Journey
Second chances
Tables written again, a prophet sent a second time, a king humbled in chains, a helper Paul once refused, and a Mark he later called profitable. Second chances from Exodus to Philemon.
People in this journey
Opening stop: Tables like the first, Exodus 34:1
The first tables were written with the finger of God (Exodus 31:18), and Moses smashed them at the foot of the mountain when he saw the golden calf (Exodus 32:19). This time Moses cuts the stone himself, and God writes the same words again. The terms are not softened for a people who had just broken them. Then God proclaims his own name, and Scripture keeps coming back to these words (Numbers 14:18, Nehemiah 9:17, Psalm 103:8, Joel 2:13). Mercy for thousands stands beside a warning that guilt can reach three and four generations.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.
King James Version
The Lord tells Moses to cut two stone tablets like the broken ones and come alone to Sinai in the morning. Moses does so. The Lord descends in the cloud and proclaims his name, describing mercy, grace, patience, goodness and truth alongside forgiveness and judgment reaching later generations. Moses bows, asks the Lord to go among the people and seeks pardon. The Lord announces a covenant and wonders, then commands rejection of the inhabitants' gods, cult objects and covenants that would draw Israel into their worship. The instructions renew observance of unleavened bread, firstborn obligations including redemption of sons, seventh-day rest even during plowing and harvest, and yearly festivals. They include sacrifice and firstfruits rules. Moses is told to write the covenant words. He remains with the Lord forty days and nights without food or water, and the text reports the covenant words on the tablets. He descends unaware that his face shines. Aaron and the people fear approaching, but Moses calls them near and communicates the commands. The closing scene describes his use of a veil, removed when speaking before the Lord and replaced after he has conveyed the commands to Israel.
Continue the journey
This journey has 9 stops. The opening stop is free. Premium opens the rest of the guided path, and every Scripture chapter stays free to read.