The Ten Commandments

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 20:1) And God spoke all these words, saying, (2) “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."

In chapter 19, God told Moses to clean and sanctify the people and bring them to the mountain and He would speak to Moses in the hearing of the people.  He spoke these words in an audible voice out of a thick fiery smoke on top of the mountain.  He began by telling the people that He was their God, the One who had brought them out of bondage in Egypt, perhaps showing them that He alone had the sovereign right to enact the laws He was about to give them, as their part of the covenant with God that they unanimously agreed to obey and keep.

(3) “You shall have no other gods before Me."

God began with the first of what we call the "ten commandments".  His people were to worship Him only.  They had come from Egypt where they had been exposed to many gods.  It was Albert Barnes in his Notes on the Bible, who pointed out that the meaning was more than having no other gods "in front of" or "above" and in that respect "before" God, but rather literally have no other gods "before My face", or in God's presence.  No other god was to be worshiped, period.  I've always learned this to mean that we shouldn't put any idols of worship above God, or more important than God, but God doesn't want us to have any idols at all, but we are to worship only Him.

(4) “You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or 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) And showing mercy to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments."

This has always been a difficult one for me.  Are we not to have any pictures of Christ or symbols of God in our churches?  I don't want to flippantly disregard a commandment with "just as long as we don't worship it" to fit what I want the commandment to be.  I really want to understand the commandments as they were intended by God.  I do believe it must be a case of not making statues or images of God Himself who has no body, for the sake of bowing down and worshiping this image of God.  God is more awesome and unimaginably wonderful than anything our human minds could conjure up; to make Him into this carved image of our imagination is to greatly diminish Him.  The commandment surely couldn't mean that there could be no images at all of things that are in heaven, etc., because cherubim were instructed to be used in the tabernacle furnishings and for the ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:18).  Therefore I believe that we may have symbols of our worship, spiritual symbols, but the key is that we don't bow down to a symbol we have made as if we were bowing to our one true God.

Indeed, God commanded that the people not bow down or serve false idols because He was a jealous God!  "Jealous" has a negative connotation these days--envious and resentful, creating bitterness and fear.  There are two other dictionary definitions of "jealous"--"solicitous or vigilant in maintaining or guarding something" and "intolerant of unfaithfulness or rivalry".  I believe these are the more accurate descriptions of God's jealousy for His people.  God loved His people as the most loving husband would love his spouse, actually much more, and He is jealous for their fidelity, solicitous and vigilant in guarding it, because He is always about what is best for His people.

"Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children..." is a little harder to get my head around, but after reviewing other references, it becomes clear that God does not punish children for their father's sins, but they will indeed suffer because of their father's sins.  Deuteronomy 24:16 says, "Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin."  However, there are references to the fact that children suffer because of their father's sins, such as written in Lamentations 5:7, "Our fathers sinned and are no more, but we bear their iniquities."  Likewise, those descendants who come from parents and grandparents who walk in the ways of the Lord and obey His commandments will reap benefits and blessings.  There are definite consequences for actions that will pass down to subsequent generations.  That is not to say that sovereign God never personally blesses or punishes.  Romans 9:18 says, "Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens."  God constantly refines His people, and uses His rod and staff to keep them on the correct path.  I find that His chastisements are usually always about getting His people back to Him and back on the right path, reminding them of where they should put their trust and faith.

(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."

We have tended to make this commandment about using God's name in profanity, but it is about much more.  The original word "shav" translated as "vain" more completely means "empty, vain, false, worthless".  Actually, Leviticus 19:12, speaks of two distinct abuses of the Lord's name:  "And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD."  God's name is to be used with deep reverence and respect and should never be flippantly used in exclamations, swearing, or appealed to as a witness of the truth.  The LORD "will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain."  We have a tendency to believe that words don't actually harm, so we don't usually give them the same level of importance as we give actions.  Although there may not seem to be any real consequences for abusing the Lord's name, and the abuser himself may say he didn't mean anything by it, the Lord finds it of utmost importance and says He will account him guilty.

(8)  “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."

The Israelites had already been observing a Sabbath day.  In Exodus 16, they were instructed to gather twice as much manna on the sixth day because the seventh day was the rest of the holy sabbath to the LORD (Exodus 16:23).  God had actually blessed and sanctified the sabbath day in the beginning (Genesis 2:3).  Whether it was something the Israelites had been observing for a long time or something the Lord had begun to institute with the manna, He now told the people that they were to remember the Sabbath day and to keep it holy.  The original word that was translated as "holy" here is "qadash", and it meant something causatively set aside, pronounced or observed, as morally or ceremonially clean.  The day was to be a day set aside and observed as a holy day of God.

(9) "Six days you shall labor and do all your work, (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 heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it."

The Israelites were allowed six days to labor and do their work, but they were to do no work on the seventh day.  I believe by including all other household members, cattle, and strangers, the implication is that they also shouldn't hire out or use their animals to have any work done on the sabbath day.  Exodus 23:12 added, "that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed."  The day was to be observed as holy by the Israelites, but was also to be considered a day for rest for all people and animals.  Why did the Lord command this?  Verse 11 further explained what had been told us in Genesis 2:3, that the Lord Himself rested on the seventh day and had blessed and hallowed the sabbath day.  It's not as if the Lord was wearied from creating and had to rest, but his created beings do need rest, and He chose to rest and symbolically set aside a day for His people to likewise rest.  It's a day for them to rest in Him; they physically rest, but they also spend time in prayer and communion with the Lord which spiritually feeds them for the tasks of the week ahead.  The Sabbath day is a holy day to the Lord, but it was created for the benefit of the Lord's people.  We must not become legalistic and forget the spirit of the law.  Luke 13:14 spoke of a ruler of a synagogue who was indignant with Jesus because He healed a woman on the Sabbath; he specifically quoted the scripture in verse 9, that there were six days on which men ought to work and therefore could come and be healed on them, but not on the Sabbath day.  Jesus Himself said in Mark 2:27 that the "Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath."  He added that He, Jesus Christ, was Lord of the Sabbath.  I believe the rest on the Sabbath was symbolic of the rest we have in the Lord of the Sabbath, as described in Hebrews 4.  So does there still remain a commandment to observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy?  I have personally struggled with this and wondered if I am justifying myself by saying that Jesus Christ IS the Sabbath and by resting in Him, I obey this commandment.  I will continue to study this as it is written about in scripture, but I thought this quote by Adam Clarke in his Commentary on the Bible, was beautiful food for thought:  "...but the thing signified by the Sabbath is that rest in glory which remains for the people of God, therefore the moral obligation of the Sabbath must continue till time be swallowed up in eternity."

(12) “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God gives you."

The ten commandments have always been considered to be able to be divided into two groups, possibly grouped as such, one on each stone tablet that the Lord wrote (Deut. 4:13).  Jesus summed up the commandments into two:  "Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself." (Matt. 22:37-39)  The first few commandments, and possibly the first tablet, deal with how we honor and love the Lord with all our hearts, souls, and minds, and the last few deal with how we are to love our neighbors.  "Honor your father and mother" has been most of the time considered part of how we deal with others, and would mean the ten commandments were divided into two groups as the first four, and then the last six.  However, I like what Albert Barnes wrote, in his Notes on the Bible:  "According to our usage, the fifth commandment is placed as the first in the second table; and this is necessarily involved in the common division of the commandments into our duty toward God and our duty toward men. But the more ancient, and probably the better, division allots five commandments to each table, proceeding on the distinction that the first table relates to the duties which arise from our filial relations, the second to those which arise from our fraternal relations. The connection between the first four commandments and the fifth exists in the truth that all faith in God centers in the filial feeling. Our parents stand between us and God in a way in which no other beings can."  Mr. Barnes also referenced the Apostle Paul in Romans 13:9, where he summarized just five commandments for how we ought to love our brother, and he did not include honoring our parents.

