God appeared to Moses in the Burning Bush (3:1-6), and commissioned Moses to free his people. God instructed Moses in his dealings with the obstinate Pharaoh. The solemn Jewish Feast of Passover or Pesach - פֶּסַח, called Πάσχα or Pascha in the Greek Septuagint, was instituted by God as a Memorial to commemorate the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, where they had been slaves before God rescued them. On the night of First Passover (Exodus 12:1-28), Moses and the Israelites were instructed to sacrifice a healthy year-old male lamb, and take hyssop and sprinkle the blood of the Paschal Lamb on the overhead and two doorposts, so that the destroying angel would pass over their houses and strike only the Egyptians. They were to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days following Passover, during which they were to eat only unleavened bread - מַצּוֹת - matsah (Exodus 12:15). After He led them across the Red Sea, God guided them by sending a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. To feed the Israelites, God told Moses he would rain down bread from heaven to feed the Israelites. God fed them manna - מָן from heaven, and on the sixth day, God gave them a double portion of manna (Exodus 16:4-5), so that they could rest and observe the Sabbath of the Lord. God also had Moses strike a rock to give them water (Exodus 17:6).

Upon reaching Mount Sinai, God said to Moses: "Now therefore, if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my own possession among all peoples; for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (19:5-6). God then gave Moses on Mount Sinai (19:20) the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17). Moses wrote down the words of the Lord and the Sinai Covenant was ratified by the people (24:7) and renewed in 34:27-28. God then instructed Moses to make a Sanctuary or miqdash - מִקְדָּשׁ - "so that I may dwell in their midst. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you." (25:8-9). The Tabernacle or mishkan - הַמִּשְׁכָּן - the Dwelling Place, consisted of two rooms divided by a veil: the Holy of Holies and a Holy Place, with an Outer Courtyard. The Holy of Holies would hold the Ark of the Covenant, in which were housed the Ten Commandments; the Holy Place would hold the Menorah or Golden Lampstand, the Altar of Incense, and the Table of Showbread or the Bread of the Presence - לֶחֶם פָּנִים .

Exodus 28 describes the fashioning of the Breastplate of Aaron with its twelve stones, each stone representing one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Exodus 28:30 reveals the significance of the breastplate: "And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord. So Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the Lord continually."