Journey Through God's Word

¹One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God.

²There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up.

³“This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”

⁴When the LORD saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” “Here I am!” Moses replied.

⁵“Do not come any closer,” the LORD warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.

⁶I am the God of your father — the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.

⁷Then the LORD told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering.

⁸So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey — the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.

⁹Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them.

¹⁰Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

¹¹But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”

¹²God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”

¹³But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”

¹⁴God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.”

¹⁵God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors — the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob — has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations.

¹⁶“Now go and call together all the elders of Israel. Tell them, ‘Yahweh, the God of your ancestors — the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — has appeared to me. He told me, “I have been watching closely, and I see how the Egyptians are treating you.

¹⁷I have promised to rescue you from your oppression in Egypt. I will lead you to a land flowing with milk and honey — the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.”’

¹⁸“The elders of Israel will accept your message. Then you and the elders must go to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the LORD, our God.’

¹⁹“But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand forces him.

²⁰So I will raise my hand and strike the Egyptians, performing all kinds of miracles among them. Then at last he will let you go.

²¹And I will cause the Egyptians to look favorably on you. They will give you gifts when you go so you will not leave empty-handed.

²²Every Israelite woman will ask for articles of silver and gold and fine clothing from her Egyptian neighbors and from the foreign women in their houses. You will dress your sons and daughters with these, stripping the Egyptians of their wealth.”

¹While the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt, the LORD gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron:

²“From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you.

³Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household.

⁴If a family is too small to eat a whole animal, let them share with another family in the neighborhood. Divide the animal according to the size of each family and how much they can eat.

⁵The animal you select must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no defects.

⁶“Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight.

⁷They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal.

⁸That same night they must roast the meat over a fire and eat it along with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast.

⁹Do not eat any of the meat raw or boiled in water. The whole animal — including the head, legs, and internal organs — must be roasted over a fire.

¹⁰Do not leave any of it until the next morning. Burn whatever is not eaten before morning.

¹¹“These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed, wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the LORD’s Passover.

¹²On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the LORD!

¹³But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.

¹⁴“This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the LORD. This is a law for all time.

¹⁵For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. On the first day of the festival, remove every trace of yeast from your homes. Anyone who eats bread made with yeast during the seven days of the festival will be cut off from the community of Israel.

¹⁶On the first day of the festival and again on the seventh day, all the people must observe an official day for holy assembly. No work of any kind may be done on these days except in the preparation of food.

¹⁷“Celebrate this Festival of Unleavened Bread, for it will remind you that I brought your forces out of the land of Egypt on this very day. This festival will be a permanent law for you; celebrate this day from generation to generation.

¹⁸The bread you eat must be made without yeast from the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first day of that month.

¹⁹During those seven days, there must be no trace of yeast in your homes. Anyone who eats anything made with yeast during this week will be cut off from the community of Israel. These regulations apply both to the foreigners living among you and to the native-born Israelites.

²⁰During those days you must not eat anything made with yeast. Wherever you live, eat only bread made without yeast.”

²¹Then Moses called all the elders of Israel together and said to them, “Go, pick out a lamb or young goat for each of your families, and slaughter the Passover animal.

²²Drain the blood into a basin. Then take a bundle of hyssop branches and dip it into the blood. Brush the hyssop across the top and sides of the doorframes of your houses. And no one may go out through the door until morning.

²³For the LORD will pass through the land to strike down the Egyptians. But when he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, the LORD will pass over your home. He will not permit his death angel to enter your house and strike you down.

²⁴“Remember, these instructions are a permanent law that you and your descendants must observe forever.

²⁵When you enter the land the LORD has promised to give you, you will continue to observe this ceremony.

²⁶Then your children will ask, ‘What does this ceremony mean?’

²⁷And you will reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. And though he struck the Egyptians, he spared our families.’” When Moses had finished speaking, all the people bowed down to the ground and worshiped.

²⁸So the people of Israel did just as the LORD had commanded through Moses and Aaron.

¹Then God gave the people all these instructions :

²“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.

³“You must not have any other god but me.

⁴“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.

⁵You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected — even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.

⁶But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.

⁷“You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.

⁸“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

⁹You have six days each week for your ordinary work,

¹⁰but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you.

¹¹For in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

¹²“Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

¹³“You must not murder.

¹⁴“You must not commit adultery.

¹⁵“You must not steal.

¹⁶“You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.

¹⁷“You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”

¹⁸When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear.

¹⁹And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!”

²⁰“Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!”

²¹As the people stood in the distance, Moses approached the dark cloud where God was.