God says to people, “I will be with you. I will be your God. I will take care of you, help you and protect you.” That’s a good promise, isn’t it? But God also wants to make a covenant.

The covenant is an agreement: I will be your God, but you must be my people. That means you can’t do whatever you want. You must obey God and befriend Him. Otherwise, the covenant won’t be valid.

Moses passed this message on to the people. In confirmation, God covered the mountain with a cloud, making lightning and thunder so that everyone would see his power.