THE REVELATION
Exodus 19.1 to 20.18
Interpretation. The event which is the subject of this lesson is without exception the most important event in Jewish history, and from the point of view of Judaism, in the history of the world. All previous Jewish history leads up to it; all subsequent Jewish history harks back to it. In the story of the Patriarchs, the central theme is the choice of the material out of which that nation is to spring, which will accept the Torah, and commit itself to live for and by it. The central theme of the story of the exodus is the preparation of the people for this event, God's purchasing Israel, to use the Biblical phrase, from his masters, that he might serve God alone. And the central theme of all subsequent Jewish history is the struggle to make the principles of this Torah dominant over Israel and to guard its ideals, and the institutions to which it gave rise against foreign aggression on the one hand, and foreign seduction on the other. The event of the great Revelation is therefore of the utmost significance.
What took place at Mt. Sinai? Something of the awe which set bounds about the mountain that the people dared not break through, must be ours, as we approach this subject. We must realize that an event such as this cannot be recorded in the terms of our daily experience. We can only guess and guess feebly at what the experience meant for our forefathers from the records that they have left us, clothed in all the poetic imagery of our Bible narrative. At Sinai, in the midst of most impressive natural surroundings, thunder, lightning, earthquake, fire and smoke, the people became conscious of God's presence, as they had never been conscious of His presence before. And while thus impressed with the infinite power of the God who had led them out of Egypt that they might worship Him there in the wilderness, they entered into a covenant with Him. Under the inspired guidance of the greatest of all prophets, they were made to realize that this God demanded obedience to law, as the condition of His continuing to be their God and to lead them as His people, whom He had redeemed from Egypt.
And the content of this revealed covenant is the Decalogue, the most significant moral code in the world's history, which has exercised an influence upon mankind more profound and beneficent than any other. After insisting upon the recognition of the God who redeemed Israel from Egypt as the sole source of all authority and the sole object of worship, and endeavoring to secure the acknowledgment of these claims by enjoining reverence for God's name, this code lays down laws governing all the most important human relations. It insists on the sanctity of the home, both in the tie between husband and wife, and between parent and child. It insists on the sacredness of human life, and guarantees the right of property, which is essential to human development. It demands truth and justice in the administration of law. It concerns itself little with ceremonial forms, but it insists, nevertheless, on the observance of the Sabbath, without which man cannot attain to full human dignity and to the consecration of life but sinks to the level of a beast of burden or an automaton, mechanically securing the means of life with no leisure to contemplate its ends. Nor is the Decalogue merely concerned with man's overt acts, but demands purity of motive, for it condemns covetousness equally with theft and adultery.
The revelation on Mt. Sinai, meant to the soul of Israel, what the experience of the prophetic call meant to the prophet, when he first heard the voice of God appointing him to a mission of which he had not dreamed before. Israel left Egypt a fugitive horde, it came to Sinai and was there transformed into a great nation, conscious of a historic mission that distinguished it from and exalted it above other peoples, to become "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." (Exodus 19. 6.) Israel has not always been true to this mission, has perhaps never lived up fully to all its implications, but from that time to this Israel has never quite forgotten it, has never lost faith in it.
In emphasizing the significance of the Decalogue, one must, however, not lose sight of the fact that the Ten Commandments were not the only laws that were revealed to Moses on Sinai, and that the Sinaitic covenant involved not merely obedience to the Decalogue, but obedience to all other laws to which Judaism attributes a divine origin. According to tradition many of the oral laws, which are not contained in the Bible, were halakah lemosheh misinai, "Laws revealed to Moses on Sinai". Historic criticism may suggest a later origin to most of these and even to many laws in the Pentateuch, but there is nothing in the Biblical narrative that limits revelation to the Decalogue, and, according to Jewish belief, all of the Torah is revealed.
Aim. The aim of this lesson should be to inspire the child with reverence for the Law, and faith in its divine origin and authority over him.
Suggestions to the teacher. The teacher may well begin the lesson by calling the child's attention to the reading of the Sefer Torah in the synagogue. Ask whether the Sefer Torah is, in appearance, like any other book, and let the children tell the obvious differences. Inform them of differences of which they are not aware, as for example, that it is always written by hand and on parchment, with ink especially prepared for the purpose, etc. Then continue somewhat as follows:
"Now, do you know why we always treat this book differently from other books, why we take such pains in writing it, why we write it always on strong parchment rather than paper which can tear easily? Why we dress it, so to speak, in velvet or other beautiful coverings? Why we decorate it with silver or gold ornaments? Why we keep it in the most beautiful part of the synagogue? It is because this book is different from all other books. This book contains the word of God, which God himself taught to the people of Israel in ancient times, and which was handed down from father to son until the present time. It contains the history that we have been learning, but it contains much more. It contains laws and commandments that God wants us to keep, and whoever obeys all these laws and commandments is a good Jew. In the lesson that we shall take up today, we shall learn how God began teaching these laws to our fathers, and we shall learn some of the most important of these laws of God, which are so important that all the civilized nations have made them a part of their law."