February 28: Numbers 4:1 – Numbers 5:31

Duties of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites – Numbers 4

• God instructs Moses to record all the names of the Kohathites who are between the ages of thirty and fifty (total number 2,750), and can serve in the tabernacle. This clan will care for the most sacred objects. Eleazar will be responsible for lampstand oil, the fragrant incense, the grain offering, and the anointing oil.
• God tells Moses not to allow the Kohathite clan to be destroyed from among the Levites. Aaron and his sons must always go into the sanctuary with them and assign duties to each one so the Kohathites never enter the sanctuary to look at the sacred objects alone.
• God instructs Moses to record all the names of the Gershonites who are between the ages of thirty and fifty (2,630), and can serve in the tabernacle. This clan will be responsible for general service and carrying loads, under the direction of Aaron and his sons.
• God instructs Moses to record all the names of the Merarites who are between the ages of thirty and fifty (3,200), and can serve in the tabernacle. This clan will be responsible only for carrying loads, under the direction of Ithamar, son of Aaron.

Unclean People – Numbers 5

• God instructs Moses to have the people put out of camp anyone who has a leprous disease or discharge, or who has come in contact with a dead body. The people do as instructed.

Confession and Restitution

• God tells Moses to instruct the people that when they do wrong to another and realize it, they must confess and make restitution, adding one-fifth and giving it to the one wronged. If the person wronged is dead and there is no next of kin for restitution to be paid to, the restitution is to go to the priests.

A Test of Adultery

• God tells Moses to instruct the people on the process to be followed if a man suspects his wife has been unfaithful. She is brought before the priests, bringing also a tenth of an ephah of flour, and the priest will have her stand trial before the Lord. He will pour into holy water some dust from the tabernacle floor, unbind her hair, and place in her hands the offering of proof (the jealousy offering to determine whether her husband's claims are true). The priest brings the jar of bitter water and tells her that if she has not committed adultery, may she be immune from the effects of the bitter water that brings the curse. But if she has been unfaithful, she will endure bitter suffering and infertility (her abdomen will swell and her womb will shrivel).

February 27: Numbers 2:1 – Numbers 3:51

Arrangement of the Camp – Numbers 2

• God tells Moses how the camps are to be set up. The tribal divisions will camp beneath their family banners on all four sides of the camp.
• The tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun will be on the east side of the tabernacle and will lead the way whenever Israel travels to a new camp.
• The tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad will be on the south side of the tabernacle and will be second in line whenever Israel travels to a new camp. The Levites will follow them, carrying the tabernacle.
• The tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin will camp on the west side of the tabernacle and follow the Levites whenever Israel travels to a new camp.
• The tribes of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali will camp on the north side of the tabernacle and will be the last in line whenever Israel travels to a new camp.

The Sons of Aaron – Numbers 3

• The sons of Aaron are given: Nadab and Abihu (who died when they offered an unauthorized sacrifice), Eleazer, and Ithamar.

Duties of the Levites

• God tells Moses that the Levites will take care of the tabernacle, and will belong to Him. 
• Moses is instructed to list the sons of Levi by their fathers' houses and clans: Gershon (clans Libni and Shimei), Kohath (clans Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel), and Merari (clans Mahli and Mushi). 
• The Gershonites camp on the west, guarding and carrying the coverings, hangings, and entrance screens of the tent and courtyard. The Kohathites camp on the south, guarding and carrying the items within the tabernacle sanctuary. The Merarites camp on the north, guarding and carrying the structural components of the tent and court. Moses and the priests camp on the east, guarding the tabernacle and protecting Israel.

Redemption of the Firstborn

• God tells Moses to list all the firstborn males of the people and animals of Israel. Total number of men and boys over one month old is 22,273.
• God tells Moses that the Levites are His (reserved as substitutes for the firstborns), and there are 273 more firstborn sons of Israel than Levites, so Moses is to collect five shekels of silver for each of the extra 273 men to redeem them, and give the money to Aaron and his sons.

February 26: Leviticus 27:1 – Numbers 1:54

Laws About Vows – Leviticus 27

• God tells Moses to instruct the people that people may make vows to Him, dedicating themselves or a family member to God (which entails serving in the sanctuary). Since only Levites can regularly do this, a payment scale is given so the people can be freed from this service. Other things that can be donated include animals, dwellings, land, and the firstborn of people or animals. The devoted thing belongs to the Lord and cannot be ransomed.
• Final words on tithes are given, repeating what was instructed earlier.

A Census of Israel's Warriors – Numbers 1

• One month after the tabernacle is completed, God tells Moses to take a census of the men of Israel, ages twenty years and upward who were able to go to war (the invasion of Canaan is imminent). He and Aaron are to list them by company (tribe). 
• The census includes:
1. Tribe of Judah, under leader Nahshon: 74,600
2. Tribe of Issachar, under leader Nethanel: 54,400
3. Tribe of Zebulun, under leader Eliab: 57,400 
4. Tribe of Reuben, under leader Elizur: 46,500
5. Tribe of Simeon, under leader Shelumiel: 59,300
6. Tribe of Gad, under leader Eliasaph: 45,650 
7. Tribe of Ephraim, under leader Elishama: 40,500
8. Tribe of Manasseh, under leader Gamaliel: 32,200
9. Tribe of Benjamin, under leader Abidan: 35,400 
10. Tribe of Dan, under leader Ahiezer: 62,700
11. Tribe of Asher, under leader Pagiel: 41,500
12. Tribe of Naphtali, under leader Ahira: 53,400

Levites Exempted

• The Levites are not listed with their ancestral tribe. They are to carry the tabernacle of the testimony and all the temples furnishings.

February 25: Leviticus 25:23 – Leviticus 26:46

Redemption of Property – Leviticus 25:23–34

• God tells Moses that the land is not to be sold in perpetuity because it is His. They are to allow redemption of the land. If a Hebrew is forced to sell his land temporarily, the land may be redeemed in one of three ways: a kisman-redeemer will buy back the land, the seller may buy back the land, or the land will be restored at the Year of Jubilee. (This is for houses in unwalled villages, not in walled cities, unless the city owner is a Levite.)

Kindness for Poor Brothers

• If a man becomes poor, he is to be cared for. Money is not to be lent with interest, and profit should not be taken for food. The man will not be made a slave, but a paid worker until the Year of Jubilee. Slaves may be bought from the nations around them, but the people may not make other Israelites their slaves.

Redeeming a Poor Man

• If a man is sold, he may be redeemed by another (a family member). All people are to be released in the Year of Jubilee.

Blessings for Obedience – Leviticus 26

• God instructs that if the people obey Him, He will prosper them and give them peace in the land. If the Hebrew people go after their enemies, they will win their battles, and God will walk among them.

Punishment for Disobedience

• God instructs that if the people do not follow his statues, they will suffer panic, wasting disease and fever that consume the eyes and make the heart ache, and sowing of seeds in vain. The Hebrew people's enemies will overtake them, and wild beasts will attack their children. The punishment will include an unbelievable form of cannibalism, and destruction of the cities, the religious centers, and the land. God then points out that if this happens, his wrath will not be final if the people repent.

February 24: Leviticus 23:1 – Leviticus 25:23

Feasts of the Lord – Leviticus 23

• God tells Moses to instruct the Hebrew people that they are to celebrate His holy feasts:

1. The Sabbath: The people are to work for six days and rest on the Sabbath.
2. The Passover: On the fourteenth day of the first month, Passover is to be celebrated.
3. The Feast of Firstfruits: When the people come into the Promised Land, they are to celebrate this feast. It begins with waving sheaves and ends with burnt offerings.
4. The Feast of Weeks: It begins fifty days after the sheaf of the wave offering is brought to the priests, and is celebrated to recognize the Lord as the giver of all crops.
5. The Feast of Trumpets: On the first day of the seventh month, the trumpet is blasted and the people prepare for the most holy month of the Hebrew calendar.
6. The Day of Atonement: On the tenth day of the seventh month, the people are to afflict themselves and present a food offering to the Lord.
7. The Feast of Booths: On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the people are to begin a weeklong feast celebrating their salvation from Egypt. No work is done so the people can worship the Lord.

