HOREB, MOUNT OF THE COVENANT - The Old Testament, ep. 20 - EN

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• published: 01 Oct 2014
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In the third month after their flight from Egypt, the Israelites reach the desert and pitch their tents in the shadow of Mount Sinai. The Lord summons Moses up the mountain and tells him that he wants to establish an eternal covenant with His people. In the words of the Lord: “You will be for me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.” According to the instructions he receives, Moses prepares the people to receive the Covenant that the Lord will dictate to him. He then climbs the mountain, accompanied by the elders who stop behind the line established by the Lord. Moses continues alone towards the place where the Lord is waiting for him. The elders watch him climb the path, and see him disappear into a cloud. "What is Moses doing on the mountain? He climbed it so long ago and has shown no sign of life since then. Maybe a wild animal has eaten him. Yes, that is certainly his fate." The grumblers in the huge caravan start to raise their voices. Finally, the lobby of discontent that has been active among the children of Israel since the commencement of the journey gains the upper hand. The leaders go to Aaron and demand: "Make us a god that will walk before us. As for Moses, we do not know what has become of him.” Fearing that a revolt will break out, Aaron tells them: "Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives…” He uses the gold he collects to forge a calf that he places on the altar. Joshua and the others who have remained at the foot of the mountain continue to wait for Moses. "In the beginning"... with these words the Bible begins the story of the great mystery of the origins of time, existence and the h­istory of the Universe. It also contains the proclamation of the Word of God, invisible and omnipotent, creator of heaven and earth, who turns once more to his people with the promise of the salvation which man has awaited since the moment of his creation and of his first sin...This is the subject of the "most widely-read book in the world" from which, in thirty-nine episodes, we evoke characters and events so that young people of the new generations can appreciate the richness of this great treasure.