drink offering, as in the morning, for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.

42 "This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet you to speak with you.

43 "And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory.

44 "So I will consecrate the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. I will also consecrate both Aaron and his sons to minister to Me as priests.

46 "And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.

The evening sacrifice was to be exactly the same as the morning sacrifice. These daily offerings were to continue until the death of the Messiah, after which the requirements for sacrifices would be removed as the perfect sacrifice would have been made.

1 "You shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood.

2 "A cubit shall be its length and a cubit its width it shall be square and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it.

This altar would be 18" square and 3' high. It was to be for burning incense before the Lord, (symbolic of the prayers of the righteous believers.)

3 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel's hand.

3 "And you shall overlay its top, its sides all around, and its horns with pure gold; and you shall make for it a molding of gold all around.

4 "Two gold rings you shall make for it, under the molding on both its sides. You shall place them on its two sides, and they will be holders for the poles with which to bear it.

Just as with the altar of sacrifice, all of the wood of the altar and it's carrying poles were to be covered with pure gold.

6 "And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you.

7 "Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it.

8 "And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.

9 "You shall not offer strange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it.

This altar was to sit just outside the holy of holies, in the holy place right in front of the veil. This is so that if God is sitting on the mercy seat the incense (representative of prayers) will be burning before Him.

The high priest will burn incense every morning when he trims the wicks of the lamp and fills it with oil in preparation for that evening. Every evening he will burn incense when he lights the lamp which will burn until the following morning. These will be done at the same time as the two daily sacrifices.

Only the incense God specified was to be burned and ONLY incense was to be burned on this altar (no other sacrifices were allowed on this altar).

It is interesting to note that some of the plants used for incense as specified by God are now extinct. With the destruction of the Second Temple, as with the symbolic sacrifices, the symbols represented by the burning of incense are no longer needed.

10 "And Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD."

Once a year the high priest will place blood from the sin offering (the sin offering on the sacrificial altar, not the incense altar) on the horns of the incense altar. This was the atonement for sins of the high priest and all of Israel done on Yom Kippur, the great Day of Atonement.

12 "When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them.

13 "This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs). The half-shekel shall be an offering to the LORD.

14 "Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the LORD.

15 "The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves.

16 "And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves."

This was what was later called a Temple tax. The tax was ½ shekel for each man twenty years old and up, the tax was the same for everyone!! This showed that all men, rich and poor were equal in the sight of God.

The money would be used by the priests and Levites to commission workmen to repair the Temple and to provide for whatever the priests and Levites needed for such things as buying clothing, etc. These ½ shekels were .2 oz. (5.7 grams) of silver (also known as: 1 beka or 10 gerahs).

18 "You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it,

19 "for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water from it.

20 "When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the LORD, they shall wash with water, lest they die.

21 "So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And it shall be a statute forever to them to him and his descendants throughout their generations."

A laver was a bowl to be filled with water and the base (some versions say "foot") was the pedestal the bowl sat upon. The priests were to wash and be clean before entering the holy place or God would kill them for entering without being clean.

23 "Also take for yourself quality spices, five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane,

24 "five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil.

25 "And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil.

A perfumer would have been like a pharmacist today. The recipe for God's anointing oil was:

Myrrh (Mor) A fragrant gum (or hardened sap) from a tree that bears a small plum like fruit. 500 common shekels weight required (12.5 lbs)

A laurel like tree producing a fragrant golden yellow oil. Usually came from Ceylon. (The cinnamon we use today is from the inner bark of the same tree)

Olive oil 1 hin (1 gallon) The oil was pressed from olives. An olive tree won't produce any fruit until it is 15 years old!

26 "With it you shall anoint the tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the Testimony;

27 "the table and all its utensils, the lamp stand and its utensils, and the altar of incense;

28 "the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base.

29 "You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them must be holy.

Everything in the holy place and the holy of holies was to be anointed with this perfume. Everything they anointed would become holy before the Lord, representative of His Spirit and His righteousness

30 "And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to Me as priests.

31 "And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations.

32 'It shall not be poured on man's flesh; nor shall you make any other like it, according to its composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.

33 'Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on an outsider, shall be cut off from his people.'"

This anointing oil was only to be used to sanctify the tabernacle, Temple and the priests!!! The common people were never to be anointed with this oil, or use it as a perfume. This represented the anointing of the Holy Spirit. If anyone puts it on a stranger or anyone other than a priest makes this oil, he will be cut off from Israel and God.

34 And the LORD said to Moses: "Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal amounts of each.

35 "You shall make of these an incense, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy.

Stacte (nataph) "a drop" The gum (or hardened sap) of the storax tree, which grows about 20' high. Also used as an expectorant.

Frankincense (lebonah) "incense or freely". From a large pink flowering tree, the gum (or hardened sap). When it is burned its very aromatic.

Salt - This was a vital ingredient in ancient times, vital for life. Roman soldiers in the Middle East were sometimes paid in salt, which they in turn would sell for money. Even today, salt is mined in the Middle East and parts of Africa where it is sold in open marketplaces.

