Yahweh has rescued Israel from Egypt and freed them from being slaves. In the next 20 readings, we will observe how God starts to transform a group of ex-slaves into a nation that represents Him, the Creator-God of the universe. God says He is Israel’s Father and Israel is His firstborn son. This indicates the kind of loving, intimate relationship He wants to have with them.

Thus, this is a time of nation building. Yahweh wants Israel to grow into spiritual maturity. He wants them to learn to trust Him in all aspects of life. He will provide safety in the wilderness; He will provide the food and water they need; He will protect them from enemies and lead them to military victories. He will lead them to the land He promised to give them. He will also test them, stretch them and train them so they have opportunity to exercise their faith and obedience in Him and grow in the process.

We will see how God formalises His relationship with Israel through the signing of another significant covenant: the Mosaic Covenant. This contract is different from others that God signed because under this covenant, the nation of Israel has obligations to obey. And if they obey His commands, Yahweh will bless the nation as a whole. On the other hand, if the people disobey, God will punish them, or curse them, so that they would realise how badly they are living and change their minds and return to Him.

God also gives instructions to Moses on how manage the people. Moses appoints other leaders to help settle cases of personal disputes. God gives detailed instructions on how to set up their camp and how to build and maintain the Tabernacle, which is the portable tent of worship. There are also instructions for how to dress the priests and what their responsibilities are. When the Tabernacle is completed, God’s presence fills it and so the people know He is with them.

We will also see the people’s failure in obeying God, with one dramatic incident when they worship their own man-made, handmade idol shaped like a calf.

We’ll also see God explain that the only way to approach an all-righteous God is through sacrifice—a substitute animal dying in place of the guilty person. And the most significant demonstration of this truth is the special Day of Atonement that Yahweh put in place. On this, the most solemn of festivals, the high priest will make sacrifices for the nation, to pay for the sins of all the people. This very visual reminder demonstrates what God will provide in order to reconcile people to Him.