MODULE 7: FORMATION

OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD

The Covenant At Mount Sinai
The Ten Commandments

Members:
Coronel,Cristel
Garcia, Andre
Olino, Jomarie
Totanez, M Jane
Villarama, Genaro
By the end of the lesson, the students will be able to:
1. Trace the chosen people’s covenant
relationship with the God of their faith
ancestors.
2. Realize that God’s covenant of Old is
continued for the present Jesus Christ.
3. Assume responsibility for being a part of
the covenanted people.
4. Compare the situations of the people in the
desert with the situations we have today in
our world.
INTRODUCTION :
The people of Israel did not yet see the complete
fulfillment of the promises God made to Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob. It is true, they were already liberated
from the slavery of Egypt. But they were not yet a
community nor did they have their own nation.
To form a people into a community and a nation
would take some time. A good organization and a set of
rules to live by were needed. These the Israelites still
had to obtain. God would continue to help and guide
them in their efforts to become a people and a nation.
1.The Covenant At Mount Sinai

The part of the book Exodus relates another very important stage

in the history of God’s people. Israel’s relation to God would be

regulated by a solemn covenant. This covenant would determine and

guide the whole future of God’s people until it would be renewed and

completed in the new covenant in Christ. The covenant between God

and the people of Israel which was sealed on Mount Sinai is called the

old covenant. The new covenant is the covenant sealed in the Blood of

Christ on the cross.

 A. The Announcement of the Covenant
( Ex. 19; 1-15 )
The people arrived at the foot of Mt. Sinai.
Moses went up the mountain to meet the
Lord. God reminded Moses of his own great
acts through which he had liberated his
people from slavery in Egypt, and of all the
graces he had bestowed upon them.
 A. The Announcement of the Covenant
( Ex. 19; 1-15 )
Then God spoke this very important
words: You shall be my special possession,
dearer to me than all other people, though all
the earth is mine. You shall be to me a
kingdom of priests, a holy nation. Moses was
then asked to pass on to the people this very
important message of God. Moses instructed
the people on how to prepare themselves to
meet God.
 A. The Announcement of the Covenant
( Ex. 19; 1-15 )
God was offering his people a covenant. The kind of covenant God offered

them was similar to the covenants made during those days between a powerful

and a less powerful king. God promised special favors to his people; they

became his special possession, a holy nation. In return the people must

promise to keep his commandments. The people prepared were still external.

Later on God revealed that what he wanted most was a clean heart. The

preparations of the people before meeting God showed their great respect and

reverence for him. Thunder and lightning, smoke and clouds were signs of

God’s presence among the people.

