Covenant + LawSample

Why did God give Israel the Law?

God gave Israel the law to teach them how to live and to show the world what He is like. The whole law is summarized in the greatest commandments.

God’s people, the Israelites, had just come out of their slavery in Egypt. They’d been there for generations, for centuries. Their great-great-great-great-great grandparents had been enslaved to Pharoah. And God had rescued them. Through a series of miracles, He’d brought them through the Red Sea to Mount Sinai because they were His special people.

But what happened next was surprising, shocking, and even scary. Thick clouds of lightning and smoke wrapped around Mount Sinai. The Israelites were far too scared to approach. You can imagine what they thought. What is happening? Had God brought them out of Egypt only to destroy them at this mountain? 

One Israelite whom God had appeared to—Moses, their leader—approached the mountain and slowly wound his way up to the top, into the middle of the thick clouds. And he stayed there for hours, then days, and then weeks.

Many of the Israelites thought that he had died. And, many were ready to make new plans, until one day a bright-shining Moses slowly made his way down the mountain.

What had happened to Moses in that cloud? 

And then they could see it: two tablets of stone, with writing on each one. God had not forgotten His promises to Abraham and to his children. God was not going to leave Israel on her own. He’d given His people the law, instructions on how to live life: He would be their strength and guide as they faced the challenges ahead.

Spend some time today thinking about the fact that, no matter how dark and confusing the clouds in your life get, God has not given up on you. Just as with Israel, God has not brought this far to leave you alone. He’s going to give you instructions and be your guide because He loves you.