The Apostle Paul also pointed out that this commandment was the first with a promise (Eph. 6:2), which may tell us how important this commandment is to God.  It is expanded upon a little more in Deuteronomy 5:16, "Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you."  A long life in that good land was promised particularly to obedient children.  Those who do their duty to their parents are most likely to have the comfort of that which their parents gather for them and leave to them.  Besides physical property that parents might leave, there are usually continual prayers for their children.  In this day, there may be some who believe their parents do not deserve such love and respect, but God used those parents as instruments to bring those children into the world, whomever they may be, and for that they are deserving of some degree of honor.  If indeed this commandment is one that teaches us filial respect, then it helps us to learn respect for all authority--parents, government, and ultimately God (Heb. 13:17, 1 Pet. 2:13).  Isn't that usually the way with our sweet Lord?  His laws are generally always about our ultimate good, rather than a commandment just for commandment's sake.

(13) "You shall not kill."

The word translated as "kill" is "ratsach".  It is generally understood to mean "murder".  Strong's says it this way:  "A primitive root; properly to dash in pieces, that is, kill (a human being), especially to murder: - put to death, kill, (man-) slay (-er), murder (-er)."  Discussions can and have been made far and wide over what this actually means.  Does it include war, capital punishment, abortion, suicide, and killing animals?  These will be debated until Jesus returns.  And speaking of Jesus, He said this:  “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not kill, and whoever shall kill will be in danger of the judgment.' But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council, but whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire." (Matt 5:21-22)  I am not going to try to decipher every word of that passage in Mark just yet, but I believe the gist is that one word might be judged by the council, but another is still judged by Jesus; He said in so many words that it was possible to have murder in our hearts, and that is what is judged by God.  Personally, I believe that we must follow the examples put forth in the Bible regarding what actions constitute murder.  Once again, we can debate whether war is ever justified, but I don't believe it is considered murder and breaks this commandment, as we have many examples of war in the Bible.  Once again, we can debate capital punishment, but it would not be considered murder to lawfully execute someone who had committed a particularly heinous crime; again we have examples in the Bible.  Abortion?  In that case, I believe we have examples to the contrary, that God never condoned the taking of an innocent baby's life.  Suicide?  As we should not take the life of any other living human being, I believe we don't have the right to take our own lives.  The killing of animals for food and clothing is certainly permitted in the Bible, but certainly no torturing of animals for sport would be.

(14) “You shall not commit adultery."

In its strictest sense, committing adultery is having relations outside the marriage relationship, whether it is one married person with a single person, or two people married to others.  However, once again our Lord had stricter guidelines:  “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matthew 5:27-28)  Once again, it is about what's in a man's heart, and notice that Jesus didn't say "whoever looks at a married woman"; he just said "woman".  Consider also the fact that Jesus included fornication when He spoke of the wickedness that comes from the heart: "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." (Matthew 15:18-19)  I believe it is no stretch to conclude that the seventh commandment refers to all sexual activity outside the marriage bed.  Sex apart from marriage would be an adulterous act against God's design for marriage and sexual relations in the marriage bed.

(15) “You shall not steal."

The eighth commandment is pretty straight forward.  We are not to take another's property.  This means physically taking by force or taking stealthily or by fraud or deception.  Unjust contracts, withholding a worker's pay, making a slave of a person against his will, not repaying agreed upon debts, not restoring what is borrowed, etc., would all be examples of stealing.

(16) “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."

I had occasion to study this commandment back when I studied the first chapter of Exodus when the Hebrew midwives lied to Pharaoh and would not kill the baby boys as commanded.  God blessed the midwives, and I had to wonder if God could bless liars.  It was suggested to me that perhaps God blessed them in spite of their lying, but after studying the words of this commandment, I do not believe it is a blanket commandment against all lying.  I honestly believe "white" lies to protect people and their feelings would not be sins against this commandment.  This commandment is about injuring your neighbor by bearing a false witness against him, either a public false charge or private gossip and slander whereby he may suffer in his character, reputation, or in his business.  Rather than a long list of what we must not do, the 1599 Geneva Bible Translation Notes explained this commandment succinctly, "But further his good name, and speak truth."  Further your neighbor's good name and do not speak falsely in a way that will diminish him.  If the commandment is truly about building up your neighbor and not tearing him down, then I honestly don't believe that a "white" lie meant to protect or build up a person could be considered a breach of this commandment.  In the New Testament, Paul went as far to say in Philippians 2:3 that we should esteem others better than we esteem ourselves.

(17) “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his maid servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Jesus seemingly took the commandments against killing and adultery to another level by adding that if you even think about those things, you have committed a breach of the commandment.  However, this last commandment in itself does seem to suggest that we not injure our neighbor in thought.  The sixth, seventh, and eighth commandments forbid us to injure our neighbor in deed, the ninth forbid us to injure him in word, and the tenth in thought.  Once again, I point to Matthew 22:37-40, when Jesus summed up all the commandments into two--loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind; and loving your neighbor as yourself.  The last five commandments all pertain to how we are to treat one another.  This final one commands us not to covet or to desire or long after those things belonging to or accomplished by our neighbor.  James in the New Testament explained why this was so important:  "But every man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it brings forth sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death." (James 1:14-15)  Sinful actions start with our own covetous desires.  I like what Adam Clarke wrote in his Commentary on the Bible.  His words were a little too flowery for my taste, but I will give him credit for his idea that this commandment "is a most excellent moral precept", and that observing it alone would prevent "all public crimes".  I am giving him credit for part of his words, but actually that idea is obviously why Jesus was able to sum up half the commandments with just loving your neighbor as yourself.  Certainly, if we treated everyone the way we wanted to be treated, I can't imagine there would be any crimes against people.

(18) And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. (19) And they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”

In the last chapter, before the Lord began speaking in the hearing of the people, there were thunderings, lightnings, smoke, and a loud trumpet.  This statement is either repeated, or these things continued or perhaps just occurred again at the end of the Lord's speaking.  Before God spoke, the people were breaking forth to gaze upon Him, or at least desired to do that which was what the Lord wanted to prevent, lest they die (Exodus 19:21).  After hearing Him, they were so moved with awe and fear, they moved themselves back and stood afar off.  Those same people who would have pushed themselves out front to approach God now realized their need for a mediator and welcomed Moses to speak to them on God's behalf.

(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.”

Moses reassured the people not to fear that the Lord had come to destroy them.  He indeed could easily destroy them and it was important that they understood His power and respected it.  Thus they understood their need for a mediator, and they had a reverent awe and fear for the Lord that would make them careful (as opposed to being careless and flippant) to obey His laws.

(21) And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.

At the end of the last chapter, the Lord had sent Moses back down the mountain to insure the people would keep their distance.  However, He had told him at that time that he, Moses, and Aaron, alone, were to come up the mountain.  Moses, having had that prior authorization, now left the people standing afar off and went back to where God was.

(22) And 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 with me gods of silver, neither shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.'"

