MOSES:

Bread from Heaven and

The Covenant Renewed

• The Israelites faced hardships as they made their way to the Promised Land

• God provided food and water in the desert

• The Israelites found manna each morning

• “Manna” means “bread from heaven”

• Jesus called himself “the Bread of Life” and “Bread that came down from heaven”

- God gave bread to the Israelites to nourish their bodies for their journey;

- God gave us Jesus and the Eucharist to nourish our souls

• According to scripture, God guided the Israelites for 40 years

• 40 is another symbolic number in the bible; 40 represents a period of time when a person’s faith is tested.

(40 days of the Great Flood; 40 years in the desert; Jesus fasts 40 days…)

• After the Israelites reached the desert of Sinai, Moses went up the mountain where God gave him the Ten Commandments

• This was a reminder and a renewal of the covenant God had with his people

• The Commandments were written on stone tablets, a visible reminder of God’s care

• While Moses was on the mountain, the people made a calf out of melted gold. They worshipped the idol, claiming that it represented God

• When Moses returned, he was angry at the people and threw down the stone tablets. He realized that they had broken the First Commandment, which forbids idolatry, the worship of false gods

• Moses asked God to forgive the Israelites; God forgave them, restored the Commandments, and again renewed the covenant.

• The tablets containing the Commandments were kept in a special chest called the Ark of the Covenant

• The Ten Commandments are divided into two groups

• The first three Commandments focus on our relationship with God

• The rest focus on our relationship with others

• Jesus spoke of these laws in his teaching

• He summarized the Ten Commandments into two simple laws:

- Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength

- Love your neighbor as yourself

“Which is the greatest Commandment?”