You Shall Have No Other Gods:
The Book of Exodus

Lesson 16 God Speaks to Moses on the Mountain
the book of Exodus 19:1–25

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)*
New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)*
Catechism of the Catholic Church
ex libris (in our library)
glossary for the book of Exodus
cross references in the book of Exodus
next lesson: The Ten Commandments

This material coordinates with Lesson 16 on pages 78–81 in the study book You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus.

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And God spoke all these words, saying, ‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”—the book of Exodus 20:1–6

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welcome to our in-depth study of the book of Exodus
We invite interested groups and individuals to check out the sample first lesson from this 28-lesson Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study. These online study pages link to our free lesson video overviews, as well as to a glossary and cross references in the biblical text. Other study aids include maps, additional commentary, and prayers based on the primary Scripture in each lesson. You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus has been granted an imprimatur and can be purchased from our website shop. If you have a Bible-related question or comment, click on one of the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” buttons on any online study page.

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open with prayer
It’s always wise to begin any Bible study with prayer, whether reading the Scriptures alone or meeting with others in a discussion group. You can pray using your own words or use one of the opening prayers on our website. We especially like the following:

Lord Jesus, you promised to send your Holy Spirit to teach us all things.
As we read and study your word today,
allow it to touch our hearts and change our lives. Amen.

let’s review—the book of Exodus 18:1–27
Lesson 15 Moses Receives Wise Counsel looks at an event in the book of Exodus that’s often ignored. Moses’ father-in-law Jethro visits him and the Israelites in the wilderness. He brings with him Moses’ wife and two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. In the future, the Israelites will place much emphasis on the descendants of Aaron, but after this point in Scripture no more will be heard about the descendants of Moses—even though Moses and Aaron are brothers and both have been born into the tribe of Levi. What’s surprising about Jethro’s visit is that during the short time he’s there he acknowledges the superiority of the God of the Hebrews, offers sacrifice to the LORD, and counsels Moses about how to organize the Israelites around a system involving judges and laws. Jethro, who’s described in Scripture as “the priest of Midian,” is a descendant of Abraham but not of Isaac or Jacob. So even though he’s not an Israelite, he’s responsible for pointing out effective ways for Moses to continue functioning as the religious leader of the Israelites. Moses wisely takes his father-in-law’s advice.

map notes—the Israelites are staying put for a bit
There’s no map with the next few lessons. The Israelites are camping out at the mountain of God in the wilderness. Tradition holds that this is Mount Horeb, also identified as Mount Sinai on the Sinai Peninsula. Scholars debate whether this is the same location at which the LORD appeared to Moses in the burning bush, an event described in the third chapter in the book of Exodus (the biblical text for Lesson 3, “God Reveals His Name: ‘I AM WHO I AM’,” in You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus.) There’s some evidence that the mountain Jabal al Lawz on the Arabian Peninsula may be the location at which God first appeared to Moses, and also the location where the people encamped. For more information see the commentary, “Where Is the Mountain of God?” on page 19 in You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus. Click on the map (right) to enlarge it. The original map is included with Lesson 15 on page 77 in the study book and on the online study page for that lesson.

don’t overlook this section of the book of Exodus (01:04:52)
Although this section of the book of Exodus doesn’t receive a lot of attention, it represents a major development in God’s relationship with humanity. On the video for this lesson, Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps discusses how the biblical text reflects the feeling of the people being so near and yet so far from their goal. They can come to the base of the mountain, but they can go no farther. Although not stated explicitly, there’s a sense that surely this isn’t what God has in mind. This represents the state of humanity at this point in time. It’s the problem God is working to fix, which only will be resolved by a better mediator than Moses who can offer a better covenant. The best Moses and this covenant can do is get them to the foot of the mountain. This is a powerful metaphor for the law and the Old Covenant. The people are right to be afraid. In their current state, going up the mountain would mean certain death.

The Scripture ranges for the videos that accompany this Catholic Bible study from Turning to God’s Word match the Scripture ranges for the sets of questions in You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus. You can follow along as Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps discusses Lesson 16, “God Speaks to Moses on the Mountain,” on pages 78–81 in the study book.

the mountain is an important religious image
While there’s scholarly debate over the exact location where God comes to meet his people, there’s no question that the LORD descends on a mountain. Throughout the Scriptures, in both the Old and the New Testaments, mountains regularly are seen as places to encounter God. In the ancient world, people thought that heaven was the place where God dwelt, and this was understood to be a place that men and women couldn’t go. Because it was impossible to go up into the sky (the word translated as “heaven” in Scripture literally means “the sky”), the idea quickly developed that the next best thing to going to heaven was to climb to the highest geographical point possible. In the book of Genesis 11:1–10, the earliest people attempt to build the tower of Babel in order to “make a name for themselves,” a phrase that suggests a desire to become like God by approaching similar heights to where the LORD is thought to dwell. You can learn more about that period of time in salvation history in Lesson 7 Canaan: A Slave of Slaves in the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study In the Beginning: The Book of Genesis.

