April 20, 2023

The Lord Renews the Covenant

Exodus 34

Aaden Jones
Thursday's Devo

April 20, 2023

Thursday's Devo

April 20, 2023

Big Idea

God reveals the way and His will through His Word.

Key Verse | Exodus 34:10

And he said, "Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been created in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD, for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you."

Exodus 34

Moses Makes New Tablets

The LORD said to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. No one shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze opposite that mountain.” So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, 1 34:7 Or to the thousandth generation forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

The Covenant Renewed

10 And he said, “Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been created in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD, for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.

11 Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 12 Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst. 13 You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim 14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.

17 You shall not make for yourself any gods of cast metal.

18 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib, for in the month Abib you came out from Egypt. 19 All that open the womb are mine, all your male 2 34:19 Septuagint, Theodotion, Vulgate, Targum; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain livestock, the firstborn of cow and sheep. 20 The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before me empty-handed.

21 Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. 22 You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end. 23 Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the LORD God, the God of Israel. 24 For I will cast out nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land, when you go up to appear before the LORD your God three times in the year.

25 You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover remain until the morning. 26 The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.”

27 And the LORD said to Moses, “Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. 3 34:28 Hebrew the ten words

The Shining Face of Moses

29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 4 34:29 Hebrew him 30 Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. 32 Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that the LORD had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. 33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

34 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 and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, 35 the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Footnotes

[1] 34:7 Or to the thousandth generation
[2] 34:19 Septuagint, Theodotion, Vulgate, Targum; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
[3] 34:28 Hebrew the ten words
[4] 34:29 Hebrew him

S2:074 Exodus 34

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | Exodus 34

In Exodus, a lot has happened so far! God has just rescued His people from slavery in Egypt, which is one of the greatest parts of Israel's history. God then formed a covenant with the Israelites. Everything was fine and dandy until a short time later when the people broke the covenant with their God.

We find Moses pleading with the God of the universe in Exodus 33 to allow His people to enter into a covenant with Him again. In Exodus 34, Moses is instructed to go up the mountain once more with two tablets to receive the Law again, but this time it is a little different. At this moment we get one of my all-time favorite passages in Scripture—Exodus 34:6-7. This is the first time in Scripture when God speaks of His own character to man. God is telling us what He is like! 

Now, why does this matter? The truth is that we serve a compassionate, gracious, slow-to-anger God who is abounding in loving-kindness and truth. We, as sinful humans, are none of these things on our own and are in need of saving. Moses knows this and comes before God to ask to be made right with Him, and the Lord graciously obliges. But much more than just giving Moses the run-down again of what He expects of them, God gives them for the first time a view into what kind of God He is.

In response to all of this, Moses worships, desires more of God's presence, repents of his sins, and asks for forgiveness; he wants to be fully devoted to the Lord. My prayer today is that we grow in a deeper understanding of the God we serve and that Moses' response would be ours today and every day until we meet Jesus in eternity.

This month's memory verse

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;

– Philippians 4:4-5

Discussion Questions

1. Would you say that you know what God is like? How did you come to know that?

2. How does your view of God change the way you worship Him or live your life?

3. Do you feel like you can trust God's character and plan for your life?

4. What is your favorite attribute of God?

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Hugh Stephenson

GM Aaden. Love your focus on God’s attributes, especially the truth that none of them are inherently true of me. Q1. & Q4. Without question my favorite attribute of God is patience. I know I can’t wear His out but I sure tried. Connected to that are His mercy and grace. Q2. For many years I focused on the King-like majesty of God. In hindsight this made Him mostly unapproachable for me. As funny as it sounds, Monty Python broke the pattern, “What Are You Doing Now? Averting Our Eyes, Oh Lord.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHsbwY4EPyA ------------------------------------------ GQs has many links on this subject. https://www.gotquestions.org/attributes-God.html https://www.gotquestions.org/nature-of-God.html https://www.gotquestions.org/characteristics-of-God.html https://www.gotquestions.org/communicable-incommunicable-attributes.html https://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-God-like.html Q3. Genesis 1:26-28 show me His promise that He created me for a purpose and gave me gifts/skills to achieve it.
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Hugh Stephenson

So, what does total unconditional surrender look like. Well we know it doesn’t look like getting impatient and building a modern day golden calf. But I’m just as tempted as the Israelites to do just that. But why? Short answer - because I need God so much that life without Him is Hell-on-earth. When I am not intimately connected to him I am drawn away and subject to an unlimited amount, variety, and severity of Satan’s temptations. One lie after another hits me in rapid succession, (John 8:44). And his cunning and craftiness, (Genesis 3:1). POWERLESS!!! Step 1 in re:gen STEP 1 - ADMIT We admit we are powerless over our addictions, brokenness and sinful patterns – that in our own power our lives are unmanageable. FOUNDATION 1 “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.” (Romans 7:18) KEY THEME Realize your need for help. REMEMBER There is hope for you – even in your brokenness – because God loves you, and the Bible has a plan for your healing. https://www.watermarkresources.com/ministries/regen/12steps/step1w2
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Hugh Stephenson

