Exodus 34

Exodus: *Israel becomes a nation

God’s instructions to Moses

Exodus Chapter s 19 to 40

Hilda Bright and Kitty Pride

Chapter 34

The new flat stones with God’s *commandments on them – verses 1-9

v1 Again the *LORD spoke to Moses. ‘Cut two flat stones like the first ones that I gave to you. You broke the first flat stones. But I will write the same words on these new stones. I will write the same words that were on the first flat stones. v2 Be ready tomorrow morning. Then come up *Mount Sinai. Show yourself to me on the top of the mountain. v3 I will not permit anyone to come with you. Nobody must come onto any part of the mountain. And you must not allow the sheep or the cows to eat the grass at the edge of the mountain.’

v4 So Moses cut two flat stones like the first ones. Then he went up *Mount Sinai early in the morning. He did exactly what the *LORD had told to him. And Moses carried the two flat stones in his hands. v5 Then the *LORD came down in a cloud. He stood there with Moses and he announced his name, the *LORD. v6 Then he passed in front of Moses. ‘I am the *LORD. I am the *LORD, your God’, he announced. ‘I love my people and I am kind to them. I do not become angry quickly. I am very patient with people. And they can trust me to love them always. v7 I love 1000’s of people. And I do what I have promised. I forgive their *sin. And I forgive those people who are wicked. I even forgive those people who do wrong things against me. But I do not allow guilty people to go without punishment. When the parents do bad things, I punish their children too, and their children’s children.’

v8 Moses knelt with his face towards the ground and he *worshipped God. v9 Moses said, ‘If I please you, *Lord, then go with us’. ‘These people are very proud and often they refuse to obey you. But please forgive the wicked things that we have done. Forgive our *sin, and accept us as your people.’

Verses 1-4 Moses had to cut two new flat stones so that God could write on them again. In verses 27-28 of this same chapter we read that God told Moses, ‘Write down these laws. I have made a special promise to you and to the *Israelites.’ God told Moses the exact words to write. This is the same as if God had written the words. God wrote his messages in the *Old Testament. But usually he used his servants, the *prophets, to write the actual words. God reminded Moses about the rules that referred to the mountain. It was separate for God’s use (Exodus 19:12-13).

Verses 5-7 The cloud was a *sign that God was present. Then God passed by Moses. The writer does not tell us whether Moses saw God. But the writer tells us what God said to Moses. It is very important to listen to God. We must hear what God says to us. It is more important than what we see. God’s name means God himself. It means who he is. It also means what he is like. His name refers to his whole character. He is the *LORD, the great God, who wants to rescue his people. He loves us. He is very kind and he is willing to forgive people. They do not deserve God’s love. They should not insist that God forgives them. But God is very kind and patient with his people. His love does not change and it never ends.

These ways to describe God appear again in many places in the Bible. For example see Numbers 14:18; Nehemiah 9:17; Psalms 103:8 and Psalms 145:8; Jonah 4:2 and Joel 2:13. It is God’s nature to forgive people. But they need to be sorry that they have done bad and wrong things. Because God is holy, he must punish the guilty people. When people do wrong things, those things affect their children also. Often those things continue to affect other people in their families who are born many years later.

Verses 8-9 Moses included himself among the proud *Israelites who refused to obey God many times. Moses spoke about the wicked things that ‘we’ have done. He asked God to forgive ‘our’ *sin. But he prayed that God would continue to accept the *Israelites as his people. He asked God to continue to go with them.

God’s special promise – verses 10-28

God’s promise and how God warned Moses – verses 10-17

v10 The *LORD continued to speak to Moses. ‘I am making a special promise to you. I will do wonderful things in front of all your people. Nobody has ever done such wonderful things in any nation in the world. And the people who live near to you will respect this wonderful work too. They will know that I, the *LORD, am doing it on your behalf. v11 Obey what I order you today. Then I will force out the people called the Amorites, the *Canaanites and the Hittites from the country. Also I will force out the people called the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites from the country. v12 Be careful that you do not make a legal agreement with any of them. They live in the country where you are going. But if you make an agreement with them, it will become like a trap for you. v13 You must break their *altars. You must destroy the special stones where they *worship their false gods. And you must cut down the poles where they *worship their false god called Asherah. v14 You must not *worship any other god, because I am the *LORD. I am a jealous God. My name is Jealous. v15 So be careful. You must not make an agreement with those people who live in this country. They *sin when they *worship their false gods. They give animals as gifts to their false gods. And they will invite you to eat meat from those animals with them. v16 Do not choose their daughters as wives for your sons. You must not do that. Those women will teach your sons to *worship their false gods.’

v17 ‘And do not make metal images like their false gods.’

