Can you find the single obvious problem in this text?

Question

Below is a part the story of how God revealed the commandments to Israel. This little section is about preparing to receive the commandments.  Read it all the way through and tell me without thinking the one thing that is obviously wrong with it.

The People Consecrated [from Exodus, chapter 19]

When Moses had told the words of the people to the Lord, the Lord said to Moses: ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and prepare for the third day, because on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. You shall set limits for the people all around, saying, “Be careful not to go up the mountain or to touch the edge of it. Any who touch the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch them, but they shall be stoned or shot with arrows; whether animal or human being, they shall not live.” When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they may go up on the mountain.’ So Moses went down from the mountain to the people. He consecrated the people, and they washed their clothes. And he said to the people, ‘Prepare for the third day; do not go near a woman.’
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What is the most obvious (note: the most obvious) problem.

James O · Accepted Answer

execution for a minor ritual violation, as modern Westerners would see it

Cajunboy · Answer

I'm not really sure what your point is here, Brother.  If you're referencing God telling Moses to tell the people of Israel "Not to go near a woman"  and the fact that they were all together, I think we both know that God was referencing the fact that most of the Israelite were fornicating and feasting in celebration and God wanted Moses to purify them through consecration so they could be presented pure to receive God's Commands.  Just not sure what your motive is here.  We also see where God was cleansing out his flock of Israelite that flee from Egypt as some evil people were still among the selected people Moses had that followed him out of Egypt.  So God was still taking the lives of those who refused to give up their sins, but that was in a different time.

james o · Answer

Nobody got the obvious fact that the group receiving the commandment had to be men only.

Moses would not tell women not to go near a woman. That's utterly ridiculous!  This shows how blindly most of us (including me) read the Bible, glibly putting all kinds of rubbish onto the text without any support at all.

Defender of Truth · Answer

We must obey God under all circumstances--both in the old and new testaments:

God will do away with all badness:

“…the cowards and those without faith and those who are disgusting in their filth and murderers and the sexually immoral and those practicing spiritism and idolaters and all the liars their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This means the second death.”

1 Corinthians 5:11-13 “ But now I am writing you to stop keeping company with anyone called a brother who is sexually immoral  or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler  or a drunkard or an extortioner,  not even eating with such a man.    For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Do you not judge those inside,  while God judges those outside?  “Remove the wicked person from among yourselves.”

Live Long, and Prosper · Answer

that God refers to himself as "the Lord"....god had just revealed his name to Moses  a minute ago.......

...or that moses may have forgotten to tell the people a few things god warned about  when he came down the mountain

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Can you find the single obvious problem in this text?

5 Answers