36 "And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tabernacle of meeting where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you.

37 "But as for the incense which you shall make, you shall not make any for yourselves, according to its composition. It shall be to you holy for the LORD.

38 "Whoever makes any like it, to smell it, he shall be cut off from his people."

The perfume was to be placed in the Holy place just outside the entrance of the Holy of Holies. Again this was to be used and made exclusively by the priests for the Lord.

2 "See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.

3 "And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,

5 "in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship.

God has given the skill and knowledge of metal working, gem cutting and carpentry to Bezalel (the son of Hur, the man that Moses left in charge of the Israelites with Aaron when he left to go up on the mountain to speak with God). This knowledge would be used to build the Lord's tabernacle. Bezalel would be in charge of the overall work crews and artisans appointed by the Lord to create the things for the Lord. Note that the tribe of Judah was chosen first.

6 "And I, indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you:

7 "the tabernacle of meeting, the ark of the Testimony and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furniture of the tabernacle

8 "the table and its utensils, the pure gold lamp stand with all its utensils, the altar of incense,

9 "the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base

10 "the garments of ministry, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests,

11 "and the anointing oil and sweet incense for the holy place. According to all that I have commanded you they shall do."

13 "Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: 'Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.

14 'You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.

15 'Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

16 'Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.

17 'It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.'"

The Sabbath is a covenant for all generations with the Israelites, forever. This would keep them healthy, and would prevent overworking of workers, servants and slaves. If the covenant was broken that person was to be put to death. This may seem harsh, but it would put Israel in fear of violating God's commandments, and would put "teeth" in His laws to ensure that they were not lightly regarded.

18 And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

The Ten Commandments (Hebrew - "Ten Words") that Moses was to teach the Israelites were written by Moses himself on two stone tablets (after the first two tablets were broken) that were later stored in the Ark of the Covenant (The Testimony)

1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."

In just a few days, even seeing the "fire of the Lord" burning on the mountain top, the people began to doubt God and Moses. The Israelites wanted an idol (like the idols they saw in Egypt), a god they could physically see.

But before we condemn them, remember they had spent 430 years in Egypt, seeing the statues of the Egyptian gods everywhere. This is also a reminder of how quickly Satan moves to counter God's works.

2 And Aaron said to them, "Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me."

3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.

4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!"

5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD."

Aaron not only listened to the people, but also doubted and encouraged the peoples' doubt and sin by agreeing to build an idol for them to physically see. The gold used to build the golden idol was from the gold they took from the Egyptians just before God brought them out of Egypt. Remember, the bull was a symbol of power and might in Egyptian, Middle Eastern and many European countries at the time. Therefore it was reasonable for Aaron to make such an idol as representing "god".

Aaron then declared his golden calf idol to be the God of Israel, bringing the Israelites into idolatry, building an altar to it, and ordering a feast be held for their "god". Remember, the people had no idea what was happening with Moses, who was receiving instructions from God on the mountain top.

6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

When it says "play", this is not innocent, it stood for gross immorality being pursued, much like the lustful pagan feasts of the surrounding countries, namely drunkenness, lewd behavior, etc.

7 And the LORD said to Moses, "Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves.

8 "They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, 'This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!'"

9 And the LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people!

10 "Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation."

God was deeply angered at the "stiff necked" arrogance and pride of this people, and threatened to destroy Israel as a nation and make a new nation out of Moses. He had performed incredible miracles so that even Pharaoh and the Egyptians knew that He is Lord, yet the Israelites had already turned their backs on Him!

11 Then Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, and said: "LORD, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great

12 "Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, 'He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth'? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people.

13 "Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, 'I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'"

Moses pleads with God for Israel, much like Abraham pleaded with God for Sodom. God destroyed Sodom because He couldn't find even ten righteous men in Sodom as Abraham had bargained for.

Note the mercy of God in that He listened to the intercession of Moses just as he listened to Abraham. And note that Moses pleaded for God to spare Israel rather than just meekly saying "Ok." and letting God destroy them.

Even so God expects us to intercede for sinners. The decision is up to Him as to what to do from there, but just as Moses and Abraham interceded with Him, we are to do the same.

15 And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written.

16 Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.

17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, "There is a noise of war in the camp."

18 But he said: "It is not the noise of the shout of victory, nor the noise of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing I hear."

We don't know what size the tablets were but they were written on both sides, apparently containing all the commandments of the Lord (not just the Ten Commandments). Moses started down the mountain and met Joshua where Moses had left him. Joshua could hear revelry from the camp and mistook it for the sounds of war (so it must have been quite noisy). Moses knew better, because God had told him what was happening in the camp below.

19 So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses' anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.

20 Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it.

Moses threw down the tablets in his anger at what he saw before him. One can see him stalking up to the idol, glaring at Aaron, and then wordlessly smashing and burning the calf they had made. The people were more than likely frightened and ashamed when they saw Moses and probably cowered before him.