major spiritual events that occur on mountains
Take a moment or two to think about how many biblical events involve people encountering God on a mountain. In addition to Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush in the third chapter in the book of Exodus, and now God coming down on a mountain to meet the Israelites in the wilderness, there are many other spiritually significant sites recorded in the Bible. When in the book of Genesis 14:18–20 Abram (later renamed Abraham by God) meets Melchizedek (the first priest mentioned in the Old Testament), Melchizedek is described as king of Salem, believed to be the same mountain location that later become Jerusalem. In the First Book of the Kings 19:11–13, the prophet Elijah meets God on Mount Horeb. In the New Testament, all three synoptic Gospel writers describe Jesus’ Transfiguration as taking place on Mount Tabor—the Gospels According to Matthew 17:1–8, Mark 9:2–8, and Luke 9:28–36. The Second Letter of Peter 1:16–18 also refers to the Transfiguration. Although the Gospel According to John doesn’t mention this event, the synoptic Gospels all describe John as being one of the three disciples who accompanied Jesus up the mountain.

what Matthew says—what the mountain represents now
So what’s with mountains for present-day Christians? In the video, Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps points out that drawing close to God always requires that men and women expend energy to move into the realm of holiness. Climbing the mountain entails physical death. It isn’t so much that climbing the mountain kills you as it is that death is much less a big deal when it’s not binding. The restrictions around the base of the mountain (the sacred space where God is) never are lifted. What’s changed as a result of Jesus’ Passion, death, and Resurrection is human tolerance for death and ability to enter into eternal life in the Body of Christ, the Church. Learn more in “Approaching God Is an Uphill Climb” on page 81 in You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus.

pray with the Psalms—what does God’s voice sound like?
A revelation about God that can be traced to the book of Exodus describes the sound of the LORD’s voice, which is heard in thunder—and so cannot be ascribed to any physical source. The first chapter in the book of Genesis describes the voice of God as performative. It’s responsible for bringing about Creation. Psalm 29, known as the “Psalm of Seven Thunders,” includes God’s voice sounding like thunder. In the New Testament, the book of Revelation 10:4 suggests that God speaks through seven thunders, and the book of Revelation 14:1–3 implies that God’s voice sounds like loud thunder. How is the voice of God performative in these Scripture passages; what happens as a result of God speaking? Prayed at Monday Vigils (Weeks I and II), Psalm 29 will be included as part of Lesson 3 You, LORD, Are a Shield About Me and Lesson 17 The God of Glory Thunders, both in the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline, which is scheduled for publication in 2025.

cloud—you could look it up in our archives
The book of Exodus 19:16 describes God descending on the mountain in the wilderness amid thunder, lightning, a loud trumpet blast, and a thick cloud. You can learn more about why the word “cloud” is used as an image for the Holy Spirit and why the LORD might have taken such dramatic steps to ensure that his people were aware of his presence, by reading Lost in Translation, an online column in which Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps helps readers connect with ideas expressed in the original languages of the Scriptures. New Lost in Translation entries are posted on Mondays, and past entries are archived on our website. Contact us if you’d like to receive Lost in Translation by email every week.

ex libris—Sinai gives meaning to the Promised Land
The Spirit of the Liturgy by Pope Benedict XVI looks at how what happens at Sinai is crucially related to the LORD’s motivation for bringing his people out of Egypt and leading them to the Promised Land of Canaan. The Spirit of Liturgy is aimed at helping readers deepen their understanding of the “great prayer of the Church,” and in it the author looks at the essence of worship, the Jewish roots of Christian prayer, and the relationship of the liturgy to time and space. The section on the place of the liturgy in reality deals with the importance of Sinai in God’s plan for the Israelites—and for present-day Christians. At ex libris—main bookshelf, you can learn more about The Spirit of the Liturgy and other works related to Bible study.

“… Now it becomes clear that what took place on Sinai, in the period of rest after the wandering through the wilderness, is what gives meaning to the taking of the land. Sinai is not a halfway house, a kind of stop for refreshment on the road to what really matters. No, Sinai gives Israel, so to speak, its interior land without which the exterior one would be a cheerless prospect. Israel is constituted as a people through the covenant and the divine law it contains. It has received a common rule for righteous living. This and this alone is what makes the land a real gift. Sinai remains present in the Promised Land. When the reality of Sinai is lost, the Land, too, is inwardly lost, until finally the people are thrust into exile. Whenever Israel falls away from the right worship of God, when it turns away from God to the false gods (the powers and values of this world), its freedom, too, collapses.”

the LORD wants to enter into covenant with the Israelites
The nineteenth chapter in the book of Exodus describes a major development in the history of God’s relationship with humanity. Prior to this time, the Old Covenant was enacted with a single person (Abraham) and passed to his son Isaac, who in turn passed it on to his son Jacob after Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for some stew. In this section of the book of Exodus, the LORD now is offering to be in a covenant relationship with all of the descendants of Jacob. You can learn more by reading the vocabulary box, “Covenant,” on page 80 in You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus.

Q&A—where do we find the designation “chosen people”?
A participant in one of our studies asks what Scripture passage refers to the descendants of Jacob as the “chosen people.” Although the term commonly is used to describe Jews, and most people accept that it developed from some event in salvation history, few people are able to identify that event.

Q:  What led to the descendants of Jacob being called God’s chosen people, and where can a description of this be found in Scripture?