The Renewal of the Promise of God (Exodus 34 1-35)
Moses Makes New Tablets.
And the Lord said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke. 2 So be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me there on the top of the mountain. 3 And no man shall come up with you, and let no man be seen throughout all the mountain; let neither flocks nor herds feed before that mountain.” 4 So he cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him; and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone. 5 Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” 8 So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. 9 Then he said, “If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance.”
The Covenant Renewed.
10 And He said: “Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you. 11 Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 12 Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. 13 But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images 14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them invites you and you eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods. 17 “You shall make no moulded gods for yourselves. 18 “The Feast of Unleavened Bread you shall keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the appointed time of the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt. 19 “All that open the womb are Mine, and every male firstborn among your livestock, whether ox or sheep. 20 But the firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb. And if you will not redeem him, then you shall break his neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. “And none shall appear before Me empty-handed. 21 “Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. 22 “And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end. 23 “Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the Lord God of Israel. 24 For I will cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year. 25 “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leaven, nor shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover be left until morning. 26 “The first of the first fruits of your land you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.” 27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.
The Shining Face of Moses.
29 Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. 30 So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him; and Moses talked with them. 32 Afterward all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them as commandments all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. 34 But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. 35 And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.
(Exodus 34: 1-35)
One of the important spiritual truths in the Bible is that sin breaks our fellowship, but not our relationship with the Lord. This was illustrated dramatically in the story we looked at about the children of Israel in the book of Exodus, in chapter 33. There we saw how they committed the sin of idolatry and lost their fellowship with God. In stark contrast, Moses maintained an intimate fellowship/friendship with the Lord. But that's not the end of the story. Chapter 34 reveals more about what happened. The Israelites sinned and lost their fellowship, but Moses remained faithful. This sets the backdrop for the renewal of the covenant depicted in chapter 34, emphasizing that as grievous as sin is, it does not destroy our relationship with God. Exodus chapter 34 is a significant chapter highlighting one of the great spiritual truths of the Bible. We have been going through together a series of long chapters in the book of Exodus, and to ensure we cover this chapter without overextending the length of the episode. I have chosen to walk through it with you instead of reading the entire chapter. But the text of the chapter can be found and followed along in the notes page for this episode. The chapter begins with God instructing Moses to cut two tablets of stone like the first ones that were broken when coming upon the scene of the people worshipping the golden calf. When he threw them on the ground w. God will rewrite the words that were on the first tablets. So early in the morning, Moses goes up to Mount Sinai as commanded, taking the two stone tablets he has cut with him. This portion of the chapter focuses on repairing the damage that was done in the past, specifically the rewriting of the commandments on the tablets. These tablets were a tangible symbol of God's unique relationship with Israel, showcasing their special connection with Him.
The next significant event is the Lord revealing Himself to Moses. In verse 5, it mentions that the Lord proclaimed His name. This proclamation is understood as a revelation of His character, which is further described in verses 6 and 7 where the name of the Lord represents His attributes and qualities. By exploring Exodus chapter 34, we will gain insights into the importance of fellowship, the consequences of sin, and the renewal of the covenant. It highlights the truth that sin breaks our fellowship with God, but it does not sever our relationship with Him. We can learn valuable lessons from this chapter, and it serves as a reminder of God's faithfulness even in the face of our failures.
"The Lord, the Lord God, is merciful and gracious, longsuffering, abounding in goodness and truth. He keeps mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression of sin. He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and children's children to the third and fourth generation.
(Exodus 34: 6-7)
This is what God is like, and that's why I say this is a very important section, making this a significant chapter. Because it shows He is merciful and compassionate; He is gracious and slow to anger; He is kind, He is truthful, reliable. He is merciful and forgives people sins and transgressions. Transgression is a word that means rebelling against the or statutes or laws of whilst a sin is the offense of missing the mark, the standard set by God. So, one involves wilful disobedience, the other represents are fallen human state. The Lord proclaimed His character and characteristics, all listed in verses 6 and 7. Notice how these words emphasize His nature, his character. To truly appreciate the significance of these words, we need to go all the way back to chapter 32, where they committed the hideous sin of idolatry. In light of their sin, the Lord reveals His gracious and merciful nature. Moses gets a glimpse of the Lord's character and worships Him by bowing down and praising Him. He acknowledges that the people are stiff-necked, but he requests God's forgiveness, pardon, and acceptance of them as His inheritance. Many commentators and scholars suggest that the people had broken the covenant given to them by God, and in His grace, the Lord is reestablishing the covenant. By rewriting the Ten Commandments here, God reaffirms His commitment to His people, promising not to forsake them but to be with them.
