Exodus 34:1-9 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Exodus 34:1-9. Let’s go!
Exodus 34:1-4 (NIV)
1 The LORD said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.
2 Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain.
3 No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.”
4 So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the LORD had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands.
On verses 1-4: Moses had broken the first tablets containing the LORD’s writing, and so the LORD take the initiative to instruct Moses to bring to Him new tablets of stone for the LORD to write on again. What can we learn from this? First, God is in the business of taking what we have broken and making it new again. He is a restorer.
Second, just as the LORD told Moses to appear privately before Him with two blank stone tablets for the LORD to write on, every day may we privately appear before the LORD with a blank slate, ready and waiting to hear from God and open to letting Him speak in whatever way He wants. While we have the privilege of coming to God with our cares and our burdens, just as often if not more often, we need to come to God without any agenda, except to simply be with God and to let Him speak into our lives and write into our hearts whatever He thinks we need.
Exodus 34:5 (NIV)
5 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD.
On verse 5: Just as the LORD would come down, stand with Moses and proclaim His name over Moses, so later on Jesus Christ the Son of God would come down from heaven, stand among us and proclaim who God is to us, allowing us to experiencing God’s presence in the most powerful way.
Exodus 34:6-7 (NIV)
6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,
7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”
On verses 6-7: Praise God that He is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love and faithfulness. He is both forgiving and just, not leaving the guilty unpunished. What does verse 7b mean when it says that “He punishes the children and their children for the sins of the fathers to the third and fourth generation”? This is not to say that God holds us responsible for the sins of those who go before us as if we were the ones who sinned. Rather, it is more saying that when one generation sins, the negative effects of that sin will be felt by the generations that come after it until such time as these future generations turn to the LORD. That’s why I believe it is important to be aware of the ways that the generations before us have sinned and to ask for God’s help not to repeat the same mistakes and for God’s wisdom to learn from those mistakes.
Exodus 34:8-9 (NIV)
8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.
9 “O Lord, if I have found favor in your eyes,” he said, “then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance.”
On verses 8-9: Like Moses here who began confessing the sins of the Israelites and was asking God for forgiveness and mercy, like Isaiah who began confessing his sins and his people’s sins when he saw the holiness of God (Isaiah 6:5), when we draw near to a holy God, we become much more aware of, and sensitive to, the sin in our lives. But praise God, for when we were sinners in need of God’s mercy, God showed that mercy to us by sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross to pay for our sins. To use the language of verse 9, though we were stiffed-necked, through Jesus Christ God forgave our wickedness and our sin and took us in as His inheritance.
Praise You God for being gracious and compassionate, abounding in love and faithfulness, slow to anger, forgiving, holy and just. Thank You that though our sins are great, Your grace is greater and because of Your mercy expressed through Jesus Christ we can be forgiven and be Your people, Your inheritance. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
