unit 5: life of moses ot5.8 god speaks at mt. sinai lesson · ot5.8 god speaks at mt. sinai...

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OT5.8 God Speaks at Mt. Sinai ©Beverly Wilson 2017

Unit 5: Life of Moses OT5.8 God Speaks at Mt. Sinai Lesson

Scripture: Exodus 19-23

Lesson Goal: With His mighty power God had led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Moses was the leader of God’s people. In this lesson we will learn how God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses and the Israelites as a guide for living. We will see how God used these rules to show us why we need Jesus to be our Savior.

Introduction: This is the eighth lesson in Unit 5: Life of Moses. With His mighty power God had led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Moses was the leader of God’s people. In this lesson we will learn how God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses and the Israelites as a guide for living. We will see how God used these rules to show us why we need Jesus to be our Savior. The lesson is found in the second book of the Bible called Exodus. Exodus is in the Old Testament. Exodus is a word that means exit because it tells how Israel left Egypt. Exodus follows the Book of Genesis and is one of the books of Law. The books of the Law are the first five books in the Old Testament. Let's say the books of Law together: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Attention Getter: “Traffic Signs”

(Bring to class pictures of various road signs and let children see if they can identify the direction that is given in the sign OR print the template of signs below on poster board. )

Why do we have rules? Can you imagine driving around town if there were no rules? All the cars would crash into each other and people wouldn't be able to get across the street! It would be so confusing! Rules for the road are often posted on traffic signs. They tell people when to stop, how fast to go and warn about danger ahead. Traffic laws are important to follow so everyone can be safe.

Can you imagine playing a game without rules? How would you know how to play? How would you know who was the winner? Rules are important to follow in order to have fun! What would it be like to play a ball game without rules? You would not know when to chase the ball, or when to kick it. Boundaries are important so you know where to run and how far to go. Rules are important because they give us boundaries.

Today we are going to talk about the rules that God gave to us about how to live peaceful and joy-filled lives. These rules are called the Ten Commandments. They are found in the book of Exodus.

Opening Prayer: Let's pray. Dear Lord, thank You for choosing us as your special people and giving us Your loving laws to keep us safe. Help us to keep Your commandments. We know that we have “jumped the fence” and sinned against you. Please forgive us of our sins. Help us to believe in you as our Savior and help us to obey you. Thank you for dying on the cross to pay for our sin. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Memory Verse: The memory verse is Exodus 24: 3 "Everything the Lord has said we will do." Lesson Video: https://youtu.be/w7XWjb97Rrg Thousands of years ago God chose the Israelites to be His special people. They had been slaves in Egypt and cried out to God for help. God heard their prayers and sent them a leader named Moses to rescue them. God promised Moses that He would bring the children of Israel from Egypt and lead them to the Promised Land.

