Immerse: Beginnings Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 133
23:22–24:7
E x od u s
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representative, and he will not forgive your rebellion. But if you are careful
to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your
enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you. For my angel will go
before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites,
Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, so you may live there. And I will destroy
them completely. You must not worship the gods of these nations or serve
them in any way or imitate their evil practices. Instead, you must utterly
destroy them and smash their sacred pillars.
“You must serve only the Lord your God. If you do, I will bless you
with food and water, and I will protect you from illness. There will be no
miscarriages or infertility in your land, and I will give you long, full lives.
“I will send my terror ahead of you and create panic among all the people
whose lands you invade. I will make all your enemies turn and run. I will
send terror ahead of you to drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would
become desolate and the wild animals would multiply and threaten you.
I will drive them out a little at a time until your population has increased
enough to take possession of the land. And I will fix your boundaries from
the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the eastern wilderness to
the Euphrates River. I will hand over to you the people now living in the
land, and you will drive them out ahead of you.
“Make no treaties with them or their gods. They must not live in your
land, or they will cause you to sin against me. If you serve their gods, you
will be caught in the trap of idolatry.”
Then the Lord instructed Moses: “Come up here to me, and bring along
Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders. All of you must worship from a distance. Only Moses is allowed to come near to the Lord.
The others must not come near, and none of the other people are allowed
to climb up the mountain with him.”
Then Moses went down to the people and repeated all the instructions
and regulations the Lord had given him. All the people answered with
one voice, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.”
Then Moses carefully wrote down all the Lord’s instructions. Early the
next morning Moses got up and built an altar at the foot of the mountain.
He also set up twelve pillars, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Then he sent some of the young Israelite men to present burnt offerings
and to sacrifice bulls as peace offerings to the Lord. Moses drained half
the blood from these animals into basins. The other half he splattered
against the altar.
Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people.