The Lamps – Leviticus 24

• God tells Moses to instruct the people to bring pure oil from beaten olives for the lamp so that the light can be kept burning regularly (evening to morning).

Bread for the Tabernacle

• The people are to bake twelve loaves of fine flour, with two-tenths of an ephah in each loaf. The loaves are to be arranged in two piles of twelve on the table in the tent of meeting. Every Sabbath they will be arranged on the table, and Aaron and his sons will eat of it.

Punishment for Blasphemy

• The son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian man blasphemes God's name and is brought to Moses. God tells Moses to bring the man out of the camp, let all who heard him curse lay their hands on his head, and then have the people stone him to death. Moses is then to tell the people that blasphemers will be put to death.

An Eye for an Eye

• God gives the decree that whoever takes a human life is to be put to death. Injuries are to be punished by repeating the injury on the offender—an eye for an eye, etc. This applies to both the native and the sojourner.

The Sabbath Year – Leviticus 25

• God tells Moses to instruct the people that when they come into the Promised Land, they are to work the land for six years and the seventh year will be a Sabbath year for the land.

The Year of Jubilee

• On the fiftieth year in the Promised Land, they will sound the trumpet on the Day of Atonement and celebrate the Year of Jubilee. People would be returned their lands, those who had sold themselves as indentures would be released and sent home, and the land would not be worked for the forty-ninth and fiftieth year. (This law prohibited the amassing of large estates, which would reduce many of the people to tenant status).

February 23: Leviticus 20:1 – Leviticus 22:33

Punishment for Child Sacrifice – Leviticus 20

• God tells Moses to instruct the people that if they (or any who sojourn among them) offer their children to Molech as a sacrifice, they will be put to death by stoning. If any of the people close their eyes to that person and don't put him to death, they will be cut off from the people.
• If a person turns to mediums or necromancers, he will be cut off from the people, and if anyone curses their mother or father, he will be put to death.

Punishments for Sexual Immorality

• People who commit sexual immorality as described earlier are to be put to death. If a man lies with his sister, or has sexual relations with a woman during her menstruation, both people will be cut off from the people. If a man lies with his uncle's wife or his brother's wife, the two involved with be childless.

You Shall Be Holy

• The people are to keep God's commandments, and are not to conform to the customs of those around them. Mediums and necromancers are to be put to death by stoning.

Holiness and the Priests – Leviticus 21

• God demands holiness from the priests, giving instructions for their lives. The high priests are subjected to stricter holiness regulations than the common priests.

Acceptable Offerings – Leviticus 22

• God reminds Moses of the instructions for sacrifices. He reminds them that the people are to keep His commandments and not profane His name.

February 22: Leviticus 17:1 –19:37

The Place of Sacrifice – Leviticus 17

• God tells Moses to instruct Aaron, his sons, and the Hebrew people that if anyone (including strangers who sojourn among them) slaughters a lamb or goat either in camp or outside camp, they are to bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to be offered as a sacrifice (this was to prevent men from worshiping goat demons). Anyone who violated this law was to be cut off from the people.

Laws Against Eating Blood

• God instructs that no person from the house of Israel (or those who sojourn among them) are to eat blood. If they do, they will be cut off from the people. This is because the blood is what makes atonement by the life. If any person does eat blood, he will bathe himself and wash his clothes and be unclean till evening. If he does not bathe and wash, he will bear his iniquity.

Unlawful Sexual Relations – Leviticus 18

• God tells Moses to instruct the people that they are not to do as the people of Egypt or the people of Canaan do. They are to follow God's laws instead. The people are not to "uncover the nakedness" (have sexual relations) with family members, have sexual relations while the woman is menstruating, commit adultery, have sexual relations with members of the same gender, or have sexual relations with animals. Those who do these things will be cut off from the people.

The Lord Is Holy – Leviticus 19

• God tells Moses to remind the people of these things: They are to be holy because He is holy. They are to honor their parents, keep the Sabbath, and not worship idols. When offering sacrifices, they are to eat of them on the day of sacrifice or the day after only.

Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

• When the people reap their harvest, they are to leave some of the field unreaped and not gather the gleanings; this way the poor and the sojourner will have food. They are also not to steal, deal falsely with one another, or oppress each other. They must deal justly in court and not take vengeance or hold a grudge. They are to love their neighbors as themselves.

You Shall Keep My Statutes

• God continues his statues, saying that the Hebrew people are not to crossbreed domesticated animals or weave with two different types of cloth. When they come into the Promised Land, they are not to eat of the fruit trees for the first three years; they are to offer the fruit as a praise offering to God in the fourth year, then in the fifth year they may eat of the fruit.
• The people also may not interpret omens or tell fortunes, round the hair on their temples or the edges of the beard, or make cuts on the body or tattoo themselves for the dead.
• They are to follow all God's statutes.

February 21: Leviticus 14:33 – Leviticus 16:34

Laws for Cleansing Houses – Leviticus 14:33–57

• God tells Moses and Aaron that when they come to the land of Canaan, He will put a case of leprous disease in a house there. The priest will go and inspect the house and then close it up for seven days if the disease is deeper than on the surface, then he will inspect the house again. If the disease has spread, they will take the affected stone and throw them in an unclean place, and remove all the plaster and dump that in an unclean place. The house will be replastered.
• If disease again breaks out in the house, the house will be broken down and its materials taken to an unclean place. If the disease has not spread, the house will be declared clean. The house will be cleansed using two small birds, cedarwood scarlet yarn, and hyssop.

Laws about Bodily Discharges – Leviticus 15

• God gives Moses instructions about bodily discharges, including serious cases of male discharge, emission of semen, emission of semen with sexual intercourse, female menstruation, and cases of serious female discharge. After their cleansing per God's instructions, the unclean people are to bring two turtledoves or two pigeons to the priest, one for a sin offering and one for a burnt offering. The people will then be considered clean.

The Day of Atonement – Leviticus 16

• After the death of Aaron's sons, God tells Moses to instruct Aaron not to come into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he won't die, because God will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. Aaron is told to come into the Holy Place with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He will dress as instructed in the holy linen garments and take from the people two male goats, one for a sin offering and one for a burnt offering.
• Aaron will offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and his house, then take the two goats and cast lots over them, one for God and one for Azazel. The goat on which the lot fell for God will be used as a sin offering, and the other will be sent away into the wilderness of Azazel.
• Then Aaron will go into the ten of meeting, take off his special garments, bathe, and put on his previous clothing. He will offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering for the people to make atonement for all.
• It will be a statute that on the tenth day of the seventh month, the people will do no work and will celebrate the day of atonement. The priest, wearing his holy linen garments, will make atonement for the holy sanctuary, the tent of meeting, the altar, the priests, and all of the people.

February 20:Leviticus 12:1 – Leviticus 14:32

Purification after Childbirth – Leviticus 12

• God gives Moses instructions for purification after childbirth. If the child is male, the woman is unclean for seven days, and on the eighth day the child will be circumcised. She will continue her purification for thirty-three days. If the child is female, the woman is unclean for two weeks, then she will continue her purification for sixty-six days.
• After her purification is complete, she is to bring to the priest a year-old lamb for a a burnt offering and a pigeon or turtledove for a sin offering (or if she cannot afford a lamb, she can bring two turtledoves or pigeons). The priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.

Laws about Leprosy – Leviticus 13

• God tells Moses that if a person develops a leprous disease, he is to be brought to Aaron or one of the priests. The priest will look at the skin, and place him in quarantine if necessary or declare him unclean. The same is true for other skin diseases.
• Leprous people must teat their clothing and let their hair hang loose. They are to cover the upper lip and cry out, "Unclean, unclean!" For as long as the person is unclean, they must live alone outside the camp.
• Instructions are given for handling leprous disease in a garment. If the disease spreads on the garment, it will be burned, but if it doesn't spread, it can be washed. If the area does not clear, the garment is to be burned.

