HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 444
EX O D U S 2 4
my representative, and he will not forgive your
rebellion. 22 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. 23 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. 24 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.
25 “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. 26 There will
be no miscarriages or infertility in your land,
and I will give you long, full lives.
27 “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. 28 I will send terror* ahead of you to
drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites.
29 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. 30 I will drive them out a little at a time until
your population has increased enough to take
possession of the land. 31 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.
32 “Make no treaties with them or their gods.
33 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.”
Israel Accepts the LORD’s Covenant
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. 2 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.”
3 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.”
4 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. 5 Then he
sent some of the young Israelite men to present
burnt offerings and to sacrifice bulls as peace
offerings to the Lord. 6 Moses drained half the
24
page 74
blood from these animals into basins. The other
half he splattered against the altar.
7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and
read it aloud to the people. Again they all responded, “We will do everything the Lord has
commanded. We will obey.”
8 Then Moses took the blood from the basins
and splattered it over the people, declaring,
“Look, this blood confirms the covenant the
Lord has made with you in giving you these
instructions.”
9 Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the
seventy elders of Israel climbed up the mountain. 10 There they saw the God of Israel. Under
his feet there seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself.
11 And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon
God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate
a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his
presence!
12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up
to me on the mountain. Stay there, and I will
give you the tablets of stone on which I have
inscribed the instructions and commands so
you can teach the people.” 13 So Moses and his
assistant Joshua set out, and Moses climbed up
the mountain of God.
14 Moses told the elders, “Stay here and wait
for us until we come back. Aaron and Hur are
here with you. If anyone has a dispute while I
am gone, consult with them.”
15 Then Moses climbed up the mountain, and
the cloud covered it. 16 And the glory of the Lord
settled down on Mount Sinai, and the cloud
covered it for six days. On the seventh day the
Lord called to Moses from inside the cloud. 17 To
the Israelites at the foot of the mountain, the
glory of the Lord appeared at the summit like a
consuming fire. 18 Then Moses disappeared into
the cloud as he climbed higher up the mountain. He remained on the mountain forty days
and forty nights.
Offerings for the Tabernacle
The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the
people of Israel to bring me their sacred offerings. Accept the contributions from
all whose hearts are moved to offer them. 3 Here
is a list of sacred offerings you may accept from
them:
25
4
5
6
gold, silver, and bronze;
blue, purple, and scarlet thread;
fine linen and goat hair for cloth;
tanned ram skins and fine goatskin
leather;
acacia wood;
olive oil for the lamps;
23:25 As in Greek and Latin versions; Hebrew reads he.
23:28 Often rendered the hornet. The meaning of the Hebrew
is uncertain. 23:31a Hebrew from the sea of reeds to the
sea of the Philistines. 23:31b Hebrew from the wilderness
to the river.