21 And Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?"

22 So Aaron said, "Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil.

23 "For they said to me, 'Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'

24 "And I said to them, 'Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.' So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out."

Moses' wrath must have been something to behold! One can imagine him asking Aaron in a thundering voice what had happened. Note that Aaron immediately tried to shift the blame for what happened to the people, saying that they "forced" him to commit the sin that he did. If we sin, we are responsible before God for our sin. We cannot blame others for what we do.

The Nazis tried to say that they "were just following orders" as they exterminated the people in the concentration camps during World War II. The Allied War Crime courts didn't accept that excuse, and God will not either. Sinning is doing something that you know is wrong, but you do it anyway.

25 Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies),

26 then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, "Whoever is on the LORD's side come to me!" And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.

27 And he said to them, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.'"

28 So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day.

29 Then Moses said, "Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day, for every man has opposed his son and his brother."

"Unrestrained" in Hebrew (pawrah) means - "to loosen or make naked (as in a shameful way)". Moses told the Levites (who sided with Moses) to kill all those who participated in the lewd and shameful acts and had not sided with Moses when he gave them the chance to side with him and repent.

We may consider this to be a graphic and excessive punishment, but if such a harsh punishment were not enacted, the people would have no fear of God, the corruption would spread, and would cause God to wipe out the entire nation. Besides, they had seen God and His works and knew better than to do what they did.

30 Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, "You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin."

31 Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, "Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold!

32 "Yet now, if You will forgive their sin but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written."

33 And the LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.

34 "Now therefore, go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, My Angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin."

35 So the LORD plagued the people because of what they did with the calf which Aaron made.

This is the first mention of the Book of Life in the Bible. Moses is willing to have his name taken out of the Book of Life for the sake of the Israelites, showing his compassion for his people. But God told Moses that He will decide whose name stays or is removed from the Book of Life.

God punished the Israelites by plaguing the guilty people that still lived (reaping what they had sown, even though they had repented, just like it is today).

Again we see where God speaks of a specific Angel who would go before Israel. We spoke of this Angel and His position and purpose in Exodus 14, in which He has all of the authority and power of God Himself, meaning it was a pre-incarnate reference to Jesus Christ.

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'To your descendants I will give it.'

2 "And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.

3 "Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people."

4 And when the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments.

5 For the LORD had said to Moses, "Say to the children of Israel, 'You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do to you.'"

6 So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb.

God will send His Angel (spoken of before in Exodus chapters 14 and 32) before the Israelites to drive out the Canaanites. He would go before them, but not with them, because of the golden calf incident.

God had them leave all the gold they brought from Egypt because it was a stumbling block for them. This also provided a lesson in humility for the Israelites. They had just days before sworn to follow God and only God, then had made a golden calf idol and altar to worship it. God will not be mocked.........

7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

7 Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp.

8 So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle.

9 And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses.

10 All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door.

11 So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle

Moses set up a temporary tent for the Lord to meet and speak to Moses. It was set well outside the camp because God would not dwell among the people, as a graphic reminder of the golden calf incident. Whenever Moses went to the tabernacle, God spoke with him and seeing the cloud at the tent door inspired the men of the camp to worship and pray to the Lord. Joshua stayed in the tabernacle and took care of it.

12 Then Moses said to the LORD, "See, You say to me, 'Bring up this people.' 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 also found grace in My sight.'

13 "Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in your sight, show me now your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in your sight. And consider that this nation is your people."

15 Then he said to Him, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.

16 "For how then will it be known that your people and I have found grace in your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth."

17 So the LORD said to Moses, "I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name."

Moses asks confirmation from God that He will continue to accompany the Israelites. If God won't stay with them Moses asks for God to leave them out in the wilderness.

19 Then He said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."

22 "So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by.

23 "Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen."

Moses wants to see God, but His glory would kill Moses. God picks up Moses and places him in a cleft at the top of Mt Sinai and covers Moses with His hand. Then God takes away His hand and allows Moses to see His back only.

It is interesting to note that atop Jebel 'al Lawz, the true Mount Sinai in Saudi Arabia there is a cleft in the top of the mountain, large enough for a several men to stand in. This very likely the cleft that Moses stood in while watching God's back as He passed.

1 And the LORD said to Moses, "Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke.

2 "So be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me there on the top of the mountain.

3 "And no man shall come up with you, and let no man be seen throughout all the mountain; let neither flocks nor herds feed before that mountain."

4 So he cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him; and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone.

The same restrictions are in place as before concerning the mountain. God will again give Moses His Laws, written on durable tablets of stone.

5 Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.

6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,

7 "keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation."

9 Then he said, "If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance."

10 And He said: "Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.

God declares that the guilt and punishment will be upon the children of the guilty to the third and fourth generations of those that hate Him. This was done to keep the people from turning away from God, knowing the punishments for their sins would cause harm to their children and no good parent would knowingly cause harm to their own child.

Most of this happened during the times of the monarchy and during the time of the divided kingdom. This also shows that sins and curses can be generational.