The Lord told Moses to tell the people the words of the Lord, that He had indeed spoken to them from heaven.  I find it very interesting that the Lord took this opportunity to repeat and more fully describe His commandment that the people not make little gold or silver idols to be representative of Him.  John Wesley suggested this was because "they were more addicted to idolatry than to any other sin."  Perhaps it was just a preface to what was to come afterward, not to make idols for Him, but rather make a simple altar as instructed.  Most likely, the Lord knew that was exactly what the people would do as they did in Exodus 32 when they made a golden calf.  I suppose that indeed suggests the statement of John Wesley is true; the people were so addicted to idolatry and symbols of worship, that the Lord knew they needed this extra reiteration.

(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 all places where I record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you.'"

I believe the point here is that these are directions for constructing temporary altars before the tabernacle was built.  God would have very specific instructions for the tabernacle, but if His people wanted to construct a temporary altar for Him, then it was to be a simple one from the earth.  There they could sacrifice their offerings.  In all places, that is, wherever the Lord was worshiped at this makeshift altar, He would come to them and bless them.  That sentiment was repeated by Jesus Christ in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

(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 polluted it.'"

If the people chose instead to make a stone altar, perhaps because they were in a rocky place, then the altar was still to be a simple one with natural rocks.  They were forbidden to use hewn stones or to use any tools to carve out or make their altars.  Perhaps in carving, they would be tempted to carve idols.  Without God's specific instructions for a more elaborate altar, the people were to keep theirs simple and natural, for as was discussed with the second commandment, the people could in no way imagine and create anything equal to God, and anything they created would diminish Him and become a worthless idol of their worship.

(26) "'Neither shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be discovered on it.’"

And finally, regarding the building of a temporary altar, it should not be made with steps going up to it.  I feel like partly this was to again keep it simple, but Matthew Henry in his Commentary on the Whole Bible had a reasonable explanation for why this was added.  He wrote they were appointed to "make their altars very low, so that they might not go up by steps to them. That the higher the altar was, and the nearer heaven, the more acceptable the sacrifice was, was a foolish fancy of the heathen, who therefore chose high places; in opposition to this, and to show that it is the elevation of the heart, not of the sacrifice, that God looks at, they were here ordered to make their altars low."

I had a little difficulty understanding the second half of that verse regarding their nakedness, but the old commentaries took that literally.  It has already been discussed and established that it was foolish to make steps going up to a high altar anyway, so in doing so, the only thing accomplished is that you would expose yourself to those underneath.  Dr. John Gill put it this way in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, anyone doing this would "be in danger of discovering those parts which would make them the object of contempt and ridicule with the people", and "all immodesty and indecency, and whatever tends to create impure thoughts and stir up unclean lusts, should be carefully avoided in his worship."  In summation, the altar should be a simple one where God promised to come to them and bless them.  I will close this study with the words of Matthew Henry:

"Afterwards, God chose one particular place wherein to record his name: but that being taken away now under the gospel, when men are encouraged to pray every where, this promise revives in its full extent, that, wherever God's people meet in his name to worship him, he will be in the midst of them, he will honour them with his presence, and reward them with the gifts of his grace; there he will come unto them, and will bless them, and more than this we need not desire for the beautifying of our solemn assemblies."

Covenant Between God and Israel at Mount Sinai

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 19:1) In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, that same day they came to the wilderness of Sinai. (2) For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the desert of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mountain.

The third month of the Jewish calendar, Sivan, contained part of our May and part of June.  It was then that the children of Israel came into the wilderness of Sinai.  The above passage could also be read that it was three months after they left Egypt that they came into the wilderness of Sinai.  That day was one and the same, as the new calendar began on the original Passover when the Israelites began the great exodus (Exodus 12:2).  The people had left Rephidim and had come to the wilderness or desert of Sinai.  I have noted previously that Horeb and Sinai were two peaks of the same mountain.  Horeb was on the western side, near to which lay the plain of Rephidim, and Sinai was on the eastern side, at which the wilderness or desert of that same name lay.  The Israelites camped at the foot of the mountain.

In this particular chronological study, I am using an order set forth by Skip Andrews.  It now takes me to Numbers 33:15:

(Numbers 33:15) And they departed from Rephidim, and pitched in the wilderness of Sinai.

This is just an abbreviated account of the same fact.  We now return to Exodus 19:

(Exodus 19:3) 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.'"

Moses went up to God, which suggests that God was in the pillar of cloud now situated above the top of the mountain.  The Lord called to Moses from there and told him to speak to the people, calling them both "the house of Jacob" and "the children of Israel".  Perhaps this was to remind them of Jacob's former and lower state of life as the people may have likewise felt lowly, but now they were called by the name given Jacob by God as they were partakers of the promises made to Jacob or Israel.  God told Moses to remind the people of what He had done to the Egyptians, and how He lifted the children of Israel up and carried them as on eagles' wings, denoting the strength, size, speed, and care, with which He brought them to Himself.

(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.”

Moses was to tell the people that God had said to them if they would obey Him and keep His covenant, they would be His special people above all people, as He had sovereignty over the whole world.  They would be a holy nation of priests consecrated to God.  Instead of being in their former lowly state of servitude to the Egyptians, they would become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation of God.

(7) And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD commanded him. (8) And all the people answered together, and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” And Moses returned the words of the people to the LORD.

Moses took the words of the Lord to the elders of the people and laid before them God's proposal for a covenant between Him and the people.  I assume that the elders then took the words to the people, or else they answered for the people; either way, the people answered unanimously that they would do just as the Lord had spoken.  Moses then took the words of the people back 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.” And Moses told the words of the people to the LORD.

I believe the point of what the Lord was telling Moses was that He would come to Moses in a different form that they would recognize as their Lord speaking directly to Moses, so that they would know that the Lord spoke directly with Moses, and they could forever trust him.  This "thick" cloud would be different from the normal pillar of cloud the people were used to seeing.  This cloud is better described in a later verse as a smoke of a fire that enveloped the whole mountain and the mountain even quaked (Exodus 9:18). The fact that Moses told the Lord the words of the people is repeated.  It seems like the thoughts put forth in this verse are reversed, but at any rate, Moses relayed to the Lord the unanimous words of the people, and the Lord told Moses He would speak to him in a manner that the people would have no doubt was the Lord speaking directly to him.

(10) And the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. (11) And be ready for the third day; for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people on mount Sinai."

The Lord told Moses to go back to the people and they were to purify themselves inside (spiritually, set aside for the Lord) and out for the next couple of days, for on the third day the Lord would come down Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.  

(12) “And you shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up into the mountain or touch its border; whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. (13) There shall not a hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether man or beast, it shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come up to the mountain.”

Moses was to set up a boundary for the people and and to tell them that they be careful not to go up on the mountain or even touch its border, under penalty of death.  My first thought was that whoever touched the mountain would not necessarily be "put to death", but would instantly die, because God was a consuming fire Who could not be approached.  However, the scripture seems clear that anyone touching it was to be put to death by stoning or shot with an arrow.  All the early commentaries agree that the "it" in the first part of verse 13 refers to the one who dared to disobey and touch (or the animal that wandered up and touched) the mountain, rather than the mountain itself.  No one was to touch or try to pull back the one that touched the mountain, as he or it would be an unclean and accursed thing and should rather be immediately stoned or shot.  When the trumpet sounded long, that was the people's signal to come to the mountain, but obviously not up it.

(14) And 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 at your wives.”

Moses went down from the mountain that apparently he alone was allowed to climb, to go back to ready and purify the people.  They washed their clothes, and Moses told them to even abstain from sexual relations with their wives in order to be purified and sanctified before the Lord.

