27. Commandments from God

Moses told the people they should be ready for God's call. They followed Moses to the foot of Mount Sinai. He told them to stay there and listen for the sound of a trumpet. Then Moses went up the mountain. There God gave him the Ten Commandments for the people to follow. Because God made the earth and the people on it, God knew what would really make them happy.

1. I am your God, and you must not worship other gods.

2. Don't make up any idols or images to worship or serve.

3. Never take God's name in vain.

4. Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy.

5. We must obey and respect our father and our mother.

6. We must not kill one another.

7. We must not commit adultery.

8. We must not steal from one another.

9. We must not tell lies about each other.

10. We must not want something that belongs to someone else.

God gave Moses two stone tablets that had his commandments carved in them. Moses kept these as reminders of God's laws for his people.

The Ten Commandments were God's most important instructions to the people. There were many rules to help guide the Israelites in their daily lives.

God called Moses to Mount Sinai again to hear the covenant made many hundreds of years ago with Abraham. God had done all the things he told Moses he would do. Now he wanted to make a convenant with the people of Israel.

Moses stayed on the mountain for forty days and nights, copying down what God told him. He read to the people all the commandments God wished them to keep.

"If you will keep these laws," Moses told them, "God has promised that you will be a special people."

The people said that they would obey God, so Moses built a big altar and sacrificed some of the animals. Then he took the blood and sprinkled it on the people to remind them of their convenant with God.

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