Study Desk

Then God said to Moses, "These are the laws for living that you will give to the Israelites:

then the slave's master must take him to God. The master is to take him to a door or doorframe and punch a hole through the slave's ear using a sharp tool. Then the slave will serve that master all his life.

But if a person kills someone accidentally, God allowed that to happen, so the person must go to a place I will choose.

But if the thief is never found, the owner of the house must make a promise before God that he has not stolen his neighbor's things.

"Suppose two men disagree about who owns something—whether ox, donkey, sheep, clothing, or something else that is lost. If each says, ‘This is mine,' each man must bring his case to God. God's judges will decide who is guilty, and that person must pay the other man twice as much as the object is worth.

That neighbor must promise before the Lord that he did not harm or kill the other man's animal, and the owner of the animal must accept his promise made before God. The neighbor does not have to pay the owner for the animal.

"Destroy completely any person who makes a sacrifice to any god except the Lord .

"You must not speak against God or curse a leader of your people.

"You must celebrate the Feast of Weeks. Offer to God the first things you harvest from the crops you planted in your fields. "You must celebrate the Feast of Shelters in the fall, when you gather all the crops from your fields.

"So three times during every year all your males must come to worship the Lord God.

"You must bring the best of the firstfruits of your land to the Holy Tent of the Lord your God. "You must not cook a young goat in its mother's milk.

If you worship the Lord your God, I will bless your bread and your water. I will take away sickness from you.

and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was a surface that looked as if it were paved with blue sapphire stones, and it was as clear as the sky!

These leaders of the Israelites saw God, but God did not destroy them. Then they ate and drank together.

So Moses and his helper Joshua set out, and Moses went up to Sinai, the mountain of God.

Spend seven days making the altar ready for service to God and making it holy. Then the altar will become very holy, and anything that touches it must be holy.

I will live with the people of Israel and be their God.

And they will know that I am the Lord their God who led them out of Egypt so that I could live with them. I am the Lord their God.

Once a year Aaron must make the altar ready for service to God by putting blood on its corners—the blood of the animal offered to remove sins. He is to do this once a year from now on. This altar belongs completely to the Lord 's service."

and mix all these things like a perfume to make a holy olive oil. This special oil must be put on people and things to make them ready for service to God.