March 13: Deuteronomy 3:21 – Deuteronomy 5:23

Moses Forbidden to Enter the Promised Land – Deuteronomy 3:21–29

• Moses reminds the Israelites how he told God of His greatness and then requested that he might cross into the Promised Land but God told him not to ask again and then instructed him to go to the top of Mount Pisgah and look at the land from there. God then told him to encourage and strengthen Joshua, because he would be the one to lead the people into the land.

Moses Commands Obedience – Deuteronomy 4

• Moses instructs the people to listen to the statutes and rules he is teaching them, and to remember what happened when they disobeyed and worshiped Baal at Peor. He then recounts how he was called to the top of the mountain and given the Ten Commandments.

Idolatry Forbidden

• Moses reminds the people that they are forbidden to make any idols and warns them that if they do make idols, their time in the land will be short. He tells them that if they obey the Lord, He will not leave them, destroy them, or forget their covenant.

The Lord Alone Is God

• Moses reminds the Hebrew people that the Lord alone is God, and if they keep His commandments, things will go well for them and their children and their days in the land will be prolonged.

Cities of Refuge

• Moses sets apart three cities in the east beyond the Jordan as cities of refuge: Bezar for the Reubenites, Ramoth for the Gadites, and Golan for the Manassites.

Introduction to the Law

• The laws already given (the Ten Commandments) are reintroduced.

The Ten Commandments – Deuteronomy 5

• Moses summons all of Israel and reminds them of the commandments God gave them at Horeb:

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.

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 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.