As Exodus 23 begins, God instructs His people in mercy and justice. He warns against favoritism, being a malicious witness, perverting justice by siding with the crowd, or denying justice with false charges. God reminds them that they were once oppressed in Egypt and were blessed by His mercy. God's laws of fairness were to be applied even to enemies. God told them He would send His angel to guide them, protect them, and give them further instruction, and go ahead of them and lead them to the promised land. God told them "if you listen carefully and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you... and if you worship the Lord your God, His blessing will be on your food and water.. I will take away sickness from among you, none will miscarry or be barren in your land, and I will give you a full life span".

In Exodus 22, many examples are given of rules of responsibility , making it easier for the Israelites to discern God's will in different circumstances. God gave them these practical guidelines, " If a man ... , then he must...", because He says "You are to be my holy people" (v.31).

Exodus 21 introduces some laws regarding everyday life for the Israelites, so that they would understand that their actions had consequences. Judges were given the "eye for an eye" guideline so that punishments would fit the crimes.

Exodus 20 is the giving of the ten commandments to Moses. The commandments came from the God "who rescued you from slavery in Egypt" and his first command was to worship only Him. These ten commands were meant to be practical guidelines for His people to live in holiness for others to witness. As they lived this way, others could witness the nature of God.

Exodus 19 takes place at Mount Sinai, where the Israelites were camping after leaving Egypt. God said to Moses, "tell the people of Israel: 'you yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession... you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' " The people responded to Moses all together, "We will do everything the Lord has said" ( Yeah right, we've heard that before!). Moses told the Lord what the people had said and He then gave Moses instructions as to how the people should consecrate themselves and keep their distance from the mountain, as God came to meet with them. On the third day, there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, causing all the people to tremble. Moses then lead the people to the foot of the mountain to meet with God, as He had instructed Moses. God had met with Moses on the mountain "so that the people will hear Me speaking with you and will always trust in you." I wonder if the Israelites understood that God had chosen them in love and mercy, not because of their obedience, to represent and teach the nations how to live according to His ways and about the hope for salvation by God's grace.

In Exodus 18, Moses is visited by his father-in-law, Jethro, who advises him to share his heavy load of serving as judge before the people. Moses listened to Jethro and accepted his suggestions, selecting capable trustworthy men who fear God, who would serve as judges for the people , and would bring only the difficult issues to Moses. Moses also taught the people the decrees and laws, showing them the way to live, so that they would not always need to bring their disputes to the judges.

In Exodus 17, the Israelites complained again to Moses. They grumbled about the lack of water and Moses responded, "Why do you put the Lord to the test?". The Lord told Moses to take his staff and strike the rocks and water came out for the people to drink. The Lord provided for them again and continued to be faithful to His people. When the Amalekites came and attacked, Moses sent Joshua with his men to fight them. Then Moses went up to the top of a hillside and held up his hands towards God, trusting in Him again for deliverance. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites prevailed and were winning the battle with the Amalekites, so Aaron and Hur held up his arms when he grew tired, so that his hands remained steady until Joshua overcame the Amalekite army. Afterwards, Moses recorded the battle account on a scroll as something to be remembered and also built an alter, calling it "The Lord is my Banner", for "hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord".