The Words Rewritten on New Tablets Established the Covenant in Daily Life

When God wrote the same words again on new stone tablets, He did more than replace the tablets that had been broken. He renewed His covenant with Israel. Exodus 34 unfolds this renewal step by step, from the preparation of the new tablets to God’s proclamation, His specific commands, and the recording and delivery of His words. The covenant did not remain merely as writing on stone. It was given as the word that would shape Israel’s worship, festivals, work, and rest.

God Had Moses Prepare Tablets Like the First Ones

God told Moses to chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones. He also said that He would write on the new tablets the words that had been on the tablets Moses had broken. The new tablets would not contain a different message; they would bear the same words as before.

Moses followed the instructions exactly. He chiseled out two stone tablets, rose early in the morning, and climbed Mount Sinai carrying them in his hands. No one went up with him, and neither people nor livestock were allowed near the mountain. At the place, time, and in the manner appointed by God, Moses stood alone before His word.

This scene makes it clear that the covenant was not restored according to Moses’ judgment. Moses prepared the tablets, but God determined the words that would be written on them. Even the rewriting of the original words began with God’s command.

God Proclaimed Both Forgiveness and Judgment

God descended in the cloud and proclaimed His name. He declared that He is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. He forgives wickedness, rebellion, and sin, yet He does not simply clear the guilty without judgment.

When Moses heard this proclamation, he quickly bowed to the ground and worshiped. Although he described Israel as a stiff-necked people, he pleaded with God to go among them. He then asked God to forgive their wickedness and sin and to take Israel as His inheritance.

In response to this plea, God said that He would establish a covenant. Yet forgiveness was not declared in isolation. Commands also followed, showing how the people were to live before the God who forgave their sins.

The Renewed Covenant Led to Specific Commands

God repeatedly warned Israel not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land they were entering. He commanded them to tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, and cut down their Asherah poles. He also forbade them from bowing to other gods or making cast idols. God set clear boundaries for their relationships and worship so that they would not be drawn into serving other gods.

The commands that followed also ordered Israel’s time. They were to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread in the month of Aviv and remember their departure from Egypt. They were to celebrate the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Ingathering, and all the men were to appear before God three times each year. The firstborn and the firstfruits were also to be set apart as belonging to God.

Work and rest were included within the commands of the covenant as well. Israel was to work for six days and rest on the seventh. There were no exceptions, even during plowing and harvest seasons. The command to rest on the seventh day, even during the busiest times of the year, placed God’s appointed rhythm above the pressures of daily life.

The Written Word Was Delivered to the People

God told Moses to write down these words, declaring that He had made a covenant with Moses and Israel in accordance with them. Moses remained on the mountain for forty days and forty nights, and God wrote the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets.

When Moses came down carrying the two tablets, his face was radiant. The people were afraid, but when Moses called to them, Aaron and the leaders approached first, followed by all the Israelites. Moses then gave the people every command the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai.

The new tablets were not merely replacements for broken objects. The same words were written again, and the worship, festivals, and rest that flowed from those words were commanded once more. The covenant established by God was to be recorded, passed on, and observed in the everyday lives of His people.

Read Exodus 34 today and decide ahead of time on one thing you will stop doing on the seventh day. Like the command to rest even during plowing and harvest, this is a practical way to keep busyness from pushing rest aside.