Verses 10-11 God promised Moses that he would do wonderful things for the *Israelites. If they obeyed him, he would force out all the other people from the country called *Canaan. And God would give their country to the *Israelites. The list of the different nations emphasises that this would be a difficult job. Those people were very strong. But God was stronger, and he would give the country to the *Israelites (Deuteronomy 4:38).

Verses 12-14 God warned the *Israelites about the dangers that they would meet. They must not make an agreement with any group in the country called *Canaan. This agreement would become like a trap for them. It would be easy for the *Israelites to start to *worship those people’s false gods. So the *Israelites must destroy everything that the people used in *Canaan. God wants us to be completely loyal to him. We must *worship only God. God said, ‘My name is Jealous’. That means that God is jealous. And it is right that God is jealous. He does not want people to *worship any false gods. The *Israelites must *worship only God. That is the only right way. So he cannot allow anyone or anything to become another god. The *Israelites must *worship the *LORD. Nothing must cause them to stop.

Verses 15-16 The *Israelites must not make a friendly agreement for peace. That would lead them to join in with the local customs. There were both good customs and bad customs. The bad customs of the people in *Canaan included how they *worshipped their false gods. The people in *Canaan would invite the *Israelites to share meat with them. But this meat came from the gifts that the *Canaanites gave to their false gods. In *New Testament times that was a problem for the Christians in the city called Corinth. They wondered whether they should eat meat from people’s gifts to the false gods there. So they asked Paul about it (1 Corinthians chapter 8). There was also a danger if *Israelite men married women from the nations in *Canaan. A local wife may persuade her *Israelite husband to go to the local parties. Very soon, her husband would *worship his wife’s false god.

Verse 17 An image means an image like one of the false gods. It can also mean an image that *represents the *LORD. But both images were wrong. The incident in Exodus 32:1-35 is about Aaron. He made a gold image of a young *bull. It showed the evil results from an image like that.

Rules about special days and special meals – verses 18-26

v18 ‘Respect the special days called the *Feast of bread without *yeast. For 7 days, eat flat bread. You must make this bread without *yeast so that it does not rise. Do this in the month called Abib. Do it as I ordered you. You must remember the month called Abib. Abib was the month when you left Egypt.’

v19 ‘Your first male child belongs to me. Also, the first male that is born from your cows and from your sheep belongs to me. v20 You must kill a young sheep in the place of the first male that is born to your *donkeys. That is how you can buy them back. But if you do not give a young sheep to me, then you must break the neck of the young *donkey. In the same way, you must give to me a young sheep in the place of your first male child. You must give a gift to me when you come to *worship me. Nobody can *worship me with empty hands.’

v21 ‘You must work 6 days each week. But you must rest on the *Sabbath day, even during the time when you plough your fields. You must rest on the *Sabbath day, even during the time for the harvest.’

v22 ‘Respect the special days called the *Feast of weeks. Bring to me the first share of the harvest of the wheat. And in the autumn, respect the special days called the *Feast of shelters. You harvest your fruit at that time.’

v23 ‘All your men must come to *worship me 3 times each year. I am the *Lord and king, Israel’s God. v24 I will force out nations ahead of you, and I will increase your territory. Then nobody will take your land during those 3 times each year.’

v25 ‘Do not give to me the blood from an animal together with bread that has *yeast in it. The meal when you remember the *Passover is very special to me. And you must not allow any of the meat from that meal to remain until the next morning.’

v26 ‘Bring the best of your first crops to me, the *LORD your God.’

‘And do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.’

Verse 18 The *Feast of bread without *yeast was in April. The meal of *Passover was a part of that *feast. During that meal, the *Israelites remembered their last night in Egypt. On that night God’s *angel killed the *Egyptian boys and the animals. All the *Egyptian oldest sons and their oldest of their young animals died. But the *angel passed over the houses where the *Israelites lived. When the *Israelites left Egypt, they went in a hurry (Exodus Chapter s 12 and 13). They prepared their food quickly while the *angel was passing over. So they did not have time to make bread with *yeast in it. *Yeast is a substance that makes bread rise. But it needs time to rise. So *Jews eat bread without *yeast in it at the meal of *Passover. Every year it helps them to remember that night. And they remember how God brought their nation out of Egypt a long time ago.

Verses 19-20 The boy that was born first in a family belonged to God. And a male animal that was born first, belonged to God. God had kept the oldest *Israelite sons alive when his *angel passed over them that night in Egypt. But the *Egyptian sons who were born first, died. *Jewish parents showed their first son to the *LORD. And they gave the gift of an animal to the *LORD in the child’s place. So Mary and Joseph showed Jesus to the *LORD in the *Temple. They were poor people, so they gave two young birds as their gift (Luke 2:22-24).

