Cut New Tablets
Moses carves new tablets, and our Father passes by proclaiming his own name: compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, overflowing with covenant love, forgiving — yet not clearing the guilty. The covenant is renewed, and Moses comes down with a face he does not know is shining.
34 1Our Father told Moses, "Carve two stone tablets for yourself, like the first. I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2Be ready in the morning. Come up Mount Sinai then, and present yourself to me there on the mountaintop. 3No one may come up with you, or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even flocks or herds may graze facing that mountain."
4Moses cut two stone tablets like the first, rose early, went up Mount Sinai as our Father had commanded him, carrying the two stone tablets in his hand. 5Then our Father came down in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of our Father.
6Our Father passed before him, proclaiming, "your Father—compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and overflowing with covenant love and faithfulness, 7keeping covenant love for thousands, forgiving guilt, rebellion, and sin; yet he will not clear the guilty, bringing the guilt of parents on children and grandchildren, to the third and fourth generation."
8Moses quickly bowed to the ground and worshiped. 9He said, "If I have found favor in your eyes, Sovereign Father, let the Sovereign Father go among us, even though this is a stubborn people. Forgive our guilt and our sin, and take us as your inheritance."
10He said, "I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will do wonders never created in any nation or on all earth. All the people among whom you live will see your Father's work, for what I am doing with you is awesome. 11Keep what I command you today. I am driving out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 12Be careful: don't make a covenant with those living in the land you're entering, or they'll become a trap among you. 13Instead, tear down their altars, smash their pillars, and cut down their Asherah poles. 14Don't bow to any other god—your Father's name is Jealous; he is a jealous Father." a a v14 Our Father's jealousy is not petty envy but the fierce, protective love of a husband for his bride — he will not share his children's hearts with idols that destroy them.
15"Make no covenant with the land's residents, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat from their sacrifice; 16and you take their daughters for your sons, and their daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, drawing your sons to do the same."
17"You must not make cast-metal gods for yourselves."
18"Keep the Festival of Unleavened Bread: eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the set time in the month of Abib—for in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt."
19"Every firstborn opening the womb is mine—every male of your livestock, the firstborn of ox and sheep."
20"Redeem a donkey's firstborn with a lamb; if you don't redeem it, break its neck. Redeem all your sons' firstborn. No one may appear before me empty-handed."
21"Six days you work; the seventh day you rest—even during plowing and harvest, rest."
22"Keep the Feast of Weeks with the wheat harvest's firstfruits, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's turn."
23"Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Sovereign Father of Israel. 24For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one will crave your land when you go up to appear before your Father three times a year."
25"Do not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything containing yeast, and do not let the sacrifice of the Passover feast remain until morning."
26"Bring the best firstfruits of your soil to your Father's house. Do not boil a young goat in its mother's milk."
27Then our Father said to Moses, "Write these words, for according to these words I made a covenant with you and with Israel."
28Moses stayed there with our Father forty days and forty nights, eating no bread, drinking no water. He wrote the covenant's words—the Ten Words—on the tablets.
Moses Descends
29As Moses came down Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, he didn't know his face shone from speaking with our Father. 30Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses' face shone, and they feared to approach him. 31Moses called them; Aaron and all leaders of the assembly returned, and Moses spoke to them. 32Afterward all the Israelites approached, and he commanded them all our Father had told him on Mount Sinai. 33When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34But whenever Moses went in before our Father to speak with him, he would remove the veil until he came out; then he would come out and tell the Israelites what he was commanded. 35The Israelites would see that Moses' face was radiant, and Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with our Father again.