https://youtu.be/w7XWjb97Rrg

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God first send ten plagues to Egypt to make the Pharaoh let the children of Israel leave. These included turning water to blood, killing animals with disease, hail, frogs, and finally allowing the first born child to die. Finally the Pharaoh allowed Israel to leave Egypt. As the children of Israel were leaving Egypt they came upon the Red Sea. Moses prayed and God parted the Red Sea. The Israelites escaped by walking through a wall of water on dry ground. After escaping through the Red Sea, the children of Israel kept traveling through the wilderness over the desert sand, heading to a new country, the land that God had promised to Abraham. During the day God set a big cloud to move across the sky in front of them. At night God sent a pillar of fire to guide them. The fire lighted the camp of the Israelites so even at night they could see their way! God wanted the people to know that He was with them on their journey to the Promised Land. God provided everything that the children of Israel needed in the wilderness. He turned bitter water into fresh water at Marah so they could be refreshed. He provided manna or bread from heaven every morning so they would have something to eat. On the sixth day of the week there was enough bread for the people to rest and worship God on the seventh day. Three months after crossing the Red Sea the Israelites camped in the desert at the foot of Mount Sinai. It was here that God was going to give them some important instructions about how they should live and how to worship Him. Moses knew this mountain as a special place where God spoke because it was here that God had spoken to him before through the burning bush! Moses climbed up the mountain where God spoke to him again. "You have seen how I brought you out of Egypt. Tell the Israelites, if you obey me, out of all the nations I will make you my treasured people, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Moses climbed back down the mountain to tell the leaders of the people or elders what God had promised. He told them how God had chosen them to be His special people. God wanted them to be spiritual leaders to show everyone else how to live according to God's way. He wanted them to show everyone the Way to everlasting life with him. Together they responded, "We will do everything the Lord has said." Moses climbed back up the mountain to give God their answer. Moses understood that God wanted the Israelites to be the one nation that God had chosen to be the one in whom His Son Jesus would be born. They were to be a blessing to the whole world by being the family that would bring salvation to everyone! God told Moses, "I am going to come to you in a thick cloud so the people will hear me speaking to you and will trust you." Moses reported that the Israelites had said they were ready to fully obey God. You see, before leading the people into the Promised Land, God had to teach them what it meant to be His special people. They had to learn how God wanted them to live. "Tell the people to get ready to dedicate or consecrated themselves today and tomorrow," God commanded, "Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day because that's when I will come down." The people had to prepare themselves to be in the presence of God. Washing their clothes would remind them how pure and clean they needed to be in the presence of God. They were stop their daily routine in order to hear what God had to say. God told Moses to put a limit or fence around the mountain to keep the people safe. If anyone touched the mountain they would die. Even the animals were not to touch the mountain or they would die! Only when the ram's horn sounded a long blast could they approach the mountain. Moses gave everyone God's instructions. They washed their clothes and prepared to dedicate themselves to God. They built the limit or fence to keep people from going up the mountain. This fence was to show the people that the laws God was going to give them would keep them safe! On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning and a thick cloud over the mountain.

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There was the sound of a loud trumpet blast and everyone was afraid and trembled. Moses led the people to the foot of the mountain. The Lord descended on to Mount Sinai in fire. Smoke billowed up like a furnace and the whole mountain shook. The sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. God wanted the people to know that He was serious! God called Moses to come to the top of the mountain. Moses bowed down because He knew He was on holy ground! "Warn everyone to stay outside the limits around the mountain, and set it apart as holy." God told Moses. "Then return to the top of the mountain with Aaron." Moses went down to warn everyone that the mountain was holy and they must not approach any closer. Then he and Aaron climbed back to the top. . God then gave His laws for living to please Him. "You shall have no other gods before me." "Don't make anything to be worshipped or bow down and worship anything but the Lord God." "Don't misuse the name of the Lord your God." "You are to work for six days but the seventh day is a rest day set apart for God. "Respect your father and mother so you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you." "You shall not murder." "You shall not commit adultery." "You shall not steal." "You shall not tell lies." "You shall not envy after anything belonging to someone else." "The people below remained at a safe distance trembling with fear. Moses came down from the mountain. Moses then told the people, "Don't be afraid. God wants you to respect Him and obey Him. If you obey these rules you will have peaceful and joy-filled lives.” Then God gave Moses more instructions to help the people live at peace with Him and each other. Moses wrote down God's laws and then told everyone what God had commanded. God especially warned the people. He said again, "Do not make any false idols or gods of silver or gold." "We will do everything the Lord has said,” they all replied. Moses wrote down everything that God had commanded them to do. The next morning Moses built an altar to God at the foot of the mountain. Young bulls were sacrificed and half of their blood was splashed on the altar with the rest put in bowls. Moses then read God's laws to everyone again. When the people heard all the Lord's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the Lord has said we will do." Moses then sprinkled the blood on them and said, "This is the blood of the agreement or covenant God has made with us.” Moses then led the leaders up the mountain where they saw God but He spared their lives. Under God's feet was something that looked like a pavement of bright blue marble as clear as the sky. The leaders ate and drank on the mountain.

