Moses led the Israelites through the wilderness as they journeyed to the promised land of Canaan. God demonstrated his faithfulness by providing miracles like water from a rock and manna to eat. At Mount Sinai, God appeared amid thunder and lightning and gave Moses the Ten Commandments, establishing a covenant between God and the Israelites. Moses shared the laws with the people, who agreed to follow them.

1. A Free People
Chapter 9

2. Vocabulary Words
 Mount Sinai- a mountain peak in the rocky
southern part of the Sinai peninsula.
 Miracle-an extraordinary event that is beyond
human power and brought about by God.
 Manna- a sweet bread-like food that God
provided for the Israelites in the desert.
 Ten Commandments- the laws of Gods
covenant given to Moses on Mount Sinai.
 Ark of the Covenant- a wooden box in which the
tablets of the Ten Commandments were kept.

3. Page 108
- Moses led God’s people through the wilderness
 The Israelites were beginning their journey to the land
of Canaan, the land that God promised them.
 The Israelites faced a long journey through the
wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula.
 The description of the journey is found in Chapters
16-18 in the book of Exodus.
 The Israelites were wandering many years in the
wilderness.
 God tested his peoples faithfulness again and again.
 God often asked them to do things that at first did not
seem reasonable to them.
 When they followed God’s will they saw the wisdom of
God’s plan for them.

4. Page 109
 The Israelites did not always follow God’s will for
them.
 They grumbled against Moses for the hardships
of this journey through the wilderness.
 God demonstrated his faithfulness to his people.
He watched over them and worked many
miracles.

5. Miracles in the Desert
 When the people complained they could not drink
the bitter water at Marah, God had Moses change
it into drinkable water.
 When they complained that they had no food,
God sent small birds called quail.
 God provided them with manna.
 When the Israelites again grumbled that they had
no water, God instructed Moses to strike a certain
rock and water miraculously gushed out.

6. The Ten Commandments
 1. I am the Lord your God, you shall not have strange
gods before me.
 2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in
vein.
 3. Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.
 4. Honor your father and your mother.
 5. You shall not kill.
 6. You shall not commit adultery.
 7. You shall not steal.
 8. You shall not bear false witness against your
neighbor.
 9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
 10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

7. Page 110
-God gave his people the Law
 Moses went to Mt. Sinai to pray to God.
 There God reminded Moses the Israelites were God’s
people.
 The Israelite people were consecrated to God in a
special way.
 They all worshiped God and offering sacrifices to him.
 On the third day of their stay on Mt. Sinai, God appeared
to the people. Clouds and smoke surrounded Mt. Sinai.
There was thunder and lightning and the sound of
trumpets. God made his presence known.
 God gave the 10 commandments to Moses and this was
a symbol of the covenant between God and the people.
 Moses came down from the mountain and shared the
laws with the people. They agreed to follow the laws.
Moses built an altar with twelve pillars that represented
the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 sons of Jacob.

8. Page 111
 Moses returned to Mt. Sinai for 40 days and 40
nights praying to God.
 40 and 12 are symbolic because:
- 40 days Jesus was in the desert and 40 days
Noah was
on the arch.
-12 pillars of stone on the alter and the 12
tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles.
 New Covenant- sealed with Jesus blood at the
last supper and his death on the cross. We
celebrate the New Covenant when we receive
the Eucharist.