 B.God Declaring His Law.
(Ex. 20: 1-17 )
The basic law of the covenant is the
‘decalogue’ or the ten commandments. The
primary command is the first: You shall not
have other gods besides me. Monotheism- the
belief in and the worship of only one God is
the very heart of the covenant. The first three
commandments regulate man’s relationship
with God. The seven other commandments
speak of our relationship with our fellowmen.
 B. God Declaring His Law.
(Ex. 20: 1-17 )
The reward of fidelity to God’s law will be
great. God promise to accompany them on
their march to the promised land. He would
give them manifold blessings. But he
reminded them once more, the Lord your
God, you shall worship.
The commandments are guidelines for our
relationship with God and man.
C. The Ratification of the Covenant –
The covenant was ratified or sealed in the blood of the
sacrificial animals. For the Israelites, blood symbolized life
itself. One and the same blood united God and his people, one
and the same life bound them together. Through the covenant
the people of Israel had become one family with God as their
head. Members of the same family ought to follow the same
rules. Therefore, in between the sprinklings with blood the
terms of the covenant were read aloud. These terms were
God’s promises, what he would do for his people, and God’s
law, what people had to do. The people will answer in unison:
All that the Lord has said, we will heed (obey) and do.
 D. The Sign of the Covenant –
( Ex. 25: 10 )
When the covenant was sealed there always had to be
a sign by which to remember it. The ark of the
covenant was the sign by which the Israelites were to
remember the covenant. It was a wooden box in which
the two stone tablets on which were engraved the ten
commandments were placed. The ark was placed on a
table equipped with fittings for two poles, which would
make it easy to carry the ark, because wherever the
people go, the ark had to go too. A lampstand was
placed next to the table on which the ark of the
covenant rested.
 D. The Sign of the Covenant –
( Ex. 25: 10 )
* The holy tent
The holy tent or tabernacle could be described as a portable
temple. God’s people lived in tents and did not yet have a
permanent residence. The holy Tent was to be placed at the center
of the camp as a sign of God’s presence among them. The
tabernacle was the dwelling place of God in the midst of his people.
Inside the holy tent there was an altar on which to offer
holocausts to God. A holocausts is a burnt offering. People believed
that the fragrance of the burnt offering was pleasing to God.
Because sacrifices were to be offered to God, priests were needed.
Thus the people of God would now also have their own priests.
 D. The Sign of the Covenant –
( Ex. 25: 10 )
* Its fulfillment
1. The crucifix is the sign by which Christians remember
the new covenant God made with us in Jesus Christ.
2. The holy tent of Christians today is the church, the
dwelling place of God amidst his people. The tabernacle
is the most holy place of the church, because Christ is
present there in the consecrated host.
3. The lamp beside the ark reminds us of the sanctuary
light in our churches which tells us that Christ is
present.
E. The Golden Calf (Ex. 32: 1-6)
The unfaithfulness of the people. Moses had been absent for some

time. People wondered what had happened to him. They were without

a leader. So they urged Aaron, Come, make us a God who will be our

leader. It was hard for the people not to have an image of their God.

The neighboring people had images of their gods.They demanded that

Aaron also make an image for them. A golden calf was made and

Aaron exclaimed: This is your god, O Israel! Then they planned to

have a great feast.

 F. God’s anger an Moses’ intercession
(Ex. 32: 7-19)
The primary demand God had made of his people was, You shall
have no other gods besides me. The people had agreed. Yet now they
had made themselves another god. No wonder that God grew angry
with them and planned to withdrew from them. But Moses
intervened with God in behalf of his people. As soon as Moses came
down the mountain, he noticed the people worshipping the golden
calf. His anger flared up. He threw the stone tablets on which the ten
commandments were engraved. Then he proceeded to destroy the
golden calf. Those who were guilty were punished for their sins. The
rest of the people were asked to repent for their sins and to make up
for them. Moses implored God to forgive the sins of his people.
 G. Renewal of the covenant
(Ex. 34: 1-35)

God saw that he people were very sorry for

their sins. He forgave them and renewed his
covenant with them. Moses was ordered to
engrave the ten commandments once more on
two stone tablets.
 G. Renewal of the covenant
(Ex. 34: 1-35)
The covenant between God and his people is
the most important event of the Old Testament.
It would determine the whole future of God’s
people until the coming of Jesus. Let us recall
the lessons we have learned from this story :
*** God’s great concern and love for his people
is made manifest in the covenant he made with
his people upon his initiative.
God is always the first to offer his love for man.
 F. Renewal of the covenant
(Ex. 34: 1-35)
*** A community without a leader soon loses
its direction and drifts away from its objectives.
*** God’s love is demonstrated as a forgiving
love. Our God is a .
*** The law of God is a help and guide to
protect our relationship with God and man.
Obedience to God’s commands ensures us of
God’s enduring love and numerous blessings.
ELABORATE :
Guide questions:
a. What was the covenant between God and his people?
What conditions were implied in the covenant
relationship?
b. Is this covenant still significant for us today? How?

EVALUATE :
a. What idolatrous act did the Israelites perform during
the time of Moses?
b. What idolatrous acts do people perform today? Why
should we put en end these acts?