The Bible Book

81

from murder, adultery, stealing,

lying, and coveting things that

do not belong to them.

After his encounter, Moses

comes down the mountain and

tells the Israelites the terms of

the covenant. They respond

enthusiastically: “Everything the

Lord has said we will do.” (24:3).

Having agreed to the terms, the

Israelites wait at the bottom of

Mount Sinai while Moses goes

back up into the thick cloud of

God’s presence.

Moses stays at the top of Mount

Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights,

during which time God provides

him with tablets of stone, inscribed

with the terms of the covenant. The

tablets are to be a lasting reminder

of the agreement between God and

His newly rescued people.

Obedience slips

Subsequent events in the Bible

prove that it does not take long

for the Israelites to break more

of the commandments – or to forget

them entirely. Towards the end of

his life, Moses must reiterate God’s

commandments for the generation

born and raised during the 40 years

in which the Israelites wander the

desert (Deuteronomy 5). Centuries

later, during the reign of King

Josiah, the high priest “discovers”

the Book of the Law languishing

in a dusty corner of a storeroom at

the Temple (2 Kings 22), and King

Josiah tears his robe after the word

of God is read to him, mortified that

he has failed to uphold His laws.

The Bible shows time and again

that when the Israelites obey the

law, they prosper, but when they

forget it or actively disobey it,

disaster ensues.

God’s holy nation

The Ten Commandments are often

misunderstood. Many people see

them simply as a list of “dos and

don’ts,” but this misses their true

significance. Although eight of

God’s commandments contain the

admonition “do not,” the purpose of

the commandments is not primarily

to prohibit, but rather to protect

and promote God’s “holy nation.”

The key to understanding the

EXODUS TO DEUTERONOMY

commandments is found in the

opening words of the covenant: “I

am the Lord your God, who brought

you out of Egypt, out of the land of

slavery.” God has already given the

Israelites a new sense of identity

when He rescued them from the

oppressive rule of Pharaoh in

Egypt, turning them from slaves

into “priests” (Exodus 19:6)—God’s

representatives on earth. The

Israelites’ life together had been

made possible by God’s dramatic ❯❯

See also: The Testing of Abraham 50–53 ■ Jacob Wrestles with God 56–57 ■ Entering the Promised Land 96–97 ■

Call for Repentance 172

Ancient law codes

Other ancient Near Eastern

societies also had laws to regulate

relationships between people and

rights relating to property. Some

of these laws were recorded in

cuneiform script, inscribed in

stone, giving scholars an insight

into the people who lived around

the Israelites in their formative

years as a nation, such as the

Sumerians, Babylonians, and

Assyrians. Typically, a king

imposed a rule of law on

communities living under his

protection, including those that

had been conquered. Many take

the form of a treaty, in which the

ruler offers protection in return

for obedience. Such treaties

could be described as case

law, in which the law dictates

what would be done in certain

circumstances. Punishments

were sometimes specified. In

Babylon’s Code of Hammurabi,

for example, theft was punished

by death, while herdsmen found

guilty of fraud received a fine.

The Mosaic Law resonates

with these codes, although it is

based on the authority of God

rather than a human leader.

King Hammurabi, ruler of Babylon

from 1792 to 1750 bce, produced one

of the earliest known codes of law,

known as the Code of Hammurabi.

Now if you obey me

fully and keep my

covenant, then out of all

nations you will be my

treasured possession.

Exodus 19:5–6

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