Owners gave to God their male animals that were born first. They gave them as gifts and the priest killed them. But a *donkey was not a gift for God. The *Israelites thought that *donkeys were not *clean animals. So the *donkey’s owner would give a young sheep in its place. If he did not do that, he must not buy back his *donkey. But the *donkey belonged to God still, and the owner must kill it. Also, their neighbours (called the Amorites) killed *donkeys and gave them to their false gods. This custom was a part of the way that the Amorites *worshipped those false gods.

Verse 21 The *Israelites must obey God’s *commandments. So they must rest on the *Sabbath day every week of the year. Even at the busiest times of the farmer’s year, they must remember to rest every *Sabbath day. This showed whether the farmers trusted God. They must trust him to look after them. They wanted to prepare the ground and then to harvest their crops. But in the *desert, God had given to them a double provision of food each week. This happened on the day before the *Sabbath. God did that each week while they were in the *desert. This showed them that they could trust him. God can provide. But his people must obey him, and they must put him first in their lives.

Verse 22 The *Feast of weeks was the *Feast of early harvest. Its other name is Pentecost. It came 50 days after the *feast of *Passover. The *Israelites gave to God the first share of the harvest of the wheat. And the *feast in the autumn was at the time when the *Israelites harvested the fruit. They lived in temporary shelters during that *feast each autumn. They remembered the time when their nation lived in tents in the *desert. So its name was the *Feast of shelters or the *Feast when we have gathered everything. (See Exodus 23:14-16.)

Verses 23-24 God was establishing those *feasts in order to remember the past. The *Israelites must remember for always how he had rescued their nation from Egypt. All adult men must go to a special place to *worship God together. They must go 3 times a year in the future. They must go at the time of those 3 *feasts. Shiloh was one of the places where they could *worship God (1 Samuel 1:3). But the journey to get there might take a long time. However, people need not worry that someone would try to steal their land in their absence. God promised that he would look after it for them. Stones marked the boundaries of the land (Deuteronomy 19:14). So if someone moved a stone they stole a person’s land.

Verses 25-26 Blood in an animal means that it is alive. And God makes people and animals alive. So people must not eat the blood of an animal in order to remain alive. They must not eat that blood in order to try to live for a longer time (Genesis 9:4-5, and Leviticus 17:11). Other people, who did not *worship God, tried to increase their lives in that way. The *Israelites might have some meat that they had not eaten in the meal. But they must not keep it until the morning. This law may have a practical reason. The meat might have a bad smell. It would be dangerous to eat it then. Or perhaps that law prevented them from evil things. Perhaps they might use the meat in *Canaanite magic customs. To boil a young goat in its mother’s milk was probably a *Canaanite custom too.

The new flat stones – verses 27-28

v27 Then the *LORD said to Moses, ‘Write down these words. I have made a special promise to you and to the *Israelites by means of these words.’

v28 Moses was on the mountain with the *LORD. He was there for 40 days and for 40 nights. He did not eat food and he did not drink water during all of that time. He wrote God’s laws for the people on the two flat stones. Then they would remember God’s special promise. Those words were God’s 10 *commandments.

Verses 27-28 Moses had spent 40 days and 40 nights with God on the mountain previously. That was when Moses first received God’s 10 *commandments (Exodus 24:18). God made that special promise (also called *covenant or agreement) to all the *Israelites. God spoke only to Moses. But Moses *represented all the *Israelites. ‘By means of these words’ means that the agreement included the other rules. (We read them in verses 12-26.) Moses wrote down the 10 *commandments. And he probably wrote the other rules in verses 12-26 at a separate time.

Moses face shone – verses 29-35

v29 Moses came down from *Mount Sinai. He had in his hands the two flat stones on which he had written God’s laws. He was not aware that his face shone. But it shone with a bright light because he had spoken with the *LORD. v30 Then Aaron and the *Israelites saw that Moses’ face shone. So they were afraid to come near to him. v31 But Moses called to them to come to him. So Aaron and all the other leaders came near and Moses spoke to them. v32 Afterwards, all the other *Israelites came near to him. And Moses told them all the *commandments that the *LORD had given to him on *Mount Sinai.

v33 When Moses had spoken to them, he covered his face. v34 But when he spoke to the *LORD, he removed the cover. He removed it when he went into the special tent. And he put it on again when he came out from the tent. Each time he came out, he spoke to the *Israelites. He told them what God had ordered him. v35 The *Israelites saw that his face continued to shine. So Moses continued to cover his face. He would remove the cover only when he went to speak to the *LORD.