Moses humbles himself and confesses the sin of pride and stubbornness in Israel, then asks God to have mercy on himself and the people of Israel. God agrees to show mercy and to prove Himself to the Israelites through miracles and wonders even greater than those during the exodus from Egypt!

11 "Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.

12 "Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst.

13 "But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images

14 "(for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),

15 "lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them invites you and you eat of his sacrifice,

16 "and you take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods.

Israel is not to make any covenants or "peace treaties" with the people God will drive out from the land of Canaan. If they do make any kind of treaty with any of the Canaanites, the Canaanites will entice the Israelites into worshiping their gods and idols turning Israel away from God Almighty. Unfortunately throughout Israel's history, this awful prediction came true far too many times.

This holds true today, with the poisonous "Interfaith" movement, where different religions are joining hands in "unity", claiming to worship the same God. Yet the "God" they claim to worship is many times far removed from the God of the Bible!

The Israelites are to have no idols or images of God at all. God cannot be depicted or contained in a manmade object!!

18 "The Feast of Unleavened Bread you shall keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the appointed time of the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt.

God is reminding them to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This is also a reminder to them of the covenants they have made with God.

19 "All that open the womb are Mine, and every male firstborn among your livestock, whether ox or sheep.

20 "But the firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb. And if you will not redeem him, then you shall break his neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed.

God reiterates His laws to Moses. The first born male sheep and ox were to be sacrificed to God. They are to redeem the first born donkey with a lamb sacrificed to God or break its neck. The firstborn born son was to be redeemed with a sacrifice given to God.

21 "Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.

22 "And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end.

23 "Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the LORD God of Israel.

24 "For I will cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the LORD your God three times in the year.

3) Feast of Ingathering (Feast of Booths) Giving of the last fruits of the harvest

At each of these feasts all men were to present themselves and their sacrifices or fruits of harvest to the priests for God in the Tabernacle of the Lord, then later to the Temple of the Lord. When all the men of Israel come before the Lord, God will keep their land from being invaded by anyone.

25 "You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leaven, nor shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover be left until morning.

All breads used in sacrifices will be without yeast. The leftovers from the Passover meal are to be destroyed before morning.

26 "The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring to the house of the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk."

Feast of Harvest (Pentecost) - Giving of the first fruits of the wheat harvest to the tabernacle.

Boiling a kid in its mothers's milk refers to the ritual used in the worship of a Canaanite god of Fertility and Prosperity This is why some Jews, especially Orthodox Jews don't mix dairy products and meat, because they don't know for sure that it wasn't a mother and her kid.

All males of each village who have turned 16 years of age during the previous year participates. Each one would kneel before the alter of this god and pray for him to bless them.

Then the village priest would slaughter a new born kid (baby goat) on the alter of this god. Then he would cut the kid into pieces and boil them in a pot with its mother's milk (because the mother would be full of milk having just given birth and water was scarce). Each male participant was given a piece of this meat to eat, then the priest would take some of the blood off the alter and swipe their foreheads with it.

All the girls who have turned 12 years of age during the past year and all girls over 12 years of age, that are not married would line up in a straight line. Each male who had participated in this ritual on that day would walk down the line of girls and choose a wife. The girls had no say in the matter, neither did their families. Then the priest would pray for the god to bless each of the marriages with much prosperity and many children.

27 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel."

28 So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

The first time God made the tablets and wrote all the commandments, this time Moses made the tablets and wrote the Ten Commandments on them. This is the second time Moses goes forty days and nights without food or water while in Gods presence. The word commandment literally means a word made to convey a meaning, so the Ten Commandments were ten words used to convey the meaning of the laws.

This is interesting in that it also proves Jesus' words to Satan during the time of His being tempted (tested) by Satan while he was in the wilderness. Jesus had been in the wilderness of Judea for 40 days and He had eaten nothing during that time. And when He was at His weakest, physically, Satan came to test Him.

1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

3 And the devil said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.’

4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God”.

Moses spent 40 days and nights in God's presence and neither ate or drank during that time. By this was Jesus' words proven that food and drink alone will not sustain a man, but Man can literally live by God's words alone.

29 Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses' hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him.

30 So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.

31 Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him; and Moses talked with them.

32 Afterward all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them as commandments all that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai.

34 But whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded.

35 And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him

Moses’ face actually glowed after speaking with God, something that (understandably) scared the people. Moses began to wear a veil to hide the glow of being in the presence of God, and only removed the veil when he talked with God.

1 Then Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them, "These are the words which the LORD has commanded you to do:

2 "Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.

The seriousness that God placed on the Sabbath day is vividly shown here, in that Israel is not to even build a fire for cooking on the Sabbath, as it would be considered to be work in His eyes. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 A.D. many Jews would hire a Gentile to build fires in the hearth (during the cold weather months) and have them do the cooking for them on the Sabbath day so that they could eat hot food and still keep the Sabbath.

