THE SECOND GIVING OF THE GIVING OF THE LAW
Part 23
Exo. 34:1-8
Morning Meditation 11/24/16
Verses 1-8 “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. And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone. And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.”
There has been a interlude in the journey of the Children of Israel at Mount Sinai. During this interlude many things have happened. God has given the Ten Commandments. Israel has lapsed into idolatery and given themselves over to unbridled lust and have been judged by God on this account. When Moses came down off the mount and found Israel dancing around the golden calf that they had made, he threw the two tables of stone down on which the The Ten Commandments were written and broke them. Our present text records the preparation for the second giving of the law. God will give the law again..
God speaks to Moses and instructs him in preparation of the second giving of the ten commandments. He tells him to “ . . . 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.” So Moses prepares the stones on which the Ten Commandments will be written. Then the Lord says to Moses, “And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount.” Moses must PRESENT HIMSELF as well as the stone tablets to the Lord. God is going to speak His Word through His man to the people. Israel is not going to follow stones but a man of God. God records His Word to our great benefit but He uses man to proclaim it. And the man who proclaims it, must stand before the Lord before he reveals it to the people.
God isolates the mount so that there are no human witnesses to the giving of the law. This is what is stated in verse three. When Moses comes down from the mount with the two tables of stone with the Ten Commandments written on it, Israel must BELIEVE what Moses says. “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Rom.. 10:17). Men who bring God’s Word to the people must get alone with God. The proclamation of the Word is not just academic. It is the overflow of a preachers experience with God. No experience equals a dead message.
Moses ascends into the mount early in the morning as the LORD commanded him.. Then verses five to seven say, “And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”
There are two things that stand out in this statement. First, God is a merciful God who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. But this does not mean that God winks at what He forgives. Sin is never taken lightly with God. He is a holy God. Romans 3:25-26 tells us how a holy God does this: “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” If God took us to heaven like we are, we would be the end of heaven. God has to make a way for His mercy. This way is Jesus Christ (John 14:6). This way the penalty of man’s sins have been paid for at the bar of divine justice and God can be just and the Justifier of the believer.
He also teaches here that God is unrelenting in His judgment upon sin. He visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children. I do not know all that means and where the application of it stops. But I do know that one of the primary teachings in this statement is that the old sin nature is passed from father to children (Rom. 5:12). If a man refuses God way to pardon sin, there is not a chance that he will escape the judgment of God.
The fact that God says that He is a merciful God is to assume that He has the right of judgment. God is Creator, therefore, He has the right to bring His creation into judgment. This is the reason the world will not accept the Genesis account of creation. They are trying to avoid God. Because if God’s exists, then they are accountable. The world wants to believe that there is no one to give an account to except itslef. Man legislates his own laws to keep society in line and punishes those who break those laws. If you break man’s laws, you must answer to the law. You can be punished by imprisonment or death. Man assumes the right to say what is right and what is wrong and he punishes those who break his laws. Do you see what man is doing. He is his own god. He worships himself in this way. This is the reason “coveteousness” in idolatery (Col. 3:5). It is the worship of self through one’s own desires. God does declare He has the right of judgment. Men can either believe or disbelieve. It is a choice. We can choose but we do not have the right to reject the consequences of the choice we make. Man may say, “I choose to reject what God says about Himself. I also choose to reject His right of Judgment and hell No, God has made the choice about judgement and hell. You are not even given the opportunity to make a choice about that. Now the the question is this. Is God big enought to make man give an account in the final judgment? Can God bring up every sin that man has ever committed and call him into account? I believe He can. He is sovereign and exists outside of time and time and all creation is subject to Him. Men are helpless mortals subject to His command including the final ressurrection when He will call men out of the graves to stand before the Great White Throne Judgment.
The only fear I have of this judgment is for others. I have accepted the provision that He has made for the forgiveness of my sins and enjoy the peace of God that passes all understanding. Hallelujah! I believe without the slightest doubt that what He has forgiven, He has forgotten (Heb. 10:17). I believe what He says that the believer has already passed from death to life and will not come into condemnation (John 5:24).
God gave the law the second time. God wants Israel to know that He does not change His mind. He is the one who made us and has the right to say what is right and what is wrong. He also keeps up with us, and those who break His law will be punished. While He knows we can’t keep the law, it is necessary for Him to declare it. If man could go to heaven by his own morality, it would have to be a morality that God would acept. So God sets the standard. Israel never kept the law. All are sinners. So, along with the Ten Commandments, God gave the sacrifical system which was God’s living illustration of the innocent sinless animal dying in the place of the one who offered it. This pictures the death of Jesus in the place of the guilty sinner (Rom. 5:8; 1 Pet. 3:18).
May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.
In Christ
Bro. White
