Three months after leaving Egypt, the Israelites arrived at the wilderness of Sinai. They camped there, in front of the mountain, Mount Sinai, the same mountain where Moses had seen the burning bush.

It was an imposing mountain, high and rocky, rising out of the desert. And it was a holy place, because God had chosen that mountain to meet with his people.

Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying:

Moses came down and delivered the Lord's words to the people. All the people answered with one voice:

"All that the Lord has spoken, we will do!"

The Lord said to Moses:

"Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day, because on the third day the Lord will come down, in the sight of all the people, on Mount Sinai."

God was about to reveal himself to the people in a way he had never done before. The whole nation would see and hear the glory of God.

Moses also told the people:

"No one is to go up the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely die."

On the third day, at dawn, there were thunders and lightnings over the mountain, a thick cloud, and a very loud trumpet blast. All the people in the camp trembled.

Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. The sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Moses spoke, and God answered him.

It was a glorious and awe-inspiring display of God's power. The people saw it and trembled. They had never witnessed anything like it.

Then God spoke all these words:

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

1. You shall have no other gods before me.

God revealed himself as the only true God. Israel was not to worship the idols of Egypt, nor the gods of Canaan, nor anything else. The Lord alone is God.

2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or on the earth beneath.

God cannot be reduced to a statue. He is Spirit and must be worshiped in spirit and truth.

3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

God's name is holy and must be treated with reverence, not used carelessly or to swear falsely.

4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.

God established a day of rest, remembering that he rested after creation. It is a day for worship, for rest, and for remembering that God is the Creator.

5. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land.

This is the first commandment with a promise. Honoring our parents brings blessing and teaches respect.

6. You shall not kill.

Human life is sacred, created in God's image, and must be protected.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

Marriage is holy and must be protected. Faithfulness in marriage reflects God's faithfulness to his people.

8. You shall not steal.

What belongs to others must be respected. God is the owner of everything, and we care for what he gives us.

9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Truth is sacred. Lying hurts people and hurts justice.

10. You shall not covet your neighbor's house, or his wife, or his servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

This commandment speaks to the heart. It is not enough not to do evil: we should not even desire evil. God sees the heart.

All the people witnessed the thunder, the lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the smoking mountain. Seeing this, the people trembled and stood far off. They said to Moses:

"You speak to us, and we will listen. But do not let God speak to us, or we will die!"

The people felt such awe before God's holiness that they did not want to hear his voice directly. They asked Moses to be the mediator between them and God.

Moses said to the people:

"Do not be afraid, for God has come to test you, and so that the fear of him may be before you, so that you do not sin."

The people stood far off, but Moses drew near to the thick cloud where God was. There, God gave Moses more laws and instructions for the people.

Later, God called Moses to come up the mountain, and there Moses stayed forty days and forty nights. God wrote the Ten Commandments on two tablets of stone. The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved by his own finger. They were a gift from God to his people: his words, written by his own hand.

The Ten Commandments were not just rules. They were Israel's constitution as the people of God. They showed how to live in relationship with God, in the first commandments, and with our neighbor, in the last ones.

They were founded on love: to love God above all things and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Centuries later, Jesus would sum up the whole Law in these two commandments.

The commandments also showed God's holiness and revealed human sin. No one could keep them all perfectly, and this pointed to the need for a Savior who would come: Jesus Christ, who would fulfill the Law perfectly in our place.

The tablets of the Law would be kept in the Ark of the Covenant, in the most sacred place of the Tabernacle, a reminder that the Word of God is precious and should be at the center of his people's life.

Mount Sinai was a decisive moment in Israel's history. It was when God gave his Law, established his covenant, and revealed how his people should live. And the principles of those commandments still hold today: love God above all things, and love your neighbor as yourself.