4 And Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, "This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying:

5 'Take from among you an offering to the LORD. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the LORD: gold, silver, and bronze;

8 'oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense;

Moses tells the people what is needed to build Gods tabernacle. Anyone may give anything needed, but everything must be given willingly. Nobody was to be forced or give grudgingly.

10 'All who are gifted artisans among you shall come and make all that the LORD has commanded:

11 'the tabernacle, its tent, its covering, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets;

14 'also the lampstand for the light, its utensils, its lamps, and the oil for the light;

15 'the incense altar, its poles, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, and the screen for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle;

16 'the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles, all its utensils, and the laver and its base;

17 'the hangings of the court, its pillars, their sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court;

19 'the garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests.'"

20 And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.

The artisans were to gather all the things brought by the Israelites and prepare to build the tabernacle for God.

21 Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the LORD's offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments.

22 They came, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart, and brought earrings and nose rings, rings and necklaces, all jewelry of gold, that is, every man who made an offering of gold to the LORD.

23 And every man, with whom was found blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats' hair, red skins of rams, and badger skins, brought them.

24 Everyone who offered an offering of silver or bronze brought the LORD's offering. And everyone with whom was found acacia wood for any work of the service, brought it.

Everyone willing to give to the Lord brought what Moses had requested. God never wants anything from us that we are not able to give willingly. If we give grudgingly then our heart still covets what we have given, and God would not accept such an offering.

25 All the women who were gifted artisans spun yarn with their hands, and brought what they had spun, of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.

God gave these gifted artisans the skill and knowledge to make the thread, yarn and linen needed. Note that they spun the yarn with their hands, as apparently there were no spinning wheels with them for spinning the wool and hair into thread and yarn.

27 The rulers brought onyx stones, and the stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate,

28 and spices and oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.

The rulers of the Israelites (probably the tribal leaders and elders) gave the precious stones, oils and spices.

29 The children of Israel brought a freewill offering to the LORD, all the men and women whose hearts were willing to bring material for all kinds of work which the LORD, by the hand of Moses, had commanded to be done.

30 And Moses said to the children of Israel, "See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;

31 "and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of workmanship,

33 "in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of artistic workmanship.

34 "And He has put in his heart the ability to teach, in him and Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.

35 "He has filled them with skill to do all manner of work of the engraver and the designer and the tapestry maker, in blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen, and of the weaver those who do every work and those who design artistic works.

Bezalel of the tribe of Judah has been given the knowledge and wisdom to oversee and teach everything to complete the Lords tabernacle and everything that goes with it. Aholiab of the tribe of Dan was also given knowledge and would assist Bezalel, but Bezalel would be in command.

1 "And Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whom the LORD has put wisdom and understanding, to know how to do all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, shall do according to all that the LORD has commanded."

2 Then Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, everyone whose heart was stirred, to come and do the work.

3 And they received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of making the sanctuary. So they continued bringing to him freewill offerings every morning.

4 Then all the craftsmen who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing,

5 and they spoke to Moses, saying, "The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the LORD commanded us to do."

6 So Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, "Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary." And the people were restrained from bringing,

7 for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done indeed too much.

The people gave more than what was needed, showing their willingness to give abundantly. This also shows the abundance of treasures they brought out of Egypt and took from the Amalekites. Note also how fairly the craftsmen dealt with what they had been given, being faithful to use only that which was needed.

8 Then all the gifted artisans among them who worked on the tabernacle made ten curtains woven of fine linen, and of blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with artistic designs of cherubim they made them.

9 The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; the curtains were all the same size.

10 And he coupled five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he coupled to one another.

Each curtain was 42' x 6'. Five curtains were sewn together to make two long curtains, 210' x 6' in length. Note that it doesn't say that women made the curtains. I think it was men who did this, indicating that weaving and embroidery work was also done by men of that time.

11 He made loops of blue yarn on the edge of the curtain on the selvedge of one set; likewise he did on the outer edge of the other curtain of the second set.

12 Fifty loops he made on one curtain, and fifty loops he made on the edge of the curtain on the end of the second set; the loops held one curtain to another.

13 And he made fifty clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains to one another with the clasps, that it might be one tabernacle.

Fifty yarn loops for each 210' x 6' curtain and fifty gold clasps to connect the yarn loops. This was used to connect the 2 curtains into 1 curtain 420' x 6' in length, making the only opening on the tabernacle being the one in the front.

14 He made curtains of goats' hair for the tent over the tabernacle; he made eleven curtains.

15 The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; the eleven curtains were the same size.

Eleven goat hair curtains each 45' x 6', sewing together five curtains to make 1 long curtain of 225' x 6'. The other six curtains were sewn together to make one curtain 270' x 6'.

17 And he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in one set, and fifty loops he made on the edge of the curtain of the second set.

18 He also made fifty bronze clasps to couple the tent together, that it might be one.

Fifty yarn loops for each curtain and fifty bronze clasps to hold the loops together. This made one curtain, 495' x 6'.