Many pastors have spoken this truth- I will be surrendered to either God or Self/Satan. Choose one. If I choose self then this life is the closest to heaven I’ll get. If I choose Him then this life is a close to Hell as I’ll get. Paraphrasing Yoda- “Choose wisely” A message awhile back said this (paraphrasing)- “Imagine that you wake up one day in heaven and what you called “life” was all just like a bad dream.” So, what does total unconditional surrender look like? Mentally flipping through Bible characters- Noah builds an ark for 120 years even though it’s never rained. Abraham zig-zags his way to Genesis 22 when he puts Isaac on the altar. Joseph sits in an Egyptian prison for years. Never wavers. Moses also zig-zags. Then re-orients and…wow. Joshua and Caleb KNOW the “giants” they see in the land are nothing to fear. David brings “a rock to a sword fight”. And Jesus…Luke 22:42 is the very image of surrender/obedience. 11 of the 12 apostles die a martyr’s death And what about Paul? All it took was an impromptu meeting when on a scheduled business trip. —————————— And what about Hugh… … … … Praying through the power of the Holy Spirit that I’m am so surrendered that this can be said of me. “When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” We all have faith in good principles, in good management, in good common sense, but who amongst us has faith in Jesus Christ? Physical courage is grand, moral courage is grander, but the man who trusts Jesus Christ in the face of the terrific problems of life is worth a whole crowd of heroes.” Oswald Chambers - The Highest Good, 544 R DON”T MISS Emma’s teaching on the JTJ podcast from 4/19- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/join-the-journey/id1600151923?i=1000609614160
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Michael Sisson

Re: Ex 34:5 See Ex 16:10; Dan 7:13-14; Lk 21:27; Jas 4:14 Re: Ex 34:12 Ex 34:12 (NASB) “Watch yourself that you >>>make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going,<<< or it will become a snare in your midst. Gibeonite guile and Israel’s reliance on their own understanding will cause Israel to break this commandment later. It’s a decision they’ll live to regret in Jos 9:1-10:43 and 2Sam 21:1-9. Re: Ex 34:15 See Acts 15:20 Re: Ex 34:29-35 Ex 34:29 (NASB) It came about when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses’hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that>>> the skin of his face shone<<< because of his speaking with Him. “Incidentally, the verb translated ‘shone’ here is karan (קָרַן), which was mistranslated by Jerome (i.e., author of the Latin Vulgate) as a form of the noun keren, which means a ‘horn.’ So rather than meaning, ‘to emit rays’ (i.e., shine), Jerome understood it to mean ’to grow horns’ (cornuta), and this explains why various artists rendered Moses with ’horns’ jutting out of his head.” [e.g. https://tinyurl.com/MosesWithHorns] — Hebrew For Christians https://hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Parashah/Summaries/Ki_Tisa/Surpassing_Glory/surpassing_glory.html#loaded See also 2Cor 3:12-18 For a deeper dive into Paul’s midrash on Moses’ veil, see “The Surpassing Glory…Paul’s Midrash on the Veil of Moses” by John Parsons, Hebrew for Christians https://hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Parashah/Summaries/Ki_Tisa/Surpassing_Glory/surpassing_glory.html#loaded
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Sue Bohlin

Thanks, Aaden! Like you, I LOVE the passage where God reveals and describes Himself. Especially after discovering how The Bible Project dives deep into the different attributes that God wants us to know about Him. https://bibleproject.com/explore/category/character-of-god-series/ I particularly loved learning that the very first word God chose to describe Himself is "compassionate," not holy or righteous or wrathful or even kind . . . but compassionate. And, as a woman, I especially loved learning that the root word of "compassionate" is WOMB. All the beautiful glories of femininity and womanhood find their genesis in God's heart of compassion. The Father loves us as a mother! And that's the first thing He wanted us to know about Him. Love, love, love this!
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Michael Scaman

New tablets but God was still the one writing the words of the commandments. Some pointed statements form God after the golden calf incident : "I am a jealous God" and "you shall make no gods of cast metal". The first time jealous is used of God was once before in Exodus 20 :5 and now again in Exodus 34:14. Before it, in Genesis, was only used of Joseph's brothers being jealous of Joseph, nothing to do with God Moses pleads and intercedes that we are a stiff necked people and show us grace and be with us This shows the need for a new heart. “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”
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Amy Lowther

1. I think I know God and then God presents more. I know God well enough to have value for Him and whatever may come. I came to know this through hearing stories from the Bible, reading stories from the Bible, listening to sermons at service, and conversing with believers. 2. It helps you to be organized. 3. Yes. 4. It would be a tie between the consistency and the love He gives each of us.
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Michael Scaman

New idea. God is a 'jealous God'. New to the Bible in Exodus 20 and Exodus 34. Now in action with the golden calf. New tablets but God was still the one writing the words of the commandments reminds me of a literaly hill in Psalms ( The literary mountain/aka Chiasm is in Psalms 15 though 24 ..... we can't do it and are fallen in Psalm 14 and so the Son climbs the mountain of God and brings us with.. Who can climb the hill is said at start and end Psalm 15 matches 24 and 16 matches 23, 17 matches 22, 18 matches both 20, 21 and at the top is Psalm 19 with the righteousness of the law and the heavens A high hill. Like a hill you step up to the top and step down same way to bottom. Matching involves sharing words and phrases and organization of the psalms and is pretty strong (see Carissa Quinn's thesis on this "Toward the kingdom) Additionally at the end of the hill is the good shepherd who laid down his life, the king, in the judgement of sin, the cross, the crook and the crown psalms 21, 22 23 24 flipping through various images about Jesus, the Son who will inherit the nations Psalm 2 and the meek will inherit the earth in the Son Psalm 37. )
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Kathy Hempel Cox

Thank you for pointing out that this is the first time God spoke to man about His character. I love how you learn something new each time you read a passage. Thanks!! And WOO PIG!