Laws for Cleansing Lepers – Leviticus 14

• God gives Moses instructions for cleansing lepers (after the disease has gone). After the purification ceremony (involving two clean birds, hyssop, cedarwood, and scarlet yarn), the person will wash his clothes, shave all his hair, and bathe, then he may return to camp. On the seventh day, he will do the same, and then he will be clean.
• On the eighth day, the man will bring to the priests two male lambs, one ewe lamb, a grain offering, and one log of oil. If the man is poor, he will bring to the priests one male lamb, a grain offering, a log of oil, and two turtledoves or pigeons. The priest will make the offerings, and he will then be clean.

February 19: Leviticus 9:1 – Leviticus 11:47

The Lord Accepts Aaron's Offering – Leviticus 9

• On the eighth day, Moses calls Aaron and his sons and the leaders of Israel. He tells Aaron to take a bull calf for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering and offer them to the Lord. He then tells Aaron to instruct the people to take a male goat for a sin offering, a calf and a lamb for a burnt offering, an ox and a ram for a peace offering, and grain mixed with oil for a grain offering. Moses then tells Aaron to make the offerings as atonement for the priests and the people. Aaron does as instructed.
• Afterward, Aaron lifts his hands and blesses the people, then he and Moses go into the tent of meeting. When they come out, they bless the people, and the glory of the Lord appears. A fire consumes the burnt offering on the altar and the fat pieces, and the people shout and fall on their faces.

The Death of Nadab and Abihu – Leviticus 10

• Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu put fire in their censers, lay incense in them, and offer unauthorized fires before the Lord. The fire comes out from before the Lord and consumes them, burning them to death.
• Moses calls on Mishael and Ezaphan, sons of Aaron's uncle, and has them take the bodies out of the camp. He then tells them, Aaron, and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar not to show mourning, lest they die, and they do as instructed.
• Moses tells Aaron and his remaining sons to take the grain offering and eat of it, and that they are to eat the breast and thigh that is waved with their sons and daughters.
• Moses questions about the goat of the sin offering and learns it was burned up. He angrily questions Eleazar and Ithamar why they didn't eat of it as they were commanded. Aaron intervenes, telling Moses that because of the events of the day, they didn't feel safe performing the ritual. Moses approves because he sees Aaron's fear of the Lord.

Clean and Unclean Animals – Leviticus 11

• The Lord tells Moses and Aaron to instruct the people which animals they may and may not eat. They are allowed to eat whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud. They may eat all that is in the waters that has fins and scales. They may not eat certain birds and insects. They are also not to eat certain ground animals such as certain lizards and moles.
• By touching any of the unclean animals, the people will become unclean, and if an unclean animal falls into water, the water is also unclean. 

February 18: Leviticus 7:1 – Leviticus 8:36M

The Priests and the Offerings – Leviticus 7

• Laws are given for the guilt offering. It is to be killed in the same place in the burnt offering, and its blood will be thrown on the sides of the altar. All its fat will be burned on the altar as a food offering to the Lord, and all the priests will eat of it. The priest who offers the guilt offering (or burnt offering) will have it.
• Laws are given for the peace offering. If it is for a thanksgiving, it should be unleavened loaves mixed with oils, unleavened wafers mixed with oil, or loaves of fine flour mixed with oil. The flesh of the peace offerings must be eaten on the day of the sacrifice. If it is a vow offering or a freewill, offering it can also be eaten the next day. On the third day, whatever is left must be burned.
• If a man eats of the flesh of the sacrifice while an uncleanness is on him, he will be cut off from the people.
• God tells Moses to instruct the people not to eat any fat or blood; people who eat these things will be cut off from the people. Moses is also told that when people bring peace offerings, the fat is to be burned and the meat is to be for Aaron and his sons.

Consecration of Aaron and His Sons – Leviticus 8

• Moses takes Aaron and his sons, their garments, the anointing oil, and the bull of the sin offering and the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread, and assembled the congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting. Moses washes the men with water and dresses them in their garments, then uses the anointing oil to anoint the tabernacle, and all that was in it.
• Aaron and his sons sacrifice the bull and rams in the way God directed Moses, then offer the unleavened bread. Moses anoints Aaron and his sons, then tells him to boil the flesh at the entrance to the tent of meeting and eat of it. They are not to go outside the entrance for seven days (until the ordination is complete). Aaron and his sons do as commanded.

February 17: Leviticus 4:1 – Leviticus 6:30

Laws for Sin Offerings – Leviticus 4

• God tells Moses that if an anointed priest sins (bringing guilt on the people), he should offer a bull from the herd as a sin offering. The man will bring the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting, lay his hand on the bull's head, and then kill the bull. The priest will then take some of the bull's blood and sprinkle it in front of the veil of the sanctuary seven times. The priest will put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense, and the rest of the blood will be poured at the base of the altar. All that fat, the kidneys, and the long lobe of the liver will be removed from the bull and burned on the altar, while the rest of the bull will be carried to the ash heap outside the camp and burned on a wood fire. The same is to happen if the entire congregation of Israel sins unintentionally.
• If a leader sins unintentionally, he will bring a male goat without blemish to the tent of meeting, lay his hand on the goat's head, and then kill the goat. The priest will put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense, and the rest of the blood will be poured at the base of the altar. All of the animal's fat will then be burned on the altar.
• If a common person sins unintentionally, he will bring a female goat without blemish to the tent of meeting, lay his hand on the goat's head, and then kill the goat. The priest will put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense, and the rest of the blood will be poured at the base of the altar. All of the animal's fat will then be burned on the altar. If he brings a lamb instead, it will be a female lamb, and it will be prepared in the same way as the female goat.
• If a man unknowingly fails to give testimony, preventing justice from being done, or if he touches an unclean animal or human uncleanness, or if he utters a rash oath, when he realizes his sin, he must bring a female from the flock (either a lamb or goat) for atonement. If he cannot afford a lamb, he is to bring two turtledoves or two pigeons, and if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two pigeons, he must bring an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering.

Laws for Guilt Offerings – Leviticus 5 and 6

• God tells Moses that if a man commits a breach of faith and sins unintentionally in any things of the Lord, he will bring a ram without blemish from the flock for a guilt offering. He will make restitution and add one-fifth, and he will be forgiven.
• God tells Moses that if a man deceives his neighbor of deposit or security, or through robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor or found something lost and lied about it, he must restore what was lost in full and add one-fifth to it. He will then bring a ram to the priest for a guilt offering, and he will be forgiven.

The Priests and the Offerings

• God tells Moses that Aaron and his sons must keep the fire burning in the hearth of the altar all night long, and in the morning they will burn wood on it for the offerings. For grain offerings, Aaron's sons will offer them before the Lord in front of the altar. They will take a handful of the flour with its oil and frankincense, and burn it. The rest of the grain offering will be for Aaron and his sons to eat after baked without leaven. Every male among the children of Aaron may eat of it,
• God tells Moses of the offering to be made by Aaron and his sons at the inauguration of the priesthood. A tenth of a ephah of flour will be mixed with oil and cooked on a griddle. All of it will be burned, and none of it will be eaten.
• God tells Moses of the sin offering to be made by Aaron and his sons (the remainder not burned on the altar). The animal is to be killed where the burnt offering is made, and the priest who makes the offering will eat it in the holy place. Whatever touches its flesh will be made holy, and if any of its blood is splashed on a garment, it will be washed. The earthenware vessel in which it was boiled will be broken (or scoured and rinsed if the vessel was bronze). All the priests may then eat of it, and none of the blood is to leave the holy place.

February 16: Numbers 8:1–26; Numbers 9:1–14; Leviticus 1:1–17; Leviticus 2:1–16; Leviticus 3:1–17

The Seven Lamps – Numbers 8

• God tells Moses to instruct Aaron to set up the seven lamps in front of the lampstand. Aaron does as instructed.

