The law of Moses specified the death sentence for murder. However, not all killings are murder. All cases of suspected murder needed to be considered by the appointed judges before sentence was carried out. To avoid relatives taking revenge for the death of a family member a place of sanctuary was provided for the one deemed to be the cause of the fatality. These were cities of refuge.
A selection of verses showing what the Bible tells us about the Sabbath. The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, equivalent to Saturday in the Western calendar.
Its importance for those under the law of Moses is emphasised because it is the fourth of the Ten Commandments given by God to Israel at Sinai:
The Passover is a ceremony recalling the deliverance of the nation of Israel from Egyptian slavery. It was instituted by God in commandments to Moses. The original Passover was held in Egypt. The details are given in Exodus 12.
The command to keep the Passover was repeated by Moses in Deuteronomy. It was one of the three mandatory feasts that Israel were expected to keep:
Instructions about the feast of unleavened bread are given as the Israelites are preparing to leave the slavery in Egypt.
The feast is to be a memorial of their escape from Egypt:
The ten commandments are the basic laws of the Jews which tell them how they should live. Many countries base their laws on these commandments. They are listed in Exodus 20.
With the exception of the Sabbath law, they are all repeated by Jesus Christ and the apostles. Examples are:
You shall have no other gods before me:
A replica of the sanctuary can be seen in the Timna Park in Israel:
God tells the Israelites what the sanctuary is for:
The Tent of Meeting is the tent that forms part of the sanctuary.
Exodus 40 gives God's instructions for the position of the altar:
The Year of Jubilee occurs every 50 years. It has a special impact on the ownership and management of land. The book of Leviticus tells us that servants will be freed and return to their own families and properties:
A replica of the ark of the covenant can be seen in the Timna Park in Israel:
A selection of verses about the ark of the covenant.
