Moses; Part 10: The Mosaic Laws

On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt, they came to the Desert of Sinai. Israel camped there in the desert in front of 
Mount Sinai (Gal 4:25a). The Lord told Moses that
if they obeyed God and kept his covenant, 
they of all peoples would be his precious possession. Though all the Earth is his, they would then be to him a kingdom of priests
and a holy nation. Moses went back and called 
the elders of the people and told them what the
Lord had said. All answered together that they would. (Exo 19:1–8).

See the video from this mountain: Mt. Sinai Location, Mountain of Moses, Altar, Golden Calf, Exodus, Ten Commandments, Midian, Arabia. See also the video:
Secretly climbing the real Mount Sinai in Arabia! The forbidden mountain.

The Lord made a covenant with them (the Mosaic covenant) (Deu 5:2–3).
They should obey what he commanded them (Exo 34:10–11a, 27, Deu 4:14). 
They shouldn't add anything to what the Lord commanded them, nor take anything away from it, but keep the commandments which their God gave them (Deu 4:2, 12:32).

However, the Jews added human traditions to the Mosaic Laws that became equal in authority as the Law, see Jesus Denouncement of the Jewish Religious Leaders. Their traditions take away the word of God (Mark 7:13). 
As Christians, we shouldn't go beyond what is written (1 Cor 4:6).

God wanted the Jews to be holy because he is holy and had brought them out of Egypt (Lev 11:44–45, 19:2). The Lord dwelt in their midst. God's holiness was there. They should make tassels in the corners of their garments. When they looked at them they would remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow their own heart and their own eyes, to be holy to their God.
(Num 15:38–41, Deu 22:12, 26:16–19, Psalm 78:5–8). 

Egypt is an image of slavery, see Typology. As Christians we have been brought out of a life bound in sin, a slavery to sin and are called to be a holy priesthood
(1 Pet 2:4–5), see the last part of The Book of Galatians. Holy means set apart for someone's use. We are set apart for God, we belong to God. Holy isn't the same as righteous. Righteous means to be in right standing with God.

The Lord told Moses that he would come to them in a dense cloud, so that the people would hear him speak to Moses and put their trust in him. The Lord told Moses to tell the people to wash their clothes and be ready on the third day, because on that day the Lord would come down on Mount Sinai in front of all the people. Moses should set boundaries for the people around the mountain and tell them to be careful not to approach the mountain or touch the foot of it. Such a person would be put to death. Only when the horn sounds a long blast can they approach the mountain. On the morning of the third day there came thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. (Exo 19:9–15).

Mount Sinai was covered in smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire (Deu 4:11, 5:5). Smoke billowed from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. The sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. The Lord descended on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up and the Lord told him to go down and warn the people that they should't be forced to come forward to see the Lord and perish. Even the priests who approach the Lord must consecrate themselves, or the Lord would break out against them. Moses should go down and bring Aaron with him. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the Lord. So Moses went down to the people and told them this. (Exo 19:16–25).

God spoke to the people (Deu 4:12, 33, 36, 5:4, 22–24). He said that he is the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
He gave them The Ten Commandments (Exo 20:1–17, 34:6–7, 14, 17, 
Lev 26:1–2, Deu 4:13, 5:7–22, 6:13–15, 7:9–10, Mat 4:10, Luk 4:8). 

When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stood at a distance and told Moses that he would speak to them alone and they would listen. But they didn't want God to speak to them. Moses told the people not to be afraid. God had come to test them, so that the fear of God would be with them to keep them from sinning. The people stood at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was. (Exo 20:18–21, Deu 5:25–29). See Heb 12:18–25 at 
time 28:58–33:58 in DAVID GUZIK SERMON ON EXODUS 19 I AM Revealed.

The Israelites should be holy to the Lord, because he is holy and had separated them from the nations, so that they would be his. (Lev 20:26). The fear of the Lord isn't a fear that causes panic. It's a fear that drives us to live right, to live more holy. It keeps us from sinning. It's a healthy understanding that there are consequences for our actions. (Psalm 111:10a, Proverbs 16:6). See To Fear the Lord in
Fear of Man. The opposite is a lifestyle lived without fear of consequences, or divine potential retribution or judgement, a lifestyle where no one holds me accountable for how I live. The more people get away from God, the more people question authority. We then increasingly become a lawless culture, with increased crime. Many people believe that they are biological accidents of nature, see Evidence for Creation.

As Christians, we know that our sins are forgiven (Rom 8:1), see Salvation. God wants us as Christians living in the New Covenant to be his children. That is what holiness means in its purest form, belonging to God. See also Sanctification.