(16) And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders 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 lowest part of the mountain.

On the third day, when the Lord had said He would come down the mountain to the people, in that morning there was thunder and lightning, and a thick cloud on the mountain.  A trumpet sounded so loudly that the people in the camp trembled.  We can only imagine the awesome power and terror with which the Lord began His descent to the people.  There was thunder and lightning and a long sound of a trumpet so loud it must have come from a band of angels, and it terrified the people and made them tremble.  Moses brought the people out of the camp to the foot of the mountain to meet with God.

(18) And Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.

Not only had there been thunder and lightning, and a tremendous sound of trumpeting, but now there was fire and smoke and the whole mountain quaked.  What an awesome and terrifying sight this must have been to the people, realizing the power of so great their God so near their presence!

(19) And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice. (20) And the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain; and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

The blast of the trumpet sounded long and became even louder.  It would seem by the scripture that Moses, knowing this was the sign of the Lord coming down the mountain to meet the people, spoke to the Lord, and the Lord answered him by an audible voice.  However, this event was recorded in the New Testament in Hebrews, chapter 12, and it appears that what Moses actually spoke was, "I exceedingly fear and quake" (Hebrews 12:21), to which the Lord answered in an audible voice, probably one designed to comfort and encourage Moses, as well as to be heard and understood by the people.  The Lord came down upon Mount Sinai and called Moses up to the top of the mountain, and Moses indeed went up.

(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) And let the priests also, who come near the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.”

It appears that just as Moses went up the mountain to the Lord, he was sent back down with a message to the people.  The Lord did not want their curiosity to get the better of them and cause their deaths, so He sent Moses to warn them not to break through to sneak a peek at the Lord.  The Lord had a warning for the priests, as well.  Perhaps because of their positions as priests, they might have felt they had no need of extra purification, but it seems the Lord was warning them to make sure and sanctify themselves lest the Lord break forth and smite them.  Up until the time that the Lord instituted the Aaronic priesthood, priestly duties and sacrifices were performed by the firstborn or heads of families.  Even these priests, who officiated for their respective families, and were therefore said to come near to the Lord at other times, must now keep their distance, and conduct themselves with a great deal of caution.

(23) And Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for You warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds around the mountain and sanctify it.’”

Then Moses answered the Lord in a manner which suggested there was no need for him to do what the Lord had just told him to do, which I find interesting.  He told the Lord that because He had already warned them, they had already taken precautions, set boundaries, and warned the people against crossing the set boundaries.

(24) And the LORD said to him, “Away, get down, and you shall 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 forth upon them.” (25) So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.

Moses should have realized that the Lord knew better than he did that the people needed yet another reminder and warning.  Dismissing Moses's reply that he need not go back down to the people to give them further warning, the Lord sent him back down to warn the people and the priests not to attempt to break through to come up to the Lord.  However, the Lord did tell Moses that Aaron might come back up with him, but no one else.  So Moses went back down to speak to the people as the Lord commanded him.

Jethro's Wise Counsel and the Appointment of Judges

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 18:1) When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses's father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, and that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt; (2) Then Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses's wife, after he had sent her back,

Moses's father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard all that the Lord had done for Moses and the children of Israel, bringing them out of Egypt.  He then took his daughter, Moses's wife, Zipporah, and went to meet him.  It is not clear when Zipporah and Moses's sons returned to Midian to her father, but it may have been when they were on the way to Egypt from Midian, at the inn, when Zipporah took the sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses's feet (Exodus 4:25).  That was the last we read of her until now.  Perhaps she had been alarmed at the danger to which one of her sons had been exposed, and afraid of even worse, left Moses and returned to her father.  Or perhaps Moses, foreseeing the troubles to which his wife and children were likely to be exposed had he taken them to Egypt, sent them back to his father-in-law until such time when God would deliver His people.  Jethro, now finding that God had delivered them and destroyed their enemies, went to visit Moses and to bring his wife and sons back to him.

(3) And 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's father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness, where he was encamped at the mountain of God.

Jethro, Moses's father-in-law, took Moses's wife, Zipporah, and his two sons with him.  Gershom was Moses's firstborn son, as we read in Exodus 2:22, and his name literally meant "refugee"; he was born when Moses had fled to Midian to escape Pharaoh and was a stranger in that foreign land.  Moses's second son was Eliezer, which literally meant "God of help" or "God is help"; he so named him because God was his help and delivered him from Pharaoh.  Jethro came with Zipporah and her sons Gershom and Eliezer, to Moses in the wilderness where he camped at Mount Horeb.

(6) And he said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.” (7) And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and kissed him; and they asked each other about their welfare, and they went into the tent.

Jethro obviously sent word to Moses when he was a way off that he was coming with Moses's wife and children.  Moses went out to meet him, bowed out of respect to him, kissed him, and they each asked about how the other was doing, and then went inside 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) And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done for Israel, whom He had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.

Moses told Jethro about all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians in order to deliver Israel from their hands.  He told him about all the hardships they had encountered in the wilderness, and how the Lord had delivered them out of each and every one.  Jethro was very happy to hear of all the good things the Lord had done for Israel.

(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 gods, for in the thing in which they dealt proudly, He was above them.”

Jethro gave the glory to God for what He had done.  Now Jethro knew that the Lord was greater than all the other gods.  In all the ways they acted proudly, whether it was the way they enslaved the children of Israel, or the magicians who tried to mimic the Lord, or Pharaoh himself laying down the law, in all the ways they dealt proudly, the Lord was greater than the Egyptians and all their gods.  It was Matthew Henry who pointed out in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, "While the Israelites were themselves murmuring, notwithstanding all God's goodness to them, here was a Midianite rejoicing."  Jethro was a priest, a Midianite priest.  What exactly did that mean with regard to his belief in the one true God?  He was a godly man; that part seems obvious by his words and behavior.  I don't believe Moses would have married the daughter of a pagan priest.  Some say he was always a believer in the one true God, and this was just confirmation to him.  Others believe he was at this time converted to the one true God.  I believe it might be a little of both.  Midian was a son of Abraham from his wife Keturah (Gen. 25:1-2).  I have read that the Midianites worshiped a variety of gods, but as Abrahamic descendants, they would have had knowledge of the one true God.  From scripture, we have to assume they had indeed turned away from the one true God as they were not included with God's children of Israel.  Jethro, having knowledge of the one true God, and having now heard of His miraculous rescue and provision for His people, was convinced that this was the one true God, greater than all other gods he may have worshiped previously.

(12) And Jethro, Moses's father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God; and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses's father-in-law before God.

I believe it may have been to confirm with a sign of his belief in the one true God, and his desire to worship and give glory to the Lord, that Jethro then gave a burnt offering and offered sacrifices to the Lord.  Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to share and eat in the place of the offered sacrifices to the Lord.

(13) And it came to pass on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. (14) And when Moses's 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 by 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 matter, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.”

Even though his father-in-law had come for a visit, it appears that on the next day, Moses was back to work, apparently counseling the people, answering inquiries, and judging controversies between people.  It appears to have been an unending task, as people were lined up before him from morning until evening.  Jethro asked Moses about it, I think his point being why Moses "alone" sat and judged the people from morning until evening.  Moses answered matter-of-factly that he did it because the people came to him.  He realized that they saw that God worked through Moses and spoke to him, so they came to him to know the will of God; and I am sure Moses was happy to be a mediator between God and the people, happy that they trusted him to be led by God, and happy they sought their Lord's will.  Additionally, when the people had a matter they could not solve, they came to Moses to judge between the parties, making known God's laws in each situation. 