Cleansing the Levites

• God tells Moses to take the Levites from among the people and cleanse them. They are to do this by sprinkling them with the water of purification, then to have them shave their bodies and wash their clothing and themselves. They are then to take a bull from the herd and its grain offering mixed with oil, and another bull from the herd as a sin offering. They are to assemble all of Israel at the tent of meeting, bring the Levites before them, have the people lay their hands on the Levites, and then have Aaron offer them as a wave offering from the people.
• The Levites will then lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and offer one as a sin offering and one as a burnt offering to make atonement for the Levites. They will then be set before Aaron and his sons, offered as a wave offering to the Lord.
• God continues, telling Moses that the Levites will be His—they will now be the firstborns consecrated to Him instead of the firstborns of the people. God states he has given the Levites to Aaron and his sons to do the service of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement for the people of Israel.
• The Levites purify themselves from sin and wash their clothes, and Aaron makes atonement for them. The Levites then go to do their service in the tent of meeting.

Retirement of the Levites

• God tells Moses that the Levites, from twenty-five years upward, will come to do duty in the service of the tent of meeting. At the age of fifty-five years, they will retire from their service but may minister to their brothers by keeping guard in the tent of meeting.

The Passover Celebrated – Numbers 9

• In the wilderness of Sinai, God speaks to Moses in the first month of the second year after Israel had come out of slavery in Egypt. He tells Moses to have the people celebrate the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight. The people of Israel do so.
• There are some men who are unclean (through touching a dead body) and could not keep the Passover, and they come to Moses and Aaron. When they tell Moses what has happened, Moses goes to God to see how the situation should be handled.
• God tells Moses that unclean people are to keep the Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month. They are the keep the Passover in the same way as first instructed, and if a sojourner is among them and will keep the Passover according to its statutes, he may do so.

Laws for Burnt Offerings – Leviticus 1

• God gives Moses instructions for how burnt offerings are to be made. 
• If the burnt offering is from a herd, it shall be without blemish and brought to the entrance to the tent of meeting. There, the man will lay his hand on its head and it will be accepted to make atonement for him. He will kill the bull before the Lord, and Aaron's sons will throw the blood against the sides of the altar at the entrance to the tent of meeting. The man will then flay the burnt offering and cut it into pieces, and Aaron's sons will arrange all but the entrails and legs (which they will wash with water) on the altar and burn it. The same will be done with an offering from the flock.
• If the burnt offering is birds, it should be turtledoves or pigeons. The priest will wring off the heads and burn them on the altar. The blood will then be drained out on the side of the altar, and the bird's crop and its contents will be thrown beside the altar on the east side. The priest will tear of the wings but not sever it completely, then burn it on the altar.

Laws for Grain Offerings – Leviticus 2

• When grain offerings are made, they will be of fine flour. After mixing the some grain with frankincense, it will be brought to Aaron's sons to be burnt as a food offering to the Lord. The rest of the grain will be for Aaron and his sons.
• If a grain offering baked in the oven is brought, it will be unleavened loaves or wafers with oil. Part of the offering will be burned on the altar and the rest will be for Aaron and his sons.

Laws for Peace Offerings – Leviticus 3

• If a peace offering is from the herd, it will be sacrificed in the same way as a burnt offering, except the fat covering the entrails and the kidney will be removed, along with the long lobe of the liver. Then the animal will be burnt on the altar.
• If a peace offering is a lamb, it will be sacrificed in the same way as a peace offering from the herd, except the whole fat tail will be removed as well. If the peace offering is a goat, it will be prepared and burnt in the same way as the peace offering from the herd. 
• God makes it clear that the fat is the Lord's, and is never to be eaten, neither is blood.

February 15: Numbers 7:1–89

Offerings at the Tabernacle's Consecration – Numbers 7

• On the day that Moses consecrates the tabernacle and its furnishings and utensils, the chiefs of the tribes bring their offerings before the Lord (six wagons and twelve oxen). God tells Moses to accept them so they can be used in the service of the tent of meeting. Moses gives them to the Levites at God's instruction.
• Over twelve days, the head of each tribe (one per day) gives his offering for the tabernacle. Each offering includes a silver plate whose weight is 130 shekels and a silver basin of 70 shekels, both full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; one bull, one ram, and a one-year-old lamb for burnt offering; a male goat for a sin offering; and two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five one-year-old male lambs fora peace offering.
• When Moses goes into the tent of meeting, he hears a voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim on the mercy seat.

February 14: Exodus 39:32 – Exodus 40:38; Numbers 9:15–23

Making the Priestly Garments – Exodus 39:32–43

• The work on the tabernacle was finished, and the Hebrew people did all that was commanded of them. They bring everything they've made to Moses, and he blesses them.

The Tabernacle Erected – Exodus 40

• God tells Moses to erect the tabernacle and set up all the furniture on the first day of the month. They are to consecrate it and all its furniture with anointing oil, as well as the altars and utensils. They are then to bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting, dress them in the holy garments, and anoint them.
• Moses does as the Lord instructs.

The Glory of the Lord

• The cloud covers the tent of meeting and the Lord fills the tabernacle. Moses is not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud is there. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud is taken up from over the tabernacle, the people set out, and when it is not taken up, they stay where they are. The cloud was on the tabernacle by day, and by night a fire was in it.

The Cloud Covering the Tabernacle – Numbers 9:15–23

• At the command of the Lord (the taking up of the cloud), the people set out, and at the command of the Lord (the cloud settling over the tabernacle), the people stay.

February 13: Exodus 37:1 – Exodus 39:31

Making the Ark – Exodus 37

• Bezalel builds the ark of acacia wood and overlays it with pure gold, just as directed by God.

Making the Table

• Bezalel builds the table of acacia wood and overlays it with pure gold, just as directed by God.

Making the Lampstand

• Bezalel makes the lampstand and all its utensils of pure gold, just as directed by God.

Making the Altar of Incense

• Bezalel builds the altar of incense of acacia wood and overlays it with pure gold, then makes the anointing oils and the incense, just as directed by God.

Making the Altar of Burnt Offering – Exodus 38

• Bezalel builds the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood and overlays it with bronze.

Making the Bronze Basin

• Bezalel makes the basin of bronze from the mirrors of the women who minister at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

Making the Court

• Bezalel makes the court outside the tabernacle.

Materials for the Tabernacle

• Bezalel and Ohaliab (engraver, designer, and embroider) continue their work on the tabernacle. An account is given of the amounts of gold, silver, and bronze used.

Making the Priestly Garments – Exodus 39

• From blue, purple, and scarlet yarns, they fashion finely woven garments for Aaron and his sons, just as directed by the Lord.
• With all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting completed, they brought it to Moses. He sees that they have made everything exactly as directed, and blesses them.

February 12: Exodus 35:1 – Exodus 36:38

Sabbath Regulations – Exodus 35

• Moses tells the Hebrew people that they are to work for six days and then rest on the Sabbath, and that anyone who does work on the Sabbath will be put to death.

Contributions to the Tabernacle

• Moses tells the Hebrew people to bring contributions for the tabernacle: gold, silver, bronze, yarns and linens, goats' hair and goatskins, acacia wood, oil for the lampstand, etc. He also calls on the craftsmen to build the tabernacle and its furniture as directed by God.
• The people bring all that is asked of them.

Construction of the Tabernacle – Exodus 36

• Moses tells the people that God has called Bezalel and Ohaliab and filled them with every skill to do every sort of work to build the tabernacle.
• Bezalel, Ohaliab, and all the other craftsmen receive from Moses the donations of the people, and get started building the tabernacle as the Lord directed.

