Exodus 34 – The New Stone Tablets

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The LORD said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.

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Be ready by morning, and in the morning come up Mount Sinai and stand there before Me on the top of the mountain.

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No one is to come up with you, and let no one be seen anywhere on the mountain; even the flocks and herds must not graze in front of that mountain.”

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So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. He rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and he took the two tablets of stone in his hand.

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The LORD came down in the cloud, stood there with him, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.

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The LORD passed before him and proclaimed: “The LORD, the LORD, a God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

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keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

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Moses quickly bowed to the ground and worshiped

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and said, “If I have found favor in Your sight, O Lord, let the Lord, I pray, go in the midst of us, for this is a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Your own possession.”

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He said, “Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will do wonders such as have not been done in all the earth or in any nation; and all the people among whom you live shall see the work of the LORD, for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.

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Observe what I command you today. Behold, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

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Be careful not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest they become a snare in your midst.

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Rather, you shall tear down their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherah poles.

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For you shall not bow down to any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

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You must not make a covenant with the inhabitants of that land; for when they prostitute themselves after their gods and sacrifice to their gods, they will invite you, and you will eat of their sacrifices.

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And when you take their daughters for your sons, and their daughters prostitute themselves after their gods, they will also lead your sons astray to prostitute themselves after their gods.

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You shall not make for yourself cast gods.

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You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt.

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All that first opens the womb is Mine, and also all your male livestock, the firstborn of cow or sheep.

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But the firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; if you do not redeem it, you shall break its neck. Every firstborn among your sons you shall redeem, and no one shall appear before Me empty-handed.

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Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in plowing time and in harvest time you shall keep the Sabbath.

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You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, that is, the feast of the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year.

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Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel,

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for I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders; and no one shall covet your land when you go up to appear before the LORD your God three times in the year.

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You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with anything leavened, and none of the sacrifice of the Passover feast shall remain overnight until morning.

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The best of the firstfruits 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.”

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Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write down all these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”

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So Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he ate no bread and drank no water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Words.

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When Moses came down from Mount Sinai — the two tablets of the law were in Moses’ hand as he came down from the mountain — he did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been speaking with the LORD.

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When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.

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But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke to them.

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Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them all the commands that the LORD had spoken to him on Mount Sinai.

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When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

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But whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would remove the veil until he came out; and when he came out, he would tell the Israelites what had been commanded him.

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Whenever the Israelites saw Moses’ face, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, Moses would put the veil over his face again until he went in to speak with the LORD.

📜🌄✨ Summary of Exodus 34 – The Covenant Renewed & Moses’ Face Shining

After Israel’s fall into the worship of the golden calf (Exodus 32), and Moses’ plea for the glory of God (Exodus 33), Exodus 34 shows the grace of God that renews the covenant, as well as the reaffirming of the law and the calling of the people to live holy.

1. The Second Tablets – The Covenant Renewed (verses 1–4)

• The LORD commanded Moses to hew two new tablets of stone, replacing the ones that had been broken.
• Moses went up Mount Sinai alone, as the first time, bringing the tablets before the LORD.

2. The LORD Reveals His Character (verses 5–9)

• The LORD came down in a cloud, proclaiming His name, and said:

“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin, yet by no means clearing the guilty…”
(verses 6–7)

• Moses bowed down in worship and pleaded that the LORD would go with the people and forgive their sin.

3. The LORD Makes a New Covenant (verses 10–28)

• The LORD promised to do wonders and drive out the pagan nations from the Promised Land.

4. Moses’ Face Shone (verses 29–35)

• When he came down from the mountain, Moses’ face shone because he had spoken with the Lord.
• The people were afraid to come near.
• Moses wore a veil to cover his face, and only removed it when speaking with the Lord or delivering the word to the people.

📖 Main Teaching

1. God is compassionate and forgiving, yet also just and does not leave sin unpunished.
2. God’s covenant can be restored, but it must not be taken lightly.
3. Pure and faithful worship is very important—there is no compromise with the world or with idols.
4. Faithful obedience and worship will bring the Lord’s care.
5. Being near to the Lord changes us in a real way—seen in Moses’ life and face.

✨ Spiritual Meaning

• The character of God in verses 6–7 is one of the fullest statements of who God is in the whole Bible. It is often quoted again in the Psalms and the books of the prophets.
• The carving of the second stone tablets shows restoration by grace, even though the consequences of sin remain real.
• Moses’ shining face symbolizes the glory of God shining through the life of one who is intimate with Him.
• In the New Testament, we all, with unveiled face, behold the glory of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).