Sinai, Covenant, and Wilderness

God forms His people and teaches them in the covenant

This stage presents what happens after the departure from Egypt. God leads Israel to Sinai, establishes the covenant, gives the Law, and forms the people to live as His own. Liberation does not end with leaving Egypt: God frees Israel in order to draw them into a relationship of covenant.

The wilderness appears as a place of testing, purification, and learning. There the people experience hunger, thirst, fear, weariness, and temptation; they also receive the manna, the water from the rock, and the constant guidance of God. The stage shows that God not only saves, but also teaches His people to live in freedom and faithfulness.

You will learn to

Understand that liberation leads to the covenant at Sinai.

Recognize the commandments as a way of life.

Identify the covenant as a relationship established by God with His people.

Understand Moses as mediator.

Recognize the wilderness as a place of testing, formation, and trust.

Identify the manna as a sign of God's care.

Understand the meaning of the water from the rock.

Discover how the New Testament illumines Sinai, the manna, and the wilderness in the light of Christ.

How this stage is organized

Main narrative

Exodus 16–20; 24; 32–34 · Numbers 11–14; 20

You will come to know Israel's journey through the wilderness, the gift of the manna, the water from the rock, the arrival at Sinai, the giving of the commandments, the celebration of the covenant, the sin of the golden calf, the intercession of Moses, and the trials of the people during their pilgrimage.

Doctrinal understanding

Covenant · Law · Freedom · Faithfulness

You will grasp that the Law is given to a people already freed. The commandments are not an arbitrary burden, but a way of life and a response to the covenant. True freedom consists in living according to God's will, in faithfulness, trust, and adoration.

Scripture in depth

Deuteronomy · Psalms · Prophets

Other biblical texts recall the wilderness as a time of testing and of formation of the heart. Deuteronomy teaches us to remember the journey traveled; the Psalms recall both the faithfulness of God and the unfaithfulness of the people; the prophets evoke the wilderness as a place of purification and of new beginning.

Fulfilled in Christ

Gospels · Saint Paul · Letter to the Hebrews

The New Testament illumines this stage in the light of Christ. Jesus overcomes the temptations in the wilderness, presents Himself as the true bread come down from heaven, and offers living water. Saint Paul reads Israel's journey as a figure for Christians, and the Letter to the Hebrews shows that Christ is the mediator of a new and greater covenant.

Choose a mode

Path mode

Move step by step, in the recommended order.

Review mode

Shuffled questions to review and gauge your progress.

Group mode

A moderated session, reserved for catechists and teachers.