(17) And Moses's father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. (18) You will surely wear away, both you, and this people that is with you; for this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself."

How many times do good people of integrity pile too much on themselves thinking it is their responsibility?  Jethro, as the wise father-in-law, was teaching Moses to delegate!  Sometimes it takes an outsider to see more clearly what is going on and what is needed.  Jethro could see it was no good the way it was being done at present.  Not that anything was morally wrong, but he could see how time consuming it was, and that Moses would wear himself out at that rate, and then wouldn't be any good to any of the people.  The people's patience would probably wear thin having to wait in lines all day to hear what Moses had to say.

(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 causes to God. (20) And you shall teach them ordinances and laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do."

Jethro was a wise man and may have been given understanding and a solution to Moses's problem by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  He had just confessed that the Lord was greatest of all, and had sacrificed to the Lord, and might well have received insights from the Holy Spirit, as he made it a point to tell Moses to listen to him, he would give him counsel, and God would be with him.  Moses was to stand before God between God and the people as their mediator, which sounds like what he had been doing, but it would come to mean just the difficult cases would come before Moses.  Moses would teach the people about God's ordinances and laws; then they would not have to bring every little thing to him.  He would not just teach them legalism, but he would show them the way in which they should walk before the Lord, and the works they should do.  He would teach them about their way of life as children of the Lord.

(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 seasons; and it shall 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.”

Additionally, Moses was to select men from all the people to be "rulers", as the scripture says, but their jobs appear to be judges; perhaps "wardens" or "overseers" or "managers" might be the preferred definitions of the word "sar".  Although scripture doesn't say exactly how this was to work, I found this rather concise and sensible description of how it worked from the Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge by Canne, Browne, Blayney, Scott, and others:  "Whatever matter the decarch, or ruler over ten, could not decide, went to the pentecontarch, or ruler of fifty, and thence by degrees to the hecatontarch, or ruler over a hundred, to the chiliarch, or ruler over a thousand, to Moses, and at length to God himself. Each magistrate had the care or inspection of only ten men; the decarch superintended ten private characters; the hecatontarch ten decarchs; and the chiliarch, ten hecatontarchs."

I love this description of how Moses was to select judges!  They were to be men who feared God, men of truth, and unselfish men who hated covetousness, the idea being that they would do their work for God, and would never pervert justice for personal gain.  Imagine if we selected judges by that criteria now!  Our land wouldn't be filled with the blood of tens of millions of unborn babies, for one thing!  The men Moses selected were to judge at all times, taking care of all the small matters, bringing to Moses only what was too difficult for them to judge.  In this way, it would be easier on Moses, as he would have "lower court judges", so to speak, bearing some of the burden of judging the people with him.  Jethro offered this good advice and plan, but was modest enough to leave the decision of whether or not to invoke it, to Moses under the direction of God.  However, if he did follow this plan, Jethro added that Moses would be able to endure and continue helping the people, and the people would be able to go to their places in peace, having had their disputes handled in a much more timely manner.

(24) So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.

Knowing the nature of Moses, I am quite sure he did pray about the matter and receive confirmation from God, and did follow the advice of his father-in-law.  Moses was not afraid to take the advice of an outsider or "inferior".  John Wesley said it well, "Those are not so wise as they would be thought to be, who think themselves too wise to be counselled; for a wise man will hear, and will increase learning, and not slight good counsel, though given by an inferior."

(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) And they judged the people at all seasons; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.

Moses indeed chose judges from among the people and made them heads of groups of people, and they judged the people's smaller matters at all times.  Only the more difficult cases were brought to Moses.

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

After that, Moses "let" his father-in-law leave.  Perhaps he had been encouraging him to stay, as many of the commentaries I read point to a passage in Numbers believing it to be the same time as this, when Moses was doing just that.  Perhaps he reluctantly allowed this wise counselor and aid to him to depart back to his own country.  It does seem that Jethro now had, if not a new, definitely a renewed and enhanced knowledge of the Lord that he would now take back to his people in Midian.  I am struck by this awesome example of how God often uses people to enact His will.  God could have easily told Moses Himself how to set up this "judicial system".  By using Jethro, someone who could have been considered Moses's inferior, Moses was helped by remaining humble and teachable.  A "lesser" man could have certainly become terribly prideful by this time.  God, in His mercy, was constantly teaching and refining Moses.  In addition, think of all the good that could come from Jethro going back to his people to tell them of all that the Lord had done, and how he was convinced that He was the greatest of all gods.  I always love watching a Godly plan come together!

The Lord is My Banner

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 17:1) And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped in Rephidim; and there was no water for the people to drink.

In their wilderness trek, the children of Israel now journeyed from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Rephidim.  It was by instruction from God that the people were led to camp there, and yet they came to a place where there was no water for them to drink.  The chronological study I am doing is one ordered by Skip Andrews, and it now takes me to Numbers 33, which gave a little more detail:

(Numbers 33:12) And they took their journey out of the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. (13) And they departed from Dophkah and camped at Alush. (14) And they moved from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.

We see from this passage that actually the Lord led the people through two other stations (Dophkah and Alush), before bringing them to Rephidim.  Moses, in his Exodus account, apparently didn't record every camp probably because nothing eventful took place there; now the people were brought to a place where they were again wanting water and not finding it.  Now back to Exodus:

(Exodus 17:2) Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the LORD?”

The people, unbelievably, quarrel with Moses and demand water from him.  Had they not learned anything from their last need of water (and their subsequent need of food) that was ultimately provided by their Lord?  Moses again directed them away from him and to their actual supplier, the Lord.  He accused them of tempting the Lord because they obviously did not have faith in Him to provide them with water, even though He had shown Himself to be faithful in providing all their needs up to this point.

(3) And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?”

Moses had already addressed the people and reminded them it was not him to whom they should complain.  Then it said "they thirsted...and the people murmured", so I would assume because they didn't immediately get water after contending with Moses the first time, they really started murmuring and complaining, once again using the old complaint that he brought them out of Egypt just to kill them in the wilderness.  Being without water would have been especially hard on children and cattle, so perhaps the meaning is not that they truly thought that Moses brought them out to kill them, but that they sincerely believed that would certainly be the result if they didn't get water soon.

(4) And Moses cried to the LORD, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!”

Moses cried out to the Lord because it seems the anger of the people toward Moses was so great that he believed they were ready to stone him.  He didn't necessarily pray that God do something for the people, as I believe he had shown in what he said just before, that He knew the Lord would provide for the people, but he honestly did not know what to do with this people whose fevered pitch was so high that he feared they were about to stone him. 

(5) And the LORD said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and 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.

The Lord told Moses to go out before the people, taking with him some of the elders, and it seems direct them nearer to a particular rock at Mount Horeb.  I have read the rock remains to this day, and is red granite, 15 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 12 feet high, and lies in the wilderness of Rephidim, to the west of Mount Horeb.  The Lord told Moses to take his rod with him, specifically his rod with which he had struck the river.  The Lord would stand upon that rock; probably that pillar of cloud that led them through the wilderness would then stand on that particular rock.  Moses was to take his rod and strike the rock and water would come out of it for the people to drink.  Moses did as the Lord instructed, and he did it in the sight of the elders.

(7) And 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?”

