The Trip to the Promised Land
Moses leads his People
• Israelites overjoyed about freedom
• Headed to Canaan• Miriam—sister of
Moses• Aaron—brother to
Moses– sang songs; played
tambourine
• No GPS system in the wilderness
• wander many years• transition from slavery
to free people to serve God
• Headed to Mount Sinai
• God helped lead the way
• God tests the Israelites
• Complain, complain, complain…..
• They did not always follow God’s will.
• Forgot what God had done for them.
• Grumbled against Moses for their hardships
God always pulled through!
• Hebrews doubted/God showed faithfulness
• God performed miracles
• complaint of bitter water—God had Moses change it to drinkable water
• no food/quail
• more food/manna
• more water/water from a rock
Moses is reunited
• Moses reunites with his family
• All continue on the journey
• Exodus/journey are signs of God leading his people
• In our age, we too are called to follow God’s plan for us
God gives his people “the law”
• Arrived at Mt. Sinai
• Moses and God had a chit/chat on top of the mountain
• “shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation”—Exodus 19:6
Moses gives everyone the “low down”
• Moses tells everyone what God said
• “Everything the Lord has said, we will do” (Exodus 19:8)
• 3 days later, God appears to the group
Moses is summoned
• God calls Moses• He gets the Ten
Commandments• Keep the laws/keep
the covenant
• Jesus— growing up Jewish, learned these commandments and obeyed these laws
• God gave other laws in Exodus and Leviticus
• Moses shared the laws with his people
• They agreed to follow them
• Moses wrote them down
An altar for the “one true God”
Stone altar with 12 pillars
12 pillars represent 12 tribes of Israela.k.a. the twelve sons of Jacob
sacrifice of young bulls as a peace offeringsealed the covenant
“This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words of his” (Exodus 24:8)
Symbolic Numbers
• 40 days and 40 nights—– Moses spent on the
mountain top
– 40 is a symbolic number
– Noah—40 days/nights on the ark
– Jesus—after baptism spent 40 days in desert
• 12 pillars of stone that Moses set up
• These pillars also symbolize the 12 tribes of Israel
• 12 is also symbolic of the 12 apostles
The New Covenant
• We have a new covenant with God
• We obtained it at “The Last Supper”
• “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.” (Luke 22:20)
•The Big Ten
• I am the Lord your God; you shall not have strange gods before me.
• 1. First Commandment• Do you worship the false gods of status,
consumerism or peer approval?• Do you ignore or avoid old friends in order to be
part of the popular crowd? Do you make unreasonable demands on your parents for clothes or money?
• Do you give support to your peers when they tell racial or ethnic jokes? Do you show indifference toward the poor and think of them as losers by social standards?
• You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
• 2. Second Commandment
• Do you use language that you would never speak in front of your grandmother?
• Is your language a reflection of a low opinion of others and insults?
• Remember to keep hold the Lord’s Day
• 3. Third Commandment
• Do you skip mass because few of your friends go to church or because you feel that the gift of God’s presence should be as entertaining as MTV?
• Honor your father and your mother
• 4. Fourth Commandment
• Do you thank your parents for what they do for you?
• Do you offer to help around the house?
• Do you value your family members as much as you do your friends?
• You shall not kill
• 5. Fifth Commandment
• Do you value your life and that of others?
• Do you watch violent movies and play violent video games and think nothing of the killing involved?
• You shall not commit adultery
• 6. Sixth Commandment
• Do you use other people for your own selfish pleasure?
• Do you lie to get others to act against their values?
• Are you true to your friends?
• Do you respect your parents and their relationship?
• You shall not steal
• 7. Seventh Commandment
• Do you cheat on tests or homework?
• Do you ever shoplift or take things that don't belong to you?
• Do you respect other’s possessions?
• Do you follow copyright laws pertaining to downloading music, movies, copying cd’s dvd’s, plagiarism?
• You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor
• 8. Eighth Commandment
• Do you gossip or pass on rumors that hurt other people?
• Can you be trusted to keep a confidence?
• Do you lie to protect your own ego, even if someone will be hurt?
• You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife
• Ninth Commandment
• Are you envious of others? Do you resent their popularity or success?
• Do you feel you have to put others down in order to feel better about yourself?
• You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods
• 10. Tenth Commandment
• Do you resent your parents when they tell you they cannot afford to buy the things that you feel you need to keep up with your friends?
• Do you ever ask your parents what their financial worries are?
Here goes that circle…
• The Commandments Revisited
• Moses on mountain top with God– God gave the “tablets that the laws would be
written on” to Moses– Reminded Moses that people were to worship
only the one, true God
• Moses was gone for awhile• Hebrews grew restless—waiting• wanted a “god” to worship—didn’t know
what happened to Moses• asked Aaron to give them one• they made a calf of gold• Moses came down from the mountain• He was not happy
Moses missed his anger management class!
• Throws tablets down/broke
• He punished those responsible
• Begged God to forgive them
• God calls Moses back up to the mountain– spends another 40 days– has him write the commandments on the
tablets
• Moses is glowing– returned from the mountain glowing– had to wear a veil in front of the Hebrews
• Dwelling Place– instructed to build a “dwelling place for God”– contributed personal belongings to do it– meeting tent, movable because they were not
at a place of permanence yet
• Ark of the covenant– wooden box where the 10 Commandments
were stored
• Dwelling Place specifics– Ark of the covenant– altars– furniture needed for worship– vestments for priests
• Characteristics of the “Dwelling Place”– God entered the 1st day of each month– symbol of God is represented by thunder and
lightning over the tent– felt God was with them
• 40 year journey– long time to get there– many changes to people – told in “Book of Numbers”
• 4th book of the Bible– Hebrew: In the desert– English: 2 censuses—took place during the journey
• The cloud– God made his presence known with a cloud
• when it moved, they moved• when it was stationary, they were stationary
– helped them know that God was guiding them
Finally here..whoopee…
• Arrive in Canaan– should be happy, jumping for job– griping about the food– tried to overtake Canaan without God’s consent
• failed—can’t do anything without God wanting it• success depended on God
– grumbling about manna• tired of same old, same old• God sends poisonous snakes• told Moses to build a bronze snake
– if people look at snake, they would not be bitten/recover
Comparisons
• Moses raises the serpent in the desert to save the Hebrews
• Jesus raises up from the dead so we may have eternal life