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God then asked Moses to come to the top of the mountain on his own where he would write His commands on tablets of stone. Joshua, who had led the Israelites into battle against the Amalekites, accompanied Moses halfway up Mountain Sinai where he waited for him to return. The cloud covered the mountain for six days and then on the seventh God called to Moses. He went into the cloud where he stayed for 40 days and nights. This time God wrote down the Ten Commandments on tablets of clay. The Ten Commandments are not just ten good ideas. They are ten holy commandments from God who made us and knows what is best for us. If everyone everywhere always obeyed these rules, they would have peaceful and happy lives. When Moses told the people all the Lord's words and laws, they responded with one voice . Exodus 24: 3 ", "Everything the Lord as said we will do." That is our memory verse. You see, God gave the Ten Commandments so people would know how to live perfectly. If people obeyed the rules there would be no anger, sadness, or jealously, or anything evil. People would be doing God's will on Earth as it is in heaven. Let's say our verse again. Exodus 24: 3 "Everything the Lord as said we will do." Unfortunately the Israelites did not always keep all of God's commandments. When we disobey God's rules that is called a sin. God says that we are all like sheep in a pasture. Sometimes sheep do not always do what the shepherd tells them to do. They "jump the fence." They are naughty and do not obey. We are like the sheep. We are naughty and do not obey God's commandments all the time. The Bible says, “No one is righteous or blameless--not even one.” Romans 3:10. So why did God give us laws that He knew we could not keep. He gave us these rules to show us what sin is. The Ten Commandments prove that we are sinners. We are not perfect. These rules show us that we can't be good enough to go to heaven on our own. You can try all you want, but you just can't be good enough on your own. God wants us to be humble and appreciate what Jesus came and did for us. Our only hope is to run to Him for forgiveness and mercy and rely on what He did for us on the cross. If someone breaks one of God's rules, he deserves to be punished. And he can never deserve to go to heave and live with God. God's Word says, "For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23. We are like this sheep...we are going to die without help! That is why God sent Jesus. He is our good Shepherd. He loves us and came to earth to take the punishment you and I deserve for breaking His rules. You see, if we "jump the fence" or sin there is only one way to get back into the sheepfold. We must confess our sins and ask Jesus to forgive us from sin. Keeping the Ten Commandments will not get us to heaven. Why? Because we cannot keep them! They were meant to show us our need for Jesus to be our Savior. Did you know that Jesus was the only Perfect Person who kept all the Ten Commandments? The only way we can become a part of God's family is to believe that Jesus was the Son of God and that He died on the cross to pay for our sins. When we do that, God makes us a part of His family. We are His child and we can call him Father. You can pray right now and ask Jesus to be your Savior! Remember Obey God's Rules--the Ten Commandments!

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Review Questions: “Obey God’s Rules” Preparation: You will need the wooden letters from the “Scrabble” game. Turn “Scrabble” letters upside down on table top. On white board make blank lines for the letters of the words “Obey God’s Rules.” Ex. ___ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ _____ _____ _____ _____ ______ Have students answer one of the following questions. Correct response will allow the student or team to choose a letter. They can use the letters to try to fill in the correct spelling of the lesson objective. Score may be tabulated for individual students or by teams whichever is desired.

1. Why did God choose the children of Israel to be “His Chosen People”? (He wanted them to be an example to the rest of mankind. He wanted them to be spiritual leaders and show everyone else God’s way.)

2. Why did God tell Moses to have the people wash their clothes before He could speak to them? (Washing their clothes would remind them how pure and clean they needed to be in the presence of God. They were stop their daily routine in order to hear what God had to say.)

3. What happened when God descended on the mountain? (there was thunder and lightning and a thick cloud over the mountain. There was the sound of a loud trumpet blast and everyone was afraid and trembled.)

4. Why did God speak to the people with a majestic display of power? (He wanted to show the people just how awesome and important the Ten Commandments are. He wanted them to know that He was the Sovereign God.)

5. Why did God tell Moses to put a fence or boundary around the mountain? (This fence was to show the people that the laws God was going to give them would keep them safe!)

6. What did the people say when Moses told them the laws God had given? (They said, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.”)

