God Gives Us the Law
Free from the Egyptians, the Israelites set out for the Promised Land to
begin a new way of life as God's Chosen people.
Moses told God about the people's complaints.
God directed Moses to take his staff & in front of the people, strike one of the large rocks nearby.
Three days after the Israelites reached the desert of Sanai, Moses went up the mountain to God. There, God gave Moses
The Ten Commandments. He told Moses that the Israelites would be his people if they followed his Law
The search for happiness was real for
the Israelites
The Ten Commandments are also known as the
Decalogue which means "10 words"
However, they were about to face many new difficulties. They were used to city life in Egypt & were not prepared for the hardship of the wilderness. The direct route to the Promised Land was
very dangerous. To keep the people safe, God had Moses & Aaron lead the people by a longer, more indirect route
When Moses did as God commanded
water flowed from the rock. Once again God showed love & care for his people.
God gave Moses, the Laws of the Covenant written on Tablets of stone. He told Moses to give people a visible reminder that he was with them. God said they were to make a sanctuary for him, that he might dwell in their midst. This sanctuary was a special chest called the
ark of the Covenant, which the Ten Commandments were to be kept in.
They had escaped from a foreign country where they had been treated cruelly, & they had journey through the desert under harsh conditions. Yet the Israelites had
their belief in God to support them. They wanted to be his chosen people.
They are often divided into two groups: One group focuses on our relationship with
God
After leaving Egypt, the Israelites traveled three days without water.
Finally, they reached Marah, an oasis but the water was bitter that no one could drink it. when people grumble, Moses cried out to the Lord
The Israelites had a lot to learn before they would
be ready to enter the Promised Land.
Moses stayed on the Mountain for 40 days. The people thought he was gone. They asked Aaron to make an image of God that they could worship. Aaron collected gold from them, melted it down, & then fashioned a calf
a symbol of strength. The Israelites sacrificed to it & began celebrating, claiming that the image represented God.
That is why they were filled with joy when God made his covenant with them at Sanai. For the Israelites, the Commandments were a sign of God's love. The Commandments were part of their recipe for happiness. People would see the Israelites & know that
Their God was close to his people
The other group focuses on
our relationship with others
God pointed out some wood & told Moses to throw it into the water. When Moses obeyed, the water became fresh.
Then God laid down a law for the people, telling them that if they kept all his commandments, he will be their healer
God guided them as they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. The number 40 is a symbolic number that appears often in the Bible. It represents an
important period of time which one's faith is tested.
When Moses came down from the mountain, he saw the calf & the people dancing before it & worshipping it. In his anger,
he threw down the tablets & broke them. Then he destroyed the calf.
We have a share in God's goodness & wisdom because we are made in God's image. He implants in the heart of each human being
Natural Law as a guide, & it is made known to us through human reason
All of the Commandments form one single
Law of Love
Almost two months after the Israelites had left Egypt, they reached the Desert of sin. once more they complained to Moses & Aaron, saying they would rather have died in Egypt as they sat by their pots of stew & ate their fill of bread, Again Moses spoke to the Lord
In the Evening, God sent quail. in the morning, he sent manna, small white flakes with sweet taste. Because manna tasted like wafers, they called it bread of heaven.
The Israelites were tested & often failed. Jesus would later face temptation in the desert & emerge victorious by remaining faithful to the Father's plan of Salvation. Years later when the Israelites looked back
they remembered God's loving care for them during their desert experience. They had learned that they could trust God's plan for them.
The people had broken the First Commandment, which calls us to worship God alone.
But Moses prayed to God for forgiveness on behalf of the people. He spoke to God as a friend; God renewed the Covenant & replaced the broken tablets. This would not be the last time the Israelites fell into the sin of idolatry, the worship of false God's.
However, because of sin, humans failed to completely understand this natural law, so God revealed the laws as the Ten Commandments. So then why did the Israelites love the law so much?
commandments showed them how to be free from ignorance & selfishness. God's law taught them how to assume their responsibility to build a healthy society
All of God's Laws call us to respect our own life & dignity of others. Guided by the Holy Spirit & with the help of God's grace
The Church tells us how God's Laws apply from age to age