Then the Lord told Moses that he would tell the Israelites that they had seen for themselves that God had spoken to them from Heaven: 

• They should have no gods beside him; they shouldn't make gods of silver or gold (Exo 20:23). They must worship no other god (Deu 8:19–20,
  Exo 22:18, 20, 1 Cor 10:14, 19–20, Psalm 81:9 (10 in some translations)),
  for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God, see God is jealous
  in God's Attributes. They shouldn't make any idols. (Exo 34:14, 17,
  Deu 4:15–19, 11:16–17, 28). Almost always in the ancient world idolatry was linked to sexual immorality. The worship of the pagan idols was expressed by hiring one of their ritual prostitutes. They must cleanse the land of Canaan from it (Exo 34:13).
• They should make an altar of earth for him and sacrifice on it
  Burnt Offerings and Peace Offerings, their sheep, goats, and cattle. If they made an altar of stones for him, they wouldn't build it with dressed stones, for they would defile it if they used a tool on it. And they shouldn't go up to the altar by steps. (Exo 20:24–26). 
• When they later entered the Promised Land they would build an altar of uncut stones to the Lord on Mount Ebal and write the Mosaic Laws on them. They shouldn't use any iron tool on them. They should sacrifice Burnt Offerings and Peace Offerings on it.
  (Deu 27:1–8, Joshua 8:30–35). This altar has been found, see 
  Evidence that the Jews were in Egypt and that King David has Existed.
  

When the time came for Israel to become a nation, God spent a lot of time establishing laws for the people to follow. To give understanding about morality, 

right and wrong, good and evil, clean and unclean, holy and unholy. How to relate 

to each other and to God himself. The Israelites had never been a nation until now.
It began with The Ten Commandments, that God spoke to the people.
God then speaks to Moses about further guidelines to follow, the Mosaic Laws. 
The Ten Commandments are part of these laws. They are about God's order.
Order is part of who God is, see God's Attributes.

The Mosaic Laws had the following purpose:

1. Israel's possession and enjoyment of the Promised Land depended on their ability to keep the Law and to obey the Law. If not, God would take them out of the land, something that also eventually happened, see Prophet Jeremiah. 
• God told the Israelites about the rewards of keeping the law
  (Lev 26:3–13, Deu 4:1, 6–8, 40, 5:29, 32–33, 6:1–3, 24, 7:12–24, 8:1, 11:8–9, 13–15, 22–25, 27, 12:28, 28:1–14, 29:9, 30:15–16). God even promised healing: "If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer." (Exo 15:26).
• God told the Israelites about the punishments they would receive if they didn't follow the Law (Lev 20, 26:14–39, Deu 4:25–28,
  17:2–13, 19:15–21, 25:1–3, 27:9–26, 28:15–68, 29:16–29,
  30:17–18, Gal 3:10–14).
  The word translated destroyed actually means destroyed with a purpose. God had a plan to use the Jews to bless all the nations of the Earth. A remnant would be spared.
• God told the Israelites what would happen if they confessed their sins when they broke the Law 
  (Lev 26:40–45, Deu 4:29–31, 30:1–5). 
  In the context of God's grace and mercy, there is always a place for repentance. Individuals who repented were spared (Jer 5:15–19).
2. It wasn't a way to be saved (Gal 2:16, Rom 3:20), see The Book of Galatians.
3. The Law reveals God's righteousness and holiness, see God's Attributes, but can't make anyone righteous or holy (Gal 2:21). The Law tells us how far we have fallen, but can't resolve it for us. It tells us we are sinners but can't make ourselves righteous, see Jesus and the Young Rich Man.
4. God doesn't give us the Holy Spirit because we obey the Law (Gal 3:2). 
5. The Law was meant to lead us to Christ, but as Christians we are no longer under the Law (Gal 3:24–25), see Jesus and the Law.

These were some of the Laws that God gave Moses:

• On the treatment of Hebrew slaves (Exo 21:2–11,
  Deu 15:12–18, 23:15–16, 24:7), see time 8:11–13:54 in
  DAVID GUZIK SERMON ON EXODUS 21-23 I AM Your Justice.
• Personal injury (Exo 21:12–25, Num 35:16–25).
• A rebellious son (Deu 21:18–21).
• Retaliation and compensation (Exo 21:26–36).
• Protection of property (Exo 22:1–15, Deu 19:14, Proverbs 23:10–11),
  see time 14:24–19:31 in DAVID GUZIK SERMON ON EXODUS 21-23 . . ..
  
• Inheritance (Num 27:8–11, 36:8–9, Joshua 17:3–6).
• Respect the right of the firstborn (Deu 21:15–17).
• Vows, to keep promises (Num 30, Deu 23:21–23, Lev 19:12).
  We should keep our verbal commitments.
• Social responsibility (Exo 22:21–24, 28–31, 23:4–5, 
  Deu 22:1–4, 8, 24:14–15). 
• Food for the poor (gleaning) (Lev 19:9–10, 
  Deu 23:24–25, 24:19–22, Mat 12:1).
• Charge interest/take security 
  (Exo 22:25–27, Deu 23:19–20, 24:6, 10–13, 17–18).
• Forbidden in the assembly (Deu 23:1–8). It may be about being a member of the decision-making assembly. See this further explained at the end part of The Book of Ruth.
• Justice and proceedings (Exo 23:1–3, 6–9, Lev 19:35–36, Deu 25:13–16, Proverbs 11:1, Amos 8:5).
• Keeping the Sabbath (Exo 23:12, 31:12–17, 34:21, 35:2–3, Lev 23:3).
  