7. When God called Moses to go back up the mountain, who went halfway up with him? (Joshua went halfway up the mountain with Moses.)

8. What did God do while Moses was on the mountain for 40 days and nights? (God wrote down the Ten Commandments on tablets of clay.)

9. What makes the Ten Commandments different from any other set of rules? (They are ten holy commandments from God who made us and knows what is best for us. If everyone everywhere always obeyed these rules, they would have peaceful and happy lives.)

10. Why did God give us laws? (God gave us loving laws to show us what perfection was like and that we needed a Savior. The laws were to lead us to believe in Jesus to be saved.)

11. What would happen if everyone always followed God’s rules? (It would be just like heaven on earth. There would be no anger or jealousy or bitterness or lying or cheating or anything evil.)

12. Why can’t we get to heaven by keeping His laws? (You are not perfect. You could not get to heaven by yourself even if your life depended upon it. You could never be good enough. You have to accept Jesus’ death on the cross to pay for your sins; there’s no other way to heaven.)

13. What is the punishment due a person for not keeping one of the Ten Commandments? (The punishment is death. God’s Word says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23)

14. When we are naughty and “jump the fence” how do we get back in the sheepfold? (We must confess our sins and He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.)

15. How do we become a part of God’s flock? (By coming to Him and saying, “Thank you for dying on the cross and taking the punishment that I deserve.”)

16. Name the Ten Commandments. (1) “You shall have no other gods before me." (2) “Don't make anything to be worshipped or bow down and worship anything but the Lord God." (3) "Don't misuse the name of the Lord your God." (4) "You are to work for six days but the seventh day is a rest day set apart for God.” (5) "Respect your father and mother so you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you." (6) “You shall not murder." (7) "You shall not commit adultery. (8) "You shall not steal." (9) "You shall not tell lies." (10) "You shall not envy after anything belonging to someone else."

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Bible Memory Verse Activity: “Wisdom Keys”

Our memory verse is Exodus 24: 3 "Everything the Lord has said we will do." Have students look the verse up in scripture and repeat it together several times. Say: “God gave the Ten Commandments so people would know how to live perfectly. If people obeyed the rules there would be no anger, sadness, or jealously, or anything evil. People would be doing God's will on Earth as it is in heaven. Repeat the verse again together.” Preparation: Duplicate the key patterns below on yellow or white poster board so that each child will have five keys. Notice that the keys are different shapes. Glue each key to the front of an envelope. Divide the verse into five phrases: (1) Exodus 24:3, (2) “Everything (3) the Lord, (4) has said, (5) we will do.” Duplicate the memory verse so that each child has one slip of paper for each phrase. Put each phrase in a separate envelope and take these envelopes to the wall in various parts of the class room. Be sure to make enough copies of the phrases so that each child has a phrase to put on their key. On the chalkboard, write the following question: “What is the key to wisdom?” Procedure: Give each child the patterns for five keys. Have them color them if you used white poster board and cut them out. Call attention to the question on the board. Explain that the students are going to find the answer to that question. Have the students look around the room and find the envelopes with keys on them. Have them match their key to the key on the envelope and then take one slip of paper from the envelope. When they have gathered all five pieces of the memory verse, have them put the keys in the right order and write the different parts of the memory verse on their keys. When they are finished making their keys, punch a hole in the top of their keys. Give each child a metal binder ring to put in the hole and hold the keys together. Remind the children that God wants us to be wise by obeying Him.

Group Learning Activity: “Climb the Mountain” (Grades K-3) Preparation: You will need a stack of index cards and several pillows. Procedure: Stack the pillow on one side of the play area. Have the children stand on the other side. Say: “In our Bible story Moses left the children of Israel and climbed a mountain where God gave him two tablets with commandments written on them. Each of you will get to climb the pillow mountain and I will hand you two tablets with commandments written on them that God gave to Moses. All the children of

Israel on the other side of the room will count the commandments with me. Then Moses will run back to the children of Israel and tap the next person to come and get some cards. Play until each child has a turn. Then teach the children the following chant:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (tap the first card for each number.) 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (Tap the second card once for each number.) God gave these commandments To all women and men!