The majority of the rest of this chapter focuses on the renewal of the covenant, starting from verse 10 and extending to verse 28. While some parts of this chapter may seem repetitive, it serves as a reminder of God's previous instructions and His intention to renew the provisions of the covenant. In verse 10, He declared that He will renew this covenant before all the people, performing marvellous miracles that have never been seen before. He emphasizes that the people will witness His work, which includes driving out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. He instructs the people to observe His commandments and warns them against making a covenant with the inhabitants of the lands they are in will only lead to their worshiping other gods. (So they have been warned). He urges them to destroy altars, sacred pillars, and wooden images, emphasizing that they should worship no other God but Him, as He is a jealous God.
Verses 15 and 16 further explain the danger of making a covenant with the inhabitants of the land. If they compromise and make treaties with them, again they may end up worshiping their gods and engaging in sinful practices. God urges them not to compromise with pagans. This instruction aligns with the New Testament principle of not being unequally yoked with unbelievers, which applies to various aspects of life, including marriage and business.
God then warns against making gods for themselves, He specifically mentions golden gods which of course is a reference to their previous act of creating the golden calf in chapter 32. He emphasizes that no golden idols should be made. Additionally, God instructs them to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days, as He had commanded them when they came out of Egypt in the month of Abib (March-April).So, he is simply renewing and reminding them of the stuff he told him to do before, and he’s saying, "I want you to do this and don’t compromise with others peoples or nations.
Now, the rest of this passage, down to verse 28, is repeating a lot of what he’s already said in establishing the covenant, the Mosaic covenant with him, and that’s why this section is called the renewal of the covenant. You broke it, blessing through these acts of obedience.
Here God is say just let me remind you of what you’re supposed to be doing. And so, he just ticks off one thing after another. For example, verse 20: "All that open the womb are mine, and every male firstborn among your livestock, whether ox or sheep." The Lord reminded Moses that all who come out of the womb belong to him.
This part of the Mosaic law was that the firstborn belongs to the Lord, human and animal. Only in some situations, rather than sacrifice that firstborn lamb, if it were a donkey, you could buy it back, so to speak, by sacrificing a lamb in its place. The Sabbath is reestablished.
The Feast of Weeks, the first fruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year." This is just another one of the provisions of the Mosaic law. Actually, there were three feasts in the Mosaic legislation that they were required to come to Jerusalem to observe three times a year. And all the men did it. God says, I want you to observe the Sabbath and remember I’ll take care of the crops. I want you to observe these feasts three times a year. I’ll protect you. I’ll take care of you. Just trust me and do what I tell you.
If you've been tracking with me through the Book of Exodus, you know that when Moses went up there the first time, how many days did he get there? 40 days and 40 nights. I made a big issue of the fact that it just took them 40 days to fall into idolatry. It doesn't take very long for people to drift away from the Word. He was just up there 40 days, so again. He’s renewing the covenant. Only what is fascinating is while he is up there we are told he does not eat bread nor drink water. Now, a person can survive without food for weeks, but no one can survive without water for four days, never mind 4o days. According to this passage, Moses was up there for 40 days and 40 nights without eating or drinking. So, what's the conclusion? Well I would say it is that what happened up there is a miracle. The Lord said, "Tell these people I'm going to take care of them. And by the way, I'm going to give you a little bit of an illustration of that because I will take care of you." So, go back and tell them, "I'm able to take care for them and I cared for you for 40 days and 40 nights.
The passage starts out with a rewriting of the law on the tablets of stone. Then the second thing that happens is God reveals Himself to Moses, a very, very important message. And then He gives the stipulations for the renewal of the covenant.
There's one last thing that happens in this passage. He comes back down and reassures the people. So he returns to the people to reassure them that the Lord is not going to desert them. And again, you really need to keep this in the overall context, all the way back to chapter 32. They've sinned there, and because of that the Lord moved the tent outside the camp. Moses went out there, but the people didn't.
So that's what is recorded in verses 29 to 35.
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of testimony in hands, when he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face was shining while he talked with him."
He's been in the presence of the Lord, and the glory of God caused his face to shine., "So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses and see the skin of his face shine, they are afraid to come near him." In fact, he puts a veil on his face. So whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, he would put the veil on his face again when he wanted to speak with them
In 2 Corinthians, Paul explains that the glory would fade over the subsequent 40 years, so Moses put a veil over his face because the glory was fading away. And Paul uses that to say that the whole Mosaic legislation was fading away, and we're not under law anymore, we're under grace. In the context of chapter 34, what's really going on here is he has returned to assure the people that the Lord has renewed the covenant, and they haven't lost their relationship with the Lord and his grace. He's going to restore it. After their idolatry with the golden calf, the Lord rewrote the Ten Commandments, revealed himself anew to Moses, renewed the covenant, and reassured the people by having Moses communicate the renewal to them.