February 11: Exodus 32:1 – Exodus 34:35

The Golden Calf – Exodus 32

• When Moses delays in returning from Mount. Sinai, the Hebrew people go to Aaron and demand that he make gods for them because they don't know what's become of Moses. Aaron tells the people to bring him their gold jewelry. When they do, he makes a golden calf.
• Aaron builds an altar before the golden calf and declares that the next day will be a feast day for the Lord. They offer burnt and peace offerings and have a feast.
• God tells Moses to go down to the people because they have corrupted themselves by making a golden calf. He tells Moses to leave Him so He can destroy the people and make a great nation from Moses.
• Moses implores God to remember His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God relents in His desire to destroy the people.
• Moses leaves God's presence with the two tablets. When he and Joshua near the camp, they hear the people singing and then find them dancing. Moses throws the tablets at the bottom of Mount Sinai, breaking them, and then burns the calf, grounds it to powder, and makes the people drink water mixed with the powder.
• Moses questions Aaron, and Aaron explains what happened. Moses stands in the camp and calls to him all who are on the Lord's side. All the sons of Levi gathered around him, and he sends them out to kill their "brother," "companion," and "neighbor." They do as instructed, killing about three thousand men.
• The next day, Moses addresses the people with their great sin and then returns to the top of Mt. Sinai to try to atone for them. God sends him back so he can lead the people to the place He had told Moses about, sending an angel before them. He warns Moses that when He comes, He will visit their sin upon them. He sends a plague on the people.

The Command to Leave Sinai – Exodus 33

• God tells Moses to take the people and depart for the land He had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He states He will send his angel before them and will drive out the peoples there, but He won't go among them because they are stiff-necked and He'd destroy them.
• The people mourn, and take off their ornaments as God instructs.

The Tent of Meeting

• The tent of meeting is set up outside camp, and when Moses goes out to it, God descends as a pillar of cloud that stands at the entrance to the tent as He speaks with Moses inside. The people stand in the doors of their tents and worship. Joshua remains in the tent of meeting when Moses returns to the camp.

Moses' Intercession

• Moses asks that God not send them to Canaan if He will not go with them. God agrees to go with them, and Moses asks that He show him His glory.
• God tells Moses that he cannot see His face, but there is a place where he will put him in the cleft of a rock, cover him with His hand, and pass by him.

Moses Makes New Tablets – Exodus 34

• God tells Moses to cut two stone tablets like the first ones and He will rewrite them. Moses does as instructed and goes up onto Mount Sinai early in the morning. The Lord descends as a cloud and proclaims His grace and mercy but that He must "visit" iniquity on those who deserve it. Moses bows down to worship and asks that if he has found favor in God's sight, that God would go in the midst of them and forgive them.

The Covenant Renewed

• God tells Moses he is making a covenant with the people, and tells him He will drive out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites from their land. The Hebrews are not to make a covenant with them, but to tear down their altars. He tells them not to make any idols of cast metals, and instructs them to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, consecrate the firstborns to Him, keep the Sabbath, and bring God the first fruits. 
• Moses writes all this on the tablets. He stays on the mountain top for forty days and nights.

February 10: Exodus 29:1 – Exodus 31:18

Consecration of the Priests – Exodus 29

• God gives instructions for anointing Aaron and his sons as priests. The priests' clothing and turban are placed on Aaron and anointing oil is to be poured on his face. His sons will then be brought in and placed in their priests' garb.
• A bull without blemish is to be brought before the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons place their hands on it. They will then kill the bull at the entrance of the tent, place some of its blood on the horn of the altar, and pour the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. The fat covering the entrails, the long lobe of the liver, and the kidneys are to be burned on the altar, while the flesh and its skin and dung are taken outside the camp and burned as a sin offering.
• They then take a ram (the ram of sacrifice), lay their hands on it, and then kill it. Its blood is thrown against the sides of the altar, and then they cut the ram into pieces and burn it on the altar as a food offering to the Lord.
• They are then to take another ram (the ram of ordination), lay their hands on it, and kill it. Part of its blood is put on the tips of Aaron's right ear and his sons' ears, and on the tips of their right thumbs and right great toes. Some of the blood will be thrown against the sides of the altar, and some sprinkled on Aaron and his sons' garments, along with anointing oil.
• The fat of the ram is then to be taken and used to make one loaf of bread and one cake of bread, and one wafer. They are placed in the hands of Aaron and his sons and waved before the Lord in an offering, then burnt on the altar as a food offering to God.
• The flesh of the ram of ordination should be burned in the Holy Place, and they will eat of it and the bread in the basket at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Aaron and his sons are to be ordained for seven days, sacrificing a bull as a sin offering each day.
• Instructions for sacrifices are given—one lamb in the morning and one in the evening each day. God says He will dwell among them in the tent of meeting and be their God.

The Altar of Incense – Exodus 30

• God gives instructions for building an altar of acacia wood on which to burn incense. It is to be overlaid with gold and then placed in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is above the testimony.
• Aaron will be instructed to burn incense on it every morning and at twilight, and he will make atonement on the horns of the altar once a year.

The Census Tax

• God tells Moses that when he takes a census, that each person age twenty or older shall give a shekel for the service of the tabernacle.

The Bronze Basin

• God tells Moses they are to make a basin of bronze for washing, and place it between the tent of meeting and the alter. Aaron and his sons will wash their hands and their feet with its water whenever they go near the altar to burn a food offering to the Lord.

The Anointing Oil and Incense

• Instructions are given for making an anointing oil, and they are to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony, the table and its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and its utensils, and the basin and its stand. They are then to anoint Aaron and his sons.

Ohaliab and Bezalel – Exodus 31

• God tells Moses that He has called by name Bezalel and filled him with His spirit to devise artistic designs. He has also appointed Ohaliab and other men to build all of these parts of the tent of meeting.

The Sabbath

• God tells Moses to instruct the people of Israel that they are to keep the Sabbath, and that whoever profanes it will be put to death. When God is finished speaking, He gives to Moses the tablets of the testimony.

February 9: Exodus 25:1 – Exodus 28:43

Contributions for the Sanctuary – Exodus 25

• God tells Moses to have the Hebrews (those who wish to) take up contributions of gold, silver, fine fabrics and yarns, oils for lamps, etc. They are then to make a sanctuary for God to dwell in, exactly as He tells them to make it.

The Ark of the Covenant

• God instructs Moses to have the Hebrew people build an ark of acacia wood and overlay it in gold. He gives exact instructions for how to make it, and tells them to put into it the testimony that He will give them. He then instructs them to make a mercy seat and place it on top of the ark.

The Table for Bread

• God instructs Moses to have the Hebrew people build a table of acacia wood and overlay it with gold. They are then to make plates and dishes for incense as well as bowls to pour drink offerings into. They will set the bread of the Presence on the table before God regularly.

The Golden Lampstand

• God instructs Moses to have the Hebrew people make a lampstand (resembling a large menorah) of pure gold.

The Tabernacle – Exodus 26

• God instructs Moses to have the Hebrew people make the tabernacle, including curtains of goats' hair for a tent over it. They are to place the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy Place.

The Bronze Altar – Exodus 27

• God instructs Moses to have the Hebrew people make the altar of acacia wood and overlay it with bronze.

The Court of the Tabernacle

• God gives instructions for making the court of the tabernacle.

Oil for the Lamp 

• God commands that the Hebrew people bring pure beaten olive oil for the light so the lamp can be regularly set up to burn. Aaron and his sons will tend it from evening till morning.

The Priests' Garments – Exodus 28

• God tells Moses to summon Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar to serve as priests. He instructs how to make their garments and accessories. They are to make a breastpiece of justice and bind it to the ephod, which Aaron will wear on his heart when he goes into the Holy Place. He will bear the judgment of the people on his heart before the Lord regularly.
• The people are instructed to make a signet bearing the words "Holy to the Lord" for Aaron to wear on his turban, and to make a checker-print coat and undergarments for him to wear in the Holy Place.

February 8: Exodus 22:16 – Exodus 24:18

Laws about Social Injustice – Exodus 22

• God gives the Hebrew people laws about social justice, including seduction of virgins, sacrificing to other gods, treatment of widows and orphans, consecration of the firstborn, lying, treatment of others' livestock, and mistreatment of the poor and the sojourner.