"Massah" meant "temptation", and "Meribah" meant "strife" or "contention".  It is unclear to me if there were two different places, or if Moses called the place two different names in remembrance of the people's murmuring against the Lord.  It doesn't appear that the scholars of old had a consensus either.  Since they were at one rock, and the scripture said, "he called the name of the place...", I choose to believe Moses called the place by both names.  He was memorializing not the miracle of the provision of water by the Lord, but the people's tempting of the Lord and their contention with him.  It seems the people actually questioned whether or not the Lord was among them or not.  That makes the fact that the Lord presented Himself on that rock at Horeb seem a direct answer to the people's question.  Yes, indeed, He was with them, and He alone provided them with water.

(8) Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

Amalek was the son of Eliphaz, who was the son of Esau (Gen. 36:12), and the Amalekites may have held some hatred for the people of Israel because of Jacob's birthright and blessing, as has been suggested.  However, this may have been a random attack for the purpose of plunder.  According to another passage in Deuteronomy (Deut. 25:17-18), the Amalekites did not boldly confront the Israelites as a nation invading their land, but rather came up from behind and attacked their feeble, faint, and weary ones who lagged behind.  It may be that both facts were true.  The Amalekites thought of the Israelites as enemies, and they sneakily attacked them from behind so as to plunder them more easily.  The timing of this attack is interesting, too.  Did God send the Amalekites because the people had tested Him?  I'm not suggesting it was a punishment, but it certainly became a teaching moment.  God certainly allowed the attack, just as He allowed all the struggles for food and water.  His people easily could have been constantly provided with a steady stream of food and water and easy sailing, but facing these daily difficulties and having them daily remedied by their Lord, kept them in constant remembrance and dependence on God.  How quickly we forget the blessings of the Lord when we have hardship!  Sadly, it seems we must be reminded daily, and in His mercy, our sweet Lord patiently gives us what we need.

(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.

Moses called on Joshua to choose and organize men to go out and fight the Amalekites.  Meanwhile, he said he himself would stand on top of the hill with the rod of God in his hand.  Moses had called on Joshua to lead the men into battle, but he himself had a most important job, as well.  On top of the hill, in view of the Israelite army, with that rod of God lifted up as encouragement and a reminder of God's promise and provision, Moses surely prayed to God and spiritually ministered to the children of Israel. Joshua did as Moses has directed him, and likewise, Moses, with Aaron and Hur, went to the top of the hill.  We will find that they were needed to assist Moses.  Aaron is, of course, Moses's brother, and it has been written by the historian Josephus that Hur was Miriam's (the sister of Moses and Aaron) husband.  That part is not clear in scripture, but he was obviously someone in whom Moses had much confidence, as he was paired with Aaron by Moses another time, as well (Exo. 24:14).

(11) And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

There are a couple of different ways to look at this verse.  From verse 9, we learned that Moses planned to stand on top of the hill with the rod of God in his hand.  When the rod was up, it may have inspired the Israelites to fight on, and when they could not see it, their hearts failed them and the Amalekites prevailed.  The verse could refer to Moses raising his hands toward heaven in prayer.  The ancient targums interpreted it that way.  Dr. John Gill wrote that even among the "heathens", Moses "was famous for the efficacy of his prayers".  Perhaps when Moses was the most stretched out and upward in prayer, he was the most fervent in prayer, and Israel prevailed; and when he faltered in prayer, Amalek prevailed.  Probably both ways of looking at this verse are correct.  When Moses was stretched upward to heaven, he was the most fervent in prayer, AND the Israelites saw the rod which inspired them to go onward.  When Moses faltered in prayer, likewise did the people when they couldn't see the rod of God.  Either way, or both ways, it's a perfect illustration of the spiritual battle in which we are engaged daily.  When God is lifted up, we are victorious over our spiritual enemies, and when we falter in our faith and in our walk with God, the enemy can prevail.  The daily battles move back and forth from victory to defeat, and it is a reminder that we should be in constant prayer with our Lord, the One from whom all victories come.

(12) But Moses's hands were heavy; and 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.

Moses became tired and weary and he couldn't keep his hands held upward, so they brought him a stone so that he could sit down, and Aaron and Hur, on either side of him, held his hands upward, and in this way, he was able to keep them up until the sun went down.  And when his hand was up, we know that Israel prevailed.

(13) And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

In fact, we do read that Joshua and his army defeated the Amalekites in this, the first war of the Israelites.

(14) And the LORD said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in a book, and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.”

God told Moses to specifically and literally write about this war in a book to be a lasting memorial.  It was to be recounted especially in Joshua's hearing because God would eventually completely blot out the memory of the Amalekites.  The Israelites had not yet completely annihilated the Amalekites, but Joshua was chief in this first war against them.  God knew His plans for Joshua, and I believe He wanted Joshua especially to remember what Amalek had done to Israel and especially how God had saved them from Amalek.  He wanted him to know, as well as all posterity by the written account, that in the process of time Amalek would be totally destroyed and not even remembered (except, in history, I suppose).

(15) And Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovahnissi; (16) For he said, “Because the LORD has sworn the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

Moses built an altar and called it Jehovahnissi, which literally meant, "Jehovah is my banner".  The Israelites fought under the banner, and therefore under the direction of their Lord, in His name, and in defense of His truth.  Much has been written about how this is the incorrect translation of verse 16.  It is supposed what was meant, and what was scrambled by unfortunate translations of contractions and hyphens, was that because the hand of Amalek was upon the throne of God, therefore the Lord would have war with Amalek from generation to generation.  I don't really have a problem with the KJV translation as it stands.  The Lord indeed had already said that He would ultimately completely put out the remembrance of Amalek, which does insinuate there would be a continued struggle with Amalek until that obliteration was achieved.  I believe making the altar to the Lord that was looked upon as their banner of their Lord, would serve as a reminder to the people that they were never to form any union with the Amalekites because they were sworn enemies of the Israelites, doomed to ruin.  Dr. John Gill wrote this about Amalek:  "Amalek may be considered as a type of antichrist, whose hand is against the throne of God, his tabernacle, and his saints; who, with all the antichristian states which make war with the Lamb, will be overcome and destroyed by him."

Manna and the Bread of Life

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 16:1) And they took their journey 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.

In the last study, the Israelites had come to Elim where there was plenty of water and shade, after having been without water three days and murmuring against Moses because of the bitter water they finally found at Marah.  They now left Elim and went into the wilderness of Sin, which was between Elim and Sinai.  It had been a month since they left Egypt for it was now the fifteenth day of the second month, and they had left Egypt on the fifteenth of Abib or Nisan, the first month.

(2) And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured 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 flesh pots and when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us forth into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

And now the Israelites were complaining about Moses and Aaron again.  It looks like they only had provisions for about a month, because they now complained about starving to death.  It's not that they shouldn't be able to present to Moses their problem, but note how they did it.  They always seem to be sarcastic and murmuring against Moses and Aaron rather than directly stating their problem.  They actually said they would have rather died at the hand of the Lord in Egypt when at least they had their fill of meat and bread.  This would seem to imply they would have preferred to be killed by the plagues with which God had struck Egypt rather than to starve to death in the desert.  The Lord had just told them at the end of the last chapter that if they would heed the voice of the Lord and follow His commandments, that He would not bring any of the afflictions He had put on the Egyptians for He was the Lord who healed them.  And now they used that very example of dying at His hands in Egypt as something they would prefer to have done rather than having faith that He would "heal" them from their hunger?  What faithless ingrates!  It's quite astonishing to read how quickly they lost faith after all they had witnessed and had been promised, yet I'm afraid and ashamed that it is a perfect example of how we all can get so easily disheartened when things get a little tough.

