Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

About seven weeks after leaving Egypt, the Israelites finally make it to the

wilderness of Sinai at the base of Mount Sinai. We've seen this mountain

referred to earlier in scripture as the mountain of God, and it's probably

also the same place as Mount Horrib. It seems to be one of God's favorite places. Here, God calls to Moses from

out of the mountain and Moses passes his words along to the people.

These people who, as far as we can tell, seem to complain more than they praise, promise to do

everything God commands of them.

We'll see. God says he's going to meet the people at Mount Sinai,

so they need to consecrate themselves. This is the same thing he called them to do for the firstborns,

and it basically means set them apart and prepare them to

encounter God. It usually involves a bath and some clean clothes. And Moses also

tells them to abstain from sex during this time, not because women are evil, but because things like

seminal fluids and blood are symbols of life and death. As far as their laws for

cleanliness are concerned, to be depleted of either of those things points to the

depletion of life, which wasn't considered an appropriate way to

honor the presence of the giver of life. When the people come to meet God they cannot touch

the mountain or they'll die and if someone does touch it no one is allowed to touch that person.

That would mean the transfer of both the death sentence that person was carrying

and the transfer of the power of God.

It's kind of like grabbing somebody who's being

electrocuted. God's power is not hypothetical. Being in contact with it has

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