19 Then he made a covering for the tent of ram skins dyed red, and a covering of badger skins above that.

The ram skins dyed red may be symbolic of the blood of the sacrifice that sanctified the tabernacle. This could also be symbolic of the blood sacrifice required of Jesus whose blood cleansed us from all sin. The badger skins would have made the roof waterproof.

21 The length of each board was ten cubits, and the width of each board a cubit and a half.

22 Each board had two tenons for binding one to another. Thus he made for all the boards of the tabernacle.

24 Forty sockets of silver he made to go under the twenty boards: two sockets under each of the boards for its two tenons.

25 And for the other side of the tabernacle, the north side, he made twenty boards

The boards 15' (h) x 27" (w) were held together with silver sockets (two per set of boards). The north side was twenty boards (15' x 45'), the south side was the same size, the west side was six boards together (15' x 13.5').

29 And they were coupled at the bottom and coupled together at the top by one ring. Thus he made both of them for the two corners.

30 So there were eight boards and their sockets sixteen sockets of silver two sockets under each of the boards.

31 And he made bars of acacia wood: five for the boards on one side of the tabernacle,

32 five bars for the boards on the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle on the far side westward.

33 And he made the middle bar to pass through the boards from one end to the other.

34 He overlaid the boards with gold, made their rings of gold to be holders for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.

Five gold-covered cross beams were made for each of the north, south and west sides to support the gold-covered walls.

35 And he made a veil of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen; it was worked with an artistic design of cherubim.

This was the veil that would separate the holy of holies with the Ark of the Covenant from the holy place with the lamp stand, table and showbread.

36 He made for it four pillars of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold, with their hooks of gold; and he cast four sockets of silver for them.

These are the four pillars that are to hold the veil between the holy of holies with the Ark of the Covenant from the holy place with the lamp stand, table and showbread. They are covered in gold with gold hooks to hold the veil and silver sockets to hold the hooks.

37 He also made a screen for the tabernacle door, of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver,

38 and its five pillars with their hooks. And he overlaid their capitals and their rings with gold, but their five sockets were bronze.

These are the five pillars that are to hold the door to the holy place. They are covered in gold with gold rings and hooks with the sockets of bronze.

1 Then Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits was its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height.

2 He overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a molding of gold all around it.

3 And he cast for it four rings of gold to be set in its four corners: two rings on one side, and two rings on the other side of it.

6 He also made the mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits was its length and a cubit and a half its width.

7 He made two cherubim of beaten gold; he made them of one piece at the two ends of the mercy seat:

8 one cherub at one end on this side, and the other cherub at the other end on that side. He made the cherubim at the two ends of one piece with the mercy seat.

9 The cherubim spread out their wings above, and covered the mercy seat with their wings. They faced one another; the faces of the cherubim were toward the mercy seat.

With the knowledge and skill from the Lord, Bezalel made the Ark of the covenant, just as God had shown Moses, with dimensions of 45" long, 27" wide, and 27" tall, with a mercy seat of the same dimensions as the top of the Ark.

10 He made the table of acacia wood; two cubits was its length, a cubit its width, and a cubit and a half its height.

12 Also he made a frame of a handbreadth all around it, and made a molding of gold for the frame all around it.

13 And he cast for it four rings of gold, and put the rings on the four corners that were at its four legs.

14 The rings were close to the frame, as holders for the poles to bear the table.

15 And he made the poles of acacia wood to bear the table, and overlaid them with gold.

16 He made of pure gold the utensils which were on the table: its dishes, its cups, its bowls, and its pitchers for pouring.

He made the table 36" long, 18" wide and 27" tall, with a frame 5" wide around it.

17 He also made the lamp stand of pure gold; of hammered work he made the lampstand. Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs, and its flowers were of the same piece.

18 And six branches came out of its sides: three branches of the lampstand out of one side, and three branches of the lamp stand out of the other side.

19 There were three bowls made like almond blossoms on one branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower, and three bowls made like almond blossoms on the other branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower and so for the six branches coming out of the lamp stand.

20 And on the lamp stand itself were four bowls made like almond blossoms, each with its ornamental knob and flower.

21 There was a knob under the first two branches of the same, a knob under the second two branches of the same, and a knob under the third two branches of the same, according to the six branches extending from it.

22 Their knobs and their branches were of one piece; all of it was one hammered piece of pure gold.

Bezalel made the lamp stand out of one single piece of gold just as God had shown Moses, including the wick trimmers and trays. All made with 1 talent of gold (75 pounds = 1 common talent).

25 He made the incense altar of acacia wood. Its length was a cubit and its width a cubit it was square and two cubits was its height. Its horns were of one piece with it.

26 And he overlaid it with pure gold: its top, its sides all around, and its horns. He also made for it a molding of gold all around it.

27 He made two rings of gold for it under its molding, by its two corners on both sides, as holders for the poles with which to bear it.

29 He also made the holy anointing oil and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the perfumer.

Bezalel must have been truly a master craftsman! He was an accomplished metalworker, weaver, embroiderer, carpenter and who knows what else! The altar of incense was 18" x 18" square, and stood 36" high.