Laws about the Sabbath and Festivals – Exodus 23

• God gives the Hebrew people laws about the Sabbath and festivals, including letting fields lie fallow every seventh year, resting on the Sabbath, keeping the feasts (Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of Harvest, and Feast of Ingathering), and giving the first fruits to the Lord.

Conquest of Canaan Promised

• God tells the Hebrews that He will send an angel before them, leading them to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites. They are not to bow down to their gods, but to overthrow them, and God will throw into confusion all the people that come against them.
• God will send His terror before the Hebrews—hornets will drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites in one year, driving them out until the people of Israel inhabit all their land. God will set their border from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates. They are not to bow to their gods, and He will drive these peoples from the land so they will not be a snare.

The Covenant Confirmed – Exodus 24

• God calls Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders to Him to worship, although Moses is the only one permitted to come near to the Lord. Moses goes to the people and conveys the Lord's instructions to them, and they agree that they will follow His rules.
• Moses writes down God's words and builds an altar to Him at the foot of the mountain. Young men offer burnt offerings and sacrifices. Moses reads the book of the covenant to the people (which they agree to be obedient to), then takes the blood in the basins (from the sacrifices) and throws half on the altar and the rest on the people.
• Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the elders go up the mountain, where they behold God and eat and drink with Him. The Lord tells Moses to come up and wait there so God can give him tablets of stone with the laws and commandments on them. Moses takes his assistant, Joshua, and does as instructed.
• The glory of the Lord dwells on Mount Sinai, and a cloud overtakes it for six days. On the seventh day, God calls out to Moses and the glory of the Lord appears to him. Moses enters the cloud and stays on the mountain for forty days and nights.

February 7: Exodus 20:1 – Exodus 22:15

The Ten Commandments – Exodus 20

• God gives the Ten Commandments to the people of Israel:

1. No other gods before God.
2. No graven images.
3. No taking the name of the Lord in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.
5. Honor your mother and father.
6. No murder
7. No committing adultery.
8. No stealing.
9. No bearing false witness (lying).
10. No coveting what belongs to others.

• The people fear God, but Moses tells them not to, because He tests them for their fear in Him, that they might not sin against Him. While Moses draws near to the thick darkness where God is, the Hebrews stay far off.

Laws about Altars

• God gives the Hebrews rules for building altars, which should be made of earth, not hewn stone or gold or silver. The people may not go up steps to the altar, lest their nakedness be exposed on it.

Laws about Slaves – Exodus 21

• God gives the Hebrews laws about their slaves, as well as laws regarding harming and killing others. 

Laws about Restitution – Exodus 22

• God gives laws about restitution.

February 6: Exodus 16:1 – Exodus 19:25

Bread from Heaven – Exodus 16

• Israel journeys on from Elim and ends up in the wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Sinai (about two months after they left Egypt). The people all grumble against Moses, saying that at least in Egypt they had food.
• The Lord tells Moses that he will rain down food from heaven, and tells them they are to bring in only what they can eat in one day, except on the sixth day they can bring in enough for two days. He and Aaron tell the people that the food will be on the ground—meat in the evening and bread in the morning. When Aaron tells the people what Moses instructs him to, the glory of the Lord appears in a cloud.
• In the evening quail covers the camp, and in the morning a flake-like food (manna). Moses tells them to gather only an omer per person so none is left over, but they do not listen. The food that is leftover breeds worms and stinks. Moses becomes angry with them for disobeying.
• The people go out on the seventh day to try to gather the food, even though God told them not to do so since the Sabbath is a day of rest, and God asks Moses how long the people will refuse to keep His commandments and laws.
• The people of Israel will eat manna for forty years, until they come to the land of Canaan.

Water from the Rock – Chapter 17

• Israel moves on from the wilderness of Sin and camps at Rephidim, but there is no water for them to drink there. They grumble against Moses again, asking why he has brought them out of Egypt to die in the desert.
• Moses cries out to God, telling Him that the people are on the verge of stoning him. God tells him to go before the people with some of the elders, taking his staff, and strike a rock and water will come from it. He does as instructed and water flows.
• Amalek comes and fights with Israel, and Moses tells Joshua to choose men and fight him. Joshua does and commanded, and Moses, Aaron, and Hur watch from a hilltop. Whenever Moses holds his hands up, Israel prevails, but when he lowers his hands, Amalek prevails. Aaron and Hur hold up Moses' arms, and Joshua's men overwhelm Amalek's.
• Moses builds an altar to the Lord and names it "The Lord is My Banner."

Jethro's Advice – Chapter 18

• Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, hears about all God has done for Moses and Israel (Moses had sent Zipporah and their sons, Gershom and Eliezer, back to Jethro). Jethro takes Zipporah, Gershom, and Elizer and goes to meet Moses in the wilderness. There he rejoices for all the Lord has done to Egypt for Israel's sake and burns offerings to Moses's God.
• Jethro sees how Moses sits before the people and questions him. Moses tells him that he helps them with their disputes using God's statutes and commands. Jethro tells him what he's doing is no good and will certainly wear him out. Jethro suggests Moses select upright men from among Israel and make them judges, then have the people take smaller issues to them and larger issues to Moses.
• Moses does as Jethro suggested, and Jethro returns to his own country.

Israel at Mount Sinai – Exodus 19

• Israel reaches the wilderness of Sinai and camps before the mountain. Moses goes up onto the mountain to God. God tells him to tell the people that they have seen what He has done, so they should obey His voice and keep His commands, and if they do they will be His treasured possession. Moses tells the people, and they agree.
• God tells Moses to have the people consecrate themselves and be ready for the third day, because He will come down from Mount Sinai to meet them. He instructs that they must not go up into the mountain or touch it.
• Moses goes down from the mountain and tells the people, and they do as instructed.
• On the third day, there is thunder and lightning, and a thick cloud forms on a mountain and a loud trumpet blast sounds. The people are scared, but Moses brings them out of camp to meet God. God calls Moses up onto the mountain and tells him to go down and warn the people not to look at Him. Moses tells Him they cannot come closer (come onto the mountain), and God instructs him to go down and bring Aaron up but have the people and elders stay below. Moses does as instructed.

February 5: Exodus 13:1 – Exodus 15:27

Consecration of the First Born – Exodus 13

• God tells Moses that the Hebrew people must consecrate their male firstborns to Him, meaning that the firstborn of men and beasts will be His.
• Moses tells the people to remember the day they came out of slavery by the hand of the Lord, and to keep the service of unleavened bread when He takes them into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which He promised to them.

Pillars of Cloud and Fire

• The people of Israel move on from Succoth, carrying the bones of Joseph with them. The Lord goes before them, as a cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night.

Crossing the Red Sea – Exodus 14

• God tells Moses to have the people turn back and camp between Migdol and the Red Sea, facing the sea, so Pharaoh will think they are wandering in the land and harden his heart again and pursue them.
• When Pharaoh learns that the Egyptians have fled, he changes his mind and has his army pursue them. The Hebrews see them coming and cry out to the Lord in fear. They believe God has brought them into the wilderness to die. Moses tells them not to fear, because they will see the salvation of the Lord.
• God tells Moses to move the people forward toward the sea, then lift his staff and divide it. Moses does, and God sends a strong east wind all night and dries the land. The Egyptians walk through with a sea wall on their left and right. The Egyptians pursue them.
• Once the Hebrews had crossed the sea, Moses lifts his hand and God returns the waters, drowning Pharaoh's army.
• The people of Israel see the Lord's great power, and they fear and believe in Him.

The Song of Moses – Exodus 15

• Moses sings a song to the Lord, proclaiming His greatness in delivering the Hebrew people from the Egyptians. His sister Miriam and the women take tambourines and dance.
• The Hebrew people set out from the Red Sea and journey to Shur. They go three days without water, then they came to Marah, but the water there is bitter. The people grumble against Moses, and he asks God what they should drink. God shows him a log and tells him to throw it into the water, and the water turns sweet.
• God tells the Hebrews that if they listen to His voice, do what is right in His eyes, and keep His commandments and statutes, He will not afflict them like He afflicted the Egyptians.
• The people of Israel reach Elim, and camp there, where there is twelve springs and seventy palm trees.