(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 rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law or not. (5) And it shall come to pass that on the sixth day they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”

Moses had obviously in turn taken this problem to the Lord as he usually did when the people complained to him.  The Lord answered this ungrateful murmuring crowd in the most kind and merciful way!  He would rain bread from heaven for His children!  He would provide their daily bread, but He would also be testing them.  They would learn to trust and depend on Him to provide their daily needs, but just what they would need in a day.  They were instructed to go out every day and gather the same amount they would need for that day.  On the sixth day they would gather twice as much as they usually gathered in one day.  

(6) And 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 murmurings against the LORD; and what are we, that you murmur against us?”

Moses and Aaron then told the people that at evening they would know that the Lord had brought them out of Egypt.  They obviously knew they had been brought out of Egypt, but they would realize it was completely the Lord's doing, and not by the work of Moses and Aaron, as they had claimed with their murmurings (verse 3).  In the morning they would see the glory of the Lord; that word "kabod" meant "glory" and "splendor", and also "abundance" and "copiousness".  They would see the glorious magnitude of their Lord, for He had heard their murmurings against Him. The Lord wasn't going to provide for them because they had complained, but because of His promise to them.  The point Moses was making was that their murmurings were against the Lord, because all he and Aaron had done was to follow His command.

(8) And Moses said, “This shall be, when the LORD shall give you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full, for the LORD hears your murmurings which you murmur against Him; and what are we? Your murmurings are not against us but against the LORD.”

Moses expounded on his original statement that the people would know it was the Lord who had brought them out of Egypt and that they would see His glory.  This would come about when they saw that the Lord indeed provided meat for them in the evening and bread to their fill in the morning.  The Lord heard their murmuring and He would provide for them.  God patiently and mercifully answered their murmurs, not that He hadn't planned to provide for them all along.  That is the point; God was patiently showing the people that they could depend on Him.  HE was the one who brought them out of Egypt and He was the one who would provide for them in the desert.  Moses again pointed out to them that when they grumbled and complained, they were grumbling against the Lord and His plans being implemented.  They had no cause to murmur against Moses and Aaron; they were only obeying God. 

(9) And Moses spoke to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your murmurings.’” (10) And 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.

Moses told Aaron, who was his spokesman, to gather the congregation of the children of Israel, and have them come before the Lord, that pillar of cloud that was always before them.  As Aaron was doing this, the children of Israel looked and saw the glory of the Lord appear in the cloud.  The children of Israel were reminded in a very visual way that their Lord was the One leading, guiding, and providing for them.  We aren't told exactly what the people saw, but I can imagine it was an extraordinary brightness or rays of bright light possibly emanating from an image of Christ.  Whatever they saw, you can be certain they had no doubt it was their Lord they saw.

(11) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (12) “I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel; speak to them, saying, ‘At evening 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.’”

Out of the bright and glorious cloud, I believe the people heard the Lord speak to Moses.  It was necessary that they know that Moses spoke the truth when he had told them they murmured against the Lord and that He had heard them. Audibly, so that the children of Israel heard, the Lord told Moses to tell the people that in the evening they would eat meat, and in the morning they would be filled with bread, and they would know that He was their Lord God, the One who led them and supplied all their needs.

(13) And it came to pass, that at evening the quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. (14) And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the frost on the ground. (15) And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to 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."

Sure enough, in the evening quails came and covered the camp, and the people had plenty of meat to eat.  The next morning when the dew lifted, there were small round things that appeared as frost on the ground on the surface of the wilderness.  When the children of Israel saw it, they didn't know what it was, and asked among themselves, "What is it?"  The word "manna" actually means "a whatzit"!  The KJV actually translated, "It is manna", rather than "What is it?"  The newer translations all found that an incorrect and unfortunate translation, because later scriptures point out they had never seen it before and couldn't possibly have known what it was.  However, when I discovered that the word meant "a whatness (so to speak)", according to Strong's, I found it perfectly plausible that they could have themselves named it a whatzit.  Either way, the gist is the same, they didn't know what it was, and Moses told them it was the bread the Lord had given them to eat.

(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.’”

Moses went on to tell the children of Israel what the Lord had commanded they do with the manna which He gave them.  They were to gather it according to the need of their household (or their tent in the wilderness), one omer for each person.  We will later read that an omer was a tenth of an ephah.  Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, wrote that an ephah, from the word "to bake", probably referred to the amount that was baked at one time, but then he gave a rough liquid measure.  It was Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, who gave the best definition of a dry measure, "in corn measure, six gallons, three pints, and three solid inches", and therefore an omer would be about three quarts, or about six pints, as Clarke and others put it.  An omer per person certainly sounds like more than enough.

(17) And the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less. (18) And when they measured it by an omer, 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.

The people gathered the manna.  "Some more, some less" appears to mean that some gathered more than others because they had larger families, because when they measured it by omers, each man had gathered according to his family's needs.  It may be that what was gathered was brought to a measuring place and then meted out by omers, so that the man who gathered much, still only received one omer per person, and the one who gathered less, also received one omer per person in his family.

(19) And Moses said, “Let no one leave any of it till morning.” (20) Notwithstanding, they did not heed Moses, but some of them left part of it until the morning, and it bred worms and stank; and Moses was angry with them.

In verse 4, the Lord had told Moses that the people were to gather a certain rate every day that He might prove (or test) them, whether they would walk in His law or not.  Moses told the people they were not to leave any of their manna until the next morning.  The point was to make them dependent on the Lord for their daily bread.  Well, it was to have them obey the Lord, and then to trust Him for their daily needs.  By saving it until the next day, some of them disobeyed the Lord, and were in effect, not trusting Him for their next day's needs, but were trying to arrange for it themselves.  When they did that, they found the manna did not last until the next day, but bred worms and stank.  It made Moses angry that they had not obeyed the Lord.

(21) And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need; and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.

Not only could they not save manna until the next morning, but they had to gather what they needed for the day in the morning.  They couldn't gather a little for breakfast, and then expect to go back out in the evening to gather for dinner.  When the sun was hot in the day the manna melted, and there was none left for gathering.

(22) And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man; and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.

On the sixth day the people gathered twice as much manna as they had been gathering daily, exactly twice as much, two omers for each person.  It would seem that they didn't intend to, that it was perhaps more easily gathered, and that it unknowingly wound up being twice as much when it was measured, because the rulers of the congregation, in turn, went to Moses with the news, as if they had not expected it.  We had been made privy to this in verse 4 above, when the Lord had told Moses the people were to gather twice as much on the sixth day, but evidently, Moses had not yet told the people.  When you look at verse 4 again, that it would come to pass that on the sixth day they would prepare what they brought in, and it would be twice as much as they normally gathered daily, along with verse 22 where it came to pass that they seemed to unknowingly gather twice as much, it points to a miraculous doubling of the manna that the people were not even aware of at the time of gathering.  After all, they had been shown that the manna could not be gathered one day and then saved till the next day, so the rulers went to Moses to tell him of their predicament.

(23) And he said to them, “This is what the LORD has said, ‘Tomorrow is the rest of the holy sabbath to the LORD; bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and that which remains, lay up for you to be kept until the morning.’” (24) And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it.

This was the one day that the people were allowed to gather twice as much manna as they usually did, and they were instructed to prepare what they would for the day, and save the rest for the next day, the holy Sabbath day to the Lord.  Miraculously, the manna did not breed worms and stink when it was saved from the sixth day until the Sabbath like it did when it was saved from any other day until the next.

