As the people of Israel traveled toward Canaan, they started complaining about the food. They said, “All we have to eat is this manna. We miss the meat and the fish and the vegetables we had in Egypt.” The grumbling spread from family to family, until Moses could hear it from every tent. In frustration he prayed, “Lord, what have I done to deserve this heartache? Why have you done this to me? I didn’t give birth to these people, so why do I have to nurse them? I can’t take it any more! If this is what you want for me, then kill me right now.” The Lord said to Moses, “Choose seventy leaders from the people and bring them to me. I will take some of the Spirit that is on you, and put it on them. They’ll help you bear the burden of the people.” He also said, “Tell the people to prepare themselves. Tomorrow they’ll have meat to eat. They keep craving … longing … for Egypt, so they’ll eat meat until they’re totally sick of it.” Moses went and told the people this, and then he called the seventy leaders to come before the Lord. When they arrived, only 68 men were there. Two of them were still back in the camp. The Lord took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and put it on the seventy men – all of them. Immediately, the men started prophesying, even the two who were still in the camp. Joshua said to Moses, “Tell those two men to stop!” Moses said, “Oh Joshua, don’t be jealous for me. I wish that God’s Spirit would fall on all his people.” The next day, the Lord sent a wind that blew quail in from the sea. They dropped down to about three feet off the ground, and covered an area in all directions as far as a man could walk in a day. People went out and caught them. They worked all day and into the night. The person who gathered the smallest amount of quail, still gathered thirty-three bushels full. Every family was able to get a large amount of meat for their family. Still, God was angry with them because they longed for Egypt and wouldn’t trust his care for them. So, as the people were eating the meat – while it was still between their teeth – God struck them with a plague. Many died at that place and were buried there. So the people called it, “Graves of the Craving.”

God gave exact instructions to the people of Israel for how they were to worship him. Aaron, the brother of Moses, was chosen to be the high priest, and his sons were to serve with him. When Aaron would eventually die, they would replace him as high priest. The congregation gathered at the Tabernacle for the ordination of these men. Moses anointed them with oil and made sacrifices to the Lord. He told Aaron and his sons that their ordination would last for seven days, and they were not leave the Tabernacle until it was over. Aaron’s oldest two sons were Nadab and Abihu. During this time of ordination, they decided on their own to burn incense before the Lord. But they hadn’t yet been told how to do that. So they didn’t know they were to use live coals from the altar. Since they didn’t know that, they put coals from a common fire in to their censers. As soon as they came into the presence of the Lord, fire blazed out and killed both men. Everyone was shocked, but nothing could be said. Moses had some men take the bodies out of the camp. He told Aaron and his other sons that they had to continue with the ordination since they had already been anointed with oil before the Lord. This meant that they couldn’t properly mourn their loss. So the rest of Israel mourned the death of the two men, while their father and brothers continued at the Tabernacle. On the second anniversary of leaving Egypt, the people of Israel celebrated Passover. They were still at Mount Sinai. A cloud hovered over the Tabernacle during the day, and it looked like fire at night. God had told them that as long as the cloud hovered there, they were to stay where they were. But if the cloud lifted, they knew it was time to continue their travels. One month later after celebrating Passover, it was time for them to move toward the land of Canaan. As the people watched, the cloud lifted and they set out from the mountain of God. They traveled toward the place where they were to enter the land of Canaan. Within a short time, the people started complaining openly about their hardships. This made the Lord angry and he sent a fire among them, especially around the edges of the camp. Many people died. So the others ran to Moses for help. He prayed for them and the fire stopped. They named that place “Burning.”