Verses 29-35 Because Moses had talked to God, his face shone. He did not know that until he saw the people’s reaction to him. The people were afraid to come near to him. So he covered his face until he went into God’s tent. In the *New Testament Paul spoke about the time when Moses covered his face. He did it to hide the changes. Moses’ face slowly shone less and less (2 Corinthians 3:7). Moses had wanted God to show him his wonderful bright light. And God had answered Moses’ prayer, so then his face shone. God had allowed Moses’ face to reflect his wonderful bright light. Jesus showed himself in his wonderful bright light to three of his friends. And Moses appeared too. Moses *represented God’s Law and God’s special promise to his people. Jesus began the new special promise when he died in Jerusalem. Luke talks about Jesus and the time when he would leave them at his death (Luke 9:28-31).

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
commandment ~ a rule or an order that God gave to the Jews. The 10 rules that God gave to Moses on the mountain called Mount Sinai (or Horeb); an order from someone who has authority.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

Mount ~ another name for mountain.
LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has been here always.

Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the Hebrew word ‘Adonai’, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Israelites spoke. A Hebrew is a Jewish person or an Israelite

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Mount ~ another name for mountain.
sin ~ the wrong things that people do against God or against other people; or, not to obey God.
worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a gift to God.
LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has been here always.

Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the Hebrew word ‘Adonai’, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Israelites spoke. A Hebrew is a Jewish person or an Israelite

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

'Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible, it tells about the history and the beliefs of the Israelites. The Jews’ holy book.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
prophet ~ a person who hears God’s words and tells them to other people. But there were sometimes false prophets.
sign ~ a signal; a mark to show that something is special; a powerful act.
Canaanite ~ the people who originally lived in the country called Canaan; something that comes from the country called Canaan.

Canaan ~ the country that God gave to Israelites. Canaanites lived here, and people called Amorites, Hittites, Hivites, Jebusites and Perizzites lived there also.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
altar ~ a table on which people give gifts or *sacrifices to God or to a false god.
Canaan ~ the country that God gave to Israelites. Canaanites lived here, and people called Amorites, Hittites, Hivites, Jebusites and Perizzites lived there also.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Canaanite ~ the people who originally lived in the country called Canaan; something that comes from the country called Canaan.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

'New Testament ~ the second part of the Bible. It tells about Jesus Christ and his followers.
represent ~ when a person acts on behalf of someone else; or you put something in place of something else.
bull ~ male farm animal; (the female is called a cow). The Israelites made a metal image of a bull, which they worshipped as an idol.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a gift to God.

idol ~ an object that people worship instead of God; an object made out of wood, stone or metal that people worship.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
feast ~ a special meal, usually with special food. Often a feast reminds people about an important event so they repeat it regularly. For example, God said that Israelite men should gather together for 3 feasts each year. Jews continue to remember these feasts.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
yeast ~ a substance that people use to make bread. Yeast makes the bread rise. Without yeast, bread is flat and hard.
donkey ~ an animal that is like a horse with long ears. People use donkeys as animals to do work. They can carry people or loads. And they can pull carts or ploughs.
Sabbath ~ the 7th day in a Jewish week. It is from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday The day on which God rested when he created the world. So he wants people to rest on that day. Anything that has a relationship with the Sabbath.

Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Passover ~ an important holy day for the Jews. They ate a special meal on this day every year; the Passover feast reminds the Jews about how God rescued them from *Egypt.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

feast ~ a special meal, usually with special food. Often a feast reminds people about an important event so they repeat it regularly. For example, God said that Israelite men should gather together for 3 feasts each year. Jews continue to remember these feasts.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
feast ~ a special meal, usually with special food. Often a feast reminds people about an important event so they repeat it regularly. For example, God said that Israelite men should gather together for 3 feasts each year. Jews continue to remember these feasts.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
angel ~ a servant of God who sometimes brings messages from him.
Egyptian ~ someone from the country called Egypt; anything that has a relationship with Egypt.
yeast ~ a substance that people use to make bread. Yeast makes the bread rise. Without yeast, bread is flat and hard.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
temple ~ the special building in Jerusalem where the Jews worshipped God. King Solomon built the first temple.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a gift to God.
clean ~ good in thought and in action. But, in the Old Testament, many things could make a person unclean towards God. For example, if they touched a dead body, that would make them unclean. And the Israelites must not eat animals that God called unclean.

Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible, it tells about the history and the beliefs of the Israelites. The Jews’ holy book.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
desert ~ a wild place where there are small bushes and not much water. It has poor soil and people cannot grow crops there. So, not many people live there.
covenant ~ the special promise that God made to his people. God’s covenant with the Israelites established a relationship between him and them. But the Israelites must obey God.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.