So, what do you get out of this chapter? What can we get out of this chapter today in 2023. Maybe, that the Lord is gracious, that he forgives even when we sin. It’s a comforting chapter in that respect. So, the Lord will forgive us even if we go dramatically wrong.
The continuing willingness of God to renew his promises is one of the central messages of the Bible. Despite the repeated sinfulness of his people, God is merciful. He forgives those who repent.I think that sums up the chapter. That, I believe, is the overriding message of the whole chapter. But I think there is a second important revelation contained in this chapter hidden in the middle where it told us what the Lord is like.
7 characteristics of the character of God are revealed in this passage and I want to finish by listing them for us. I think with these you have a summary of the character of God. I think the overarching principle of what God is like can in fact be summed up in 2 statements about his, one form the Old Testament and one form the New.
In Leviticus Chapter 11 verse 44, it says God is holy. In the New Testament, in First John 4:16, it says God is love. Those two things really sum up what God is like. Hhere in Exodus are 7 words that amplify those two principles.
“The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin”.
(Exodus 34: 6b-7a)
Holy things like justice and righteousness and related to love things like merciful, compassionate, and full of grace.
I’m not even going to give you the tip of the iceberg, this is only the beginning. But remember passage that in chapter 34 gives us a launching off point by giving us seven characteristics of God.
Three pairs referring to his mercy and one single verse recording to his justice. So clearly in this message, mercy predominates. Now, why would that be? Because He is emphasizing mercy in this passage?
Because in the overall context, of dealing with their sin, mercy will always take precedence is the intervention of God which means that mercy should also to take precedence in our response to dealing with other people. The psalmist said, "For your mercy is great above the heavens, and your truth reaches to the clouds." Or perhaps the ultimate illustration is in the book of Romans, in chapter 3. Paul writes that we are;
“Justified freely by his grace to the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be the propitiation by his blood through faith to demonstrate his righteousness because in his forbearance, God had passed over those sins which were previously committed, that demonstrates at times past his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Christ.
(Romans 3: 25)
That is in chapter 3, in chapter 5 he goes on to say.
"God commended his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
So, the ultimate illustration is God’s justice and mercy in response to sin is at the cross, that the death of Christ satisfied the justice of God that’s sin be paid for by death, the wages sentence death, and yet that was the great demonstration of his love. There it is again, love and justice. How about Micah 6:8? Micah said,
"He has shown to you, oh man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to love Him, to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before your God?"
I mean, there it is. Do justly, love mercy, you got to have a little humility when you walk before the Lord. And in Matthew, Jesus said,
“The Pharisees neglected the weightier matters for the law.
(Matthew 23:23).
They neglected the weightier matters of love and mercy and instead focused on justice and judgement. In Ephesians 4, Paul says, "Speak the truth in love." There it is again, truth and love. First Timothy 6:11, Paul says, "But you, oh man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness." There it is again, pursue righteousness and love. In Second Timothy 2:22, he says, "Flee also youthful lusts, pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, and those who call on the Lord with a pure heart." There it is again, righteousness combined with love. When Paul wants to sum it all up, he always includes those two basic elements. The Lord is holy and loving, and so say Micah, Paul and Jesus and, the Psalmist also agree, and we too ought to reflect him by being just, righteous, truthful, merciful, gracious, and loving.
Exodus 34 shows us who the Lord is and what the Lord is like, but it is also what we ought to be like. Justice, but gracious and merciful at the same time. We should mimic him. It seems to me, some Christians get so stuck on just being right, they get rigid. And some Christians get so stuck on love, their forget about being just. These additional characteristics we need to get the balance right and pull this off, to be both at these at the same time? Answer, wise. We need wisdom.
That’s what this book we call the Bible is all about it’s a manual that allows you to pour God love and truth into you and then to seal it there with and hold onto it by the power and the revealed wisdom of the Holy Spirit. I want to put it like this: righteousness is doing what is right.
As believers get more and more exposed to the Lord and his righteousness, they have more and more of an ability to recognise what is right and a desire to do what is right. Love is doing what is best for the other person. It is seeking their highest good. As believers are more and more exposed to the Lord and his truth, they have more and more of a desire to do what is loving. The most detailed description of love in the Bible is from 1 Corinthians 13. Most of its characteristics there of what love does not do. But in that passage, the two outstanding positive characteristics are patience and kindness.
Righteousness without love is judgmental, love without righteousness is sentimentality.
Christlikeness is being both righteous and loving. These two things are not in conflict with each other when bound together by God revealed heavenly wisdom in Christ, because what is right is loving, and what is loving is true.