Because the people of Israel had worshipped the golden calf, Moses went up the mountain and begged the Lord to forgive them. He said, “O Lord, your people have sinned against you. If you will forgive their sins …” He couldn’t continue, but finally said, “If you can’t forgive them, blot me out of your book.” The Lord said, “I’m not blotting your name out of my book, but I will blot out the names of the people who sinned against me.” Then God struck the people with a plague and many died. After that, the Lord told Moses, “Lead your people to the land I promised them. I won’t go with you, but I’ll send my angel to guide you. If I lived among these obstinate people for even a moment, I’d destroy them.” Moses went down and told the people that God wouldn’t live among them. The people broke down and cried. They grieved that their sin had cost them so much. Moses went outside the camp and set up a meeting tent so he could talk with the Lord. As the people watched, the cloud of God came down and stood in front of the tent. There, Moses and God talked. Moses said, “If I’m your friend, and if you’re pleased with me, then live among us. We want you to lead us. If you refuse, then we’ll stay here. Don’t make us leave. Without you among us, we’re no different from anyone else!” The Lord replied, “You’re my friend, and I’m pleased with you. Therefore, I’ll do as you have asked.” Then the Lord told Moses to cut out two more stone tablets and bring them up the mountain. Once there, the Lord said, “This is my agreement with you and your people. I’ll force the people out of Canaan with great miracles, but you must obey my commandments.” Moses stayed on the mountain and wrote down all the laws and commandments of God. He also wrote the Ten Commandments on the two tablets of stone. He was there for forty days and forty nights, and didn’t eat bread or drink water. Afterwards, he went back to the people with God’s commands. He didn’t realize his face was glowing because of all the time he had spent with the Lord. This made the Israelites afraid, so Moses wore a veil when he talked to the people. He told them all the commandments the Lord had given him. He said, “It’s time to build the Tabernacle, God’s dwelling place. Therefore, those who are willing to give an offering to the Lord are to bring gold, silver, bronze, special yarn, fine linen, animal skins, woods, oils, spices, stones, and gems. We need skilled craftsman who will dedicate themselves to build the Tabernacle, the tent that will surround it, and the furniture inside.” The next day, people started bringing the things needed to build the Tabernacle. Skilled craftsmen came to do the work. Day after day, the people brought their gifts until finally Moses sent out word, “Stop bringing offerings. There is more than enough!” The people were careful to build the tabernacle exactly as God had told Moses. It was finished exactly two years after they left Egypt – to the very day. Moses inspected the work and found they had done just as the Lord had commanded, so he blessed them. Then a cloud came and hovered over the tent. As the people watched, the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. So from that day on, in all of their travels, the Lord was with them.

Moses stayed with God for forty days and forty nights. The people grew restless, and finally they went to Aaron and said, “We don’t know what’s happened to Moses. Make us a god we can see, one that will be with us.” So they gave Aaron their gold earrings, and he melted them down. He then formed the gold into the shape of a calf. The people were happy with this and said, “This is the god who brought us out of Egypt!” They sacrificed to it and had a feast. Afterwards they celebrated with a wild party. On the mountain, God said to Moses, “Go down to your people, the ones you brought out of Egypt. They’ve corrupted themselves and turned away from what I told them to do. They’ve made an idol and bowed down to it with sacrifices. Step aside and don’t stop Me. I’ll destroy them and make your descendants into a great nation.” Moses pleaded with God, “Don’t be so angry with your people, the ones you brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. If you destroy them now, the Egyptians will laugh and say you brought them here to kill them. Remember your promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You said their descendants would inherit the land, and become as numerous as the stars in the sky.” So the Lord listened to Moses and didn’t destroy the people. Moses then went down the mountain with the two stone tablets God had given him. He got angry when he saw the calf and the dancing. He threw the two tablets down and shattered them on the ground. He burned the golden calf in the fire, ground it to powder, put it in water, and made the Israelites drink it. Then Moses said to Aaron, “Why did you make this golden calf? Look at the people! See how it has caused them to go into deep sin.” Aaron said, “Please don’t be angry with me. You know how wicked these people are. They said, ‘Make us a god.’ I told them to give me their gold. I threw it into the fire and … out came this calf!” Moses then stood at the gate of the camp. He saw how the people were still out of control. He shouted, “Those who are on the Lord’s side, come and stand with me!” The sons of Levi separated themselves from the rest of the people and stood with Moses. The Lord then commanded them to strap on their swords and fight against those who refused to stand with Moses. Three thousand men died that day. Afterwards, Moses called the people together and said, “You have committed a great sin. I’ll go before the Lord, and maybe I can make an atonement for you.” With that, he went back up the mountain.