• The Sabbath year (Exo 21:2–11, 23:10–11, Lev 25:1–7,
  Deu 15:1–11, 31:9–13).
• The Jubilee year (Lev 25:8–55).
• Three annual festivals: Festival of Unleavened Bread, Shavuot, and Sukkot, see Three Pilgrimage Festivals. Three times a year all their men must appear before the Lord God of Israel, see God is sovereign
  in God's Attributes. (Exo 23:14–19, 34:18–24, Deu 16:16).
  
• The promise of the land of Canaan (Exo 23:20–33, 34:11–16, 24a),
  see time 21:10–33:54 in DAVID GUZIK SERMON ON EXODUS 21-23 . . ..
• Six cities of refuge (Num 35:9–34, Deu 4:41–43, 19:1–13, Joshua 20).
  These cities were established to protect individuals who had unintentionally killed someone by some accident to prevent revenge due to it.
  It's an act of mercy to reach out to someone and protect them.
• Dealing with unsolved murders (Deu 21:1–9). The reason for this is that the shedding of blood pollutes the land (Num 35:33–34).
• Each person is responsible for his own sin (Deu 24:16),
  see The Book of Ezekiel.
• It was forbidden to eat blood (Lev 17:10–16, Deu 12:16, 23–25, 15:23).
  The reason is that life is in the blood (Lev 17:11a, 14a, Deu 12:23).
• The curse of being hanged on a tree (Deu 21:22–23),
  see the end part of Jesus and the Law.
• When you go to war, see 3.1 The Israelites are a Chosen People
  in Moses; Part 9: Provision from God.
• To marry female captives outside the land of Canaan (Deu 21:10–14).
• Levirate marriage (Deu 25:5–10).
• Forbidden signs of mourning (Deu 14:1).
• Clean and unclean animals to eat (Lev 11, Deu 14:3–21). 
  Jesus declared all food clean (Mat 15:11, 17–20, Mark 7:15–23),
  see Disputable Matters in The Book of Romans.
• Every male must be circumcised when he is eight days old (Lev 12:3). 
  This was also part of the Abrahamic covenant, see The Life of Abraham.
• Purification after childbirth (Lev 12, Luk 2:22–24).
• Leprosy (Lev 13, Num 5:1–4).
• Cleansing of leprosy (Lev 14, Deu 24:8–9,
  Mat 8:1–4, Mark 1:40–45, Luk 5:12–16).
• Uncleanness through dead bodies (Num 19:11–22).
• Laws about bodily discharges (Lev 15).
• Holiness in the camp (Deu 23:9–14). There must not be a disconnect between what God is doing in their midst and the actions of men, see Ananias and Sapphira.
• Marriage violations (Exo 22:16–17, Deu 22:13–30, 24:1–4, Mat 19:3–9),
  see the 7th commandment in The Ten Commandments.
• Laws about forbidden sexual relations (Lev 18, Num 5:11–31, Exo 22:19).
• False giving (Deu 23:17–18). Doing something sinful so that you can do something good isn't allowed. For example, it's wrong to cheat on taxes in order to give more to the Lord.
• Distinction of gender (Deu 22:5), see Homosexuality.
• Laws about paying tithes, see Tithes to the Levites at the end of
  Moses; Part 12: The Aaronic Priesthood.

However, God's mercy triumphs over the Law, as shown in the last part of 
The Book of Ruth.

The Lord told Moses to go up to the Lord with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel. They would worship at a distance, but Moses alone would 
approach the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with Moses at all. When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and Laws, they answered that everything the Lord had said they should do. Moses then wrote down all that the Lord had said. The next morning he built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Then they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. Moses took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They answered that they would do all that the Lord had said; they would obey. Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu
and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel (Deu 5:4). Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky, see God's Throne in Heaven. God didn't raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank. (Exo 24:1–11).

They saw the need of sacrifice, see The Atonement. God gave them a sacrificial system, see Moses; Part 14: Sacrificial System. The purpose of the sacrificial system was to bring atonement for sins in people's lives. The Israelites wouldn't be able to keep the Law, even though they promised they would. They would need forgiveness. The entire sacrificial system in the Old Testament was a pointer to the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, who would die in our place, see The Atonement.

How much they saw of the Lord isn't mentioned. Moses later asked God to see God's glory, but he wasn't allowed to see his face. No man can see God's face and live, see God Shows Moses his Glory in Moses; Part 13: Rebellion and Paganism. 

In Deu 6:4 it says: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!" See this explained in Jesus – I AM. It's followed by "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." (Deu 6:5). These words should be in their hearts, and they should teach them diligently to their children (Deu 6:6–9). Jesus calls this the greatest commandment in the Law (Mat 22:36–38).
In Lev 19:18 it says: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself". Jesus calls this the second commandment which is like the first (Mat 22:39). You should take care of your neighbor and your neighbor's property (Exo 23:4–5, Deu 22:1–4, 8, 
Lev 19:9–10). See also The Golden Rule in The Sermon on the Mount.

For the next part, see Moses; Part 11: The Tabernacle.

For all parts, see Moses; Part 1: Introduction.