Another rhyme to teach is the following: Up the mountain Moses went, (Lift left arm up at an angle while using your right pointer and ring finger to “walk” up your left arm). Ten new rules the Lord God sent. (Hold up ten fingers.) They were written on the stone. (Hold up left hand and write on your palm with right pointer finger.} The Ten Commandments are well known. (Point to your head with your pointer finger.)

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Group Learning Activity: “Limbo” (Grades K-5) Preparation: You will need a broomstick or long wooden stick Procedure: Use a broomstick and let the children line up and go under the stick. No bending forward! Move the stick lower and lower, making it harder to pass under it. This can demonstrate the difference between the world’s standard (easy) and God’s standard (impossible). Say: “With the stick very close to the ground, it is impossible for us to go under it, just like it is impossible to keep all the commandments, even though we try with all of our might. We need the righteousness of Jesus which comes by believing in the Lord Jesus as our Savior to do the things God has commanded us to do. God will enable us to do what He wants us to do. He counts His righteousness as ours.”

Group Learning Activity: “Concentration” Commandment Cards (Grades K-5) Purpose: To help students memorize the Ten Commandments Procedure: You will need index cards and markers. Write the Ten Commandments on index cards (one commandment per card). Make two sets of these so that you have twenty cards in all. Turn the cards face down and mix them up. Play “concentration” where the children match pairs. To set up a game of concentration, first shuffle the cards well and then place each card face down in 4 rows of 5 cards each. Each player takes a turn by turning two cards over. If the cards match, then the player picks up the cards and keeps them. If they don't match, the player turns the cards back over. Say: “God gave us loving rules to protect us and to help us lead peaceful lives with one another. It is important that we learn these rules. We are going to play a game that will help us memorize these rules.”

Group Learning Activity: “Climb Up Mt. Sinai” Relay Race (Grades K-4) Purpose: This game will remind the players that God told Moses to climb up to the top of Mount Sinai to give him the Ten Commandments. Preparation: Using chalk, rope, or tape, mark off a large triangle (approximately 25’ long and 10’ across the bottom). Divide the triangle into two vertical sections. You will need to use 2 Tablet Props. Procedure: Place the tablets in the top section of the triangle. Divide the players into two teams. Have both teams line up at the bottom of the mountain. Players must decide how they will "climb" Mount Sinai (ex. hop on one foot, hop on both feet, back hop or crab walk). At the "GO", first player from each team must hop to the top of Mt. Sinai, grab a tablet, then hop back down the mountain to hand the tablet to the next player on their team. Player goes to the back of the team line and sits down. The next player carries the tablet back to the top of the mountain, leaving it at the top for the next player to retrieve. Then the player hops back down the mountain to tag off to the next player. Play continues like this until all the players have raced to the top and returned with the tablets to the bottom of the mountain. The first team to have all their players hop to the top of Mount Sinai, return with the tablet and sit down, is the winner

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Craft Learning Activity: “Fences” (Grades 2-5) Purpose: Children will build fences to show how God’s laws protect them. Procedure: You will need modeling dough or plastic clay, bag of cotton balls, and for each child 10 wide craft sticks (tongue depressors) and 10 miniature craft sticks (2 ½ inches long.) Show the children how to make fences. To make one fence section glue two wide craft sticks to two miniature craft sticks. Have each child make five fence sections. Have the older children write one commandment on each of the horizontal sections. Let the kids stick the fence posts into pieces of modeling dough so they stand upright. Have each child move his or her fence sections together to form a circle. Scatter the cotton balls on the table outside the fence. Say: “God chose the Israelites to be his special treasure. (Exodus 19:5) Unfortunately they didn’t always keep all of God’s commandments just as we don’t always follow God’s loving laws. God know that we can’t keep all of His commands. That’s why Jesus came to pay the price for sins and become our good shepherd. We become one of God’s sheep by believing in Jesus. Following God’s loving laws does not make us a part of God’s flock, but following those laws does keep us safe and happy. It also shows God how much we love Him when we try to obey His commands.” Note: If you can’t find miniature craft sticks you can use regular sized craft sticks. Before class break the regular craft sticks in half yourself and use a nail file to smooth the jagged edges. You may want to cover each stick with a cloth or paper towel before you break it so you don’t cut your fingers on the broken pieces. You can choose to do this as a class project and let teams work together for a total of ten fences or they can each make a full set of their own and take them home.