The Israelites came to Mount Sinai three months after they left Egypt. They set up camp at the base, and Moses went up the mountain to talk with God. The Lord said, “Tell the people, ‘If you obey me and keep my commandments, then you’ll be my treasured possession. You’ll be my holy people among all the nations.’” When Moses told this to the people, they all agreed and said, “We’ll do everything God says!” So Moses went back up the mountain and told God that the people agreed to his conditions. Then the Lord said, “I want them to hear me talking to you so they’ll always trust you. Tell them to spend three days cleansing their hearts and washing their clothes. Then I’ll come down on the mountain and talk to them.” So the people did as they were told. They washed their clothes and dedicated themselves to the Lord. Suddenly, on the third day, the mountain burned with fire. The ground shook, and a cloud covered the entire mountain. There was thunder and lightning, and the people heard what sounded like trumpets that grew louder and louder. Then God said, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt with a mighty hand! You’re not to worship other gods. You’re not to make idols of any kind. You’re to keep my name holy and not misuse it. You’re not to work on the seventh day, but instead, keep it holy. Honor your parents and you’ll live long upon the earth. You’re not to murder. You’re not to commit adultery. You’re not to steal. You’re not to lie to others or about others. You’re not to desire to have anything that belongs to someone else.” The people cried out, “Tell God to stop talking to us. We’ll die if he keeps talking! Let him talk to you, and then you tell us what he said. We’ll listen to you.” Moses said, “Don’t be afraid. God wants you to stand in awe of him, so you’ll stay away from sin.” Then Moses went up the mountain to talk with God. God gave him detailed instructions on how the people were to live their lives and how they were to treat one another. God told how to offer sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins. He also gave instructions on how to build the Ark of God, so he could live among his people. Finally, God gave Moses two tablets of stone with his laws written by the finger of God.

As the people of Israel continued to move toward Mount Sinai, they camped at a place that had no water. They once again complained to Moses, “Why did you bring us here to die? At least in Egypt we had water. Is the Lord really with us?” Moses yelled at the Lord, “What am I to do with these people! I bring them here, and now they’re about to stone me.” The Lord said to Moses, “Take your staff and stand in front of the people. Have some of the elders with you. I’ll stand in front of the rock. Hit the rock and water will come out so the people can drink.” Moses did as the Lord commanded and hit the rock. Water gushed out. It was enough for all the people and the livestock. While they were at that same location, the people of Amalek attacked them. Moses told Joshua to organize the men for battle. Moses then stood on the side of the hill and held his hands in the air. As long as his hands were high in the air, Joshua was victorious. But when his hands came down, the people of Amalek started winning. Moses’ arms became tired and heavy, so he sat on a stone with Aaron and Hur on each sides. They supported his hands, so he could keep them high in the air. The three men stayed there until the sun went down. Joshua was victorious over Amalek. Moses then built a monument and called it “The Lord, My Banner.” Jethro was the father-in-law of Moses. He had watched over his daughter and her two sons while Moses was in Egypt. He brought them back once the Israelites camped at Mt Sinai. Moses went out to greet his family. He told Jethro about what the Lord had done for the people of Israel – how God’s hand was against Pharaoh and the Egyptians. He also shared some of their hardships, and how the Lord delivered them. Jethro then led the people in a sacrifice to God. The next day, Moses sat down to do his work as a judge for the people. Jethro watched as people came with every dispute they had, great and small. It was up to Moses to decide who was right in each case. This went on all day. As he was judging, Moses was also teaching God’s laws to the people. That evening Jethro said, “What you’re doing isn’t good. You’re wearing yourself down, as well as the people. You need to realize that this is too big of a job for one man to handle. Here is some advice, and I believe its God Will for you. “It’s your job to teach the people about the Lord and his commandments. You’re also to represent their needs to God. You must keep yourself free to do this. “So, select some good men who fear God. Make sure they don’t take bribes. If they do, the people won’t trust them. Place them at different levels over one another. Their full time job should be judging the people. “They’re to deal with everyday problems, while bringing the more difficult conflicts to you. The people will be happy with this, but mainly it frees you to do God’s will.” Moses listened to this advice, and followed it. He chose qualified men, and placed them at different levels of responsibility. These men devoted themselves to their new task. Still, all the difficult cases were brought to Moses. After all of this was done, Moses said goodbye to his father-in-law, and Jethro went home.

The people of Israel walked through the Rea Sea on dry ground. Then God killed the Egyptian army when they tried to cross. From there, Moses led the people into the wilderness, toward Mount Sinai. They traveled for three days without finding water. They finally came to a pool, but it was undrinkable. The people complained and said, “What are we going to drink?” The Lord said to Moses, “Cut down that small tree and throw it into the water.” Moses threw the tree into the water, and instantly the water was drinkable. God said, “If you obey me and follow my commandments, you won’t be sick like the Egyptians. I am the Lord who heals you. From there, the Israelites went and camped at a place that had twelve springs. They stayed there a little over a month, and then left and headed toward Mount Sinai. As they traveled, they started complaining, “We should’ve died in Egypt. Yes, we were slaves, but at least we had plenty of food to eat. Every night we had a pot of meat and all the bread we wanted. Here we have nothing.” The Lord said to Moses, “I’m going to rain bread from heaven for the people. But I’ll use this to see if they’ll follow my instructions.” Moses said to the people, “You’re not complaining against me and Aaron. You’re complaining against the Lord. Still, He’s heard you. Tonight you’ll have meat, and in the morning you’ll have bread.” That evening, a flock of quail came and landed in the camp. This provided meat for the people to eat. In the morning, they saw that the ground was covered with heavy dew. When it evaporated, there was something on the ground that looked like frost. The people went and looked at it. They said, “What is it?” They tasted it and it was like a light wafer, sweetened with honey. Moses said, “God will provide this bread from heaven six days out of every week. For the first five days, you’re to gather only enough for one day. On the sixth day, you may gather enough for two days. In this way, you’ll have food to eat on the Sabbath. It won’t appear on the Sabbath. Some of the people disobeyed God’s instructions and gathered more than one day’s worth. The next morning it stunk and was full of maggots. This didn’t happen when they gathered more on the sixth day. It was still good to eat on the Sabbath. Some of the people went out to gather bread on the Sabbath, but found that there was none. The people called the bread manna, which means, “What is it?” God provided manna for them for the entire forty years they were in the wilderness.