February 4: Exodus 10:1 – Exodus 12:51

The Eighth Plague: Locusts – Exodus 10

• God again sends Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh. He has hardened the hearts of Pharaoh and his servants so He can show to Moses' son and grandson how He has dealt harshly with the Egyptians and the signs He has done, that they might know He is God.
• Moses and Aaron ask Pharaoh how long he will refuse to humble himself and tells him to let the Egyptians go. They also tell him that if he doesn't, God will plague Egypt with locusts.
• Pharaoh's men tell Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go and question if he doesn't yet understand that Egypt is ruined. Pharaoh still refuses.
• Moses stretches out his hand over Egypt, and the land is plagued with locusts. They eat all the plants and trees in the country.
• Pharaoh calls for Moses and Aaron, and claims he has sinned against God and begs them to plead with God to remove the plague. Moses does so, and the Lord sends a strong wind that drives the locusts into the Red Sea. Still, Pharaoh does not let the people go.

The Ninth Plague: Darkness

• God tells Moses to stretch out his hand over the land, and darkness falls over the land for three days (except in Goshen).
• Pharaoh tells Moses to take the people but leave the livestock, and go serve their God in the wilderness. Moses tells him the livestock must go with them so they have animals to sacrifice.
• Pharaoh refuses, and tells Moses to leave his presence and to never come into his presence again, because Moses will die if he does.

A Final Plague Threatened – Exodus 11

• God tells Moses He will send one more plague on the Egyptians and that afterward Pharaoh will let them go and drive them away completely. He tells Moses to have the Hebrew people ask their Egyptian neighbors for silver, gold and clothing, which they do, and the Egyptians give them what they ask for.
• Moses tells the Hebrews that about midnight all the firstborns of Egypt will die and that Pharaoh will release the Hebrew people.

The Passover – Exodus 12

• God tells Moses and Aaron to tell the Hebrews that on the tenth of the month they will take either a sheep or goat lamb, keep it until the fourteenth of the month, and then sacrifice it and place its blood on the lintel and doorposts of the house. They are then to eat its roasted flesh along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs that night. They are to burn any of the meat that returns, and to eat it with their belts fastened, their sandals on their feet, and their staffs in their hands. He tells them to keep this as a feast to the Lord.
• The Hebrews are then to eat unleavened bread for seven days and hold a "holy assembly" on the first and seventh days.
• Moses instructs the people of Israel to do everything that God has instructed, and the people obey.

The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn – Exodus 13

• At midnight God strikes all of the firstborns throughout Egypt. Their is great sorrow in every household, and Pharaoh summons Moses and Aaron and tells them to take their people and leave Egypt.

The Exodus

• The people of Israel leave Rameses and journey to Succoth (about six hundred thousand men, along with women and children) with their livestock. At this time the Hebrews had been in Egypt for 430 years.
• God gives more instructions about the Passover feast, and the Hebrews do just as the Lord commanded.

February 3: Exodus 7:14 – Exodus 9:35

The First Plague: Water Turned to Blood – Exodus 7:14–25

• God tells Moses that Pharaoh's heart is hardened, and that he is to go to Pharaoh in the morning when he is going out to the water. After meeting Pharaoh on the bank of the Nile, Moses is to take his staff and tell Pharaoh that since he has not let the Hebrew people go, God will turn the water of the river to blood. He is then to have Aaron stretch out his staff over the waterways of Egypt, and all the water in Egypt will turn to blood.
• Moses and Aaron do as instructed, and the Nile turns to blood. The fish all die, and the waters stink so that the Egyptians cannot drink from it.
• The Egyptian magicians do the same with their secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart is still hardened. The Egyptians dig along the Nile looking for water to drink but cannot find any.

The Second Plague: Frogs – Exodus 8

• God tells Moses to go to Pharaoh and again tell him to let the people go so they can serve Him, and that if he doesn't, He will plague the country with frogs. Moses then tells Aaron to stretch out his staff over the rivers, canals, and pools, and when he does, frogs cover the land. The Egyptian magicians do the same.
• Pharaoh summons Moses and Aaron and tells them to plead with God to make the plague of frogs stop and he will let the Hebrew people go. Moses tells Pharaoh to decide when the plague will stop, and Pharaoh says, "Tomorrow."
• Moses and Aaron leave Pharaoh, and Moses pleads with God to stop the plague. God does as Moses asks, and all the frogs die. The Egyptians gather the dead bodies into heaps, and the whole land stinks of them.
• Once the plague is over, Pharaoh hardens his heart again and refuses to let the people go.

The Third Plague: Gnats

• God tells Moses to have Aaron stretch out his staff and strike the dust of the earth and it will become gnats. Aaron does so, and gnats cover the land. The Egyptians magicians try to produce the gnats but cannot, so they tell Pharaoh that "This is the finger of God." (Exodus 8:19) 
• Pharaoh heart is still hardened.

The Fourth Plague: Flies

• God tells Moses to again go to Pharaoh as he is going out to the Nile, and to tell him to let the Hebrew people go so they can serve Him; if he does not, tomorrow God will plague the land with flies, except the land of Goshen where the people of Israel live. 
• The next day, all the land except for Goshen is covered with and ruined by flies. Pharaoh summons Moses and Aaron and tells them that their people can sacrifice to God within the land (in Egypt). Moses and Aaron reply that it would not be right for them to do so because their sacrifices would be an abomination to the Egyptians, and that they need to journey three days away to do so. Pharaoh agrees, but tells them they cannot travel that far to sacrifice. He asks Moses to plead with God to stop the flies.
• Moses leaves Pharaoh and pleads with God, and He removes the swarms from Egypt. Pharaoh again hardens his heart and refuses to let the people go.

The Fifth Plague: Egyptian Livestock Die – Exodus 9

• God tells Moses to again go to Pharaoh and tell him to let the Hebrew people go so they can serve Him; this time if Pharaoh refuses, God will plague the livestock of the Egyptians (but not the Hebrews) the next day. 
• The following day, all the livestock of the Egyptians die while the livestock of the Hebrews still live. Pharaoh's heart is still hardened, and he refuses to let the people go.

The Sixth Plague: Boils

• God tells Moses to take handfuls of soot from the kiln and throw it in the air in the sight of Pharaoh; it will become a fine dust and become boils breaking out on people and humans throughout the land. Moses and Aaron do as instructed, and boils afflict all the people of Egypt. 
• Pharaoh's magicians cannot stand before Moses because of the boils, but Pharaoh's heart is still hardened.

The Seventh Plague: Hail

• God tells Moses to present himself to Pharaoh early in the morning and tell him to let the Hebrew people go so that they can serve Him; this time He will send hail upon the land the next day, and people should shelter themselves and their livestock. (Those who fear the Lord shelter their slaves and livestock, while those who don't fear Him do not.) 
• The following day, God tells Moses to stretch out his hand toward heaven, and when he does, heavy hail falls along with "fire flashing" (thunder and lightning). The hail destroys every tree and plant in Egypt, but not in Goshen.
• Pharaoh summons Moses and Aaron, and tells Moses that he has been wrong and the Lord is in the right. He asks Moses to plead with God to stop the hail. Moses agrees, and God stops the rain, hail, and thunder and lightning.
• When it stops, Pharaoh hardens his heart again and refuses to let the people go.

February 2: Exodus 4:18 – Exodus 7:13

Moses Returns to Egypt – Exodus 4:18–31

• Moses gets permission from Jethro and returns to Egypt with his wife Zipporah and their sons (all the men who wanted to take his life are now dead). God tells him to do before Pharaoh all the miracles He had put in his power, but that He will harden Pharaoh's heart. Moses is instructed to tell Pharaoh to let "God's firstborn"—the people of Israel—go, and that if Pharaoh refuses, God will kill his firstborn.
• As Moses travels to Egypt, God meets him and seeks to put him to death. Zipporah circumcises their son and touches Moses' feet with the foreskin, and God leaves Moses alone.
• God tells Aaron, Moses' brother, to go into the wilderness to meet Moses, and he does (this is about forty years after Moses fled Egypt). Moses tells Aaron what he will need to say for him. The brothers gather the elders of Israel, and Aaron speaks the words from God and does the miracles. The Hebrew elders believe and worship God.