1 He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood; five cubits was its length and five cubits its width it was square and its height was three cubits.

2 He made its horns on its four corners; the horns were of one piece with it. And he overlaid it with bronze.

3 He made all the utensils for the altar: the pans, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the firepans; all its utensils he made of bronze.

4 And he made a grate of bronze network for the altar, under its rim, midway from the bottom.

5 He cast four rings for the four corners of the bronze grating, as holders for the poles.

7 Then he put the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar, with which to bear it. He made the altar hollow with boards.

8 He made the laver of bronze and its base of bronze, from the bronze mirrors of the serving women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

Bezalel made the burnt offering altar, utensils, rings & poles. The altar was 7.5' square and stood 4.5' high. In ancient times, polished metal was used for mirrors, which the Egyptians used in abundance. Therefore it's not surprising that there was more than enough bronze mirrors for use in making the laver and its base!

The altar was made of bronze as it was more durable than gold and had better heat-transfer characteristics to keep the acacia wood from burning under the metal when sacrificers were offered.

9 Then he made the court on the south side; the hangings of the court were of fine woven linen, one hundred cubits long.

10 There were twenty pillars for them, with twenty bronze sockets. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver.

11 On the north side the hangings were one hundred cubits long, with twenty pillars and their twenty bronze sockets. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver.

12 And on the west side there were hangings of fifty cubits, with ten pillars and their ten sockets. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver.

14 The hangings of one side of the gate were fifteen cubits long, with their three pillars and their three sockets,

15 and the same for the other side of the court gate; on this side and that were hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets.

17 The sockets for the pillars were bronze, the hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver, and the overlay of their capitals was silver; and all the pillars of the court had bands of silver.

18 The screen for the gate of the court was woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen. The length was twenty cubits, and the height along its width was five cubits, corresponding to the hangings of the court.

19 And there were four pillars with their four sockets of bronze; their hooks were silver, and the overlay of their capitals and their bands was silver.

The north and south side curtains were 150 feet long, the east and west sides were 75' long. There were two curtains for the opening gate were each 22.5' long. Note that all of the decorative work was of silver, all of the load-bearing work and parts susceptible to chafing were of harder, more durable bronze.

21 This is the inventory of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the Testimony, which was counted according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest.

22 Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD had commanded Moses.

The Tabernacle was finally finished. It is hard to imagine the amount of time and work that went into this project. The metalwork needed to be melted and cast in clay molds, then trimmed and polished, except for that which needed to be of hammered work such as the gold lamp stand and the hammered plates for the altars and carrying poles.

The weaving must have been a stupendous project alone for the goat hair and linen needed to be woven, then dyed and embroidered according to specifications. Each curtain needed to be woven on a single loom so that the parts would be of one piece, after which the separate pieces would be sewn together. I would not be surprised if this project took at least 6-8 months to complete.

Note that Ithamar, Aaron's youngest son was the priest in charge of the Levitical service of the Tabernacle.

23 And with him was Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and designer, a weaver of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine linen.

Aholiab made the fine linen and was the engraver and designer for the Lords tabernacle and priests clothing. This also shows that men were weavers and embroiderers during that time also.

24 All the gold that was used in all the work of the holy place, that is, the gold of the offering, was twenty-nine talents and seven hundred and thirty shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.

29 talents (2175 lbs) + 730 shekels (18 1/4 lbs) = 2,193.25 lbs of gold. (1 talent = 75 pounds and 1 shekel = 0.4 ounces) Most banks today don't carry that much gold in their vaults!

25 And the silver from those who were numbered of the congregation was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary:

26 a bekah for each man (that is, half a shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary), for everyone included in the numbering from twenty years old and above, for six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty men.

27 And from the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil: one hundred sockets from the hundred talents, one talent for each socket.

28 Then from the one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, overlaid their capitals, and made bands for them.

100 talents (7500 lbs.) + 1775 shekels (44 1/3 lbs) = 7,544.3 lbs of silver. (1 talent = 75 pounds, 1 shekel = 0.4 ounces, one bekah = .2 ounces)

29 The offering of bronze was seventy talents and two thousand four hundred shekels.

30 And with it he made the sockets for the door of the tabernacle of meeting, the bronze altar, the bronze grating for it, and all the utensils for the altar,

31 the sockets for the court all around, the bases for the court gate, all the pegs for the tabernacle, and all the pegs for the court all around.

70 talents (5,250 lbs.) + 2400 shekels (60 lbs) = 5,310 lbs of bronze (1 talent = 75 pounds and 1 shekel = 0.4 ounces)

1 Of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread they made garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

2 He made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen.

3 And they beat the gold into thin sheets and cut it into threads, to work it in with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and the fine linen, into artistic designs.