(25) And 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, in it there will be none.”

On the Sabbath day, when they found their manna with no worms or bad smell, Moses told the people to eat it that day, because they would not find any manna on the ground on that Sabbath day.  He reiterated the command that they should gather manna six days a week, but not on the seventh or Sabbath day.  There have been some who have tried to claim that the manna was a naturally occurring phenomenon, but the way this manna fell and was used obviously debunks that theory.

(27) And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day to gather, but they found none.

Whether it was willful disobedience or a curiosity to see if what Moses had said the Lord had declared was indeed true, some of the people went out on the Sabbath to try to gather manna, but found that indeed there was none.

(28) And the LORD said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? (29) See, for that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days; every man remain in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.”

God saw their actions as disobedience.  In verse 4, He stated that He would be testing the people to see if they would walk according to His law or not, and in this, some of them obviously did not pass the test.  The Lord had given them the Sabbath.  It was a blessed gift from the Lord.  Indeed, in Mark 2:27, Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  Albert Barnes in his Notes on the Bible, said it beautifully:

"For his rest from toil, his rest from the cares and anxieties of the world, to give him an opportunity to call off his attention from earthly concerns and to direct it to the affairs of eternity. It was a kind provision for man that he might refresh his body by relaxing his labors; that he might have undisturbed time to seek the consolations of religion to cheer him in the anxieties and sorrows of a troubled world; and that he might render to God that homage which is most justly due to him as the Creator, Preserver, Benefactor, and Redeemer of the world. And it is easily capable of proof that no institution has been more signally blessed to man’s welfare than the Sabbath. To that we owe, more than to anything else, the peace and order of a civilized community. Where there is no Sabbath there is ignorance, vice, disorder, and crime. On that holy day the poor and the ignorant, as well as the learned, have undisturbed time to learn the requirements of religion, the nature of morals, the law of God, and the way of salvation. On that day man may offer his praises to the Great Giver of all good, and in the sanctuary seek the blessing of him whose favor is life. Where that day is observed in any manner as it should be, order prevails, morals are promoted, the poor are elevated in their condition, vice flies away, and the community puts on the appearance of neatness, industry, morality, and religion. The Sabbath was therefore pre-eminently intended for man’s welfare, and the best interests of mankind demand that it should be sacredly regarded as an appointment of merciful heaven intended for our best good, and, where improved aright, infallibly resulting in our temporal and eternal peace."

The Sabbath was for man's benefit.  The Lord had provided a way for the people to have a complete rest without worrying about the gathering of the day's food.  He intended that they not leave their homes on the Sabbath day, but there some of them went, testing God and Moses and therefore losing benefit to themselves in their disobedience.  Mere rest from work was not the only benefit of the Sabbath; it was a time of worship and reflection of their Lord and provider.  Obviously, they were missing that, too, while they were out testing their God instead of thanking and worshiping and resting in His provisions.  Moses reiterated the command that the people should gather manna six days, and that the Lord provided two days' worth on the sixth day, so that no man was to leave his place on the seventh day.

(30) So the people rested on the seventh day. (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.

The people rested on the Sabbath day as it was intended by the Lord.  The children of Israel officially gave this bread of the Lord the name of Manna.  Initially they used that word to mean a whatzit of sorts, but it now became the name of the bread from heaven that fed the Israelites in the wilderness.  Manna was described as being like a coriander seed in form and figure, but white, and it tasted like wafers made with honey.

(32) And Moses said, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, ‘Fill an omer of 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 full of manna in it, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations.”

Moses told the people that the Lord had commanded they preserve an omer of manna for their posterity, so that they could see the bread with which He fed them in the wilderness after He brought them out of Egypt.  He further instructed Aaron to put an omer of manna into a pot to preserve it for future generations.  How miraculous the very stuff that could not be kept overnight without breeding worms and stinking, now could be kept forever as a reminder and memorial of their Lord's blessing and provision.  This is mentioned again later in the New Testament, specifically Hebrews 9:4, "...the ark of the covenant...in which was the golden pot that had manna..."  How often do we read in scripture that a record or memorial of some sort was to be kept for the next generations?  God's blessings were not just for the people at the present receiving them, but were to be a proof and reminder of His continual blessing upon us:

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, gave this wonderful reminder, "Eaten bread must not be forgotten. God's miracles and mercies are to be had in everlasting remembrance, for our encouragement to trust in him at all times."

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

As the Lord had commanded, Aaron indeed preserved the manna and "laid it up before the Testimony".  Since Moses wrote about this event afterward, and the ark of the testimony, or covenant, was indeed coming, perhaps he meant that, as most of the old commentaries seem to imply.  However, we have already been told that the Lord wanted Moses to preserve in writing a record of events, specifically from Numbers 33:2, chronologically ordered before this current event, but also alluded to in other verses when God told Moses to pass the reports of events to the next generation.  Perhaps there was already the beginnings of a preserved Testimony before there was an ark of the Testimony.

(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. (36) Now an omer is one-tenth of an ephah.

Here we are given a couple more facts about the bread of God, manna.  It was provided to the children of Israel for forty years all during their wilderness trek, until they came to the land of Canaan.  Additionally, we learn that an omer is a tenth of an ephah, a statement that seems a little out of place here, and was already discussed after verse 16 above.

The main subject of this chapter is the miracle of manna, God's bread from heaven to sustain His children.  God wanted His children to learn to trust and depend on Him for their daily bread.  That He alone was their provider was evident in the way that the manna would not last overnight during the week, but did on the Sabbath.  The children of Israel were taught to observe a Sabbath rest and know that God would take care of those who would rest in Him.  Finally, they were to show and tell their future generations what God had done for them in the wilderness.

This manna is a beautiful illustration of the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ.  Just as the Israelites would have perished in the wilderness without the bread from heaven, so would all our souls perish had Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life, not come down from heaven to save us all from eternal deaths.  As Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread, we learn to daily depend upon the Lord for our immediate needs.  We must make note that we aren't fed without any effort on our parts.  That is not to say that we have to work for our salvation; we don't.  However, the children of Israel were expected to obey God with regard to how they were to gather their daily bread.  They were to work in daily communion with God.  As the apostle Paul wrote in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 3:6-9), one plants and another waters, but God gives the increase, and "we are laborers together with God".  Additionally, Paul pointed out that this work in which we labor with God is built only on the foundation of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11).  As I reread verses 17 and 18 above, I was struck by the correlation of Jesus Christ to the manna that was gathered by each man.  Some gathered more and some gathered less, but when it was meted out, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.  Every man had gathered according to his need.  Is that not a perfect picture of Christ as illustrated by the parable of the workers in the vineyard?  The workers who came late were paid the same wages as the workers who started early.  They were told upfront what their wages would be.  All who come to Christ, the Bread of Life, receive His salvation from their sins.  Some come sooner, some come later, but as the Israelites, some of whom gathered more, and some of whom gathered less, they all had just what they needed.  The people had to gather the manna in the morning while it was found because when the sun waxed hot, it melted and could not be found.  Likewise, we are to seek the Lord and his bread of life while He may be found (Isaiah 55:6).  The children of Israel were taught to observe a Sabbath rest, and Jesus Christ became that sabbath rest for us.  Again it was the apostle Paul who wrote that a relationship with Christ freed us from the works of the law and gave us rest in the work of Christ to save us from the penalty of our sins (Hebrews, chapter 4).  As the Israelites were instructed to show and tell future generations about God's bread of life, so are we instructed to preach and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ, the true Bread of Life.