Craft Learning Activity: “Model of Mt. Sinai” (Grades K-3) Purpose: Students will make a model of Mount Sinai to remind them of how Moses climbed to the mountain to hear from God. Preparation: Assemble 67 lb. white cardstock, mountain pattern (below), glue, crayons, markers, or colored pencils, scissors, dirt, paper plates, cotton balls, tape. Procedure: Make a copy of the mountain pattern onto 67 lb. cardstock for each student. Have students color the mountain brown and the lightning bolt yellow with crayons, markers, or colored pencils. Cut out the mountain and the lightning bolt on the solid black lines. Ben the two straight edges of the mountain toward each other and tape them together in the shape of a cone. Tape the mountain to a paper plate. Glue cotton balls to the top of the mountain to represent clouds. Glue the lightning bolt to the cotton balls. Optional: Drizzle glue around the mountain and sprinkle dirt on it. As students are working, remind them that God was using this experience on the mountain to make a covenant with the Israelites. God promised the Israelites that they would be His treasured possession if they obey Him. (Exodus 19:5) Loving God requires us to obey His commands.

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Craft Learning Activity: “Moses” Puppet (Grades K-3) Preparation: Print out the template of Moses below on cardstock—one copy for each child. You will need scissors, glue; colored markers or crayons, and large craft sticks. Procedure: Give each student the printed Moses on cardstock. Have children color the pieces as appropriate. Cut out pieces along the outside black line edges. Assemble the Moses in the following order: (1) Glue the beard onto the face. (2) Glue the large blue piece behind the head. (3) Glue the head onto the robe. (4) Glue the shoes under the robe. (5) Glue the commandments into the hands. (6) Glue or tap a large craft stick or small paint stick to the back of the completed Moses. Optional: If you do not wish to make a stick puppet, you can make a background to go with the project. You will need a blue or white 9” X 13” piece of construction paper. Use paint, colored markers, or crayons to color a mountain on the construction paper. Add clouds and sun in the sky if you like or make a nighttime scene with stars and moon.

Snack Learning Activity: “O-bey Donuts” (Grades K-5) Preparation: You will need 1 can of refrigerated biscuits and powdered sugar. Procedure: Take a can of refrigerated biscuits. Flatten them out. Cut out a circle in the middle. (Use a soda pop bottle lid.) Have a skillet ready with hot oil. Fry the biscuits (donuts) in the oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towel. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Or purchase fresh cake donuts. Say: “The donuts are in the shape of O’s. The donut O’s represent the letter “O” in Obey. Every time you have a donut you are reminded to obey. The fifth commandment is “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” (Ephesians 6:1) “A blessing if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I have commanded you this day.” Deuteronomy 11:27

Life Application Challenge: “Fence Me In” Have children write each one of the Ten Commandments on a sheet of paper. Tape the papers to the backs of ten chairs. Have the children use the chairs to form a rectangular “fence.” Remind the students that God told Moses to put up a boundary around the mountain to protect the people. Say: “God’s loving laws are like a fence that will protect us.” Gather the children inside the fence and close in prayer. “Dear God thank you for your loving laws that keep us safe. Thank you for using them to lead us to Jesus. We ask your help in keeping your commandments. When we do fail, please forgive us. Thank you for choosing us as your special people. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

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God Speaks on Mt. Sinai

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Stone Tablets

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Mountain Pattern

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unit 5: life of moses ot5.8 god speaks at mt. sinai lesson · ot5.8 god speaks at mt. sinai...

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