4 They made shoulder straps for it to couple it together; it was coupled together at its two edges.

5 And the intricately woven band of his ephod that was on it was of the same workmanship, woven of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

6 And they set onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold; they were engraved, as signets are engraved, with the names of the sons of Israel.

7 He put them on the shoulders of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

8 And he made the breastplate, artistically woven like the workmanship of the ephod, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen.

9 They made the breastplate square by doubling it; a span was its length and a span its width when doubled.

10 And they set in it four rows of stones: a row with a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald was the first row;

13 the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold in their mountings.

14 There were twelve stones according to the names of the sons of Israel: according to their names, engraved like a signet, each one with its own name according to the twelve tribes.

15 And they made chains for the breastplate at the ends, like braided cords of pure gold.

16 They also made two settings of gold and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.

17 And they put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate.

18 The two ends of the two braided chains they fastened in the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod in the front.

19 And they made two rings of gold and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the edge of it, which was on the inward side of the ephod.

20 They made two other gold rings and put them on the two shoulder straps, underneath the ephod toward its front, right at the seam above the intricately woven band of the ephod.

21 And they bound the breastplate by means of its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it would be above the intricately woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate would not come loose from the ephod, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

23 And there was an opening in the middle of the robe, like the opening in a coat of mail, with a woven binding all around the opening, so that it would not tear.

24 They made on the hem of the robe pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, and of fine woven linen.

25 And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates on the hem of the robe all around between the pomegranates:

26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, all around the hem of the robe to minister in, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

28 a turban of fine linen, exquisite hats of fine linen, short trousers of fine woven linen,

29 and a sash of fine woven linen with blue, purple, and scarlet thread, made by a weaver, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

30 Then they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE LORD.

31 And they tied to it a blue cord, to fasten it above on the turban, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

All the priestly clothing was made according to God's commandment. The details of the breastplate and the High Priest's clothing have been previously discussed in Exodus 28.

32 Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished. And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD had commanded Moses; so they did.

33 And they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its furnishings: its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets;

34 the covering of ram skins dyed red, the covering of badger skins, and the veil of the covering;

37 the pure gold lamp stand with its lamps (the lamps set in order), all its utensils, and the oil for light;

38 the gold altar, the anointing oil, and the sweet incense; the screen for the tabernacle door;

39 the bronze altar, its grate of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the laver with its base;

40 the hangings of the court, its pillars and its sockets, the screen for the court gate, its cords, and its pegs; all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting;

41 and the garments of ministry, to minister in the holy place: the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons' garments, to minister as priests.

42 According to all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work.

43 Then Moses looked over all the work, and indeed they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, just so they had done it. And Moses blessed them.

All the work was finished and met with Moses' approval, having been made exactly as God had shown him. Moses blessed the people for their work and obedience to the Lord.

2 "On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.

3 "You shall put in it the ark of the Testimony, and partition off the ark with the veil.

4 "You shall bring in the table and arrange the things that are to be set in order on it; and you shall bring in the lamp stand and light its lamps.

5 "You shall also set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the Testimony, and put up the screen for the door of the tabernacle.

6 "Then you shall set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.

7 "And you shall set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water in it.

8 "You shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen at the court gate.

9 "And you shall take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it; and you shall hallow it and all its utensils, and it shall be holy.

10 "You shall anoint the altar of the burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar. The altar shall be most holy.

12 "Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of meeting and wash them with water.

13 "You shall put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest.

15 "You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to Me as priests; for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations."

17 And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up.

18 So Moses raised up the tabernacle, fastened its sockets, set up its boards, put in its bars, and raised up its pillars.

19 And he spread out the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

On the first day of the month Moses was to set up the tabernacle and to anoint and consecrate everything, including the priests.

20 He took the Testimony and put it into the ark, inserted the poles through the rings of the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark.

21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, hung up the veil of the covering, and partitioned off the ark of the Testimony, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Moses put the stone tablets in the Ark, put the mercy seat on top and used the poles to carry the Ark into the holy of holies. Hanging the veil separating the holy place from the holy of holies.

22 He put the table in the tabernacle of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil;

23 and he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

24 He put the lamp stand in the tabernacle of meeting, across from the table, on the south side of the tabernacle;

29 And he put the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the LORD had

30 He set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water there for washing;

31 and Moses, Aaron, and his sons would wash their hands and their feet with water from it.

32 Whenever they went into the tabernacle of meeting, and when they came near the altar, they washed, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

The burnt offering altar was set up, and the bowl for washing their hands and feet before entering the tabernacle. All were setup outside the tabernacle. Moses offered the first sacrifice on the altar for the Lord.

33 And he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.

34 Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

35 And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

36 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys.

37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up.

38 For the cloud of the LORD was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

Just like the journey from Egypt, God showed a pillar of fire at night and a pillar of cloud by day for the Israelites to follow. When He wanted the Israelites to pack up and move, the pillar would rise from the tabernacle and lead where He wanted them to camp. The Israelites were not to move unless the pillar moved.

Frequent moving would also prevent disease from sewage from the outside of the camp.