God led the Israelites out of Egypt by what appeared to be a pillar of fire. The fire became a pillar of cloud during the day. God didn’t lead them straight to Canaan along the most direct route, but took them out into the wilderness toward the Red Sea. He told Moses to have the people camp at a certain location next to the Sea. He said, “I’m going to make Pharaoh stubborn one more time, and he’ll chase after you. After that, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” Pharaoh saw that the Hebrews had gone to the Red Sea, and were hemmed in and vulnerable. He said to his servants, “Why did we let our slaves go? They should be here, serving us.” So he took his army and chased after them. The people of Israel saw this and yelled at Moses. “Why have you brought us here to die? If we were still serving the Egyptians, they would let us live. But now, because of you, we’re about to die.” Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid! Watch and see what God is about to do. He’ll fight your battle for you. Look at the Egyptians! You’ll never see them again after today.” God said to Moses, “Lift your shepherd’s staff in to the air, and point your hand out over the sea. The people of Israel are going to the other side – on dry ground.” Then the pillar of cloud that was in front of the Israelites moved behind them – between them and the Egyptians. It stayed there the rest of the day and into the night. Moses pointed his hand toward the sea. And when he did, God caused a strong wind to sweep back the waters, so they formed a wall on the right side and on the left. And then the wind blew on the path between the two walls for the rest of that day and into the night – until the ground became dry. That night, God told Moses and the Israelites to cross over to the other side, using the path between the walls of water. The people moved across the sea throughout the night. Once they were across, God allowed the Egyptians to chase after them, using the same path. When they were in the middle of the sea, God caused them to be totally confused, and their chariot wheels started to break. Suddenly, the Egyptian army saw the seriousness of their situation. They shouted, “Run! The Lord is fighting for the Israelites!” They turned and tried to run for safety. God said to Moses, “Point your hand out over the water.” So Moses pointed his hand toward the sea just as the sun was about to come up. Suddenly the walls of water crashed together, covering the entire Egyptian army. Not one of them survived! The Israelites watched the power of God from the other side of the sea. And as the sun rose that morning, they saw the dead bodies washed up on the shore. Then the people worshiped the Lord with singing. They had seen the power of God and believed in Him, and they believed in His servant Moses.

