R&R: reading & reflecting

  “…the people of Israel…came into the wilderness of Sinai.” （ Ex 19:1b ） “ In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month …… the people of Israel   set out by stages from the   wilderness of Sinai. ……” （ Num 10:11-12 ） In the third month after leaving Egypt and entering the wilderness, the Israelites came at last to the wilderness of Sinai, to the mountain of God. In this was fulfilled what the LORD God had told Moses back in 3:12: “you shall serve God on this mountain.” There they made camp (Exod. 19:1–2), and there they would remain for nearly a year (see Num. 10:11). During this extended stay in the wilderness of Sinai, God himself would teach them how to worship and how to live, preparing them to enter the promised land as the LORD’s people and to faithfully live out the life that befits the people of His covenant. With this, the account of Exodus enters a new structure. From here to the close of the book, narrative is interwoven with law ...