“Moses on Mount Sinai,” Old Testament Stories (2022)
“Moses on Mount Sinai,” Old Testament Stories
Exodus 19–20; 24; 31–34; Deuteronomy 4–7
Moses on Mount Sinai
Helping the people remember the Lord
Moses and the Israelites traveled through the wilderness. They came to a mountain called Mount Sinai.
Moses climbed the mountain to speak to the Lord. The Lord told Moses that He wanted to talk to the Israelites face to face.
The Israelites came to the base of Mount Sinai, and the Lord caused a cloud of smoke to surround the mountain. The Lord was in the cloud. He spoke to the Israelites and gave them commandments. The mountain shook as He talked.
Exodus 19:16–19; 20:1–17; Deuteronomy 4:12–13, 33; 5:4–5
The Israelites were afraid. They asked Moses to speak with the Lord so that Moses could tell them what the Lord wanted.
Moses took Aaron and 70 Israelite elders to the mountain to receive more of the Lord’s teachings. The Lord appeared to them.
Then the Lord told Moses to leave the elders and go even higher up the mountain. Moses obeyed. The Lord used His finger to write His law and commandments on stone tablets. For 40 days, the Lord taught Moses many things.
While Moses was on Mount Sinai, the people of Israel got tired of waiting for him. They told Aaron to make statues for them to worship like they had in Egypt. Aaron gathered all their gold and made a statue of a calf.
The Israelites worshipped the golden calf and offered sacrifices. They said the golden calf, not the Lord, freed them from Egypt.
The Lord knew the Israelites were worshipping an idol and forgetting Him. He commanded Moses to go back and tell the people to repent.
Moses came down from Mount Sinai and saw the Israelites worshipping the golden calf. He was very upset. The people weren’t ready to obey the law and commandments the Lord had written. Moses broke the tablets and destroyed the golden calf. He helped the Israelites repent and remember their true God.
Moses asked the Lord to forgive the Israelites and to make promises with them again. Moses promised to lead and teach them.
The Lord asked Moses to create new stone tablets and go back to Mount Sinai. The Lord made a new promise with the Israelites and gave them His Ten Commandments.