Moses went to Pharaoh and said, “If you don’t let the Israelites go, God will send locusts like you have never seen. They’ll cover the land and eat anything that wasn’t destroyed by the hail.” Pharaoh’s officials begged him, “Please let them go. Egypt is already destroyed!” So Pharaoh said to Moses, “The men may go and worship.” Moses said, “When we leave, we’ll take everyone with us – men and women, young and old. We’ll also take our animals with us.” Pharaoh became angry, “Absolutely not!” He then had them thrown out of his court. The next day Moses stretched out his staff, and the locusts came. Never had such a swarm of locusts invaded Egypt. They ate every green thing on the land. They were everywhere and even invaded the houses. Pharaoh quickly called for Moses. He said, “I’m sorry for my sin. Please ask God to take the locusts away.” Moses prayed to God, and a wind carried the locusts into the Red Sea. Not one remained. When they were gone, Pharaoh again turned against God and the Israelites. God then told Moses to stretch his hand toward the sky. When he did, darkness covered the land of Egypt. It was so thick, the people could feel it, and they couldn’t see anything. It lasted for three days. Still, the Israelites had light in their homes. Pharaoh called Moses to him and said, “I’ll allow your people to go worship in the desert, but leave your flocks and herds.” Moses shook his head. “No! We’ll take everyone and everything, including the animals.” Pharaoh once again became angry. “I’m not letting the people go. Now get out of here and don’t ever come back! Mark my word. If I ever see your face again, you’ll die!” The Lord told Moses, “I’ll bring one more plague upon the Egyptians, and then Pharaoh will let the people go. He’ll insist that you leave!” “Give my people these instructions. Each family is to select a one-year-old male lamb with no defects. They are to kill it and smear its blood above the door and on the doorposts. The people are to stay inside their houses. They won’t be safe outside of their houses.” “Roast the meat of the lamb and eat it with your coats and sandals on, as if in a hurry. If it’s too much for one family to eat it all, they’re to invite another family to join them.” “At midnight I’ll go throughout the land of Egypt and kill the firstborn of every family – from Pharaoh’s house down to the lowest slave. But when I see the blood on your houses, I’ll pass over you and won’t kill your firstborn.” The Israelites did exactly as God instructed. That night, the Lord moved across the land of Egypt and killed the firstborn of every household. He even killed the firstborn of their livestock. There was loud crying and screaming in the night, because no household escaped this judgment of God. Yet, the Lord passed over the houses of the Israelites when he saw the blood on their doorposts. Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and yelled at them, “Go! Go! Take your people, take your flocks, and go.” All the Egyptians wanted the people to go because they were afraid that they might all die! They gave them things made of gold and silver. So the people left, while it was still night. From that day on, the Israelites were to observe the Lord’s Passover every year. It was to be a reminder of what God did for them that night.

The Lord told Moses and Aaron to go to Pharaoh in the morning when he was walking next to the Nile River. Moses said, “Because you refuse to free our people, the waters of Egypt will turn to blood. The fish will die and the water will be undrinkable.” Aaron then struck the water with his staff and it turned into blood. The court magicians also turned some water into blood. Therefore Pharaoh ignored Moses and Aaron. Soon the water throughout the land turned to blood and was undrinkable. The people had to dig wells to find fresh water. After seven days, Moses told Pharaoh, “Because of your stubbornness, frogs will infest your land.” So Aaron stretched out his staff, and frogs started coming up out of the rivers and lakes. The magicians also made some frogs appear. Soon there were frogs everywhere. They went to every city street. They got into people’s houses and into their food – and even into their beds! Pharaoh said to Moses, “I’ve changed my mind. Your people can go into the wilderness and worship their God. Ask Him to get rid of the frogs.” Moses asked, “When do you want the frogs to leave?” Pharaoh said, “Tomorrow.” The next day the frogs died, and people gathered them up into big piles. Soon they started to stink! Pharaoh then changed his mind and refused to let the people go. Next, Aaron struck the ground with his staff and the dust turned into lice. Soon, all the people and animals throughout Egypt were infested with lice. Pharaoh’s magicians were unable to do this. They said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God!” Still he wouldn’t let the people go. Next, God sent swarms of flies to cover the land. But there were no flies in the part of Egypt where the Hebrews lived. Pharaoh agreed to let the people go. Moses said the flies would be gone the next day, but he added, “Take care. Don’t change your mind again!” However, that is exactly what he did. Once the flies were gone, Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let the people go. God sent a plague upon the livestock, but again it didn’t affect the livestock of Israel. Pharaoh became more stubborn, and refused to let the Hebrews go. Moses took a handful of ashes and tossed it into the air. It became a fine dust that spread through all of Egypt causing boils on all the people and animals. The magicians couldn’t stand before Pharaoh because of their boils! Pharaoh was angry, and refused to listen to Moses. God had told Moses that Pharaoh would act like this. Moses went to Pharaoh with a special message from God. He said, “Up to this point I’ve restrained My hand against you. Now, My plagues will be directed toward you and your people. When I’m done, all the nations on earth will know I am the Lord!” “Tomorrow I’ll send a hailstorm like you’ve never seen before! All people and animals are to stay under shelters, or they’ll die!” The next day, fierce hail mixed with fire came down and ruined the crops that were in the fields. Yet, the hail didn’t fall in the land where the Israelites lived. Some of the Egyptians did as Moses told them. They put their animals and slaves under shelters. But others didn’t, and their livestock and slaves died in the storm. Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron. “I know I’ve sinned. I’m wrong and God is right. Please pray and ask Him to stop this storm. I’ll let your people go.” Moses said, “This storm will stop as soon as I leave here.” He started to leave, then turned to Pharaoh. “I know you don’t fear God.” And it was true. As soon as Pharaoh saw the storm and the hail stop, he stubbornly turned against God and the people of Israel.