Making Bricks Without Straw –Exodus 5

• Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh and tell him to let the Hebrew people go so they can hold a feast in the wilderness. Pharaoh asks who the Lord is, that he should obey him. He refuses to let the people go.
• Moses and Aaron ask that the Hebrew people be allowed to journey three days into the wilderness to sacrifice to God, but Pharaoh refuses and then instructs his taskmasters to not provide the Hebrews with straw to make their bricks (making bricks is what they're enslaved to do). The people of Israel now have to gather their own straw but still have to meet their daily quota of bricks.
• The people of Israel are scattered throughout the land as they search for straw. When their work is not done, the Egyptian taskmasters beat the Hebrew foremen. The foremen go to Pharaoh to complain, and he tells them they are idle (because they want to go into the wilderness to sacrifice).
• When the foremen leave Pharaoh, they are met by Moses and Aaron, and they complain that Moses and Aaron have made them stink in Pharaoh's sight and that he will kill them.
• Moses questions God why he has done this evil to the Hebrew people and tells God that He has not delivered them at all.

God Promises Deliverance – Exodus 6

• God tells Moses that he will now see what He will do to Pharaoh. He instructs Moses to tell the Hebrew people that He will deliver them from slavery, and claims that He will take them to be His people and He will be their God.
• Moses tells this to the people, but they don't listen because of their broken spirit, God tells Moses to go to Pharaoh and again command him to let the Hebrew people go. Moses questions why Pharaoh will listen to him if even the Hebrew people will not.
• God gives Moses and Aaron a charge to bring the people of Israel out of Egypt.

Moses and Aaron Before Pharaoh – Exodus 7

• God tells Moses He has made him like God to Pharaoh and that Aaron will be his prophet. He instructs Moses to again tell Pharaoh to let the Hebrew people go, but that Pharaoh will still not listen. God says that He will then strike Egypt, and the Egyptian people will know He is God.
• Moses and Aaron do as commanded, when they are eighty and eighty-three years old. Aaron casts down his staff and it becomes a snake. Pharaoh summons the Egyptian wise men and sorcerers, and they do the same. Aaron's snake swallows up the snakes of the sorcerers, but Pharaoh still refuses to let the Hebrew people go.

February 1: Exodus 1:1 – Exodus 4:17

Israel Increases Greatly in Egypt – Exodus 1

• Jacob's twelve sons and their families are living in Egypt, numbering seventy people.
• Joseph, his brothers, and all from their generation die, but the people of Israel multiply and increase greatly, "so that the land was filled with them." (Exodus 1:7)

Pharaoh Oppresses Israel

• A new king arises over Egypt—one who did not know Joseph (this is traditionally thought to be about three hundred years after Joseph's death). This Pharaoh determines that the people of Israel are too numerous and pose a threat if they were to join Egypt's enemies and fight against them.
• Egypt set taskmasters over the Hebrew people, and they are made to built the store cities of Pithom and Raamses for Pharaoh. Even so, the people of Israel continue to multiply, so they are made slaves. 
• Pharaoh instructs the midwives to the Hebrew women to kill any male children who are born, but to let the female children live. The midwives fear the Lord, however, and do not follow his instructions. When Pharaoh questions them about this, they claim that the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, as they are strong and often give birth before the midwife arrives.
• God deals well with the midwives, giving them families, but Pharaoh commands his people to drown every son born to the Hebrew people in the Nile River.

The Birth of Moses – Exodus 2

• A man from the house of Levi marries a Levite woman, and they have a son. She hides the boy for three months (until she could hide him no longer), then makes for him a basket of bulrushes, bitumen, and pitch. She places the boy in the basket and sets it among the reeds by the riverbank, then has the boy's older sister watch from a distance.
• The daughter of Pharaoh comes down to the river to bathe and sees the basket in the water. She has her attendants bring her the basket, and inside she finds the baby boy crying. She takes pity on him and realizes that he is a Hebrew child.
• The baby's older sister asks Pharaoh's daughter if she should find a Hebrew woman to nurse him, and Pharaoh's daughter agrees. The sister brings their mother to her, and Pharaoh's daughter instructs the woman to take the child and nurse him (she pays the woman wages for this).
• When the baby boy is older, the woman takes him to Pharaoh's daughter. Pharaoh's daughter names him Moses, meaning "I drew him out of the water." (Exodus 2:10)

Moses Flees to Midian

• One day, when Moses is much older, he goes out to the Hebrew people to "look on their burdens" and finds an Egyptian beating a Hebrew man. After ensuring that no one is around, he kills the Egyptian and hides his body in the sand.
• The next day, Moses goes out to the Hebrew people again, and this time he finds two of the Hebrews fighting. He asks one of them why he is striking the other one, and the Hebrew questions who made him a judge over the Hebrews and asks if Moses will kill him as he had killed the Egyptian. Moses fears he will be found out.
• When Pharaoh learns what has happened, he intends to kill Moses, and Moses flees to the land of Midian. 
• While Moses is by the well in Midian, the seven daughters of a Midianite priest come to draw water from the well to fill the troughs of their father's flock. Shepherds come and attempt to drive them away, but Moses stands up for them and then waters their flock.
• The daughters return to their father, and when he asks why they have returned so soon, they explain that an Egyptian man protected them and drew water for them. The father, Reuel (also known as Jethro), instructs them to bring the man to him so the man can eat with them.
• Moses lives with Jethro, and gives to Moses his daughter Zipporah as a wife. They have a son, whom she names Gershom (meaning "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land").

God Hears Israel's Groaning 

• The king of Egypt dies, and the people of Israel cry out to God because of their slavery. God hears their groanings, and He remembers his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The Burning Bush – Exodus 3

• While Moses is keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, in the wilderness of Horeb, the angel of the Lord appears to him as a flaming bush that isn't consumed by the fire. God calls to Moses out of the bush, tells him not to come near, and identifies himself as the God of his forefathers. Moses falls on his face in fear.
• God tells Moses that he has seen the affliction of his people in Egypt and that he will deliver them from Egypt to a "land flowing with milk and honey"—the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. He then tells Moses that He will send him to Pharaoh so that he can lead the Hebrew people out of Egypt, and that He will be with him, and that when they leave Egypt, they will worship God "on this mountain" (in Horeb).
• Moses asks what he should tell the Egyptians if they ask who this God of his fathers is. God tells Moses, "I Am Who I Am," and to tell the Egyptians that I Am has sent him, He also tells Moses to tell the people of Israel that the God of their fathers has appeared to him and that He will bring them out of Egypt.
• God continues to speak, saying that He knows Pharaoh will not release the Hebrew people from slavery, so He will strike them and give the Hebrew people favor so that they can plunder the Egyptians.

Moses Given Powerful Signs – Exodus 4

• Moses questions God, fearing that the Hebrew people will not believe him. God tells him to throw his staff to the ground, and it becomes a snake. Moses runs from it, but God tells him to pick it up. Moses picks it up by the tail and it becomes a staff again.
• God then tells Moses to put his hand inside his cloak and then remove it. When Moses does this, his hand is leprous like snow. God instructs him to put his hand back inside his cloak and remove it, and when Moses does so, his hand is restored. God tells him that if this doesn't convince people, Moses should take some water from the Nile and drop it on the ground, and it will become blood.
• Moses claims that he is not eloquent enough to speak, that he is slow of speech and tongue, but God insists that He has made man's mouth and will be with him when he speaks. Moses requests that God send someone else, and God reminds him of his brother Aaron the Levite, who speaks well. He states that Aaron is coming to see Moses and that he will speak for him.